Is Information Technology as vital to modern global business as money? Why or why not? Discuss some trends in IT development.

Ans:

In the world of globalization, Information system is such where data are collected, classified and put into process interpreting the result thereon in order to provide an integrated series of information for further communicating and analyzing. In a progressively more spirited worldwide atmosphere, Information System plays the role as ‘enabler and facilitator’, which endows with tactical values to the officialdom and

considerable step up to the excellence of administration. ‘An Information System is a particular type of work system that uses information technology to detain, put on the air, store, retrieve, manipulate or display information, thereby partisan one or more other work structure’. In totting up to taking sides assessment making, co-ordination and control, information systems may also help managers and workers investigate problems, envisage complex subjects and generate new merchandise or services. Information technology has

become the backbone of fortune 500 companies and many a great wonders in medicine. The capabilities of information systems required depend on the type of business. I am specifying information systems capabilities for Professional Services.

Key System Capabilities

Integration

The data and business processes of consulting organizations cross all phases of the engagement lifecycle: selling, planning, delivering, collecting and support. A system with real-time integration helps reduce the amount of manual entry, decreases IT costs, and helps the company to be more responsive to customers. A business system should leverage the tools consultants use on a day-to-day basis, such as Microsoft Office System and Microsoft Office Project, and they should have a flexible architecture, so it's easy to integrate with other tools, add-ons, and existing applications.

Reliability, Stability, and Security

Secure business computing is critical, and not only for the obvious reasons. When the clients know their data is in safe hands, it can be a competitive advantage for the company.

Global Capability

Capabilities such as multiple currency, multiple language, localization, and global customer support are critical for companies that cross, or want to be prepared to cross geographic, cultural, and business borders.

Simplicity and Ease of Use

A system with a single source for data entry, an intuitive user interface, and minimal IT overhead will shorten learning curves, create higher morale among your team, and allow to do more with less.

Project Planning and Scheduling

It's important to structure projects so they reflect the best practices of the firm, make sense to firm’s prospect, and ensure efficient use of resources. It's equally important that you collect resource and cost information and use it in your reporting. Critical path schedules help ensure the highest priority work gets done, and portfolio management capabilities help consulting firms identify trends and focus on the most critical projects.

HR Management

Competitive management consulting firms recruit, develop, deploy, and support their professional resources effectively. They have a complete understanding of the current and past skills and availability of staff and future scheduled demands including those in the sales pipeline. With such a view, one can assemble the skills most valued by the client and, thus, command good billing rates. And, with this view, firm can strategically hire, deploy, and develop resources that match the needs of project portfolio.

Risk Management

Clients have become wary of the risks inherent in consulting projects. A business software system can help the firm provide them with a choice among scenarios based on modeling of various risk trade-offs. A business software system can also help to configure workflow-driven approval processes and critical path schedules early on. Finally, it can help to configure automatic, exception-driven alerts so key decision makers see and respond to risk issues quickly without losing sight of them among less important details.

Portfolio Management

The ability to view and manage portfolios by various dimensions (such as practice area and industry) can help manage projects better. You can identify at-risk and under performing activities. What's more, analysis tools can provide insight into the performance of the overall portfolio by identifying trends and problem areas. And of course, insight into the portfolio and in particular, firm-wide scheduling of resources can help establish reliable plans during the bidding cycle.

Opportunity Management

Successful software and IT firms develop, gather, and integrate knowledge of their industry with knowledge of prospects and customers. They then leverage this knowledge in the management of those relationships. Thus, tight integration of e-mail, client account activity and history, opportunities, packaged offerings, proposals, quotes, orders, literature, contacts, appointments, tasks, and past projects is essential. It is also vital to be able to manage leads through a defined sales process with rules guiding automation of routing, notifications, approvals, and escalations.

Historical Information (for Profitable and Competitive Bids)

With customers forcing tightly competitive bids and insisting on shared risks, it's critical to forecast revenue accurately before submitting a proposal. One key to success is to maintain a rich repository of historical project information. Analytical tools can then be used to model alternatives. Integrating the proposal system with scheduling and resource management tools during the proposal phase can help ensure all scheduled work is included in the cost proposal. Rate modeling can help ensure rates are adjusted to reflect the risk of various proposal types, such as fixed price and time and materials.

Project Tracking

The ability of team members to share knowledge helps make projects run smoothly. A business software system that allows people to manage, track, and report on activities, even from distant locations, makes processes more efficient. Automatic alerts, automated workflows, and access to real-time, business-critical project data make for an efficient process. The right system can also help you get your customers to manage their part of the project effectively, using tools they already know like Microsoft Office and Web browsers.

Shared Documents and Collaboration

Portals help teams improve the quality and efficiency of collaboration. The ability to publish documents while controlling different versions makes it easier to collaborate.

Subcontracts

Clients often demand specialists with deep knowledge. Assembling the necessary experts required to win business often requires partnering with other firms. A business software system can help to track agreements and documents and change orders. Automate  payment controls can help to protect cash flow, track outstanding liabilities, and make payments contingent on deliverables. This helps to handle payment retention and pay when- paid scenarios.