Information Systems Strategic Business Planning

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Contents

SWOT analysis:        

Information Systems Strategic business planning        

Information Systems Assessment        

Information systems vision        

information Systems guidelines        

(1) Organization        

(2) Technology        

Strategic initiatives        

SWOT analysis:

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Information Systems Strategic business planning

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Information Systems Assessment

When we look at the current IS structure, Stellex system take the most important role in Outrigger existing infrastructure. It was introduced in 1987 as a COBOL application with 24/7 uptime. Later in 1992, it has been upgraded to version 2.0 named as Stellex, this version 2.0 was introduced by Outrigger which ran on Sun Microsystems UNIX platform and provided revenue management functionality and reservation center support. The back-office operations supported by JD Edwards ERP system as a foundation. While have this kind of centralized IT infrastructure, competitive advantage is achieved as a result.Centralized IT systems is able to be accessed by the all of the properties in the Hawaiian Islands.

Stellex provided the anchor to which all other operational systems connected, including telephone switches, call accounting, and in-room entertainment. Outrigger did not extend this centralized model to its operations in Australia and Pacific, due to the high telecommunication costs to and from Hawaii and the unreliability on the international networks. standalone Property Management Systems (PMS) is the only option for the properties in Australia and New Zealand. None of the properties in Hawaii had a server on property and these other regions used standalone PMS's and on-property reservations.There are IT professional engaged in interfacing off-the-shelf applications and writing customized reports with minimal application development.

There is outsourcing project in place but only limited to the Web site that was developed. The project is hosted by third party in Portland, Oregon. However, to maintain the integration of the direct channels, Stellex served as the booking engine behind Outrigger's Web site. The development of electronic interfaces with wholesalers was considered a key initiative and was custom-developed by the firm's IT group using XML. As a result, there are real-time electronic interfaces for wholesalers for check availability, getting reservations instantaneously, to provide automate billing and invoices, and reduce the estimated costs. Unfortunately, there are number of wholesalers were not interested since of Outriggers didn’t share enough percentage of business.

For a data mart and analytical area, there is a business intelligence software acquired from E.piphany and the application ran on Windows 2000 platform In 2001. the database could hold data for up to 3 years, which also able to get consolidated for aggregate analyses. Outrigger could better use the data for marketing and operational analysis as well as incorporate information into their daily operations with improved efficiency and service to their customers. For e.g. forecasts and generate business intelligence. On hardware side, the hardware support was contracted out to local vendors. The senior executives fully support the IT function and hope they can enable the firm to compete effectively and that they were operating more efficiently than their competition. Outrigger is really aggressively and it is expanding. They should start looking for an integrated solution for their international properties. The IS group felt that their legacy ERP, integrated PMS/CRS, and electronic interfaces with distribution partners was serving the firm quite well. They need to re-evaluate the role of Stellex after a failed migration project for the connection to modern platform. Which aims to simplify connectivity with the other standalone system in another area.We can see the organization do not provide enough formal technology training. There on on-the-job training for software applications is the current option. This will make difficulties on the handover activities and orientation training for new hires.

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