The information technology department (IT) in Vermont Teddy Bear is faced with a lot of issues that make the streamlining of both departmental and organizational processes challenging. In previous discussions, the IT department’s vision and mission were discussed, followed by a SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis. These revealed significant loopholes in the department’s policies and governance. As a result, there is a need to implement an effective IT strategic plan, facilitated by formulating strategic outcomes that align with the overall business strategic plans, and the department’s mission and vision.
SWOT
Strategic goal: Even the demand of Vermont Teddy Bear’s (VTB) products – teddy bears, pajamas, and calyx flowers – throughout the year and leverage the company’s brand.
Strategic outcome 1: Improve the customer base by targeting the younger male demographic.
To stay competitive, VTB has to consider the several challenges of the continually evolving business landscape, including its demographics and consumer trends. VTB’s current customer profile is a 52-year-old male, and according to John Gilbert, this might have been the cause for the uneven demand for VTB’s products (Gogan & Lewis, 2011). Therefore, the company is intending on expanding its customer base to include younger men.
Strategic outcome 2: Ensure the stability and reliability of the e-commerce platform, especially in the peak season.
Although there are proper recovery mechanisms – when an element of the network failed, the built-in redundancy enables the sales to continue being processed; thus, no orders get lost – the IT department still has more room for improvement. The IT department requires improved data integration and i analytic tools to ensure the reliability and stability of the e-commerce platform during the peak seasons.
Strategic goal: Upgrade and standardize the various IT systems to reinforce the changing business model.
It encompasses the following:
- Understanding the functionalities of the present IT system via proper documentation
VTB does not have an ideal IT architecture document and data governance policy in place. Moreover, since it is an e-commerce business, it depends heavily on IT for its business operations. Therefore, the Chief Information Officer (CIO) should adhere to creating a complete IT architecture document by reviewing the present IT structure and documenting information ‘siloed’ in the head of employees.
- Eliminating complicated hardware
Presently, VTB utilizes “open source” CRM systems, which comprise several small one-off applications that were modified or developed out of individual preference by coders. This is often done when applications are required to fulfill a particular departmental need, and there are insufficient resources (Gogan & Lewis, 2011). As a result, this results in a web of applications that are difficult to understand, thereby complicating the overall system.
- Removing incompatible applications
There is a probability that some of them might be incompatible with others due to the presence of a myriad of modified small one-off applications. Furthermore, some of the applications were outdated; thus, interfering with their efficacy and compatibility.
- Enhance the best-breed approach
The optimality of the multiple Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) packages should further be heightened by purchasing the best packages (new or better versions) that can ease and streamline business operations.
Vision and Mission
Strategic goal: Create a well-organized enterprise IT architecture to sustain the company’s evolving business requirements, and its long-term operational and strategic goals.
Strategic outcome 1: Streamlining and enhancing the middleware.
It comprises:
- Assemble a team to recover any essential missing information
There is a lot of undocumented information comprising VTB’s IT applications or infrastructure that has not yet been captured or codified. The preparation of a formal IT governance policy and understanding the black box will require the collection and documentation of information that has been stored in the heads of individuals. Therefore, this will require the assembly of an expert team. Additionally, the expert team will have to document the software created by application developers that no longer work in the company.
- Allocating workforce to routine IT tasks and enhancements
The IT department is faced with the challenge of adequately assigning routine tasks to the various IT experts. When another employee in another department urgently needs new functionality, the IT professional who gets the call will attend to it, thereby leaving more essential tasks neglected (Gogan & Lewis, 2011). Therefore, the department required an organized approach to performing routine tasks and triaging and prioritizing support calls.
Strategic outcome 2: Improve the supply chain management process in VTB.
The IT department already has two employees improving the system by making small alterations that aim to keep the systems functional and processes operational. However, this has not yet adequately mitigated the issue. VTB required improved data integration and analytic tools that would simplify the performance of several business processes, such as coordinating marketing, forecasting, and production across the various product lines, to help it achieve its family-focused ‘comfort’ strategy (Gogan & Lewis, 2011). This would also enable the company to implement its strategy of cross-selling related products during Christmas, Mother’s, and Valentine’s Day successfully; thus, smoothing the peaks.
Ethics and Law
Strategic outcome: Adherence to the relevance of IT ethics and regulations
Strategic goal: Enhanced data protection strategies
Although VTB has good password management strategies, it should consider further strengthening the security of the system by installing firewalls and malware education, among others (Australian Cyber Security Center, 2017).
Strategic goal: Adherence to intellectual property law
There should be a formal policy restricting the modification of software by application developers.
References
- Australian Cyber Security Center. (2017). Strategies to mitigate cyber security incidents. Australian Cyber Security Center. Web.
- Gogan, J. L., & Lewis, M. (2011). Peak experiences and strategic IT alignment at Vermont Teddy Bear. Journal of Information Technology Teaching Cases, 1, 61-70. Web.