Ask Question, Ask an Expert

+61-413 786 465

info@mywordsolution.com

Ask Software Engineering Expert

Part A:

problem 1: What will you advise that your organization uses open source software and why?

problem 2: Why is it significant for business managers to have a basic understanding of the software development process?

problem 3: Recognize some of the merits and demerits of purchasing software versus developing software.

problem 4: describe how your organization uses information systems (state the name of your organization in your discussion).

problem 5: Why do you think knowledge management is so admired today? What advantages can it offer your company?

Part B:

Read the case below and answer all the case problems which follow;

‘Segway Stays Light and Nimble with Outsourced Systems’

Dean Kamen holds more than 150 US and foreign patents related to medical devices, climate control systems and helicopter design. In 2001 he developed a business to manufacture and market a ‘human transport’ device which he believed would revolutionize travel. The Segway, Human Transporter (HT), Kamen declared, ‘would be to the car what the car was to the horse and buggy’.

While the device has been a bit slower in taking off than Kamen had hoped, it has captured the attention of the media and transportation industry analysts. The two-wheeled, Segway Human Transporter (HT) employs a unique patented ‘dynamic stabilization’ technology.

With the help of optimistic investors, Segway hired a seasoned CIO to design the information systems for the new company. Patrick Zilvitis, who was CIO at The Gillette Co. before leaving to work part-time for Segway, decided that this unique company needed a unique approach to information management. Zilvitis said in an interview that when he joined the company in fall 2000, he quickly decided that outsourcing would be the wisest path for a start-up that had a minimal IT infrastructure. He thought that would be the best method to hold down its technology costs.

Zilvitis thought that it would be a costly mistake for Segway to build a traditional data center and hire a big dedicated IT staff – a mistake that would slow the company’s growth. Rather, he decided Segway must use software under a hosted environment that could grow with the company’s needs. Outsourcing ‘allows us to upsize or downsize our IT infrastructure as needed’, noted Scott Frock, Segway's director of finance. ‘For a small-to-medium-size company, there are a lot of benefits.

Outsourcing as well lets companies like Segway avoid up-front investments in servers, software, and technical support staffers, said Terry Jost, a Dallas-based consultant at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young LLP.

Before Zilvitis came on board, Segway had been using Intuit Inc.'s QuickBooks accounting software. To support the company’s expansion, Zilvitis believed that it must upgrade to either an accounting package designed for small and midsize businesses or a larger system that it could grow into. The company decided to look for a larger system to avoid a ‘painful and expensive’ conversion down the road.

After evaluating software from Oracle and SAP AG, the company selects an uncustomized version of an Oracle suite geared to small manufacturers. The system comprises manufacturing and order-management modules in addition to the finance applications. Workers at Segway's headquarters and its manufacturing plant access the software through Windows 2000 PCs.

Additionally, Zilvitis selects a finance system hosted by Fremont, California-based Appshop Incorporated, which manages the Oracle applications from a Sprint Corporation data center in Denver. Therefore Segway’s information system comprises components supplied by three different vendors in three different parts of the country.

Three years after the system’s implementation, Segway is reaping the benefits of the larger Oracle system. The company recently upgraded to a latest version of its Oracle system and added software that will let workers at its customer service partner, Frazer, Pennsylvania-based DecisionOne, access product warranty data and other information via Web browsers. The Oracle system has made the integration and expansion a breeze to implement.

Maintaining data and systems off-site has presented some unanticipated telecommunications costs and savings. To speed up the data from the application service provider to Segway’s headquarters and manufacturing plant, Segway replaced its private branch exchange switches with voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) equipment costing ‘considerably less than $20,000’, Zilvitis said. He added that the transition to VoIP has provided some benefits, comprising the capability to set up low-cost switchboard extensions for remote employees, extra voice and data bandwidth for future growth, and cheap yet reliable connections to Sprint's data center. For ex, Segway's Internet connection to Denver costs the company $1,000 to $2,000 per month, compared with the monthly tab for a T-1 connection that would have been $10,000 to $12,000, he said.

