Information Technology Enterprise

The world market has significantly changed, becoming a virtual community where people can freely connect and transact business. Services related to entertainment and commerce make up information technology. Over the years, various laborious and paper-intensive business practices have been used. The world has been taken over by computers nowadays, which has decreased the amount of work that has to be done by people. Applications that employ IT to reduce the amount of input have made accuracy and factors like analysis and simulations simple. Predictions are also easier by doing the right research and basing the references on previous work and performance by a certain phenomenon under study. A vast number of attributes that have transformed the world into a better place can be based on IT (Orlikowski, Walsham, Jones, DeGross, 2016).

The use of IT entails various aspects that need to be considered before any set up can be termed successful. IT includes both hardware and software components of computer systems. The computers, devices and peripherals are the hardware and the entire domain of the IT system also contains the methodologies, architectures and the rules that govern storage and use of data. In a business setup, it is important to note applications that should be included in the IT systems such as order entry, transactions entries, SQL servers, customer relationship management etc. the mentioned applications are capable of executing commands based on consolidation, dispersion and manipulation based on the business purpose ( Hu, Jin& Guo, 2016).

Based on the ways in which the use of Information Technologies have transformed businesses and led to many companies reaping huge profits, my enterprise will entail use of IT in insurance industry. the traditional way of doing business meant the whole proprietor of the franchise taking up all the risk that came with the business. Today, the insurance industry is continuously growing taking over all businesses. In the past few years, the insurance sector was less popular with people not trusting the business in taking up their risk. This meant that all incurred losses were felt by the owners hence putting the enterprise in jeopardy. The industry has greatly transformed over the years with the individual companies that are few in the market managing to make huge returns on their businesses.

The insurance industry basically works by having a policy holder pay a certain amount of money (premium) on a regular period of time as governed by a contract in order to insure a certain asset. To protect the rights of the citizens, these companies are government by the central bank and the regulatory board so as not to conduct illegal businesses. Based on the contract or the policy an individual holds, the company can reimburse the amount of premiums paid in addition to bonuses, write off or fall off the contract or even pay up when there are losses incurred. All these details require a well organized information technology system that can calculate and evaluate losses to categorize the payments to be made.

There are other details that will need to be considered when setting up such a franchise. In the event a company is not able to pay up their policyholders, reinsurance has to be put in place automatically as a way of protecting the assets held. An IT system will ensure that transfer of such transactions is done automatically and in the right time. As an enterprise on its own, the insurance industry has also transferred and gradually risen in the market by getting involved in businesses that generate profits by investing their client’s funds. Real estate and annuities are some of the most thriving franchises that the insurance industry ventures in. with such possibilities, there is need for an IT system that will analyze the market to determine the right markets to invest in as well as compare indices with other mutual companies.

My enterprise will use IT to transform the industry and ease the work of analyzing the clients profits and returns to the company by eliminating errors. The world today is dynamic and the need of having an alternative plan just in case something bad like a calamity striking is equally important. The employment industry can only accommodate staff members up to a certain age after which they are deemed less productive. There is need to establish a retirement scheme that takes care of their after work years. The major problem that has been associated with the insurance industries so far is lack of disclosure. An IT system that will provide the right details of the company’s details on operations, reserve policies and catastrophic loss will bring closure si that individuals can invest in absolute surety.

Innovation

The enterprise will benefit from the various ways in which the IT system will be used to benefit the industry. Studies have shown that 88% people in the United States use the internet (Poushter, 2016). With the ability to connect to such individuals via online forums and digital sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc, an It developer in the enterprise will form a forum that can post the details of the company as a way of acquiring potential clients. The insurance industry works by establishing a niche of people with need and then approaching them with he products to be offered. Technology has therefore offered a more advanced and personalized way to serve products to the clients.

Creating agent websites will be one way of achieving a competitive advantage through customer target by the individuals who sell insurance. A few years back, the financial advisor were tasked with the role of having to report to the respective offices in order to get quotation then go back to the prospects before the deal was closed. This process was time consuming and used up a lot of funds incurred during the process of commuting back and forth from work to client. With the IT system, the Agents website will provide a way of having the agents log in into the company’s portal and make the necessary details based on the needs of a client. Having an application that allows agents to log in from their personal computers or mobile phones without having to go through the company will save on time and money as well as make conducting the business an easy task.

Websites is one of creating a brand that sells to all individuals. Studies have shown that 67% of clients consider companies with website to be more efficient than those that operate on traditional methods. This is because these websites provide a platform for the agents as well the company to sell themselves. In addition to this, the website will provide a forum for the clients and other prospects to search questions based on the company. This way, by only clicking on a link, it is easy to access all the information of the company. Websites will also act as an assurance and a method of assuring transparency to the public on the products the company offers. Some level of trust will be established and thus more clients will be attracted to the company ahead of other competitors in the market.

There are several challenges that are associated with the use of technology systems. There is therefore the need for the firm to come up with security measures that will protect the system. Fraud is the major risk to security of the firms affars. Hackers all around the world have come up with programs that allow them to access files and other detailed information in the systems. Access from the outside of the office premises should be contained.

