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Case Study Scenario A privately-owned creative industries company, Smiling Penguin Industries (SPI), has recently raised a large volume of capital in order to invest in ICT in order to meet the demand of its services

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Case Study Scenario

A privately-owned creative industries company, Smiling Penguin Industries (SPI), has recently raised a large volume of capital in order to invest in ICT in order to meet the demand of its services. Using the latest in smartphone and tablet technology and leveraging off-location services, a new product has been launched which is called TellMe.

TellMe is being marketed as the terrestrial equivalent of the fictional Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (H2G2). In effect, the application (available on all smartphone and tablet platforms) gives users condensed, highly accurate information on just about any topic a traveler might need - even if Internet connectivity is unavailable. This information includes basic maps, transport options, details and ratings of venues providing food and accommodation, helpful hints about points of interest and locale events, medical and legal information, and alerts to civil unrest or natural disasters.

Being location-aware, the application downloads and caches information that might be needed about the current locale when Internet connectivity is available. TellMe tracks and monitors where users are in order to populate the application cache with most of the relevant information. Furthermore, the application monitors and learns from the type of information the user requests. This information is stored and analyzed by servers that the TellMe application communicates with.

Like the fictional H2G2, TellMe accepts updates from contributors in order to keep its information accurate. Employing an open wiki style approach to content editorial, users of Tellme also effectively become content providers. While the application is primarily client-server by design, SPI is also interested in deploying P2P version that enables users in close proximity to share information about food, accommodation, current events, and travel attractions.

Until recently, TellMe was limited by the requirement for constant Internet connectivity in order to provide information. It had operated as a reasonably popular travel application on IOs and Android platforms, acting as a review and feedback site primarily for food and accommodation venues (for example, TripAdvisor). Income was derived from advertising on both its mobile application and on the parent website. However, developments of location awareness, coupled with information compression, caching technologies, and data mining led to the release of a paid, subscription-based version of the application. TellMe proved to be a success and in the first year, the number of users increased by ten times. While the success is welcome, the resulting impacts on SPI have required a significant review of the ICT and IS organizations.

The organization faces six key challenges:

1. Network Infrastructure and Services: SPI had traditionally operated from a single location in Sydney. However, the single corporate office model is not sustainable or scalable. SPI has employed staff at locations all over the world, with corporate offices now in New York, Hong Kong, London, and Reykjavik. These offices need high-speed reliable connectivity to support voice, video, and data exchange. Various ad hoc solutions and services are in place, but both the design and requirements of intranet connectivity need to be addressed. A second, and perhaps more pressing issue, is that SPI has also reached the data throughput limits on the single network link it has to the Internet from its Sydney office. This is a result of user demand for the service.

2. Internal system process: SPI operated traditionally with less than 20 staff, mostly technical. Human Resource and Financial systems were virtually non-existent as these functions were handled externally. All other systems were effectively technical in nature and revolved around code management and data management. As a growing organization, SPI may need other systems to continue to offer services and remain competitive.

3. Data management and service delivery: As a small organization, SPI managed data in a very ad hoc manner. Backup and recovery solutions were in place, but these are now simply too small for the volume of data that TellMe is creating. Moreover, SPI operates from a single data center which is both limited by connectivity and the number of servers that can be accommodated in the physical environment. Given the growth in demand, a scalable approach needs to be found for storing and retrieving data and providing the server-side services that the TellMe client requires. 4. Security and Privacy: Until now, SPI has considered itself too small to really worry about data security and privacy. However, given the nature of TellMe, its executives are concerned about their liability and responsibilities, especially as they operate over multiple jurisdictions. It has also been suggested that the data they store has immense value and poses significant risks if illegally obtained and misused. 5. Risk: SPI hasn't focused on risk before. Now that it has a valuable product, anything that could negatively impact service delivery needs to be identified. 6. Future: While you can't predict the future, you can look at the trends and technologies coming over the horizon. Until now, SPI has been focused on delivering TellMe using current technologies. However, they are aware that their window of opportunity will close unless they adapt and remain useful. As such, they need to make an inventory on emerging technologies and consider how they could be leveraged to improve their TellMe application and service.

4. Security and Privacy: Until now, SPI has considered itself too small to really worry about data security and privacy. However, given the nature of TellMe, its executives are concerned about their liability and responsibilities, especially as they operate over multiple jurisdictions. It has also been suggested that the data they store has immense value and poses significant risks if illegally obtained and misused.

5. Risk: SPI hasn't focused on risk before. Now that it has a valuable product, anything that could negatively impact service delivery needs to be identified.

6. Future: While you can't predict the future, you can look at the trends and technologies coming over the horizon. Until now, SPI has been focused on delivering TellMe using current technologies. However, they are aware that their window of opportunity will close unless they adapt and remain useful. As such, they need to make an inventory on emerging technologies and consider how they could be leveraged to improve their TellMe application and service.

 

Task:

You have been engaged as a technology consultant. You have been asked to address the questions below in order to provide SPI with advice about the current state of ICT in their organization and what changes or steps they should be taking to make more effective use of it. Answer the following questions in the context of a case study:

 

1. How can SPI better position itself to meet the growing demands on its network and server infrastructure? Discuss and address the following: • The current infrastructure problem faced by SPI

• Examples of important infrastructure decisions that SPI faces

• Examples of information/questions that will inform the decision-making process

• Examples from the real world of solutions or technologies that may solve the problems you have identified

 

2. What IS technology should SPI consider investing in? In answering, discuss and address the following:

• The current limitations of Information Systems in SPI

• Examples of important IS that may be required now and in the future. Justify your choice of systems and discuss how they would add value to SPI as an organization.

• Examples of information/questions that will inform the decision-making process surrounding the adoption of such systems.

• Examples from the real world of Information System that may solve the problems you have identified.

 

3. What security and privacy challenges does SPI face? Discuss and address the following:

• Identify data and systems that face security threats. Explain the potential avenues of attack and the potential results of a security breach.

• Identify technology or countermeasures that may mitigate or limit the risk of a successful attack.

• Discuss potential privacy issues surround data used and obtained by TellMe.

 

4. What future trends and technologies could affect the organization and the TellMe product.

• Identify and describe trends and technologies that could have a positive effect on SPI and TellMe. Explain how they would be useful?

• Identify and describe trends and technologies that could have a negative effect on SPI and TellMe. Explain how they would be posed risk?