TECH2300 Service and Operations Management in IT Case Study 2 Sample
Assessment Description
You are the CIO of the company and during the COVID pandemic the company’s business needs to move to online. The CEO comes to you as CIO of the company to request the draft of the SLA contract.
You have discussed with various partners in within your team and different areas of the business, and have identified the following areas as key concerns that needs to be addressed:
• Business relationship management
• Demand and capacity management
• Availability management
• Access and Security management
• Incident and problem management
• SLA review and future changes
Instructions
You, as the CIO of the organisation, need to produce a draft SLA to the CEO, which then will be used as drafting the final agreement between the company and system supplier.
Students must conduct research externally and included references in order to produce a well referenced case study. You should use at least ten (10) sources of information and reference these in accordance with the Kaplan Harvard Referencing Style. These may include websites, social media sites, industry reports, census data, journal articles, and newspaper articles. These references should be presented as in-text citations and a referencing list at the end of your assessment (not included in the word limit). Wikipedia and other ‘popular’ sites are not to be used.
The SLA would need to include the following questions:
Part 0 – Introduction
• Provide an introduction and brief overview of the software, and its strategic position of the software in the company.
o Note: You can select a suitable case study. You will need to provide these details and assumptions in this section.
Part 1 – Agreement Overview
• Provide an overview to the agreement (in the form of an Executive Summary)
Part 2 – Business relationship management
• Identify and list 4 strategic requirements and desired outcomes of the system.
• Define patterns of the business activity proposed with the system.
• Discuss the stakeholders included in the agreement.
Part 3 – Demand and capacity management
• Identify and explain key peak periods where the system may experience stress from excess demand.
• Identify the impact of inadequate management of system capacity during high demand times.
• Develop strategies to ensure sufficient capacity is maintained during times of high demand.
Part 4 – Availability management
• Identify key components affecting system availability.
• Discuss strategies for both the company and supplier to maintain the availability of service.
• Discuss how system upgrades and maintenance are conducted whilst minimising the unavailability of the system.
Part 5 – Access and Security management
• Discuss 4 key access control items within the system.
• Discuss key security risks within the system and identify responsibilities between both parties to manage these risks.
Part 6 – Incident and problem management
• Discuss responsibilities between both parties to manage and responds to incidents and problems.
Part 7 – Changes to SLA
• Discuss required intervals where the SLA is subject to review.
• Discuss the process where the agreement is subject to amendment.
• Discuss the responsibilities where the agreement is subject to review.
Part 8 – Reflection
• Reflect on the vendor-user relationship with the software to your company.
• Identify and explain the type of supplier would you categorise it and provide recommendations to the CEO on strategies to manage the relationship with the vendor.
Solution
Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the global business scenario with unprecedented challenges. All the sectors have faced the need to change during these extensive restrictions and regulations. Debenhams, one of the largest British departmental retail chains, has seen the need to change and go online. From a Chief Information Officer, steering through the financial crisis and transitioning to an online business model is aimed through SLA. In response to the CEO's demand, the SLA drafts the outline of the governing software, which will ensure the survival of Debenhams. The departmental chain was founded in 1778 and has a history of over two centuries (Molenaar 2022).
The organisation leveraged an integrated Enterprise Resource Planning or ERP system to operate online and navigate the crisis. The EPR system will ensure the integration and streamlining of various business processes, including inventory management, customer relationships and order fulfilment. An enterprise resource planning system is a complete software solution designed to streamline all the procedures inside the organisation. ERP brings all operations, including human resources, finance, supply chain management and customer relationships, into a singular system (Hu et al. 2021). The additional benefit of an ERP system is that it enables data-driven decision-making and real-time assessment of organisational performance. Thus, the ERP system is an all-in-one solution for transitioning online with minimal risks for university assignment help.
In the selected case scenario context, the Debenhams require the transition due to the decline and restrictions on its operation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed ERP system will work as the brain for the organisation, build connections and harmonise the organisation's operations, ensuring a synchronised and efficient workflow. The strategic position is essential in the Debenhams as it will facilitate the transition to an online business model and ensure the operation and future growth. The ERP system helps organisations to change swiftly according to the market and improve their resource allocation delivery and order management providing a seamless shopping experience to the customers.