Firewalls are the major ways of ensuring that hackers cannot access the database. The firewall will monitor the traffic to determine what goes into and out of the system. Based on the basic computer knowledge, firewall can both be hardware or software. The main aim of such security measures is to provide a way of securing and protecting external access into the company’s database from the internet or internal access by mistrusted servers.

Employees in the company will also be provided with own access detais, a login email and a password to allow them access the system used by the company. Monitoring the content accessed by the employees will be monitored by the IT department. Sites that expose the company to virus attack and possibility of hacking will also be blocked. This is a strategy to ensure only sites that are beneficial to the welfare of the company will be available. Access by non staff members will also be restricted by use of system and company passwords for logging into the system.

In addition to the security measures that protect the system, the entire company requires external security to secure its merchandise and protect them against theft and interference. Deployment of trained security officers that guard the facility day and ni wil keep burglars in check. Any loss of the company equipment will result to losses for the company as well as low business and returns in general. A team of professional’s auditors will also be deployed to conduct periodic analysis of the systems.

Every franchise requires a management system that controls every operation. A management information system(MIS) contains well arranged information on financial and regular operations reports for each management level in the company. The entire company may deem hard to monitor by just keeping a close looks at all departments or just doing supervision. The MIS provides a forum for the management to get the daily performance hence enabling a close monitoring. The MIS receives data from all departments then analyzes before giving out the financial and other related operations. With my intended franchise, monitoring stock based in the assets the company will invest in will require a more sophisticated MIS that will execute the performance.

Data collection

In order to identify the right kind of equipment, products to offer and the feedback received f from the clients, data will need be collected to study the entire market. With the motive of capturing as many people in the public as possible, questionnaires will be published on daily publications, online forums and hard cop. The data collected will give a clear overview of the market needs and the expected products that the general population expects from the startup. Observation is another method of data collection that will be used to base a research on 5he existing market. Other competitive companies can be analyzed on the methods they apply to succeed on the market. This will generate a platform that works on ways such existing models can be model led, differentiated and improved as a way of attaining some level of competence as well as a competitive advantage (Sullivan-Bolyai & Singh, 2014).

Key informants that will provide knowledge on the topic of insurance based on the pros and cons in the business should also be categorized in the data collection tools. Such format of data collection will involve a step wise method that starts by asking the basic questions to the ones that are complicated and detailed in the business. An informant will be useful in the start up to engage the stakeholders on the basis on which the market operates. Participant observation where the researchers spends a quality amount of time with the target population will help in relating and building long lasting relationships with the people. With such a connection established, the likelihood of the based community supporting the franchise is higher.

Technologies systems are prone to failure once in a while and require constant manipulation and modification to meet their desired tasks. They is efficiency in work luxury and speed is a concept that should be addressed in the systems. To ensure effective at work, the company will. Design a Technology usage agreement that will govern the use of internet in the office. Regulations that prohibit the use of sites that promote gambling, terrorism and illegal trade should be reported as illegal activities and punishable by law. This will enhance work ethics and employee responsibility promoting the amount of work accomplished in the day.

Another way of maintaining these technology systems will be creation of a comprehensive technology plan. Such a strategy will be used to replace broken work stations as well as those that have aged with tim systematically. The system will also be used as an evaluation strategy for upcoming technology. Those that can be implemented and used to benefit the company will be approved and added to the system. The world is changing deu to the evolution of technology and the innovations that get inducted in the market. This raises the need for a market and information system that will account for current and future running of the company. An internet service provider (ISP) will also be needed 5o tackle problems that deal with bandwidth. These include updating that result to slow operations with the IT systems delaying the amount of work delivered. Increasing bandwidth enables multitasking and reduces the slow updates. In cases where the system will encounter repeated downtime from the primary carrier, ISP redundancy will be applicable.

Computers and other gadgets in the office that make use of power supply are prone to shocks in events that there is a power surge. The use of Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS )will take care of such problems. In case power supply is lost, the UPS will also shut down the computers automatically protecting against data loss. Anti-virus inspection on a constant basis should also be employed in order to manage the expiry dates. Backing up of data will also be enhanced when online and offline to keep updating the system as well as retail the existing data.

Risk management

With the type of franchise that my company plans on venturing into, there are risks that are associated with it. Insurance entails taking up the risk of a policyholder and paying up if the insured event occurs. The need of capital to take care of damages in case the events occur consecutively is highly advantageous. However, there are cases where the process of managing risk ends up saving more knowledge the company’s resources rather than dealing with the risks as thyy occurs. Risk management is an important factor in monitoring business progress by avoiding problems. There are measures associated with risk management in insurance besides avoiding the franchise as business must proceed (Poushter, 2016)

Re insurance is one way in which most companies have survived in the market. The most risky business with three possibility of making the company fall into a manotarium have the risk transferred to other companies. Based on knowledge my franchise, a larger insurance company will be contracted to take care of products with large investment costs. The cost incurred in the event that the phenomenon insured takes place, the reinsurance company takes up the responsibility. In addition to this, the concept of reinsurance acts as an assurance to the policyholder that their maturity amount is guaranteed in the event the company fails. This is thus a strategy to prevent risk, transfer the risk as well as am assurance.

