It Planning at Modmeters

CS 10

IT Planning At ModMeters

1. Develop an IT planning process for ModMeters which will accomplish the following:

• It will need to take an enterprise perspective on IT.
• It will have to incorporate all types of IT initiatives (new strategies, new IT to operate and improve our existing business, new auditing needs, and operations and maintenance support needs)
• It must find a way of allocating some of the budget to fixing the mess they have in IT right now.
• It must provide a better way to connect new IT work with corporate objectives.
• It must help prioritize projects with different types of value.
• It must ensure they have the business and IT resources in place to deliver sustainable value.

The IT planning process for ModMeters needs to encompass the needs of the entire enterprise. It should be such that it incorporates all the needs of all the functional areas to ensure smooth communication and availability of checking any part of the process at any given point of time. Any functional IT planning process should be made as a perfect fit for any organization. It should supplement all the functional areas that are used for the development of the project. If the IT planning process is not made to on an enterprise wide basis, then there will be some missing functional areas. These areas might not seem to be important in the beginning, but, eventually, there will be a need for them without which the project would suffer. It might also happen that an IT project is suffering due to the fact that there is some missing component. If the IT planning process is not made take an enterprise wide perspective, then ModMeters will miss the opportunity to offer guidance and a clear mandate to the IS of the enterprise. The consequence will be a lack of effort and direction that will eventually degrade the services and reduce the market share of the company. If the It planning process is based on an enterprise wide view then, every professional will have to work together to ensure that the project is smoothly running. Everyone will not worry only about their inputs and participation but will also have to worry about the inputs and the work by the other professional working on the project as the success of the project and the enterprise will depend on a group effort. This aspect defines the success of the company and the project as every individual is collectively responsible for the critical success of the firm and its projects.

The IT planning process will need to incorporate all types of IT initiatives so that the market standing of the firm does not suffer. If there are hardworking professional who want to increase their standing in the firm, then they need to be taken into consideration. The strategies of the firm will dictate its future. The strategies that are to be used by the firm need to be competitive in nature to gain competitive advantage by adding value to their projects or initiatives. If new strategies are not appreciated or used, then the firm will stagnate in its position in the market and sooner or later its standing will fall down as there will be tough competition who have better IT/IS/ better strategies. The new strategies that can be considered need not be novel or completely new in nature. They can also be based on the strategies being used by the competitors in the market or can also be based on future market and competitor predictions. The firm that has the best strategies that work correctly, will gain a great advantage in the business. The professional working at ModMeters should be encourage to think and develop new strategies that can either be based on the market, customers, the projects of the firm or even some new strategy that would revolutionize the firm. Alongside the incorporation new strategies initiatives, the IT needs to revamped to improve existing business. The IT is always changing and keeps getting updated in the market. Although it is necessary to incorporate new IT, it does not mean that new IT should be used just for the sake of IT. This is one of the secrets of a great organization. The firm needs to make sure that the IT used is correct and exactly what the firm needs. With the help of new IT, the entire standing of the firm changes. With the advent of introducing new strategies and IT, there is the need to initiate, perform and maintain newer auditing needs. Audits are a very important aspect for the proper functioning of any firm. If used correctly, it will help the firm to reduce costs and capitalize on its gains. Auditing leads to the proper documentation of all the aspects of the company that affect its balance sheets and also help in taxation. It will ensure the security needs of the firm as well. Even if new IT or strategies are used or not, there will be the perennial need for operations and maintenance support. The operating costs are the costs that ensure that the operations are running without any errors and any process or function will have the need of maintenance.

Even, there is the need for a governance structure that will be the framework of the company. The governance structure for the IS function should be the one that not only knows but also evaluates and records this risk. Any IT project is prone to failure. If the project is not handled correctly, then the organization as the whole will suffer. There are 5 main risks related to the governance structure that the board of directors must monitor and evaluate are IT Competence Risk, Infrastructure Risk, IT Project Risk, Business Continuity Risk and Information Risk.  Beyond these risks framework should ensure the use of IT resources aligns with strategy and priorities finalized by ModMeters. The IS of any organization is to achieve the business goals defined by the company. But, the main issue is the funding for the said Information Systems. There are some methods for providing funding with each having its own advantages and disadvantages. One such method is called the chargeback approach that stipulates that the billing of resources and services by the department be direct. It is based on the pay-per-use principle. The advantage is the fairness and the accountability created for the users and the IS. Another advantage is the degree of control awarded to the general and functional managers who can directly control their department's IS expenses. But such detailed costing will create direct and indirect expenses which includes the cost for auditing. The allocation method is similar in nature but bills directly the department that uses the resources based on more parameters like such as size, revenues, and number of users. The overhead method is the simplest approach as it treats the IS as a shared expense for the entire organization and draws on the overall budget.

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