Agreement Overview
The SLA for Debenhams' ERP system focused on the strategic essential requirements and outcomes. The focus is operational efficiency, enhanced productivity, customer experience, and security. Business patterns within the ERP system involve order processing, inventory management, and enhanced customer interaction. The shareholders, including IT, customer support and suppliers, are vital for its successful implication. The SLA aligns with minding the peak period and strategies like capacity management, availability access control and security to provide robust performance during the peak period.
Business Relationship Management
Strategic Requirements
The strategic requirements and desired outcomes for ERP are important for an organisation's success and effective transition. The below given points provide summarized view of the objectives of the SLA.
1) Operational Efficiency: The system will reduce manual intervention, along with the enhancement in the organisation's overall productivity, through improving operational efficiency.
2) Customer Experience: The ERP software should be designed for enhancement in the customer's online shopping experience, where this will ensure seamless interactions and satisfaction among the online retail landscape.
3) Scalability: The system should have the scalability to manage massive operations and adapt to the company's increasing online demands without compromising performance (Amini & Abukari, 2020).
4) Data Security: The online system brings potential risks to the internal and customer data. Assuring robust data security measures to protect customer information and maintain trust is crucial.
Business Activity
As Debenhams is a departmental store chain, the business activity patterns within the ERP system will include,
? Order processing: The company's order to the suppliers should be processed through the system with the information from the inventory, and the customers should be able to order smoothly.
? Inventory management: The system should be able to manage the inventory with real-time detail and data. The stocks must be reflected and managed through the system.
? Customer interaction: Through the ERP system, customer interactions should be smoother through the interactive approach and attractive communication methods.
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Figure 1: ERP Structure
Source: (GeeksforGeeks 2023)
Stakeholders
Stakeholders play a crucial role in the success of SLA agreements; in the context of the transformation of Debenhams IT, customer support and suppliers are the most crucial stakeholders for this ERP system (Mahmood, Khan & Bokhari 2020). These stakeholders must assign clear roles and responsibilities to implement the proposed ERP system successfully. A joint effort from all these stakeholders will ensure the proposed system's seamless integration and Debenhams's online transition will be smooth.
Demand and Capacity Management
The Key Peak Periods
The critical peak periods for the retail and departmental stores can be monitored using a retail Callander, this can help to strategies accordingly to utilise increased demand opportunities with special promotions and offers. The primary critical peak periods include Ester, Black Friday, Valentine's Day, Halloween, Mother's and Father's Day and Christmas (Sabanoglu, 2023). The most lucrative event, Christmas, takes up to a full quarter of the retail calendar, and the demand and sales increase drastically during this period.
.png)
Figure 2: Peak season spending in the UK
Source: (Sabanoglu 2023)
Impact of Inadequate Capacity Management
Inadequate capacity management, specifically during the high demand or key peak seasons, will impact the organisation in various ways,
? Insufficient internet traffic handling during critical peak periods will result in various inconveniences, including slow response time, website crashes and transaction failure, leading to potential customer dissatisfaction.
? An ERP system performing poorly in the peak period or high demand will result in missed sales opportunities and impact revenue generation.
? Customers experiencing difficulties during high-demand periods may provide negative reviews and feedback, damaging the organisation's reputation.
Strategies for Ensuring Sufficient Capacity
Seamless adaptation and responsiveness of the ERP system must be ensured through proactive measures like load balancing, cloud scalability, and efficient resource allocation. Load balancing distributes the traffic across multiple servers and thus reduces the chance of overload on a single server. Cloud scalability involves leveraging cloud resources, which can expand dramatically based on demand (Lee et al. 2022). This flexibility helps ERP systems during high-demand periods,
Availability Management
Key Components Affecting Availability
The key components influencing the availability of Debenham's ERP system include servers, network infrastructure, and third-party integration (Smart 2020). These three elements must function to maintain uninterrupted availability and delivery, ensuring customer satisfaction.
? The server is the computer system providing clients with resources, data, services or programs.
? The network allows the connection in the system from the customer’s end and organisation to the server.
