[Note: This is a reply to Mr. G.'s thread in USEP-IC forum - Assignment 5: Based on your adopted organization(s), identify and discuss barriers in their IS/IT implementation...]
As I was beginning to recall our interview with the company we once had a conversation with regarding the risks associated with business and IS/IT change (you may check my previous post about the topic ), I was looking for some points where the company found some difficulties or obstacles in management and its implementation with regards to information system / technology.
Davao Light and Power Company started its business as early as 1973. And from that time on, there were remarkable changes in the aspects of office equipments (hardware and software components), human resources (workforce), and management system, to name a few. I could say that their company is able to address problems right away if there were any that may delay their operation. In their long years of service, I could say that the IT Services Group is really very observant on the various changes of IS components and its effects on the company processes. I could only notice some few barriers in Davao Light’s IS/IT implementation. Some of these are on the succeeding sections…
Primary on the list is the gradual increase of data being stored in the database(s) and/or the server(s). I think this is the most essential concern of the IT personnel in the company. As years go by, more and more customers are being served by Davao Light and this means that the data being processed by the servers is also increasing. Aside from that, the company is now developing each year and more departments are being added. That is why the company undergone many changes in hardware aspects to cater the needs of their clients and their employees as well. Their current back-end now is Oracle in place of the previous Clipper. The latter has been tested by years and it was a good programming language and database, yet it is not robust. I could still remember that our interviewee mentioned that as technology evolves, one thing the management is coping with is the business processes. “Your system must always be compatible with your business process,” our interviewee stressed. The system has to be adaptable.
But of course, changing and choosing the hardware and / or software component is not that easy and fast. Sometimes your system has only limited access to those who primarily operates on it. In this case, it is too secured that not most employees who need to obtain data from the database. There are instances that if your database system can hold as much data as you want to load yet it has low security. On the other side, one particular database has high security but has lesser memory capacity. Our interviewee stressed that in changing a system, one has to look for these points. The programmer has to weigh whether the company needs a system in which it has highly secured data but eventually would look for another database system or server after it reached its maximum limit in data storage since it is not that large, only few people can access to it; or, choose the system which can hold much larger data for many years but is not very robust. Security and convenience are the two main points to be looked after. Your current situation using the present system could be a barrier in IT implementation when it comes to the limit. The management could have started planning out some developments in the employees and clients’ side but cannot proceed directly into carrying out these operations since the system is compromised. Other potential barriers here come during the introduction and implementation of the new system. Of course with new environment and usage, some trainings and orientation has to be done for those employees (lower organizational level) who will be using the data stored on the database. Moreover, in spite of how big or small the changes are, the clients (e.g. customers) also have to be informed especially those who are patronizing the services of the company.
The second main point here is the issue of ‘piracy’ of the company’s IT personnel. Even before, there has been some depreciation in the number of top IT employees focusing on the IS department. A number of system developers and engineers would give in to personal extra business from the outside. As time goes by, these employees would decide to leave the company for good so to seek greener pasture in other organizations. If there would be any current activity or system being developed by a certain programmer and/or developer, it will halt and another personnel has to be trained so to be in place of the programmer who left and continue his work. Instead of chances of rapid improvement of the system, the process may break-off or paused.
Another thing is the company’s Change Management System in which requests (for changes) being passed will be redirected first to it for evaluation. I must admit that this is beneficial to the company since whatever requests for changes will be assessed over and over to be sure of its future effects. But what I was thinking is, what about emergency matters requiring immediate attention? Will it be evaluated over and over again until the desired outcome is concluded? As we all know, time is very essential in IS/IT progress. The barrier here is that if there is urgent need for some amendments or modification of the system for emergency purposes, it will take time in assessment before it will be implemented.
In the other organization that my group had visited and interviewed previously, barriers in IT implementation has something to do with the fear of some disadvantages brought by the system’s components. Just like DC Tech Micro Services, our company from which we had our industry analysis of the role of internet in e-commerce and e-business, their payment system is not yet electronic or done online. Some establishments are now accepting online payments or using electronic payment systems (customers and clients can process their money payments through the internet and website of the company) in their sales. Internet, for the company, is the channel of distribution where they could advertise their company business, the operational side, and a means of communication by clients and customers. Their website helps in the promotion of their products and so customers can browse through it. But when asked about e-payment system, our interviewees said that they are still following the old and manual system of collection. I wonder why and just as I was about to ask, they stated a major disadvantage and that is in terms of security. In banking over the internet, you can not be sure of whether your customer is a real human anyhow. Although most online transactions in the present are happening widely, where a person’s credit card may be used, the customer’s basic information about his bank account is encrypted in the card as it traverses along the net. But even if this pertinent information about a person is encrypted, there are still wide cases where it is hacked. This major drawback, I should say, restrains the company from having this sort of online payment system.