By outsourcing its systems, Segway has been capable to focus on its product instead of data centers, servers, and an extensive IT staff. Rather, the company relies on one part-time, veteran CIO to manage its outsourced resources. As the future of the company is uncertain, it makes sense for Segway to choose a solution that is flexible, nimble, and can turn on a dime – just like its product.

Case problems:

problem 1: What benefits is Segway enjoying by outsourcing its information infrastructure and services?

problem 2: What benefits can a company gain by managing its own information infrastructure and services?

problem 3: What factors might persuade a company to outsource its IT infrastructure and services?

problem 4: What frustrations do you think Segway endures in dealing with the outsourced vendors?

problem 5: Discuss how your own organization can take benefit of outsourcing its IT systems/functions. In your discussion state what can be outsourced and what benefit will be gained. Do you think your organization can or might face any risks as a result of this outsourcing activity?

Software Engineering, Computer Science

  • Category:- Software Engineering
  • Reference No.:- M9522

Have any Question? 


Related Questions in Software Engineering

Write review on this article with apa formatalthough

Write review on this article with APA format. Although computer crimes are being seen in our society more and more each day, it is still difficult to prosecute people who commit these crimes mainly because everything is ...

Overviewyou are required to modify and logically extend

Overview You are required to modify and logically extend the functionality of a provided code base to implement a game. This requires you to modify the code base as well as create documentation and implement various user ...

In this assignment you will answer the following review

In this assignment, you will answer the following review questions from the reading materials of the module/week. 1. "What are the key components of a typical P2P application? Describe their functions." 2. "What are the ...

Proposaldesign of an efficient gps tracking system tag for

Proposal Design of an efficient GPS Tracking System (tag) for monitoring small species IMPLEMENTING EMBEDDED SYSTEMS USING SYSML Task Using PapyrusSysML Software (Downloadable online - Evaluation Copy- Latest Version) Mo ...

Address the following integrating biblical perspectives

Address the following, integrating biblical perspectives where appropriate: Define a hate crime and describe how white supremacist groups use the Internet to spread their message of hate. Explain why hate crime legislati ...

The research paper for this course is about some of the

The research paper for this course is about some of the best sources of digital evidence for child abuse and exploitation, domestic violence, and gambling according to the National Institute of Justice. Research commerci ...

Write review on this article with apa formatgovernment

Write review on this article with APA format. Government surveillance is a major issue in the United States and globally. Surveillance refers to any collection and processing of personal data, whether, identifiable or no ...

Assignment part 1objectives to learn to identify the

Assignment Part 1 Objectives: To learn to identify the relevant use cases for a given application, describe the use cases and develop an object-oriented domain model. Problem Statement - Standing Orders Management System ...

In this assignment you will answer the following questions

In this assignment, you will answer the following questions related to Android platform and Android security design. 1. Describe Android architecture in detail by explaining the four conceptual layers. 2. Describe Androi ...

Instructionsprivacy-preserving data miningdata mining

INSTRUCTIONS PRIVACY-PRESERVING DATA MINING Data mining technology can be exploited to reveal sensitive information from the original data. Thus it is important to preservethe privacy of the parties that the data refer t ...

  • 4,153,160 Questions Asked
  • 13,132 Experts
  • 2,558,936 Questions Answered

Ask Experts for help!!

Looking for Assignment Help?

Start excelling in your Courses, Get help with Assignment

Write us your full requirement for evaluation and you will receive response within 20 minutes turnaround time.

Ask Now Help with Problems, Get a Best Answer

Why might a bank avoid the use of interest rate swaps even

Why might a bank avoid the use of interest rate swaps, even when the institution is exposed to significant interest rate

Describe the difference between zero coupon bonds and

Describe the difference between zero coupon bonds and coupon bonds. Under what conditions will a coupon bond sell at a p

Compute the present value of an annuity of 880 per year

Compute the present value of an annuity of $ 880 per year for 16 years, given a discount rate of 6 percent per annum. As

Compute the present value of an 1150 payment made in ten

Compute the present value of an $1,150 payment made in ten years when the discount rate is 12 percent. (Do not round int

Compute the present value of an annuity of 699 per year

Compute the present value of an annuity of $ 699 per year for 19 years, given a discount rate of 6 percent per annum. As