Information Technology Strategic Plan

Introduction

      Stone Bridge Corporation is a company based in the United States that provides broadband and telecommunications services. We are the largest wireless communications service provider in the United States since early 2012. The company is based at 2090 Avenue of the Commonwealth in Midtown Chicago in the State of Illinois. However, the company is incorporated in Nevada. The company operates in the ICT industry but specifically in the industry of telecommunications within the larger ICT industry. The company has specialized telecommunication services such as:

·         Fixed line telephony

·         Mobile telephony

·         Broadband Internet services

·         Fixed-line Internet services

·         Digital television products and services

·         Network services

·         Global Internet Protocol backbone network

Stone Bridge Corporation Mission Statement

            As one of the leaders in communications, Stone Bridge Corporation’s mission is to enable communication between businesses and people. We have also made it our commitment to provide full and open communication with our clients, employees, and investors.

Stone Bridge Corporation Vision Statement

            Our vision is to be the fastest and the most reliable network in the United States and beyond and to deliver reliable and efficient technological solutions required to achieve the Stone Bridge Corporation mission anytime, anywhere, timely, and on the budget.

Guiding Principles

            Below are the principles that will form the guide to the department of information technology and the company’s management in achieving the company’s information technology strategic plan, goals, and objectives.

·         Accountability: Own the outcomes of the business and use IT to achieve positive business outcomes. Everyone in the company will also engage in various technology initiatives and be responsible for actions and outcomes

·         Collaboration: We ensure early involvement of stakeholders to developing common understanding of the company’s issues and ensure they share in the objectives

·         Demonstration of strong leadership: We will seek to understand the business and objectives of the stakeholders while managing effective governance, communication, and decision-making

Current Technological Situation of Stone Bridge Corporation

            Stone Bridge Corporation is one of the best performing companies in the ICT at the moment. It has scooped several awards in the category of invention year after year. The company has had more inventions during this year more than any other. However, the company has started to bask in the glories of the years past and has not had any technological invention compared to other companies in the same industry. However, statistics and the recent study show that the company is still doing well.

            The company has lost its best technological brains to the rival companies due to the feeling of the company hitting the ceiling and cannot come up with any other new inventions. The company has also suffered a data breach cyber attack recently where it has lost more than half of the customers almost paralyzing the operations of the company. The data breach incident is an indication that the company requires better security measures. Additionally, the company needs to strategize itself in the market in such a way that it will be able to attract more customers thereby raising itself to standards it has always been known for.

Information Technology Roles and Justification

            The information technology roles at Stone Bridge articulate goals and objectives that will support the mission and vision of the company. The roles addressed below address the critical areas of focus and the change the company requires to start the venture of the business in gaining better traction of satisfaction and loyalty of the customer (Ackelsberg & Arlow, 1985).

Role 1

·         People and Culture: We will attract and develop a skillful IT staff to ensure long-term success of the mission

·         Justification: A technologically engaged staff that has a relevant set of skills invents innovative IT solution and engages each other in meeting and supporting the demands of the mission

Role 2

·         Innovative Technology: Transform the Stone Bridge Corporation workplace by giving the end users capabilities by enabling them to access data and company’s services anywhere and anytime

·         Justification: All the IT resources such as networks, data, and systems should be available to the right people at the right time, and in the right places to improve the execution of the mission. The employees of Stone Bridge Corporation are secure, mobile, and interoperable

Role 3

·         Service Delivery: Develop a mechanism for continuous improvement of the business process for transparency, decisions driven by data, and continuous delivery of quality IT capabilities

·         Justification: IT services cannot operate without service level agreements. Incorporation of IT in the business processes help to transform the business from the traditional service provider to new models. This includes transparency and billing based on consumption

Role 4

·         Cyber security: We will empower Stone Bridge Corporation and its partners to have secure IT systems and networks while keeping ahead of emerging cyber threats

·         Justification: IT systems and computer networks require proactive management and monitoring to identify their weaknesses and maintain compliance with the industry’s best practices. Strategies based on risk will be in place to enable transition to rapid changes in landscape of a threat

Role 5

·         Governance and Accountability: Improvement to the IT environment through improvement of IT governance and accountability

