Unit 4 - Impact of the Use of IT on Business Systems
Task A - IT Advancements and Usage Within Organisations (P5,P3)
P5: Recent IT Developments
Who are Nexus?
I am an IT Consultant working alongside Nexus Limited, who are an SME (Small to Medium Enterprise) based in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire. Their company specialises in designing and manufacturing widgets, and have 40 employees at their head office in Tewkesbury with a branch office located approximately one mile away in Walton Cardiff; there are 10 employees based at the branch office. The branch office acts as the distribution point for the widgets that they produce at their main office.
However, although only being a small to medium enterprise, doesn’t mean they do not want to advance with their technology they currently have; their technology is now starting to become out of date and is rapidly aging, soon to begin preventing and limiting them from doing their day-to-day tasks to a top standard they need to carry out over at Nexus.
Developments in IT in the Past Few Years
With Nexus’ IT equipment rapidly ageing, it is time for them to upgrade, and thanks to the advancement in technology over the past few years, they will be able to accomplish this! After seeing fellow companies take the steps towards more advance technology, Nexus want to follow them by upgrading already owned technology, and by bringing new technology into their company. These new advancements consist of;
- The Cloud, and other online storage
- Remote access to systems from anywhere, at any time
- A secure and flexible infrastructure
- Mobile computing (Smartphones and Tablets)
- Mobile Storage (USB Pen drives, external Hard drives)
- Touch screens
… and more!
How the Advancements in Technology Can Help Nexus Ltd.
Although Nexus is an SME, workers from the management team tend to use laptops and work from home. They most likely currently have to save the work they do to the local HDD (Hard Disk Drive) and manually copy over all the work to the office computers when/if they head on over to the office at any point. This is the beginning of where the advancement in technology can help make a huge impact on the company, for the better!
First off, working from home has been made a lot easier in the modern day, due to the use of the Cloud/online storage, and remote access. Remote access allows users the ability to gain access to another computer or network from a remote distance.
This would mean if Nexus were to upgrade their Windows XP computers in the offices to an updated operating system which was remote access compatible such as Windows 7 or above, the workers who worked from home would have access to office files and systems, just as if they were there in the office themselves; they would be able to access all the files and software they need to carry out the tasks for their company, despite not being in the office itself to do so. This would become useful if Nexus had to go out and do talks or presentations about the work they do to other companies or customers for example, allowing them to access the necessary files to present to other people.
Not only would remote access become handy when out of the office, but being able to store one’s work elsewhere would be useful to those in the management team also, being out of the office a lot on their laptops.
This is where the Cloud/online storage facilities come into play. The Cloud is essentially a network of servers, involving and acting as many different functions and is usually owned and managed by a hosting company. The main reason Nexus might need to implement the use of the Cloud into the organisation would be for the feature of Cloud Storage, or ‘Online Storage’ as it may be known to some.
This again would come extremely handy for those who work from laptops, or just out of the office in general, but could be beneficial to those within the office also acting as a way to have a second backup of data and files rather than simply backing up the office server and worker’s files to a single HDD located under the desk of the receptionist; if the hard drive was to become corrupt for any reason then Nexus would have a bit of a hassle trying to recover lost data, whereas having a second – or even a third – backup located elsewhere in online storage would make life a lot easier for them if one form of backup was to in fact fail. One downside with online storage however, is that it is more prone to unauthorised access, such as hackers for example, which I will talk more about later on.
Another way in which today’s recent advance in technology could help benefit Nexus could be with the use of mobile computing, which would fit hand-in-hand with the idea of using online storage and remote access.
The term mobile computing is referred to the use of mobile phones and tablets to help carry out one’s job, meaning they can carry out tasks on a device which they already use on a day-to-day basis, without the need to carry round an added hefty laptop or computer; mobile computing would work well for the management team if they were working outside of their home, so they could leave their laptop with any of their locally saved work on, in case it got lost or stolen, and could use their phone or tablet to use on a temporary basis until they get home back to their laptop. This could also be used if the workers from the main office had to work from home for some reason, and did not own a laptop for work like the management team do.
Why Nexus Should Implement the Advancement of Technology into their Business
With being an enterprise business, Nexus need to be able to keep up with competing companies/businesses. To be able to do this, updating and upgrading their office hardware and software is a must; the world relies heavily upon technology in the modern day, hence as to why Nexus would need the latest advancement to have a chance of competing with other companies, to give the best available service to their customers, and to receive the best available outcome in their work.
With Nexus’ job being to design and manufacture widgets, it is also vital that they upgrade certain hardware, as the demand different programs and software put on the internal hardware in this day and age is very high; an outdated CPU may not perform as well anymore due to the high demands from a software Nexus may use now, so by upgrading to a better, faster CPU Nexus can bypass this issue.