There are events that cannot be avoided and the company will be liable to whatever risk that comes through. The right management plan provides a way of documentation on how to take care of the risk. A risk mitigation plan is used to reduce the impact of risky events. The management plan should also incorporate a scale that rate such the extent of the risk ans how every stage must be considered. These risk management stages include evaluation, identification, mitigation, reduction, sharing, transfer and development of a contingency plan. The identification stage involves use of a checklist to determine the events that have a higher likelihood of being risky. Based on the magnitude of the risk, the right team will be assigned to assess the risk and come up with manageable solutions. The source of the risk is also determined in the identification stage and categories in terms of cost, technicality, financial etc. A risk breakdown structure will then be used to classify the risks.

Once the identification of potential risks is done, an evaluation of the risks based on the risk of occurrence as well as the costs incurred and loss to the company is done. Statistically, an increase in the likelihood of the risk increases the complexity of the event. Hence it is right to say that the degree likelihood of occurrence of a risk and the impact caused by the event are positively correlated. Risk analysis is then done by use of assessment. For the most complex plans, an external person is hired to work on the risks professionally rather than relying on local personnel who are used to minute problems. A good management deal with proactive ways rather than reactive. This means dealing with a situation before it occurs hence preventing the cost that come with failure. Statistical models can be applied to gauge the possible outcomes such as the Montte Carlo simulation that narrows the likelihood events to two possible outcomes. With only two events on the outcome, a proactive leader will try to prevent any situation that leads to such outcomes. Risk mitigation is the process in which the company shares the possible outcomes, avoids it or transfers.

Disaster recovery plan

IT is a major way that continues to be implemented by businesses to quickly assess systems effectively. To communicate, the systems are fitted with Voice Over Internet Protocol telephone systems. In order to ensure efficient transfer of data, payment orders etc, the business will be fitted with the Electronic Data Interchange to transmit them from one company to another. With the task of processing large quantities of data, servers and systems are bound to fail at some point in time. Computer hardware in the offices that include laptops, desktop and wireless devices that belong to the company and used by the employees are prone to damage. The need to come up with a disaster management and recovery plan is necessary.

During the initial stages of in ducting the business and launching the strategic plan to the market, an IT disaster recovery plan should also be designed. To restore hardware, data and applications in the business, the technology recovery strategies should offer solutions to such problems. The result of data loss die to system failure, malware, hacking, hardware failures or human errors could be greatly significant. Large volumes of data in businesses both large and small are stored in the system. Having a backup system should be an automated procedure that allows you to recover data however; chances that such events occur and lead to the need of recovering some information are high. There is therefore the need for a recovery system that a that takes care of the risk on hardware and software.

IT recovery strategies that should be addressed include; a computer room that has proper air conditioning system and power supply system that is secure and closely monitored. Software applications that are used in the office such as networks, wireless connections, emails, office productivity etc require a system that ensures their security especially when they can be accessible outside of work premises. The discovery plan starts by compiling all the resources both hardware and software systems that the company owns and creating an invoice of the material. This will provide a clear way of keep track of the equipment during evaluation and implementation of the recovery process. Identifying a the critical hardware and software will enable the process of coming up the process of reimaging new applications that will be used during the recovery process.

Data is the main content that is stored in the computer software and hardware. Fraud may result to loss of this data either after being stolen, hacking or basic system failure. Data back up should be implemented in the disaster recovery system and as business continuity strategy for future smooth running of the company. In relation to the business I intend to venture in, backing up data is a priority. Loss of client information will compromise the running of the business as one cannot keep track or account for payments as well as requisitions made (Smith, Wenger, 2007).

With the possibility of the business expanding to open outlets to serve several outlets, an alternative facility will be provided to allow backup and login during disaster management. This configuration all devices under the same server and allows the IT personnel to operate from any location that serves the company. Subscribers who issue hot sites for disaster recovery should be configured with the systems and the hardware that most of the employees use.

References

Orlikowski, W. J., Walsham, G., Jones, M. R., & DeGross, J. (Eds.). (2016). Information technology and changes in organizational work. Springer.

Hu, S. L., Jin, Q. C., & Guo, Z. (2016). Research on Supporting Functions of the Information Technology on Electronic medical record. In MATEC Web of Conferences (Vol. 44). EDP Sciences.

Poushter, J. (2016). Smartphone ownership and internet usage continues to climb in emerging economies. Pew Research Center, 22.

Smith, G. P., & Wenger, D. (2007). Sustainable disaster recovery: Operationalizing an existing agenda. Handbook of disaster research, 234-257.

Sullivan-Bolyai, S., Bova, C., & Singh, M. D. (2014). Data-collection methods. Nursing Research in Canada-E-Book: Methods, Critical Appraisal, and Utilization, 287.