Case Study: IT Planning at ModMeters
Organization Setup:
Major Issues/Problems Identified:
North American operations to grow as global operations. The plan involves expanding business in Asia and Eastern Europe
Locations in Asia & Eastern Europe lack required infrastructure
IT budget allocation within the organization is tightly controlled
Setting up direct customer sales
Existing IT systems do not talk to each other and it’s alarming during company’s expansion
Marketing & HR budget was hardly anything
Huge budget allocation to manufacturing department
Recommendations:
Improper allocation of funds, since manufacturing department’s performance exceeds expectations, as a next step manufacturing department’s budget can be brought down during the expansion period
Detailed feasibility study needs to be done in Asia & Eastern Europe where infrastructure lack
For direct customer sales, local survey has to be done before going on field
A complete database architecture has to be developed, so that the system can talk to each other to avoid any IT dependency time lag
Business expansion has to be supported with some extra funding on marketing and HR for hiring new employees and advertising
Responses to End of Case Questions:
Question: Develop an IT planning Process for ModMeters to accomplish the demands as set out
Answer: An effective IT budget process promotes accountability and establishes spending guidelines for IT purchases. Alternatively, a poor IT budgeting process can cause companies to invest in technology that adds layers of complexity or results in a lack of investment in technology that might be critical to operations. Also, a poor IT budget can create disconnect between the IT department and all other departments leading to failed technology implementations and to technology purchases that might not be a best fit for the company’s growth.
The following KPIs shall be included in the IT planning...