In any business plan there are fundamental provisions that are required with respect to the nature of the market in question. In essence the market is the most essential tool for consideration when seeking opportunities for the business success.
If there is minimal feasibility of the market, there is no need to launch the business, however if there is an evident market gap in a given region, it is always advisable to optimize on the opportunity that may soon be gone. The UAE in this case is one of the fastest growing economies in the world together with China.
In fact, the UAE is almost not dependent on natural gases like petroleum and oil because of its diversity. With a $270 Billion GDP, UAE is a wealthy region with people who are willing to invest. Technology is the key solution for industrialization and hence the need of technology in the region.
Statement of the problem
This analysis explicitly looks into the viability of venturing into an IT training center in the UAE based on the market research that had been concluded. The market research indicated that there is an opportunity to make a successful business venture in the region because of the presence of adequate need in the region.
Purpose
In this business plan analysis, the major purpose is to develop a viable business plan that will be used be used for the IT Training Center (ITC) that will be established in the UAE. This business plan will therefore provide important information about the nature of the business that will be launched in the UAE.
Some of the most important considerations in this case include the marketing plan, operation plan, management and organization, financial plan and the milestone for the ITC training center. This business plan is developed after an extensive market research had been carried out to establish the viability and the feasibility of establishing a training center in the UAE.
Significance of the study
A successful business plan is a plan that has reasonable projections on profits and reasonable estimations of costs; this is the significance of this study. The other important consideration in ensuring a successful business plan is adequate sources of fund coupled with sound management. When these factors have been considered, marketing plan can now be organized and implemented to acquire as substantial niche. In this case, the establishment of IT Training Center in the UAE has been based on the viability of the project.
The economic base of the UAE is strong and one of the fastest growing economies in the world and therefore highly likely to accommodate foreign investors to the region. The country is also aiming to be dependent on tourism and other sources of funds in future as their oil and mineral base is expected to diminish with time. These facts provide evidence on the viability of the project in the region.
Background
The business will be based in the United Arab Emirates; it will be stationed in a rented office in the Abu Dhabi the capital city of UAE. The name of the business is IT Training Center (ITC).
The business will target both the local residents and the international students who will be visiting the UAE or outside the UAE but have constant internet access that will enable them attend live class proceedings. The financial plan and its projections have been provided and projected to make a profit $19,740 by the end of three fiscal quarterly years.
The services that will be offered by ITC will include the following, IT Governance and Ethics, Project management, Web designing(Data driven web design using Drupal, Joomla, and SharePoint), Networking, N+, A+, Cisco CCNA/CCNP, ICDL and office packages, Linux administration, Oracle and Java, web marketing and optimization. The services will be offered on a 24 hour basis, online support will also be provided to other students willing to enroll to the college within the UAE for a reduced fee and outside the UAE.
Literature review
In a business venture, there are several concerns to be considered when launching the business. Some of the most foundational concepts in planning a business are; ensuring that there is a sufficient market demand, financial provisions, and operation planning among other imperative considerations (Covello, 123).
A successful business plan should therefore have a comprehensive consideration of the market and the need for the product or service in the market (Covello, 124). This consideration is the foundation of any business since the business cannot survive without the market for the products and services.
In some instances, there is essence to create the need from the market through bridging the market gap by innovative and competitive products and services, if this is achieved; sound business prosperity will be attained(Covello, 126). There are other considerations that should be implemented before the onset of the business enterprise; some of these include PEST and SWOT analysis, these analyses are relevant because of the external influences of the business.
Definition of terms
PEST- Political Economic Social and Technological analysis
SWOT-Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats
CCNA- Cisco Certified Network Associate
CCNP-Cisco Certified Network Professional
ICDL- International Computer Driving License
A+- Foundational Networking course
N+- Basic networking course based in the fundamentals of A+
UAE- United Arab Emirates
Results
Based on the market research that had been done in the field, the results of the analysis process as outlined in the market research proposal require that the following progression be followed.
Market plan
This is the central aspect of the business, the initial analysis for the feasibility of establishing a business opportunity in the UAE had provided evidence of the existing market for training of IT courses in the region. The existence for the need of the services is a great demonstration that there exists opportunities (market in this case) to be exploited in the region.
The imperative step that will be taken by the management of the ITC is the implementation of a thorough marketing strategy that will emphasize on the uniqueness of the services that the college will offer better those of other service providers in the region.
Promotional strategies
The promotional strategies that will be exploited by the ITC will aim to capture and convince the service consumers on the services of the college. Considering that technological advancement is the key issue in the modern world. Developing a strategy that show optimum use of technology to the modern world market will be essential to the residents of the region. Online and regional advertisements will be utilized to maximize the market opportunities in the region.
SWOT analysis of based on the competitors
Strengths
- The colleges in the UAE have a stronger online presence.
- The companies in the region are mostly local and hence have a local support.
- The colleges in the UAE have most of the courses that are to be offered by the ITC.
Weaknesses
- The colleges in the region have poor marketing strategies that ITC can take advantage of.
- The services offered by the companies in the region are professional but not market oriented as opposed to the ITC which is more market oriented compared to other colleges like sites power training college which exist in the area.
Opportunities
- Given the competitive advantage of the ITC, there is a likelihood of the market oriented services like market optimization options if Information technology to influence the residents on using the services of ITC.
- The market opportunities in the region are still open to be filled because of the economical strength of the UAE and hence despite the presence of competitors, there are opportunities for new entrants into the market.
Threats
- The loyalty of the local residents may be biased to international companies.
- The cost of starting a business in the region may exceed the approximations because of the dynamic nature of the market in the regions.