Another piece of hardware Nexus could upgrade would be the capacity of their HDD, as although they could potentially back up their files and data to online storage, there will become a point where they begin to run out of room on the single HDD in the office where the backups are kept; by upgrading their HDD to a higher capacity one would allow them to back up more data than before.
In fact, Nexus could even upgrade from a HDD to a SSD (Solid State Drive) which does the same job as the HDD, but data is stored on interconnected flash memory chips rather than the disks, motors and read/write heads that HDDs will use. Overall, the SSD will essentially work quicker than a normal HDD, so could work well alongside a newly installed CPU in the systems over at Nexus.
Why Nexus Might Not Want to Implement the Advancement of Technology into their Business
Although implementing the advancement in technology into their organisation could bring Nexus a better working environment and better outcomes overall, that doesn’t mean there aren’t any flaws in the whole process. Not every company will act upon the idea of technology advancements straight away, as all organisations will act in different ways.
For example, Nexus might not like the idea of using online/Cloud storage, due to security flaws; hackers are known to breach and access online data that shouldn’t be in their grasp, so there are small chances that Nexus’ information and data could leak out and get into the wrong hands if the correct security procedures are not taken, making online storage quite vulnerable to illegal misuse and modification.
Another example of an advancement in technology that Nexus may not like the idea of could be the overuse of mobile computing. Reason being is that mobile technology is taking a huge chunk of people’s lives, both work and social; relying on mobile computing would mean that the person is relying heavily on technology pretty much 24/7, which could result in lack of sleep, unhealthy lifestyle and work-life imbalance.
Not only this, but by upgrading any hardware and software to aid them in their work, Nexus would have to spend quite a bit of money to meet these ‘advanced’ requirements to compete with other companies who have upgraded systems; to upgrade each system being used in the office over at Nexus would cost a lot of money, as it would cost fair bit to upgrade the hardware and software in one system, never mind a whole office! Therefore, Nexus would have to consider the price to upgrade and advance in the technology they are using, and not just the pros/cons of the hardware and software already discussed.
P3: Other Company's Actions on Technology Advancements?
Not every company is going to respond and act in the same manner when it comes to the advancement and new releases of technology for the workplace. For example, a specific company may not use demanding services and software like Nexus might, so may not feel the need to go out and spend unnecessary money on hardware upgrades that they do not need; a smaller company’s CPU from a few years back may only be what they need to run the software they currently use, if they use an old software with no intention to update/upgrade it if it does the job correctly to a professional standard.
Other companies who may be more well known or ‘high street’ companies may be under pressure to perform any task to a professional standard, and therefore will need high demands from any hardware they will use to ensure the software carries out tasks accordingly. With being a more ‘high street’ and well known company however would surely result in them having a little more money than a small run company, meaning that they can go out of the way to spend money to upgrade their technology to bring the best out of the company itself, i.e. the performance and professional outcomes of their work and jobs they do.
Conclusion
So in conclusion, it would seem that Nexus would benefit quite a lot with the advancement in technology in the recent years. It’s because of this that their rapidly ageing technology will not be a problem for them, and would allow them the option to continue with their tasks to a high, professional standard, without any hardware limitations to set them back; although it comes at a cost, it would be beneficial in the long term for the company.
By upgrading now could last them for the following few years to come, and should allow them to face any software/hardware upgrades they may be faced with in the near future that their current technology wouldn’t be able to handle.
Task B - Impact of IT Developments at ExtraSkills (P1,M1,P2,D1)
P1: Reasons for Upgrading IT Systems
After taking a look at the interview from ExtraSkills employees and students, it has become evident that their technology was beginning to slack in the attempt to push itself to the limits when proceeding with day to day tasks. These simple tasks of educating school kids has pushed their systems to the breaking point, as much to the point to where the machines begin to run very slow and sluggish, as stated by the students themselves. This essentially creates a near enough unusable machine, which in no way benefits the students when sitting the likes of an exam for example; when undergoing a timed piece of important work, the last thing you would want is for the machine to be sluggish and possibly unresponsive, especially when completing work which could possibly be start of a career for yourself (ie. your GCSE/A-Level exams).