? Third-party integration refers to the other suppliers and the other product distribution’s connection to the ERP system.
Strategies for Maintaining Availability
? To maintain undisrupted availability, collaboration between the supplier of the system and Debenhams is paramount.
? The implementation of a redundant system will ensure a stable mechanism.
? Proactive monitoring and real-time performance tracking will also help to identify issues swiftly and with instant resolution.
System Upgrades and Maintenance
The integrated ERP system requires strategic system upgradation and maintenance to minimise system unavailability (Domaga?a et al. 2021). These system upgrades and maintenance will improve the system's stability and help add new features and options. The upgrade and maintenance will require scheduled downtime, which will be selected during off-pick hours. The selection of off-pick hours will ensure minimal disruption and enhance the ERP's overall performance and reliability. The selection of off-pick hours for such upgradation and maintenance also showcases the organisation's commitment to maintaining optimal availability and a customer-centric approach.
Access and Security Management
Key Access Control Items
The four critical access control systems are user authentication, role-based access control, encryption, and multi-factor authentication (Omotunde & Ahmed, 2023).
? User Authentication is fundamental access control that allows individual users to verify their identity using credentials in the system. Debenhams should employ robust authentication protocols for the users to ensure the safeguarding of sensitive information against intrusion.
? Role Based Access allows access based on the assigned role within the organisation, therefore, the users are only allowed access to the necessary information and tools. This RBAC increases security and minimises the risk of unauthorised breaches.
? Encryption plays a vital role in protecting sensitive data while transmitting and storing. Advanced algorithms for encryption should be approached to encode information in Debenhams, ensuing unreadability without a corresponding decryption key.
? Multi-factor authentication enhances security by requiring the user to authenticate through multiple verification methods. The combination of traditional passwords along with one-time passwords will ensure the security of sensitive information from attackers.
Security Risks and Responsibilities
The transition to online brings multiple positive impacts. It allows operation in difficult times like the pandemic, but the most significant risk that comes with online transition is the potential security risks within the system. The system can be subject to data breaches or cyberattacks. Debenhams and the system supplier share risks to the ERP system. Debenhams bears the onus of implementing robust access control, employee training and regular security audits. The system supplier should ensure the inherent security features and proactive measures against cyber threats.
Incident and Problem Management
Debenhams' Responsibilities
? Debenhams must promptly report incidents or problems encountered in the system.
? The initial investigation to identify and address the issue is also part of Debenhams’ responsibility.
? Debenhams is tasked with communicating with the software supplier to report incidents and facilitate collaborative resolution.
System Supplier's Responsibilities
? The supplier is responsible for providing adequate technical support.
? The in-depth analysis of the incidents to identify the root cause falls beneath their responsibility.
? Continues improvement through upgrades through continuous collaboration with Debenhams is also the supplier’s responsibility.
Changes to SLA
Required Intervals for SLA
The required intervals for SLA review are essential as this allows the alignment of the system with the changes in the organisations. The SLA review is conducted at regular intervals, annually or biannually.
The SLA review allows the following benefits.
? The SLA review allows the system to adapt according to the changes in the Debenhams, in its business strategies, goals and market dynamics.
? The dynamic changes in technology are incorporated in the SLA reviews in periodic intervals, enhancing the security and adding new features.
? The regular SLA review also helps to assess the organisation's performance and the ERP system through KPIs, helping to continuous improvement.
? The SLA review brings both pirates together at regular intervals, enhancing collaboration and communication.
Amendment Process
The amendment process follows the following steps,
1. The identification of the amendment through discussion, review and requirement of both parties is conducted.
2. The agreement is attended to after understanding and aligning the interests.
3. The amendment is documented, specifying the affected SLA.
4. The legal and compliance review of the changes is conducted for adherence to regulations.
5. The approval process is initiated by both the parties, in this case, Debenhams and the system supplier.
6. Considering the timeline, resource allocation and potential impacts, a proper plan should be followed for the amendment.
7. Detailed information about the amendment is shared with the relevant stakeholders ensuring the transparency of the organisation.
Responsibilities for SLA Review
Debenhams’ responsibilities
? The first responsibility of Debenhams lies in the identification of the amendment needs.
