Strategic analysis decisions

Apparently, strategic management is a dynamic and ongoing process that assesses the

industry in which the organization is operating. It determines whether the business idea is viable

by assessing the strategies put into place. In todays technological era, strategic decision makers

should be cognizant of emerging trends in the information technology sector. The developments

are critical in determining where an organization is heading to over the course of the next several

years. Nowadays, many organizations are incorporating information technology in their strategic

analysis decision. Seemingly, the latest innovations have changed the nature of work places.

Through implementing new technologies, process efficiency is greatly increased. Thus, to

appreciate the impact of the strategic decision analysis makers, it is paramount to take a deeper

look the emerging trends in information technology.

A major strategic analysis decision that is important to watch out for in the next few years

is environmental scanning. It is an integral phase of the strategic analysis management since the

findings are used as the bases for developing new strategies or business re-engineering. In future,

many organizations will leverage Geographical Information Systems (GIS), a relatively new

technology to conduct environmental scanning; to monitor their competitors, suppliers, and most

importantly, their customers. This will be fundamental since it will help organizations to

strategically position itself in the market. The new innovative systems are designed to conduct

environmental scanning to identify the changes in the internal and external environment and the

available opportunities and threats. In overall, in future, many organizations will adopt the GIS

technology since it support information gathering and analysis about the internal and external

business environment, a critical phase in the strategic analysis process.

 The other strategic analysis decision that is imperative to the success of any business and

that in future will be dependent on information technology is SWOT analysis. Organizations are

now adopting the competitive intelligence tools to conduct SWOT analysis. For any start-up

business to thrive, it is important to conduct a detailed strategic analysis of the strengths,

weaknesses, opportunities, and the threats. Seemingly, competitive intelligence tools such

SEMrush are being used to gather information about the behaviors and resources of competitors.

Also, this tool can use available data to predict future trend of the competitor. Thus, the tools are

crucial since they are helping firms determine which rival organizations it will compete with.

Potential changes in IT related to innovation and organizational processes

One imminent example of a potential change is the re-organization of administrative

operations. A clear example to illustrate to illustrate this is the banking industry. In future, it is

highly probable that the banking sector will reduce the cost of serving clients by using

technologies such as toll-free lines and automated teller machines. In fact, the cost of banking

has considerably reduced over the recent past years, and the trend is likely to continue. For

instance, in 2007, the cost of banking using the human teller was $2.5 compared to $1 for an

ATM transaction and $0.5 banking via the internet. The reduction in cost per transaction could be

attributed to the reduction in the amount of labor.

The other change in information technology that is related to organization is the

communication process. Irrefutably, emails, websites and personal applications have become

very useful tools for communication with customers. Moreover, unlike the traditional way where

advertisement was been done in media houses such as tv and radio stations, it is highly probable

that in future companies will strictly capitalize in email-marketing and social media. Information

technology will allow stakeholders to exchange valuable information in a secure and first
manner. Corporations will also be receiving customer feedback thorough online platforms such

as Facebook, Twitter, and corporates website.

One of the internal information security risks is sending out crucial information via an

email or an instant message. Often, people send sensitive information via the email. Apparently,

that is a serious risk. However, the risk can be mitigated by setting up a network analyzer server

to filter specific attachments or keywords. Also, one can block sensitive information from getting

into a third party or unauthorized zed person. The second type of risk that is likely to surface is

exploitation of critical information via hacking software such as keylogggers, Citrix, Terminal

Services, phishing, and GoToMyPC. To mitigate such risks, enabling file permissions and solid

share is critical. Also, it is recommended that enable tighter security controls by maintaining real-

time logs monitoring. Lastly, there is the risk of insecure wireless network usage. To mitigate this

type of risk, it is advisable that you set up a firewall to keep users from getting connected to the

network or use a VPN for remote connectivity.

A vivid example of an external information risk is breakage from an intruder. There have

been reported cases of thieves breaking padlocks and getting access to the computers. The

incident might be an inside choreographed job or from an external party. To mitigate such risks,

it is recommended that you ensure that the computer room is heavily guarded throughout. Also,

conduct thorough pre-employment screening before hiring an employee to verify whether s (he)

is honest. The other external risk is fire outbreak. To mitigate this risk, it is recommended that

you ensure that you have backup data hosted in a different room or server.