Question

How can you develop and implement a new e-

business strategy/innovation? How would
you overcome any obstacles faced?
 e-business
• The term e-business refers to Electronic business.
• This is the use of digital technology and the internet,
intranet or any network to execute the major business
processes in the enterprise.
• E-business is inclusive of activities of the internal
management and coordination with suppliers and other
business partners.
• A good example of e-business is e-commerce which is the
part of e-business that deals with the buying and selling of
goods and services over the Internet (Laudon & Laudon,
2012)
 First stage

The development stage

 1. Identification of customer needs.

• Internal and external analysis of the environment - SWOT

analysis.
• Realization of trending customer needs or a common
problem.
• Example a book seller realizing a market overseas.
• Customers complaining about distance between the
product/services and their location.
• CUT introducing online courses.
• Why introduce online –distance courses: Because of public
outcry , travelling distance, accommodation problems, family
members etc
 2.Identify processes for change.
• Analyze the existing processes.
• Under this phase existing business processes should
be modeled.
• Modeling includes documenting existing process,
noting the inputs, outputs, resources, and all
sequences of various activities.
• Identification of redundant steps,
• Identification of paper-intensive tasks,
• Identification of bottlenecks, and other inefficiencies.
 2.Identification of processes for change
illustration : A physical book store buying
process
 3. Designing a plan of action
• At this stage objectives are clearly stated and are
quantified.
• Following will be the strategies to be used to achieve
the objectives.
• Questions as how are we going to achieve are laid out.
• This includes developing a comprehensive e-business
design .
• Developing the competency that lays the foundation
to addresses the customer needs.
 4.Identifying the project manager/Project Champion.

• In this stage a project manager is identified and

the formulation of a steering committee.
• Decision of whether to develop the e-business
internally or to outsource developers are made.
• Steering committee will lay out a budget
supported with bill of quantities and human
capital costs.
• Following will be possible sources of funding
the e business strategy.
 5.Design the new process
• Design of an e-business blue print.
• This maps the project and performance and
milestones that must be achieved.
• In this stage systems development commences.
Data base formulation and web designs.
• Under systems design the architecture ,modules,
interfaces in other words applying applications
systems theory to product development.
 5.Design the new process cont..
• After existing processes are mapped and
measured in terms of time and cost, the
process design(steering committee) team will
try to improve all processes.
• This is achieved by designing a new process.
• A new streamlined rather a to-be process will
be documented and modeled for comparison
with the old process.
 5.Design the new process illustration
• The new e-business innovation developed from the physical
book store buying process.
• The new process for purchasing a book online might only take
several minutes.
 6. Setting up, integration and testing.
• All requirements and complimentary platforms
needed in the integration are set up and aligned.
• This can be synchronizing the 5 components of
Information Systems:
1. People
2. Telecommunications
3. Hardware
4. Data
5. Software
6. Setting up, integration and testing cont..

• Any successful e-business innovation should

harmonize and synchronies these components.
6. Setting up, integration and testing cont
• Test the model across the 5 components.
a)Unit testing, or program testing, consists of testing each
program separately in the system to guarantee that
programs are error-free.
• Testing the components in isolation is necessary for
collaboration and proliferation of the system to international
standards and industry by- laws.
b)System testing tests the functionality of the information
system as a whole.
• Internal testing of unit performance ,capacity prior to final
integration of components.
 7.Pilot study and prototypes
• Maturity level of development.
• It is a micro level stimulator that replicates
reality
• The prototype is a working version of an
information system or part of the system.
• It is meant to be only a preliminary model.
• Can happen through selection of one branch
or experimental location.
 Implementation stage
• After a new process has been thoroughly
modeled , analyzed, tested and integrated
across the 5 components it must be translated
into a new set of procedures and work rules.
• At this phase the new designed e-business
innovation process together with its
supporting systems are rolled out into the
business organization.
 Implementation cont
They are rolled out in the business through:
1. Training and development-internal.
• Training workforce and placing group/unit leaders better informed
to assist in the first days.
• This can be complimented by a support system with experts through
the use of Skype, Team viewer and other communication tools.
2. Training the end user.
• This includes developing models and dummies to illustrate to the
customers how each phase works and how it compliments with old
system.
• This can be a summary on YouTube with animation.
• Use of stimulators which replicates reality.
 Implementation cont..
3. Feedback to the developers and taking
corrective measures.
• This can be termed continuous measurement
once a process has been implemented and
optimized, it needs to be continually measured.
• This is because the processes may deteriorate
over time as employees fall back on old
methods, or they may lose their effectiveness if
the business experiences other changes
 Obstacles and strategies.
Obstacles
1. High Costs (Research & Development
,Installation and Maintenance).
2. Organizational resistance to change:
Fear of loosing jobs, Fear of facing
challenges.
3. Lack of a clear vision to be a digitital
customer.
Strategies
Loans, starting at small scale.
Change agent, Training and development.
Educating the end users on the benefits
of e-business.
Fear of loosing money through online
payments.
Presenting the old challenges and new
solutions.
 Obstacles and strategies.
Obstacles Strategies

4. A stiff business process and business Flattening the organizational structure

flow. transitioning from the traditional to
modern structures.

5. Infrastructural challenges –Layout. Re – organizing the workplace aligning

human capital in a responsive way to the
e-business strategy.

6. Trade barriers and restrictions . Seeking applications and licenses from

regulating organizations e.g. government.
 Obstacles and strategies.
Obstacles Strategies

7. Online security threats e.g. Data •Responsive Data protection policy,

protection ,cyber vandalism, spoofing, •Establishment of framework of security
eavesdropping, denial of services attack threats,
•Firewalls , encryption.
The end

Thank you