Implementation And Adoption Of The Digital Innovations

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

The aim of this report is to provide an analysis of the factors that Mauritius Telecom (MT) should consider in the implementation and adoption of several digital innovations. Those factors are process and procedures, potential security risks, costs considerations and issues associated with the adoption of the proposed solutions. The analysis has been done based on data from academic journals and also on information obtained from managers and employees of MT. In this light several workshops have been organized to gather information from the different stakeholders.

The analysis has shown that some internal processes and procedures should be reviewed so that the proposed digital innovations can be implemented successfully. Concerning the potential security risks the research has demonstrated that those risks are mainly related to hardware failure, database failure and information leakage. Further analysis has shown that two main types of cost warrant consideration for the implementation phase, namely administrative costs and cost of the pilot project. Organizational characteristics, politics and product diversity have been identified as being issues that can be related to the adoption of the proposed digital innovations. In view to cater for the factors discussed above the following recommendations have been made.

A special committee should be setup to review all the processes and procedures to enable the successful implementation of the recommended solutions.

A full time information security officer should be appointed to look after security issues during the implementation of the digital innovations and also the day to day running of the business.

An estimate of the types of cost identified should be made and included in the project cost. This would prevent the implementation to go beyond budget.

A good communication campaign should be done to address all the issues associated with the adoption of the digital innovations. Dialogue among all the stakeholders should be encouraged.

INTRODUCTION

Mauritius Telecom (MT) has in the recent years brought some innovative products on the market to pursue its growth strategy. Unfortunately the organization as also faced some issues, in terms of organization aspects, with the introduction of those new technologies. In a first study J&R associates has recommended some digital innovations to solve the identified issues. MT has now mandated J&R associates to write a report on the factors that should be considered in the implementation and adoption of the recommended solutions. The report is based on research data from specialized academic journals and also on information gathered from managers and employees of MT.

The report has been subdivided as follows:

Part 2: Process and procedural considerations to implement the solutions. Describes the process and procedures that MT should consider to implement the recommended solutions.

Part 3: Security risks in the implementation and their mitigation. Explain the potential security risks that may arise in the implementation process.

Part 4: Types of cost considerations. Describes the types of costs that should be considered to implement the recommended solutions.

Part 5: Issues associated with the adoption of recommended digital innovations. Explains the different issues associated with the adoption of the recommended solutions.

Part 6: Conclusions and recommendations

2. Process and procedural considerations to implement the solutions

A business process is a collection of activities that takes one or more kinds of input and creates an output that is of value to the customer (Lindsay, Downs & Lunn 2003, p. 2). Being in the service sector MT has developed numerous business processes and procedures throughout its evolution so that it can serve its customers as well as its employees. The introduction of new technologies will undoubtedly affect the existing business processes and procedures. As such the following factors should be considered while implementing the proposed solutions.

2.1 Business processes for procurement of software applications

The procurement of software components is not like buying other raw materials that an organization may need and the implementation of the proposed solutions can only start if all the required components are available in time. In the software domain it is common that customers adapt their requirements specifications partially to the components already available, and suppliers offer dedicated variants of their existing components (Gross, Lormans & Zhou, p. 2). Consequently this may necessitate that new processes and procedures are introduced to cater for all the intricacies of software purchase such as request for proposals, demonstration, presentation and evaluation. This would ensure that the proposed software applications are purchased from the right supplier, at the right price and with the best service level agreement.

2.2 Elimination of redundancy in processes and procedures

The use of technology to deliver training, enhance collaboration and recruit talented people can cause some redundancies since those activities are already being carried out in some other ways within the organization. With regards to the on-line training system the human resource department should review processes and procedures in such a way that the organization can make the optimum use of this new technology while having recourse to the traditional delivery mode only when necessary. In the same vein the recruitment mechanisms should be reconsidered so that the use on LinkedIn as recruitment tool is not in competition with other processes and procedures used for the same purpose. Decision making has always involved a lot bureaucracy at MT and the implementation of a groupware to streamline this task warrants some adjustments in terms of procedures. Manual procedures such as filling of approval forms should be eliminated as the groupware already provides an elegant way to perform this task without any paper work.

3. Security risks in the implementation and their mitigation

There can be numerous security risks during the implementation of information systems. Information security, at times referred to as computer security, is defined as the protection afforded to an automated information system in order to attain the applicable objectives of preserving the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information system resources (Zafar 2013, p. 2). The following risks should be considered to ensure that the security of the new information systems is guaranteed.

3.1 Risk of hardware failure

Two of the solutions proposed to MT, namely the on-line training systems and the groupware would require the installation of software application on shared or dedicated servers. Both systems are normally resource hungry and have a risk of overloading the servers during the implementation. This security risk is more pronounced in case the systems are installed on existing servers where other critical applications of the organization are running. To mitigate this risk a service level agreement (SLA) should be obtained from the hardware provider. This SLA would guarantee inter alia that replacement servers or spare parts are available immediately in case of failure.

3.2 Risk of database failure

For any information systems implementation effort the high availability of data is very important not to say vital. Indeed not having access to the required data in a timely manner can cause the implementation effort to halt. Database failure can occur in a number of ways namely the data may be corrupted or the storage device itself may become faulty. Data corruption is most of the time related to inconsistency and integrity problem in the database where the data is no longer reliable. The on-line training system is particularly vulnerable with regards to data security since this application would be accessible over the web from anywhere. To ensure data security well defined login mechanism should be defined where each employee would have its unique username and password to log in the on-line training system. With regards to the storage device failure redundant storage devices such as a SAN (Storage Area Network) or redundant mechanisms such as RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) can be used to mitigate the risk.

