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Identify the Benefits of Using Technology in Your Business

Written by Aiman ZouZou

Colorado Technical University Online

Master of Science in Management- IT Management

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In order for any company to survive in today’s market it must be adaptable for technology. Before implementing any technology, there is an important question that you must ask your self.  The question is what are the benefits of using this technology for your company? If this technology will meet the following benefits, it is worthy of being implemented:

• Provide job flexibility for the employees and managers such as: Web Access 24/7.
• Speed up the business process such as: easy data entry.
• Provide the manager with the tools and techniques that will help them in making  accurate decisions such as: generate sales analysis reports, etc.
• Make the job time for managers and employees more productive such as: Fast Data retrieval, etc.
• Increase the profit for the company.
• Improve the company’s image.
• Provide Customer satisfaction such as: providing online customer service.
• Provide User satisfaction such as: providing a friendly User’s Interface.

I will address a few important tips that companies and business people must follow before purchasing an application for the company.

There are three questions you must ask yourself before purchasing any application. The questions are as follows:

• What are the benefits of this application for the company?
• What functions will be provided by this application?
• How may I obtain this application?

The answer for the these questions are as follows:

First question: What are the benefits of this application for the company?

If the application will provide the benefits that I addressed above it is worth it to purchase or develop the application.

Second question: What functions will be provided by this application?

Conduct extensive interviews with managers/employees and ask them what their expectations of the proposed application are? How will the application help them in their daily job? Ask users and managers about their ideas and suggestions in regards to what functions that the proposed application should provide. By doing all of this it will give a clear idea about what functions are needed by the company. This will help in selecting the right application for the company.

Third question: How may I obtain this application?

We can obtain any application by:

• In-house application development.
• Outsourcing it.
• Purchasing a package software.

In-House:

Advantages:

• The developing team will be a good asset for any future upgrade or maintenance.
• The security of the company’s data will not be disclosed and kept within the Company.
• The confidentiality of the data and client’s privacy will not disclosed.
• This option is cost effective.

Disadvantages:

• It may be a tangible cost.
• It may take a long time to develop the application.

Outsourcing:

Advantages:

• The company does not need to worry about updating and maintenance for the application.
• The application development will be on time.

Disadvantages:

• It may be a tangible cost.
• The security of the company’s data will be disclosed to the contractor.
• The confidentiality of the data and client’s privacy will be disclosed to the contractor.

Purchase a package software:

Advantages:

• It may be a cheap solution.
• The company does not need to worry about updating and maintenance for the application. Usually this service is provided by the application vendor.

Disadvantages:

• The company must live with the existing features and functions.
• Any upgrade must be done by the application vendor.
• It is not customized for the company.
• The company will not have all the desired functions from the software because this application is controlled by the vendor, not by the customer.

There are many factors that play important roles in obtaining an application such as the company’s budget and expertise available in the company.

From my view point, if the company has the expertise or the budget to hire the expertise, I would highly recommend option #1, because it has many advantages and it is a good solution in the long run.