Wk 2, MIS6020

Part I
Discussion Questions

Developing an IT project in-house requires huge effort and resources. Describe some of the efforts required for the in-house development of IT solutions. How does risk play a role in the decision to develop IT solutions in-house? How can these risks be assessed? Use examples or scenarios to support your answers. Not all companies are able to develop in-house software applications. Although developing IT applications within a company leads to a greater probability of keeping the application’s proprietary, it also means that smaller companies may need to extend their resources to enable in-house development.

Assuming you are in charge of a small company, when do you believe the company should utilize its IT development potential to develop an in-house solution? When do you think your company should resort to an external contractor? Provide examples that illustrate both the cases and report the outcomes of the cases. Find out whether the companies were still able to stay in business after developing in-house IT solutions. Was the proprietary nature of the software maintained when the company resorted to a contractor?

Part II

Part A.

Research Component: Alignment with IS/IT Capabilities

Enterprise X wants to become more relevant to the global marketplace. As a Corporate Information Systems Management expert, you understand the role that IT Infrastructure plays in an internetworking environment. The problem is getting the decision-makers at Enterprise X to understand what the technical requirements are for participation in the global marketplace. Business managers with a vision of the future for their company do not always know what is required to realize that vision. You, however, know that in order to make the necessary strategic shifts you are recommending, it will also be necessary to align the company’s corporate strategy with a new IS/IT strategy.

An effective way to communicate the IS/IT requirements for this major strategic shift is to describe how Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) can impact IT Infrastructure and how adopting SOA can enable Enterprise X with the IS/IT capabilities to enter the global marketplace. Research SOA and explain how business processes built into individual packages that can operate independently will make the IS/IT capabilities of Enterprise X more flexible for aligning a new corporate strategy with its IT Infrastructure.

(Note: You may also want to find relevant case studies on SOA and SOI [Service Oriented Infrastructure] vendor Web sites.) To submit your assignment:

• Use Microsoft Word to write a 500- to 750-word Position Paper that describes your findings and recommendations.
• You may include diagrams and illustrations to enhance and/or clarify technical issues. Remember that you will draw from this Position Paper to prepare your PowerPoint presentation.
• Follow APA guidelines to write the report and cite your sources as appropriate.
• Save the report as SU_MIS6020_W2_lastname_firstinitial.docx and submit it to the Submissions Area by the due date assigned.

Part B. Presentation Component: IS/IT Capabilities

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Keep in mind that each week you will work on a new aspect of your Final Project Presentation and, combined, these weekly presentations will become your Final Project proposal due in Week 5. Your Final Project Presentation will be published to the class in Week 5 for reflections and comments. Prepare a PowerPoint presentation with five to ten charts covering the aspects of your strategy described above.

Save your presentation as SM_MIS602_l.pptx and submit it to the Submissions Area along with your Position Paper by the due date assigned.

Note: There should be two documents: Your Position Paper in Microsoft Word format and your proposal presentation component in Microsoft PowerPoint format.