M1: Why an Organisation Needs to Keep at Pace With IT Developments
ExtraSkills felt like they were falling behind with their technology performance, hence to why they felt the need to make that extra push with IT equipment! By making this push and upgrading from a VPC’s running Windows 7 to genuine PC machines running on the operating system of Windows 7 made a huge improvement for the school kids. Not only did it mean that they could now run multiple machines at once – unlike the one or two VPC machines maximum beforehand – but it also meant that the machines were not as slow and sluggish as the ones prior; the school kids have now been given the chance to complete everyday school work without any unwanted interruption or lag that they were greeted with before the big upgrade. Not only is it down to the new operating system that they were given this opportunity to be able to work hassle free, but also down to the fact that ExtraSkills had gone out the way to upgrade the RAM (Random Access Memory) and the processors for the machines also! Before the upgrade, the students/tutors realised that the current random access memory and processors they currently had were not fit for the job at ExtraSkills, so by upgrading these components along with the operating system has allowed ExtraSkills to have access to better, quicker running machines now, which will be a lot easier to teach and work on.
P2: Impact of IT Developments on the Organisation
Although ExtraSkills felt the upgrade of IT equipment was necessary to ensure the school kids have the best learning facilities they could have, the upgrade did come with a cost however. A big one, in fact… To pay for the cost of the processors, machines and RAM itself alone was in the region of spending around £250,000! In the process of this there were around 2,500 machines that needed upgrading, so not only was it a financial loss/impact that was put upon ExtraSkills in the process of upgrading their systems, but there was a big time loss involved also! Whilst keeping the day-to-day business running, the team had to upgrade all the machines. Not only did this include the updating of all the Windows XP operating system machines over to Windows 7, but it meant that all the hardware within the systems had to be upgraded as well; all the work had to be done within the four week shutdown period they were allocated, in order to keep the programme they offer at ExtraSkills to continue running again as quickly as possible! Another impact that ExtraSkills would have to have faced is the fact that people were more exposed to the operating system of Windows XP, and not so much with Windows 7. This would mean that ExtraSkills will have to make time to teach the tutors both the basics and more advanced side of Windows 7, so that they can then pass on that information and skills to the students they are teaching.
D1: Evaluate the Impact
Although the company of ExtraSkills were faced with some negative impacts with the upgrade, it was not all bad in the end! After a bit of time and patience, ExtraSkills will be able to teach the basic skills (and maybe even some of the more advanced skills) in Windows 7, ensuring that the students will confidently leave them with the required knowledge to use the new operating system in the real world; as technology advances in the modern day, more and more people/companies will be using the newer, updated technology and software, meaning that when the students leave, most of the places they look for work will most likely already be using Windows 7. After the time of teaching the students, ExtraSkills will want to send them off into the real world work places knowing that they have taught them the sufficient skills on a more stable and reliable operating system, which is a lot easier for the tutors to do now with Windows 7 being a more pleasing teaching experience to deliver. Also, by having a newer, fresh operating system may in fact encourage the students to work more effectively, offering them new features that they have taken a liking to, such as the Snipping Tool, and the Problems Step Recorder, along with the likes of Bitlocker and Applocker. Not only this, but by having a newer operating system means that they can update the likes of Microsoft Office, which they now have Office 2010 rather than Office 2003 which they had before; Office 2010 offers many great new features to ensure the students are more engaged, which is more extensive to the learners.
Task C - Using IT to Improve the Business Functions of a SME (P6,M2,M3,D2,P4)
P6/M2/M3/D2: Proposal for an IT Enabled Improvement to Business Systems
By working alongside the company of Nexus for some time, I have become aware of your current situations with regards to how you run as an organisation, taking notes mainly upon the technology you use, and the technology within the machines you use on a daily basis. Although the technology you currently own is pulling through on everyday work tasks – such as the work it takes to design and manufacture the widgets you produce, stock control, finance management etc. – there comes a point where it starts to become slow and sluggish, and struggles to meet the demands of not only the customers who are expecting to receive any end product, but the technology such as the hardware in the PC machines start to fall under the demands of the programmes and software the company are using! Because of this slight lack in performance and with the advancement in technology in the modern day to help compete with rival companies, I propose that the Nexus organisation should consider upgrading a small amount (or all!) of the hardware and software that you use within your company offices, at both the main head office and the smaller branch office down the road.
When it comes to said ‘advancement in technology’ in the modern day, it refers to the way the IT industry market is rapidly growing with more updated, newer, faster hardware and software for use within companies and organisations, like Nexus yourselves; it usually refers to the hardware within a machine, or a machine or product as a whole, rather than software however it still plays a big role in the advancement in technology. With Nexus, it is evident that you could benefit from a few upgrades here and there, so I am here to address to you the benefits and consequences of following the advancement in technology, and incorporating the upgrades within Nexus itself!