The company follows the traditional way of collecting payments from its clients and customers. They still have sales personnel to do the jobs, and if their clients do not like to pay to sales collectors, they have the option to have it bank-to-bank. In e-commerce, as our interviewee would say, its disadvantage is, you can not trace a person’s income thus no idea of his capability to pay. Additionally, e-payments are prone to scam. Some widely used online ordering and cash-delivery systems always have glitches.
These opinions made me wonder of the company’s status in terms of information technology / system. I am also considering their reasons and I respect that. But it made me think too, that in the near future, more and more organizations would eventually venture into something like that (online payments) and being one of the pioneers in the industry they belong to, I think they should be on their way to weighing the circumstances and consider planning to have the said system implemented.
I think the barrier here is the fear of the disadvantages that they do not want to implement it – resistance to change. Maybe they are just focusing on the drawbacks that they still choose to have the old way. I have nothing against the old system, though. It’s just that I think we should try something different and new. I do not really mean we should try everything that is modern and unusual. But taking into account the competitiveness of the company in the industry, the above-mentioned demerits can be deliberately studied and simulated so to prevent from its possible security drawbacks. Glitches and weaknesses are just normal, but they can be avoided to have lesser unwanted outcomes. Besides, what is the use of the technology we are developing, using, and applying nowadays, right? Problems are dealt, and not to be avoided. Essential steps that should be taken are defining the effective system changes and interventions and establish procedural guidelines.
Oh, and by the way, if and then, they would be having this so-called online payment system, their sales personnel who will be doing the collection would find no more clients to collect for since customers will be paying online or bank-to-bank. Human resources will be affected. Of course, there would be lesser people needed to take charge of the payments especially the collection. Does that mean that these collecting agents would find no more jobs to do? Well…
I am sure that if not now, in the near future, companies would consider into having new applications to their systems. There may be some hindrance to its implementations and this may be due to its impact on the company’s human resources, the cost that may be cutting a large slice of the budget, and its possible disadvantages (since all have trial-and-error methods) along the way, but any organization can overcome it. As they say, ways to success, whether in business or not, is not only to find the key and keep it, but learning how to break the barriers in case somebody changes the lock. Chill!
Resources that may help:
The TriCentral Palliative Care Toolkit: Chapter 3: Building a Palliative Care Program: Identify barriers to implementation – and strategies to overcome them
http://www.mywhatever.com/cifwriter/content/22/4481.html
Legal Barriers to eGovernment by Florence de Villenfagne, CRID, University of Namur (Belgium)
As I was beginning to recall our interview with the company we once had a conversation with regarding the risks associated with business and IS/IT change (you may check my previous post about the topic ), I was looking for some points where the company found some difficulties or obstacles in management and its implementation with regards to information system / technology.
Davao Light and Power Company started its business as early as 1973. And from that time on, there were remarkable changes in the aspects of office equipments (hardware and software components), human resources (workforce), and management system, to name a few. I could say that their company is able to address problems right away if there were any that may delay their operation. In their long years of service, I could say that the IT Services Group is really very observant on the various changes of IS components and its effects on the company processes. I could only notice some few barriers in Davao Light’s IS/IT implementation. Some of these are on the succeeding sections…
Primary on the list is the gradual increase of data being stored in the database(s) and/or the server(s). I think this is the most essential concern of the IT personnel in the company. As years go by, more and more customers are being served by Davao Light and this means that the data being processed by the servers is also increasing. Aside from that, the company is now developing each year and more departments are being added. That is why the company undergone many changes in hardware aspects to cater the needs of their clients and their employees as well. Their current back-end now is Oracle in place of the previous Clipper. The latter has been tested by years and it was a good programming language and database, yet it is not robust. I could still remember that our interviewee mentioned that as technology evolves, one thing the management is coping with is the business processes. “Your system must always be compatible with your business process,” our interviewee stressed. The system has to be adaptable.
But of course, changing and choosing the hardware and / or software component is not that easy and fast. Sometimes your system has only limited access to those who primarily operates on it. In this case, it is too secured that not most employees who need to obtain data from the database. There are instances that if your database system can hold as much data as you want to load yet it has low security. On the other side, one particular database has high security but has lesser memory capacity. Our interviewee stressed that in changing a system, one has to look for these points. The programmer has to weigh whether the company needs a system in which it has highly secured data but eventually would look for another database system or server after it reached its maximum limit in data storage since it is not that large, only few people can access to it; or, choose the system which can hold much larger data for many years but is not very robust. Security and convenience are the two main points to be looked after. Your current situation using the present system could be a barrier in IT implementation when it comes to the limit. The management could have started planning out some developments in the employees and clients’ side but cannot proceed directly into carrying out these operations since the system is compromised. Other potential barriers here come during the introduction and implementation of the new system. Of course with new environment and usage, some trainings and orientation has to be done for those employees (lower organizational level) who will be using the data stored on the database. Moreover, in spite of how big or small the changes are, the clients (e.g. customers) also have to be informed especially those who are patronizing the services of the company.
