Strategic Management of Information Systems Department

1. Chapter 10 Information Systems Management

2. Agenda • Information Systems Department • Plan the Use of IT • Manage Computing Infrastructure • Manage Enterprise Applications • Data Administration • Outsourcing • Users Rights and Responsibilities • Discussion and Case Study

3. Information Systems Department Functions • Plan the use of IT to accomplish organizational goals and strategy • Develop, operate, and maintain the organization’s computing infrastructure • Develop, operate, and maintain enterprise applications • Protect information assets • Manage outsourcing relationships

4. Information Systems DepartmentOrganization • Chief information officer (CIO) • Data administration • Protect data and information assets • Establishing data standards and data management practices and polices • Technology (CTO) • Investigate new information systems technologies • Determines how the organization can benefit from new IT • Operations • Manage the computing infrastructure (individual computers, computer centers, networks, and communications media) • Monitor the user experience and respond to user problems • Development • Create new information systems • Maintaining existing information systems • Outsourcing relations • negotiate agreements with other companies to provide equipment, applications, or other services

5. Organization Chart

6. Plan the Use of IT • Align information systems strategy with organizational strategy • Accomplish organizational goals and objectives • CIO: communicate IS issues to the executive group • Provide the IS perspective of problems solutions, proposals, and new initiatives • Develop Priorities and enforce within the IS department • Prioritize IS project given the constraints of time and budget • Sponsor Steering Committee: meeting schedule and agenda • Managers from the major business functions • A forum for users to express their needs, frustrations, and other issues • Set the IS priorities and decide among major IS projects and alternatives

7. Manage Computing Infrastructure • Mirror IS infrastructure with the organizational structure • Centralized and controlled information systems for centralized organization • Decentralized information systems for decentralized organization to facilitate autonomous activity • Tasks • Create and maintain infrastructure for end-user computing • Create, operate, and maintain networks • Create, operate, and maintain data centers, data warehouses, and data marts • Establish technology and product standards for easy management and avoiding incompatibility • Track problems, prioritize services, and monitor resolutions for end-user • Manage computing infrastructure staff (hiring, training, etc.)

8. IS Operation Group

9. Manage Enterprise Applications • Software programs span more than one department • ERP, EAI, SCM, and other inter department applications • Tasks • New applications development (approved by steering committee) • System maintenance (fixing problems, maintaining legacy system implementing new requirements, monitoring resolutions) • Enterprise application integration • Staff management (sustaining developers and new application developers, product quality assurance (PQA) engineers, technical writers )

10. IS Development Group

11. Data Administration • Database administration: a particular database • Data administration: entire data assets of an organization • Define organizational data standard or metadata: name, official definition, usage, relationship to other data items, processing restrictions, version, security code, format, owner, and other features • Maintain data dictionary • Define dynamic data policies (data administrator, senior executives, the legal department, functional department managers, and others) • Plan disaster-recovery

12. Outsourcing • The process of hiring another organization to perform a service • Benefits • Management • Obtain expertise • Avoid management problems • Free up management time • Cost Reduction • Obtain part time services • Gain economies of scale • Risk reduction • Cap financial risk • Improve quality • Reduce implementation risk • International outsourcing issues

13. Outsourcing Alternatives • Acquisition and operation of computer hardware • Acquiring licensed software • Outsource entire system • Web storefront • Entire business function

14. Outsourcing Problems • Lost of control • Technology • Intellectual capital • Wrong priority • Vendor internal change • CIO superfluous • Benefits outweighted by long term costs • High unit cost • Mismanagement • De-facto sole source • Not get what you are pay for • No easy exit • No critical knowledge employee • Expensive and risky to change vendor

15. User Rights • Computer resources to proficiently perform work • Reliable network and Internet connections • A secure computing environment • Protection from virus • Define requirements for new system • Reliable systems development and maintenance • Prompt attention to problems, concerns and complaints • Properly prioritized problem fixes and resolutions • Effective Training

16. User Responsibilities • Learn basic computer skills • Learn standard techniques and procedures for using application • Follow security and backup procedures • Protect password • Use computer resource according organization policies • No unauthorized hardware modifications • Install authorized software • Apply software patches and fixes • Actively participate in defining the requirements for new systems • Avoid reporting trivial problems

17. Discussion • Ethics (309a-b) • State your response to each of the questions in page 309a. • State the best corporate policy for the personal computer usage at work place. • Opposing Forces (321a-b) • State the best corporate policy for outsourcing the IT. • Reflections (325a-b) • State benefits and risks on the international outsourcing for the U.S business.

18. Case Study • Case 10-1 Marriott International, Inc. (330-331): 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

19. Points to Remember • Information Systems Department • Plan the Use of IT • Manage Computing Infrastructure • Manage Enterprise Applications • Data Administration • Outsourcing • Users Rights and Responsibilities • Discussion and Case Study