ITM 125, Management Information Systems Richard Rushlow, MS-ITM CASE STUDY PROJECT ASSIGNMENT - Hilo OPTS This is a fictitious company. The course project for Spring 2022, SFC2, ITM 125 course is that you are an Information Technology Manager working as a consultant responding to an RFP (Request for a Proposal) from Hilo OPTS Industries. The expectations for the look-and-feel of this submission are found under "Scope. The Case Study Project is due on: April 24th, 2022, at 11:59 PM. REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL Hilo OPTS Industries Hilo OPTS Industries is inviting responses to our project. Hilo OPTS is a well-respected manufacturer of wireless electronic sensors such as RFID and "dangerous situation" monitoring devices. Many of their sensors are used in construction machines, Oil-ridges, Military Operations, and the current drone industry. Hilo OPTS is considering entering the self-flying drone market. A drone that differentiates itself from the many other drones on the market with a particularly easy-to-use set of controls, enabling the operator to manage the drone from anywhere in the world. Project Overview The successful proposal will provide a SWOT analysis and a Problem-Solving Solution (from the book) for Hilo OPTS's current state of readiness to enter a completely new, and highly competitive market, based on the goals and intended outcomes shown below. Goals The overarching goal of the project is to provide a comprehensive but brief analysis of Hilo OPTS's current use of information technology: 1. Analysis of the current IT and database systems. 2. What approaches are you considering when it comes to expected changes, challenges, and culture. How are you going to assist Hilo OPTS's managers in motivating their teams to get on board with the process? 3. Best use of social media. How will social media help both the new drone project and improve their existing social presence in the business market? Scope Cover Page Abstract/Executive Summary Body of paper - You need to choose two enterprise solutions from the book. Hilo OPTS Project Roadblocks The current homemade SQL database system functions okay for an in-house system. There are many times throughout the month that slowness occurs over the proprietary network system - usually when there is high use from the CAD engineers and Finance running their monthly reports. To upgrade the current network infrastructure and the device to throttle the flow of data over the proprietary network would be too costly. Other issues include the way Hilo OPTS manages customer orders. Orders are done over the phone. Because the organization's historical success was built on personalized service to its clients, branch managers had almost total autonomy to manage their branches in the manner that would be most satisfactory to their clients, considering local customs, services expected, and government regulations. Presently, no online ordering. The 11 US branches report directly to CEO Donald Dewar. The relationships between Donald and his branch managers are excellent. He had reasonable confidence in their judgment and was kept informed through phone conversations, faxes, and email transmissions of Excel and database spreadsheets. Donald made semi-annual visits to all the US branch offices. Donald also managed vendor relationships with manufacturing partners in Taiwan and China. He did not visit these sites but made it a point to enter solid contracts and have good long-distance collaboration with each vendor's site managers. Orders are completed by sending an email to the vendor. The vendor inputs the data into their Enterprise SCM. Hilo OPTS has no current social media presence: such as LinkedIn or Instagram. The company has a Facebook page that is sporadically maintained by a single employee, every now and then. Word of mouth is how their business stays successful. Online ordering, visual product databases with product descriptions, online help desks, interactive websites, and weblogs were becoming common in many organizations. Competitors even managed Facebook pages and started creating marketing videos that could be searched for and found on many internet platforms such as Google and YouTube. These questions are to help guide you in a direction to Problem-Solve Hilo OPTS IT issues.

1. The question is, should Hilo OPTS move from an in-house hardware/site-specific tools (home-made database system) to a cloud-based environment? How can Hilo OPTS leverage information technology more effectively? Should Hilo OPTS use a Public, Private or Hybrid system? If so, what? What would some of the risks be? Technology changes will require capital investment, which could threaten management bonuses - how will this be handled?

2. With the change, comes resistance. How will you address resistance from the current employees? What are ways to drive corporate culture? Large-scale changes involve not only implementation problems, but significant changes to the business culture.

3. Addressing Hilo OPTS's rudimentary presence in the world of social media. The company has a Facebook page that is sporadically maintained by a single employee, every now and then. How would more social media accounts help Hilo OPTS? What other platforms do you recommend?

4. The company has a typical website. What would the importance of an e-commerce site do for Hilo OPTS? How will an e-commerce site help track customer data? 5. How will Hilo OPTS track the logistics of their vendors and suppliers?