DESIGNING INFORMATION SYSTEMS STRATEGY

Richardus Eko Indrajit
For modern companies, has a business strategy alone is not enough to beat the competition today. Ordinary business strategy set forth in the document or blueprint for Business Plan should also be equipped with information technology strategy or IT Strategy. The goal is clear, namely to make the optimum use of information technology as a key component of enterprise information systems (systems consisting of components for data processing and transmission of information to the processing functions related organizations).


Why does the strategy need to be made? The first is that resources are limited companies, so that should be used optimally. Secondly to improve the competitiveness or performance of the company, because the competitors have the resources the same technology. The third reason is to ensure that the information technology assets can be used directly or indirectly increase the profitability of the company, whether in the form of increased income or revenue or reduction biayabiaya or costs. strong> Fourth is to prevent excess investments (over-investment) or a lack of investment (under investment) in the field of information technology. And the last reason is to ensure that information technology is planned and developed really answer the needs of corporate business for information.
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What things that must be addressed and considered to produce an I / T is a good strategy? The picture above illustrates the broad framework of creating an information strategy for an organization like the company. Here is an explanation-explanation.

The desired output is a strategy that includes three main things:
Information System - is a clear definition and detailed in relation to the types of any information needed by the company and matters related thereto (the speed of data processing into information, the level of detailed information, how to display information, and transaction volume information, penangung said information, and so forth).
Information Technology - includes the components of the hardware (computers, infrastructure, communications equipment, etc..) And software (applications, operating systems, databases, etc..) That must be available to produce information systems that have been defined.
Information Management - concerning human device (brainware) which will implement the construction of information systems and develop information technology company in line with developments in the future.

For each domain or above the basics, will be analyzed and proposed several scenarios or options (options), where each scenario has each of the variables such as cost (costs), benefits (benefits), risks (risks), the effects (impacts), level of difficulty (complexity), constraints (constraints), and things related. Several scenarios are then presented in the meeting for the management leaders discussed in detail with the sole purpose to choose the best scenario. If making IT Strategy involves a third party such as consultants, for example, is a good idea of their objective opinions requested (recommended). Having successfully determined the best scenario, the final step is to make implementation plan based on project management (project management). Seeing that there will be development of a modular system, it must be distinguished from the projects short-term, medium term and long-term value is determined through the analysis of interest or priority. Schedule development of this project which will be hold in any development in information technology companies.

To produce high quality output with the above characteristics, many things must be done, regarding input (input) is needed by the teams making up IT Strategy and process analysis to be done. At least there should be five main inputs as a first step the preparation of IT Strategy
1.Business Strategy
2.Business Trends
3.Competitor Analysis
4.I / T Trends
5.Existing I / T

Business Strategy is a document that should be the primary foundation rests in the manufacture of I / T strategy as mentioned in the document's vision and mission and performance targets each of the functions in the organizational structure. Within this document also emphasized the role of information technology in accordance with corporate strategy (remember that for every kind of enterprise, information technology positions may be different), so the philosophy used in the development of I / T strategy should be in accordance with it.

Business Trends is everything related to the tendency of business patterns that will occur in the future in relation to a particular industry. For example in the financial industry such as banking, insurance, and securities. There is a tendency that in the future, the three business entities will be used to separate merged into a multi-function financial company where produkproduk and services provided may vary. Another example is the tourism industry involving transportation companies (land, sea, and air), hotels, tourist sites, amusement parks and so forth. Currently, each company is in business sendirisendiri path, but with the advancement in information technology and the phenomenon of the formation of strategic partnerships (strategic alliances) among several firms, the trend in the future will form a type of service company which combines the services usually performed companies in the tourism industry. Things like the above should be observed and learned to anticipate the changes that may occur in the short, medium, or long, which could affect the information technology infrastructure is there (because of changes in business orientation).