The second main point here is the issue of ‘piracy’ of the company’s IT personnel. Even before, there has been some depreciation in the number of top IT employees focusing on the IS department. A number of system developers and engineers would give in to personal extra business from the outside. As time goes by, these employees would decide to leave the company for good so to seek greener pasture in other organizations. If there would be any current activity or system being developed by a certain programmer and/or developer, it will halt and another personnel has to be trained so to be in place of the programmer who left and continue his work. Instead of chances of rapid improvement of the system, the process may break-off or paused.
Another thing is the company’s Change Management System in which requests (for changes) being passed will be redirected first to it for evaluation. I must admit that this is beneficial to the company since whatever requests for changes will be assessed over and over to be sure of its future effects. But what I was thinking is, what about emergency matters requiring immediate attention? Will it be evaluated over and over again until the desired outcome is concluded? As we all know, time is very essential in IS/IT progress. The barrier here is that if there is urgent need for some amendments or modification of the system for emergency purposes, it will take time in assessment before it will be implemented.
In the other organization that my group had visited and interviewed previously, barriers in IT implementation has something to do with the fear of some disadvantages brought by the system’s components. Just like DC Tech Micro Services, our company from which we had our industry analysis of the role of internet in e-commerce and e-business, their payment system is not yet electronic or done online. Some establishments are now accepting online payments or using electronic payment systems (customers and clients can process their money payments through the internet and website of the company) in their sales. Internet, for the company, is the channel of distribution where they could advertise their company business, the operational side, and a means of communication by clients and customers. Their website helps in the promotion of their products and so customers can browse through it. But when asked about e-payment system, our interviewees said that they are still following the old and manual system of collection. I wonder why and just as I was about to ask, they stated a major disadvantage and that is in terms of security. In banking over the internet, you can not be sure of whether your customer is a real human anyhow. Although most online transactions in the present are happening widely, where a person’s credit card may be used, the customer’s basic information about his bank account is encrypted in the card as it traverses along the net. But even if this pertinent information about a person is encrypted, there are still wide cases where it is hacked. This major drawback, I should say, restrains the company from having this sort of online payment system.
The company follows the traditional way of collecting payments from its clients and customers. They still have sales personnel to do the jobs, and if their clients do not like to pay to sales collectors, they have the option to have it bank-to-bank. In e-commerce, as our interviewee would say, its disadvantage is, you can not trace a person’s income thus no idea of his capability to pay. Additionally, e-payments are prone to scam. Some widely used online ordering and cash-delivery systems always have glitches.
These opinions made me wonder of the company’s status in terms of information technology / system. I am also considering their reasons and I respect that. But it made me think too, that in the near future, more and more organizations would eventually venture into something like that (online payments) and being one of the pioneers in the industry they belong to, I think they should be on their way to weighing the circumstances and consider planning to have the said system implemented.
I think the barrier here is the fear of the disadvantages that they do not want to implement it – resistance to change. Maybe they are just focusing on the drawbacks that they still choose to have the old way. I have nothing against the old system, though. It’s just that I think we should try something different and new. I do not really mean we should try everything that is modern and unusual. But taking into account the competitiveness of the company in the industry, the above-mentioned demerits can be deliberately studied and simulated so to prevent from its possible security drawbacks. Glitches and weaknesses are just normal, but they can be avoided to have lesser unwanted outcomes. Besides, what is the use of the technology we are developing, using, and applying nowadays, right? Problems are dealt, and not to be avoided. Essential steps that should be taken are defining the effective system changes and interventions and establish procedural guidelines.
Oh, and by the way, if and then, they would be having this so-called online payment system, their sales personnel who will be doing the collection would find no more clients to collect for since customers will be paying online or bank-to-bank. Human resources will be affected. Of course, there would be lesser people needed to take charge of the payments especially the collection. Does that mean that these collecting agents would find no more jobs to do? Well…
I am sure that if not now, in the near future, companies would consider into having new applications to their systems. There may be some hindrance to its implementations and this may be due to its impact on the company’s human resources, the cost that may be cutting a large slice of the budget, and its possible disadvantages (since all have trial-and-error methods) along the way, but any organization can overcome it. As they say, ways to success, whether in business or not, is not only to find the key and keep it, but learning how to break the barriers in case somebody changes the lock. Chill!
Resources that may help:
The TriCentral Palliative Care Toolkit: Chapter 3: Building a Palliative Care Program: Identify barriers to implementation – and strategies to overcome them
http://www.mywhatever.com/cifwriter/content/22/4481.html
Legal Barriers to eGovernment by Florence de Villenfagne, CRID, University of Namur (Belgium)
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