BA 471 Management Information Systems Workforce Topics; IT As An Investment

Workforce Topics  Mergers & Acquisitions & IT “Do more with less” Eliminate redundancy Streamline process Achieve “synergies” What does all that mean to technology?

Workforce Topics  IT Careers Consulting Support Development Sales Operations Project Management Network administration Security

Workforce Topics  Contractors and FTE’s Contractors as “staff augmentation”  Contracting firms “High level” consulting

IT As An Investment  Market forces and salaries Changing work levels Downsizing / “Right sizing” MONEY Magazine and Salary.com researched hundreds of jobs, considering their growth, pay, stress-levels and other factors. These careers ranked highest. 1. Software Engineer6. Market research analyst 2. College professor7. Computer IT analyst 3. Financial adviser8. Real Estate Appraiser 4. Human Resources Manager9. Pharmacist 5. Physician assistant10. Psychologist

Workforce Topics  Global Workforce What’s “flattening” the world?  Internet  Open Source Software  Talent & education in India, China  Search capability All promote COLLABORATION

Workforce Topics  Remember this? How does it help with onshore/offshore work? PhaseActivity InitiationDiscover, investigate problem; set goals PlanningStart planning; get money RequirementsAnalyze what's needed; write it down DesignDetermine how to meet what's needed Implementation/ ConstructionCreate, acquire, install TestVerify system meets goals, requirements MaintainMonitor, repair, evaluate, adjust, "care and feeding"

Workforce Topics  Virtual Team Organization – Tech Project example

IT As An Investment  ROI on IT Initiatives Calculating the cost of IT work  Planned revenue increases  Planned cost reduction Investment elements to consider  Internal Labor  Capital purchases (hardware, software) Depreciation  Consulting assistance  TCO

IT As An Investment  TCO includes: Training Additional labor to monitor, maintain Upgrades to infrastructure (HW, OS) Application enhancements, fixes SW licenses Support (Help Desk, Security, etc.) Expense or capital? For how long?

IT As An Investment  Financial Treatment of IT initiatives FASB Rules Alignment of FASB Rules with Project Life Cycle Financial adjustments when projects are CANCELLED Who “owns” financial reporting/ responsibility for IT initiatives?

IT As An Investment  Measurements of IT efficiency and success Financial return Project success  Cost  Schedule  Performance Quality

IT As An Investment  Balanced Scorecard: IT’s Role MBO: Management by Objective  Set Objectives for technology, technology organization  Monitor, measure and report, just like any other business process  Scorecard outcomes (positive, negative)

IT As An Investment Balanced Scorecard

IT as a Competitive Advantage  Five Forces Model SUPPLIER POWER THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES BARRIERS TO ENTRY BUYER POWER Degree of Rivalry