Competitor Analysis is an activity that must be remembered that the strategy was basically created because of the competition. The purpose of the development of information technology is to improve the performance of companies that can produce a product or service cheaper, better, and faster than the products or services produced by competitors. Thus clear that the purpose of holding the competition analysis of the business is to see how cheap, how well, and
how quickly the products and services offered by other companies so that it can be the benchmark targets.

Destination studied the I / T trend is to avoid mistakes in choosing the technology applied and developed in the company. Not all products classified as information technology well. With so many products on offer, more of us fail to survive in the market than successful. Companies must be able to do the sorting of any technology that is still in experimental stages or introduction (Infancy / emerging), the development (growth), stable (mature), and starting left (facing out). And of the many products, which are roughly going to be standard in the future. In addition to the above-mentioned objectives, see the trend in the development of information technology means that learning opportunities (opportunities) that can only enhance the company's performance in the future, both in increased revenue, decreased costs, or the possibility of new business development.
The last thing to be learned is the configuration and specification of the information technology company currently owned (Existing I / T). The main reason is because in essence the development of information technology in the future is built on the infrastructure owned by the current (baseline), rather than create something completely new (at least if it was decided to not use the existing infrastructure, it still needed a strategy for facing out).

After knowing the output and input is needed, the next stage are aspects that must be studied and analyzed as a basis for making recommendations platform suitable stretegi applied. Broadly speaking, there are two main aspects that must be observed: the internal aspects and external aspects.

On the internal aspect, there are four main things that must be analyzed:
1.Struktur Organization - learn the functions of whatever exists in the organization and how the relationship linkages between these functions;
2.Proses and Procedure - learn how to process and procedures for the creation of products or services offered by the company in detail;
3.SDM and Corporate Culture - study of human characteristics as applied Implementor enterprise system, especially the things that lay behind the establishment of corporate culture and
4.Sumber Power and Infrastructure Company - learning resource-owned resource companies such as asset, financial, human, information, time, and so forth.

Study the internal factors is necessary because of the fact that every company has its own uniqueness, which sets it apart from other companies. Please note that the strategy is basically how the resources meutilisasikan-owned resource companies so as to produce products or services in accordance with the desired target. On the external aspect, there are two factors that must be learned:
Products and Services (Service), which is the reason why a company was founded, because of the sale of products and services revenue is obtained to make a profit or advantage.
Market and Customers, which is a collection of potential buyers of products or services offered above.

This external aspect was studied because it is absolutely without any products and services sold on the market, the company will lose money and went bankrupt. What good has a sophisticated information technology but no one is interested in buying products or services? On the other hand, a lot of things that have proven that the involvement of information technology enables the creation of products or services that may be offered a new company or improving products or services that are already there. No closed there is a possibility that information technology can affect the markets and customers.

Why are these two aspects of the above should be studied in connection with the preparation of I / T Strategy? If further observed, only the components in the internal aspects that can be controlled by the company because they are owned by the company. While on the other hand, the components of the external aspects beyond the control of the company, so the company can only act in a passive and adaptive (with the assumption that there is no monopolistic practices). But the dilemma, it is the external aspect of the latter became so strong, that is the source of his company's death (remember terms such as market driven, customer oriented, customer is a king, service quality, etc.). Thus, specific strategies should be required to be able to anticipate any dynamic movement that may occur on the external components. The second thing worthy of study is that changes in the external components will change the internal components either directly or indirectly, because the internal components, information technology must be able to anticipate these changes.

In the end all the existing strategies should be implemented, not only made seketar dream can be realized may also not. For this purpose, should be appointed a person responsible for the implementation of the plan. For large companies, usually will be appointed a CIO (Chief Information Officer). The next CIO will be choosing the best people as members of the development team of information technology. Before the team was working on a blueprint that has been made, the CIO must first explain the vision and mission of the team, along with targets and performance measures (performance) who wants to achieve. The next CIO will invite the managers to attend a session where CIOs will present its plans to gain support. Calculated from that time on, began the journey in the implementation of information technology companies.