Information Management Case Study: Sleepsmart

Register to read the introduction… As the years have gone by it can be said that SleepSmart has acquired a great sense of business ethics, albeit for one area that they have neglected terribly, their potential for the use of technology in day to day business operations. It can be said this was a result of the company focusing its attention to everything but the effective use of their IT business group, highlighted by the attitude of senior management towards recommendations provided by both the CIO and Chief Architect (Stan Bailey). Initially the issues cited in the study involved the mismanagement and neglect of information systems used in different business groups, most importantly each system was not effectively communicating between each other. This not only reduced confidence from consumers due to the conflicting information provided from each system’s output, but inevitably planted the seed of doubt in investors’ minds consequentially leading to a downturn in SleepSmart’s shares. Impartial analysis of the company from leading financial institutions also revealed this was a proverbial chink in SleepSmart’s armour which could lead to their eventual downfall; it was apparent that the technology present was out of date and required immediate …show more content…
Splashing money on technology will not always yield results unless an alignment exists between the technology blueprint and long term business goals; since there was no support from any other executive of the business there is only so much the IT business group can do alone to avert this persistent problem. Unfortunately this long standing notion amongst the board that IT appears to be more of a waste of time and resources than an opportunity for change and capitalization of strengths across the business is a major issue when switching from a bottom line to top line approach. Co-operation between the IT strategy and the business strategy is a fundamental step towards aligning the business for top-line growth. As such the relationship between the architect and senior management must be open and unbiased for the best results to be …show more content…
In fact, since outsourcing provides the IT department with an array of specialists on hand, the business will essentially be able to cut costs by focusing their off shore resources on repetitious operations (or as they see fit). This may potentially be a problem if the business relies too heavily on outsourcing their work, due to the lack of engagement from internal resources which could eventually be made