Competition - Competitive Advantage - and Clusters

Question: Discuss about the Competition, Competitive Advantage, and Clusters. Answer: Introduction Cloud computing is an internet based method of computing. The method uses internet to store and process data (Hayes, 2009). The cloud computing model provides storage, servers, computer networks and applications to users anywhere anytime. Cloud providers require users to subscribe and pay as they use the system. Cloud computing model is an alternative to premise in house supported model solution. The model increases computing capacity at a low cost and is easily accessible that contributes to increased efficiency in an organization. Change in Information technology system is a process of transitions from current undesirable model to a more effective model (Beynon et al., 2016). Change in this case involves transition from in-house supported model to cloud computing model. This following report addresses the feasibility of clouding computing model in Coles Supermarket business. The report will address the current situation that need to be changed by the new technological development in the IT industry. The report will also outline recommendations that will enable execution of strategies for the company to attain competitiveness. Coles Supermarket is a chain store in Australia. The company was started in 1914 by George Coles. The company has its headquarters in Melbourne. The company has 776 branches in Australia with more than 100000employeess. The company is currently managed by John Durkan as the Director. The company deals with retail on both supermarket outlets and online stores. The Company is owned by Wesfarmers. Current Situation The company is currently using premises in-house support solution model of computing. The company has heavily invested in EPR solution. The company also has a CRM solution system that does not support mobile. Coles uses IT system to input, process and store data in all departments of the organization. Suppliers use merchandising systems to transact with the company. The company has also used the IT system to create automation around the business operations. The following will be the success factors for Coles IT system; A low cost internet server A CRM solution that is mobile supported. Automatic updating IT system An online, flexible and secure IT system These factors will indicate that the clouding computing model is feasible for the company. Need for Change The need for change in Coles business is necessitated by three main factors; first, the existing EPR solution of the company requires a lot of support and maintenance by experts. The EPR is a major investment and requires periodic upgrade and regular maintenance. The system requires skills to support and maintenance skills that the company lacks. This has made the system expensive to maintain. Secondly, the company is still using the old CRM solution that does not support mobile phone interface. There has been an increase in internet access by use of mobile phone in the recent decade. Most people are using their mobile phones to check information or access services through the internet (Ratten, 2015). This factor necessitates a CRM solution system that can be easily accessed by a mobile phone and has automatic updates. Lastly, there has been hype around the internet of things. The IT industry has changed and other companies are adopting the change (Tari, 2014). The new technological developments have changed the environment of operations that create a need to change to offer value to the companys customers. Desire of the Manager to adopt new technological development Lack of premises in house Expert with skills to support and maintain EPR system Need to increase capability of the Companys IT to serve Mobile users Minimization of resources used in supporting a computing model Other competing organizations have adopted the new developments in Information technology and they are attaining a competitive advantage over Coles business (Huggins and Izushi, 2011). Increasing customers value The advancement in technology Strategic Plan The strategic plan will involve formulation of strategies and implementations of actions to enable establish feasibility and adoption of cloud computing model. The purpose of this strategic plan is enable understanding the current state of the company in terms of capabilities and opportunities and outline tactics that will enable the business maintain and increase sales in the market. The strategic plan will cover the following components; mission statement, objectives, SWOT, strategies and competitive advantage. The Mission statement of Coles Company is offering customers quality, service and value at affordable prices. The company aims to achieve quality in their produce and give customers best services that add value to their life. The objective of this strategic plan is to reduce investment in IT and enable quicker time market solution. This objective is expected to be met by replacing the current on premise in-house supported solution model to cloud computing model. The Coles SWOT analysis is as follows; The Company has strength in having resources, well established and has a large market share in Australia. Coles has a weakness of slow rate of adopting change, aging workforce and inadequate IT skills. The company has an opportunity of increasing its market share by reaching mobile phone customers. Lastly the company is faced by threats of increasing competitors in the retail and supermarket industry. The strategy for Coles business is to maintain its market share by offering its customers best quality, services and value. This strategy is to be enabled by adopting current IT system that creates a good interface between the company and its customers (Hunter, 2009). The competitive advantage of Coles Business is affordable prices to its customers. The company aims at attaining a competitive advantage by charging low prices. Lower prices attract customers thereby attaining a competitive edge (Onsarigo et al., 2017). Conclusion From the report, Coles Company is in need of a new computing model. The company needs to change in order to minimize it cost of operations and remain strategic in the industry. Changing to cloud computing model will reduce the company capital investments on IT system, enable automatic updates of the system and be competitive to other companies in the industry. The company will also have access to flexible server, Information recovery in case of disaster, document control, Security of system and be able to work from any point anywhere. Therefore, clouding computing model is a feasible technology in the company because it will enable the company to achieve it mission and meet its objectives. Recommendations Following the discussion on this report, I recommend the following; Coles Chain Stores should change it computing model to cloud computing for it the future of the Information technology industry. The system will also cut their operations cost. The company should also hire an expert who understands the cloud computing model to enable smooth transition and that the company full benefits from the model. References Beynon-Davies, P., Jones, P. and White, G. 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