? Secondly, active participation in providing insights on changing business needs is Debenham's responsibility.
? Thirdly, the documentation of the proposed amendments.
System Supplier’s responsibility
? Active participation in the SLA review process to understand the demand of Debenhams.
? We are providing technological expertise to suggest current trends and requirements (Ruivo et al. 2020).
? The alignment of the capability of the system and the proposed amendment.
? Transparent communication to share information about the proposed changes.
Reflection
Debenhams should initiate the SLA review, and both parties should effectively participate. The ERP software will build strategic partnerships with the system supplier of Debenhams and increase Debenhams’ efficiency. The successful online transition of Debenhams will ensure a long-term partnership with the system supplier.
Recommendation to the CEO
? Transparent communication between Debenhams and the supplier.
? Joint planning for SLA agreement will ensure the ERP's capability aligns with the business demand.
? Clear performance metrics to assess performance should be outlined in the SLA.
? Collaborative training for the Debenhams employees will ensure the utilisation of the ERP system to the utmost potential,
? Contingency planning for potential changes is a must ensuring both parties are prepared for unexpected issues promptly.
References
Amini, M & Abukari, AM 2020, ‘ERP systems architecture for the modern age: A review of the state of the art technologies’, Journal of Applied Intelligent Systems and Information Sciences, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 70-90. retrieved 18 January 2024, http://journal.research.fanap.com/article_111141_81996cb945e1fb3f8c0276afca721c30.pdf
Domaga?a, A, Grobler-D?bska, K, W?s, J & Kucharska, E 2021, ‘Post-implementation ERP software development: Upgrade or reimplementation’, Applied Sciences, vol. 11, no. 11, p. 4937. retrieved 18 January 2024, https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/11/4937/pdf
GeeksforGeeks 2023, retrieved 18 January 2024, https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/introduction-to-erp/
Hu, KH, Chen, FH, Hsu, MF, Yao, S & Hung, MC 2021, ‘Identification of the critical factors for global supply chain management under the COVID-19 outbreak via a fusion intelligent decision support system’, Axioms, vol. 10, no. 2, p. 61. retrieved 18 January 2024, https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1680/10/2/61/pdf
Lee, K, Kim, J, Kwak, J & Kim, Y 2022, ‘Dynamic multi-resource optimisation for storage acceleration in cloud storage systems’, IEEE Transactions on Services Computing, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 1079-1092, doi: https://doi.org/10.1109/TSC.2022.3173333
Mahmood, F, Khan, AZ & Bokhari, RH 2020, ‘ERP issues and challenges: a research synthesis’, Kybernetes, vol. 49, no. 3, pp. 629-659. retrieved 18 January 2024, https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Faisal-Mahmood-17/publication/337905839_ERP_issues_and_challenges_a_research_synthesis/links/5f6c7972299bf1b53eeddb60/ERP-issues-and-challenges-a-research-synthesis.pdf
Molenaar, C 2022, Demand-driven business strategy: digital transformation and business model innovation, Routledge.
Omotunde, H & Ahmed, M 2023, ‘A Comprehensive Review of Security Measures in Database Systems: Assessing Authentication, Access Control, and Beyond’, Mesopotamian Journal of CyberSecurity, vol. 2023, pp. 115-133. retrieved 18 January 2024, https://journals.mesopotamian.press/index.php/CyberSecurity/article/download/109/113
Ruivo, P, Johansson, B, Sarker, S & Oliveira, T 2020, ‘The relationship between ERP capabilities, use, and value’, Computers in Industry, vol. 117, p. 103209. retrieved 18 January 2024, https://run.unl.pt/bitstream/10362/93405/1/The_relationship_between_ERP_Capabilities.pdf
Sabanoglu, T 2023, Christmas total retail spending forecast Europe 2023, retrieved 18 January 2024, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1063481/christmas-spending-in-european-countries/
Smart, J 2020, ‘Sooner Safer Happier: Antipatterns and Patterns for Business Agility’, IT Revolution, retrieved 18 January 2024, https://itrevolution.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/SSH_audio-companion_102620_r1.pdf
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