·         Justification: Enterprise management practices and IT governance drive the process of decision making into efficiency maximize the value of the investment and IT support to have successful outcomes of the mission. There is a clear determination of roles and responsibilities that ensure there are transparency and accountability.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

            Strengths have featured that help to enhance and improve the competitive advantage of the companies. The following are strengths of Stone Bridge Corporations (Boyd, 1991)

·         We have  performance and modern cable equipment highly

·         The brand name of our products and the company is respected

·         Excellent customer service

·         We have a strong and respected sales team

·         We have an engaged and vibrant management team

·         Highly motivated staff

·         We have developed a sustainable business model

·         One of the strongly established companies in the United States

Weaknesses

            Weaknesses in a SWOT analysis answers the question of what tools and techniques in a company are not performing well. The following are weaknesses of the Stone Bridge Corporation

·         We have been identifying and adopting the late technologies late

·         Ineffective board of directors at the company

·         Unpredictable customer service

·         Very poor broadcast frequencies

·         Poor signal strengths

·         High operation costs

·         Slow and poor regulatory reforms

·         Few testing and certification labs

Opportunities

            Opportunities are beneficial and external events that organizations may use to improve their strengths. As a telecommunication company, Stone Bridge Corporation will benefit from identifying and investing in the following opportunities:

·         Emergence of new telecommunication technologies

·         Increase in the interest of consumers in our products

·         Decreasing in competition in the telecommunication industry

·         Lowering the cost of broadcast signals

·         Emergence of more communication networks

·         New and favorable tax incentives

·         Booming mobile phone markets

·         Potential in enormous exportation of equipment

·         Emergence of 3G and 4G networks

Threats

            Threats are events that are external to the company that may create hurdles for the company in the future. The following are the threats specific to Stone Bridge Corporation as a telecommunication company:

·         Poor performance of the economy

·         Increased regulations by the government against telecommunication companies

·         Shrinking demand for telecommunication goods and services

·         Increasing healthcare costs

·         Political instability

·         Competition from foreign markets

·         Poor network security

Goals for the IT Strategic Plan

            The information technology strategic plan goals below align and support Stone Bridge Corporation in meeting and fulfilling its mission and the vision.

(i)                 The company’s IT will help to plan and provide integrated information services thereby enabling our customers to have easy access to the data and information they require at all times and all the places

(ii)               Information technology will help to meet all the needs of the customers for the delivery of the customer service

(iii)             Information technology will help the company to leverage the current and emerging technologies. This will help to improve and stream various business processes

(iv)             Information technology will ensure there is integrity, reliability, confidentiality, and suitable use of information resources

(v)               Provide technologies and services that have the capability to support the company’s research community

(vi)             Have a major transformation of the company’s IT workforce

(vii)           Help to improve the company’s analysis, sharing of information, and collaboration

(viii)         Improve the management of the company’s information technology

(ix)             Improve the customer satisfaction

(x)               Create a robust, agile, and well secured IT infrastructure

Positive Impacts of Implementing the Strategic Plan

(i)                 Implementing the strategic plan will enable the company to focus on important matters that determine the future of the company. It means that the management will be able to evaluate the direction in which the company is headed and make changes where it will be necessary (Shepard, 2009)

(ii)               Implementation of a strategic plan will enable the company to assess its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) in a bid to determine ways through which it can use them to place itself in the market for financial gains and beating competitors. This will go as far as defining the success of the company in the future

(iii)             Strategic planning will enable the workforce to execute their responsibilities in an efficient manner since they will have easy access to data and technology. This will improve the services and goods provided by the company to the consumers.

References

Ackelsberg, R., & Arlow, P. (1985). Small business do plan and it does pay of. Long Range          Planning, 18 (5), 61-67.

Boyd, B. K. (1991). Strategic planning and financial performance: A meta-analytical review.        Journal of Management Studies, 28 (4), 353-374.

Shepard, H. A. (2009). Innovation-resisting and innovation-producing organizations. Journal of   Business, 40 (2), 470-477.

Sherry Roberts is the author of this paper. A senior editor at MeldaResearch.Com in custom essay research paper if you need a similar paper you can place your order from online research paper writer.