To begin, it is the hardware itself that plays the main role in this technology advancement, so I shall begin here. At the moment, the computer machines that Nexus own are of an ‘OK’ standard, but as a growing company Nexus will need to perform above and beyond fellow competitors to be noticed by the public over other companies and organisations, and to do so Nexus will have to be able to perform to the best professional standards within the office, to produce the best possible outcome that they can get! To begin with, the amount of computer machines that you currently own are just not enough to fulfil the company’s expectation of work to ensure work is done sufficiently; Nexus currently own 35 computer machines over a total number of 50 people! This creates the dilemma that not all workers will be working sufficiently if there are not enough computer machines for one per person. However, if you were to buy just a few more computers then each person would be able to be working all at once, meaning that more work could potentially be done in a small time period than prior to getting more computers.
These computers however would not be of best use without an upgrade or the internals also! For example, as mentioned previously, your computer components are coming to a point where they cannot undergo everyday work tasks without struggling to pull through, so therefore it would be a good idea for you to upgrade the likes of the RAM (Random Access Memory), the HDD (Hard Disk Drive) – perhaps even upgrade the HDD to a SSD (Solid State Drive) – and the CPU (Central Processing Unit) etc. By upgrading these components would make work within the company a lot smoother and more efficient;
• By upgrading the HDD storage would allow each user on the machines to have more capacity to save their work to, without the worry of needing to delete old files; this would only really occur if the server went down, or if they could not back up work to the server for some reason etc.
• By adding more RAM and a quicker, better CPU would ensure that the workers will not be met with long loading times, and that the work they are doing can be done quicker than before.
Not only would newer interior components of the machines benefit the company a lot, but also the advancement in the likes of mobile computing and online services would help a lot also. For example, with only have one server located in the main office, perhaps the use of online/Cloud storage would help, especially if the local server was to somehow become corrupt! With online storage, people (with permissions) can access their work at any time, from anywhere, meaning that they do not need to be in work to continue with any unfinished tasks; the idea of online storage would be useful for the likes of the management team, who often use laptops from home during the evenings and weekends. And the good thing, a lot of services offer free storage! – users are usually offered a set capacity of storage for free, then if they wish to add more, it will come at a small fee.
However, with benefits of upgrading does come a few consequences and setbacks, such as the time it would take to upgrade the components of all the machines, after buying a few more to accommodate every person. Not only time, but money plays a huge factor also. It would sure cost a lot to proceed with the upgrade of the components!
Although hardware plays a role in the technology that could benefit Nexus in the long term, but also software. Currently you seem to be running the OS (Operating System) of Windows XP on all of your current machines, which is beginning to become quite outdated. With Windows XP being fairly old now, it seems that a lot of the newer software or programmes are not designed for this version of Windows, so with an upgrade of operating system could bring some more potential, updated programmes to use in the company. One example of this, would be the update of Microsoft Office, as you are currently running Office 2000; by upgrading to a later version such as Office 2007 or perhaps Office 2010 will offer many more features that would benefit the way in which the employees work, quite a lot. With these new features comes the likes of a more customisable ribbon in Microsoft programmes, along with the option to export the files in many more formats.
Again, like with hardware there comes both benefits and consequences of updating the software within Nexus, or any company for that matter. As with installing the hardware itself, it would take time to update the likes of the Operating System on all of the machines within the company, and also in removing older versions of Office and installing new ones. As well as this, you have the likes of buying/upgrading fees to obtain the newer software’s etc. With new software comes the time in which people would have to learn how to use new features also, as although it Windows 7 would be similar to Windows XP, and Office 2010 to Office 2000, the newer versions do bring a lot of new features with them, which will take a bit of time getting to grips with!
P4: Managing Risk Within the Organisation When Using IT
When it comes to managing risk within the company, Nexus should ensure that all employees are aware of what risks there could be, which could be in the form of a text based message, or a verbal speech. The following risks should be made aware to all employees;
• Security of the systems: With potentially using the likes of online storage, Nexus would have to ensure they go with a service provider which offers to encrypt data, so that the likes of hackers do not manage to dig their way into the files and data the company may back up online.
• Data recovery: When it comes to processing and storing a lot of data in the company, Nexus would have to ensure that all the employees know what to do in the situation of losing data. With there being a server in the office, the employees should have a fairly easy job to recover any lost data from a local machine if they have backed everything up to the server. If the data is lost from the server however, the company would have to ensure that you have a second means of data backup, such as the use of online storage, or to perhaps use the other backup tape within your current server.
To conclude my proposal, I believe that if Nexus were to follow my advice, you would be better off in the long term, in the sense that once you have put the time and money into the initial upgrade to the systems within your company, it will turn out to be more cost-saving and efficient in the near future. Not only this, but your current employees would feel they have a better working environment, being able to carry out their work more effectively than before, being given the opportunity to work on better computer machines, which in effect could improve the employee’s motivation for work!
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