3.3 Risk of information leakage about the new technologies

Confidentiality is defined as the assurance that information about identifiable objects is not disclosed without consent, except as allowed by law (O’Brien & Yasnoff 1999, p. 2).In implementing the proposed solution MT will introduce novel software applications using state of the art technologies which will give a competitive edge to the company. This also entails that stakeholders such as the employees will have access to these technologies as soon as the implementation starts. There may be a security risk that information about the introduced technologies and innovations are accidentally or intentionally disclosed by the employees to the public before the systems go live. One way to mitigate this risk is to request that all the stakeholders sign a confidentiality agreement in which they guarantee that sensitive information about the new technologies will not be disclosed by them.

4. Types of cost considerations

The implementation of an information system requires more than just hardware and software (Van Gennip & Bakker 1995, p. 4). There are other cost items that should be considered when implementing any information systems and software application.

4.1 Administrative costs

Information systems implementation is normally associated with administrative costs which should also be considered at the inception of the project itself. Administrative costs include many items which range from stationery costs to spending for staff transportation during the implementation of the project. Of particular importance here are all the paper costs involved in the procurement of the different software applications and licenses required to implement the solutions. Furthermore implementing new technologies at an organizational level may require conducting dozens of meetings and workshops which also add to the administrative costs.

4.2 Cost of the pilot project

A pilot project is part of a larger project or programme, undertaken to improve understanding of the main change or innovation being delivered by the project or programme, thereby reducing the risk and uncertainty associated with the change (Turner 2005, p. 2). The suggested solutions would bring a lot of changes in the business processes of the organization and would affect many employees at all the organizational levels. A pilot project entails the mobilization of some key stakeholders only so that the organization can have a glimpse of how the new systems would behave in the real environment. This mobilization may require spending on employee remuneration for working additional hours as well as all the installation fees required to setup the temporary infrastructure for the pilot project. Furthermore it can involve the purchase or rental of hardware to run the systems during the piloting.

5. Issues associated with the adoption of recommended digital innovations

The adoption process is a sequence of stages a potential adopter of an innovation passes through before acceptance of a new product, service or idea (Frambach & Schillewaert 2002, p. 2). Very often the adoption of the new technologies is not very straight forward due to the number issues that may be related to the process.

5.1 Organizational characteristics

Two main types of organizational characteristics may affect the adoption process namely organizational size and organizational innovativeness (Frambach & Schillewaert 2002, p. 3). Very big organizations tend to have a greater propensity to adopt new technologies much more easily. This is because large organizations adamantly try to improve their performance by always having the latest technologies. However in some cases smaller organizations seems to adopt new technologies and products very easily since they have greater flexibility in changing their processes and structures. With 1600 employees MT is considered as a middle sized company having the best chances to adopt innovation easily. With regards to innovativeness some organizations have an innate attraction too new technologies and innovations. This is sometimes illustrated in the organizational missions and objectives where innovation is always one of the core values of the company.

5.2 Politics

Politics may affect an innovation venture in a number of ways. Resistance to change is one of the most prominent political factors that can hinder the adoption of innovations in any organization (Smith 2007, p. 1). Some employees may manifest their reluctance to change their habits or give up their comfort by simply opposing the introduction of the innovations. This is particularly relevant to MT since some departmental managers may be unwilling to allocate resources to participate in meetings and workshops required for the implementation of the new technologies. This aversion can be imputed to a fear of efficiency loss when resources are limited.

5.3 Product diversity

Some innovation pundits have argued that product diversity may affect the adoption in innovation in different ways (Boeker & Huo 1998, p. 6). In some cases when firms have several products in their portfolio they also have to deal with stakeholders with different expectations. Apart from the products and services introduced recently by MT, the company would also bring additional innovations as solutions to solve the issues identified. Having several new technologies at the same time can stall the employees’ willingness to adopt innovations. This is mainly because very often employees show resistance to change when they are forced to learn too many things simultaneously. Product diversity can also speed up innovation adoption in other cases. Having many products can sometime reflect a firm’s willingness to pursue a competitive strategy which is normally associated with early introduction of new products and technologies on the market and in the organization. This can by the same token motivate the employees to adopt the innovations more easily since they know that the competitiveness and efficiency of the organization are at stake.

6. Conclusions and Recommendations

6.1 Conclusions

We can conclude that the implementation of the proposed solutions demands that MT considers several factors. Existing internal processes and procedures should be reviewed to avoid redundancies and in some other cases to streamline the work flow. Attention should also be paid to some particular security risks associated with the implementation, among which we have risk of hardware failure, risk of database failure and risk of information leakage. With regards to the cost factor we have seen that two main types of cost should be considered during the implementation of the solutions. First we have the administrative costs which include all the overheads in terms of paper work and organization and secondly the costs involved in the pilot project. There are as well some issues associated with the adoption of the recommended digital innovations and they are mainly related to the organization characteristics, politics and product diversity. We have seen how those three factors can affect the adoption process to different degrees.

6.2 Recommendations

The success of the implementation would depend on the measures taken to address all the factors discussed in the report. With regards to processes and procedures the company should assign a special committee to review them and bring changes where appropriate. The committee should meet on a regular basis prior and also during the implementation process. This would facilitate the implementation and adoption of the recommended solutions. Concerning the security risks it is recommended to have a full time information security officer to look after security issues during the implementation and also in the day to day running of the organization. The person fulfilling this position should report directly to the CIO. An estimate of the types of costs identified in this report should be made before the project starts and should be included in the project costs. This would avoid that the project goes beyond budget. An internal communication campaign would help to address some of the issues associated with the adoption of the recommended digital innovations. Politics within the organization should be handled through dialogue and communication.