ESSAY: BBA 3551, Information Systems Management

Scenario: A company called Colony Nursery and Landscaping opened a new store located a few hundred miles away from its original location. The company wants to implement an award system that awards their customers with points whenever customers make a purchase, but the two stores are not able to share information. Colony Nursery and Landscaping will need to implement an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that will solve the information silo problem by collecting and making this user data available. Colony Nursery and Landscaping is hoping that by providing customers with this award system, they will be able to maintain competitive advantage. Colony Nursery and Landscaping cannot afford to purchase, develop, or maintain this system on-site, so they are investigating cloud solutions.

In addition, for many organizations, Colony Nursery and Landscaping included, information silos make it difficult to tap into needed information. Discuss whether or not the problem of information silos can be solved by using the cloud. Some organizations do not have the resources to construct or maintain their computer infrastructure, so they utilize cloud services instead to reduce costs and improve scalability. In this assignment, you will discuss whether or not the cloud offers solutions for Colony Nursery and Landscaping and identify an application that the ERP system could provide. Compose an essay that includes the elements listed below.

Define what an information silo is.
Explain why information silos are a problem for organizations.
Discuss why organizations are moving to the cloud.
Determine whether or not using cloud services, such as a cloud-based host for data storage, would solve the ERP information silo problem at Colony Nursery and Landscaping.
Explain how using the ERP system and awards program would provide a competitive advantage for Colony Nursery and Landscaping.
Discuss why the implementation of an ERP system might require business process reengineering for Colony Nursery and Landscaping. Be sure to explain the business processes that will be affected (e.g., the customer awards system). Use diagrams or tables as needed, but this is not required.
Your essay must be a minimum of two pages in length (not counting the title and reference pages), and it must be formatted in APA style. You should include an introduction section that gives background and context to your reader. You must use at least two scholarly resources as references. Any information from these resources must be cited and referenced in APA format.

ANSWER

The world of business is becoming competitive day by day. Organizations must, therefore, look for all ways possible to gain a competitive advantage over their competitors. One way to achieve this objective is for the organization to invest in technology. Even though it may be an expensive venture, it may be the most feasible idea for a company to stand out among others. This essay seeks to evaluate the case of the Colony Nursery and landscaping company, which wishes to gain a competitive advantage by investing in enterprise resource planning, which can help it solve its information silo problem.

Definition of an Information Silo

An information silo is a system for managing information that may not be freely linked with other existing information management systems. In such a system, communication has to be vertical implying that it is not possible for the system to operate with …

Why Information Silos Are a Problem to Organizations

Organizations find such silos a problem because if information cannot be shared between different departments, the efficiency of service delivery may not be realized. Silos can also be a cause of duplication of efforts as well as missed opportunities in an organization. They also hamper productivity in organizations since organizations must come up with bridges between departments…

Why Organizations Are Opting for The Cloud

There are many advantages as to why most organizations have decided to move to the cloud. Most of them find such an initiative as a cost-saving move. Unlike physical data centers, which can be costly to establish, cloud computing only needs payment for the services. The step also allows for flexibility and mobility as employees can work from home or in any remote location. Furthermore, it is a very…

Whether Cloud Services Would Solve The ERP Problem

Using cloud services such as cloud-based host for storing data would come in handy in solving the information silo problem that Colony Nursery and Landscaping is facing. The use of cloud helps resolve the technology barriers such as collaboration between departments.  For instance, the use of an ETL process can make it possible for irrelevant data to be stripped away to eliminate any possible duplication as is always the case in information silos. Furthermore, organizations have the provision of adding new and updated data to…

How Using The ERP and Award System Will Provide a Competitive Advantage Coming up with an award system can be an essential way to maintain customer loyalty as well as recruit new customers. Awarding customers with points is a psychological way of informing them they are valued. In most cases, such points are redeemable and hence can be used as cash for purchasing an item equivalent to the redeemed points. If customers realize that such points will help them by shopping without liquid money, they will wish to accumulate them as fast as possible (Tarigan, Siagian & Jie, (2020). The only way to achieve that is regularly shopping in Colony Nursery and Landscaping. On the other hand, ERP will help get enough data about their clients and hence tailor products…