As evident from the analysis of the competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, the ITC will exploit all the opportunities within its reach in ensuring that the strategies employed by the business will yield positive results.
The aspect of close relation of Information Technology to business will yield more positive market approach because of the uniqueness of the service being offered. Unlike other institutions in the region that have less or no reliance on their market perspective to technology, the ITC will be the market leader in closely relating the two and ensuring that the students who will graduate from the institution will be better placed as managers who are more market oriented and can take advantage of technology for the good of the organization that they will manage after graduating from the ITC institution.
The idea of the penetrating prices at the onset of the institution will be set to be moderate in order to gain the perception of cheap services that are quality. The prices will average compared to other institutions in the region to avoid being mistaken for cheap and possibly poor service and again expensive and an international company that does not understand the needs of the United Arab Emirates.
Plan of operation
The plan of operation in the region will require several requirements to be met in order to enhance a suitable environment for development (Covello, p.121). The initial consideration is proper management of the ITC. The management will be hired from the region because of the loyalty of the customer aspect.
The other important consideration will be the teaching staff. The teaching staff will be hired from the region and outside the region in order to enhance the quality of the services that will be offered. The teaching staff will also be assisted by the support staff and co-workers of the institution, these people will be hired from the region and their financial provisions are as projected in the table below.
In order to impress investors on the viability of the project for financial assistance, the projections outlined below will be of essence. The financial provisions with a projection of a growth rate of more than $4,000 on a quarterly basis will increase their confidence on the guarantee of their returns on investments. The sources of funds will therefore come from different places including bank loan, private investors, personal contributions and savings.
The institution’s partners will be another added advantage in ensuring that there is a value from the services being offered in ITC. Some of the important partners that the institution will create a Business-to-Business relationship (B-2-B) include Microsoft Corporation, Cisco, Linux institute, and Mc fee. These partners will help in building the name or the image of the institution because of their success in their different fields of Information Technology (IT).
Financial plan
Other requirements
It will be important for the business to ensure that it meets its legal requirements in the foreign market in order to ensure a smooth flow of the launching process. The legal requirements if the UAE should therefore be met, some of the imperative considerations are; licenses and complying with the business limits that are set by the government of the UAE.
Risk evaluation
A standard legal procedure for risk evaluation should be implemented in order to ensure a sound environment for business. Some of the risks that should be considered in this case are the market perceptions and changes especially with the consideration of the foreign environment. Since business in itself is a risk, it is important to account for the extent of risk that is being encountered in the process of business operation; this will provide more supportive business backup options for the business to run in a sound way.
Launch of the business
The business will be launched once the logistics, marketing plan, operation management, and financial provisions are met. It will be vital to also consider other external conditions that should be met in order to experience a sound business environment with minimal and realistic assumptions.
Summary
This breakdown has explicitly analyzed the feasibility for the launch of IT Training Center in the UAE. The proposed market planning, financial provisions, operation management and other requirements have been analyzed for the purpose of launching a successful business in the region. The dividends projections that are sound and achievable are the basis of more financial support from investors and lending companies.
Discussion
The results analysis in this breakdown is viable basically because of the market opportunity present in the region and the financial provisions coupled with the risks associated with the business venture.
It is of essence to ensure that there is a need or a gap in the market before launching a business, in doing so, there will be less risks and assumptions that will be made in the launching process. This analysis has also provided the management and operation plan of the IT training center in the UAE. The projection of the amount of profits that is expected in the region is reasonably high for any investor to launch the operations successfully.
Recommendations
In order to ensure that the business will be successful in the region given the ever changing market conditions, there is need for the project managers who are leaders in this case to be sensitive to any changes or financial additions that may be required. A substantial niche can only be achieved by having alternative plans for strategic changes since the market is very volatile given the development of technology and marketing strategies (Covello, p.130).
The leadership of the project ought to be very flexible in ensuring that the necessary changes do not interfere with the business missions and visions. Another imperative consideration in this case is the marketing strategies. The local people and media ought to be used tactfully in order to ensure that the business is introduced as part of the region and not a strange entity that may result to being sidelined.
Additionally it will be of essence for the business to emphasize on the idea of “who we are” to the UAE society and what new things do we bring to the region that will benefit the region and the future of its people. The ‘’who we are” brings the sense of ethics and social responsibility to spotlight and hence imperative in ensuring that the business succeeds by winning the minds of the target market.
Conclusion
This business plan analysis has been geared towards establishing a business base for IT Training center in the UAE. The UAE provides a very conducive environment for business because of the country’s economy and political stability that has seen it become of the world’s fasted growing economy with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of more than $270 Billion.
The marketing strategies that will be used in getting the market for the institution will emphasize on the uniqueness of the services that the institution will be offering. One of the major uniqueness of the ITC institute is its ability to closely match marketing with technology.
There is need in the country to embrace both the market and technology as a strategy of moving forward towards being fully developed and sustainable. Technology is the key to success in any service sector in the world today, without proper implementation or embrace of the positives of technology; there is no substantial step that will be made with regard to national development.
The plan of operation and the financial plan of the project will ensure that the project gets adequate funds for a robust start off. The leadership of the project will be the genesis of establishing a sound success in the region as all the resources can be managed and used well only if there is sound leadership coupled with focused marketing strategies that emphasizes on the uniqueness of the services that will be launched in business market venture and also sustainability of the entire process.
Works Cited
Covello, Joseph. Your first business plan: a simple question-and-answer format designed to help you write your own plan. New York: Hazelgren Sourcebooks, Inc., 2005. Pp. 121-134.