Infrastructure-as-a-Service Usage Determinants in Enterprises

The thesis focuses on the research question, what the determinants of Infrastructure-as-a-Service usage of enterprises are. A wide range of IaaS determinants is collected for an IaaS adoption model of enterprises, which is evaluated in a Web survey. As the economical determinants are especially important, they are separately investigated using a cost-optimizing decision support model. This decision support model is then applied to a potential IaaS use case of a large automobile manufacturer

United States Department of Defense Acquisition of Leading-Edge Information Technology Services and the Impact of Public Market Research on Efficiency and Effectiveness

This dissertation examines the acquisition of leading-edge IT services (LEITS), like those associated with cyber, agile software development, and cloud migration. In an effort to build on previous research, the purpose of this dissertation is twofold: to examine how Public Market Research impacts the LEITS acquisition process in the DoD and to discover strengths and value-added components that exist in the current government acquisition process leading to greater efficiency and effectiveness. Through a mixed methods approach, this dissertation provides recommendations for how to conduct the most efficient and effective LEITS acquisitions, striving to maximize a constrained budget, minimize time to deployment, and increase the mission support provided by industry. A qualitative study examined the DoD acquisition process, from the contracting professional’s perspective, and gained insight into the DoD process for acquiring LEITS. A quantitative study was then conducted, leveraging insight gained through the qualitative study. Conclusions were drawn from the quantitative results to provide recommendations for how to conduct the most efficient and effective LEITS acquisitions. These conclusions included that Public Market Research is a value adding component and successful protests were very rare where it was used. Additionally, the type of contract, length of the contract, dollar value of the contract, and amount of competition for the contract are found to be factors in determining the efficiency and effectiveness of a LEITS acquisition

Transforming the UK public procurement from transactional/relational practice to strategic commercial management

The thesis is about the shift of UK public sector procurement from the current transactional and tactical procurement processes into a strategic commercial management function in order to create and retain value. Strategic Commercial Management being the adoption of the most appropriate and relevant procurement approach in determining supply chain management relationships i.e. transactional, relational or a combination of both approaches. This is informed by the influences that the structure and configuration of supply chain management has on value creation and retention. The study addresses two primary research issues. The structure and organisation of public sector procurement groups determines their ability to manage highly complex public sector procurement requirements and the type of procurement approach adopted is likely to determine their ability to deliver greater value. The methodology is based on cases of three UK Government Departments (Department for Work and Pensions, the Ministry of Justice and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs). In which quantitative analysis (multiple linear regression modelling) was used to determine the effect of procurement approaches on value creation and retention and qualitative analysis used in the identification and analysis of the critical success factors. The study concludes that a shift towards the procurement of standard services based on output or outcomes provides the optimum strategic commercial management. That the adoption of a combination of transactional and relational procurement approach provides the most effective basis for increasing the delivery of value and ensuring that it is not eroded. This thesis provides a framework for value creation and retention for practitioners. It also provides the basis for leveraging adopted procurement approaches and develops a number of critical success factors for implementation. The thesis offers up a theoretical model with specific predictions by predicting the effect that transactional, relational or the combination of both approaches has on value creati

Project Controls and Management Systems : current practice and how it has changed over the past decade

Project Controls and Management System (PCMS) refers to an ecosystem of processes, tools and personnel required for the proper planning and execution of capital projects throughout the different phases of design, procurement, construction and startup. This can be divided into different focus areas (functions) that would include Estimating, Planning, Scheduling, Cost Control, Change Management, Progressing, and Forecasting. Various trends such as globalization, contractor specialization and information technology developments have impacted the way PCMS are implemented and made it the subject of extensive research over the past years to investigate how to best utilize those trends. Replicating the research methodology used in a 2011 report published by the Construction Research Institute (CII), this work aims to investigate the current status of PCMS implementation and how it has changed over the past decade. It was concluded that while the original PCMS principles are still valid, adoption has drastically changed in terms of efficiency for the majority of the functions. The research also identifies areas of potential concerns and provides recommendations for further improvement.Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineerin

Data Service Outsourcing and Privacy Protection in Mobile Internet

Mobile Internet data have the characteristics of large scale, variety of patterns, and complex association. On the one hand, it needs efficient data processing model to provide support for data services, and on the other hand, it needs certain computing resources to provide data security services. Due to the limited resources of mobile terminals, it is impossible to complete large-scale data computation and storage. However, outsourcing to third parties may cause some risks in user privacy protection. This monography focuses on key technologies of data service outsourcing and privacy protection, including the existing methods of data analysis and processing, the fine-grained data access control through effective user privacy protection mechanism, and the data sharing in the mobile Internet

Walking the Talk, from Online to Offline? Analyzing Predictors of Political Engagements in the Case of Cebu City, Philippines

The political engagement of individuals has complexly evolved in a borderless world brought by various developments in technology. This study revisits how various predictors, including personality traits such as extraversion and openness to experience, political efficacy, and online (FB) engagement, influence offline political engagements. Using quantitative techniques, the data gathered from a survey with 120 respondents in Cebu City, Philippines, was analyzed using the R software to generate descriptive statistics, correlation, simple linear regression, and multiple regression. A salient finding shows that the respondents’ level of extraversion, openness to experience, and political efficacy is high, while the level of political engagement is low online and offline. While online (FB) political engagement alone highly predicts offline political engagement behavior, all other independent variables (extraversion, openness to experience, and political efficacy) modeled as one attributes a very low effect towards offline political engagement. The model that includes all predictors have produced significant result that strongly supports this study’s central claim. Further, the study discussed the non-engagement of Cebuanos and commenced with suggestions on how Facebook (FB) can further influence an individual’s political engagements as a social media platform. While the publics’ engagements on political issues are vital to democratic societies, the study stressed social media's crucial influence on safeguarding democracies, human rights, and social justice

Impact of Information Technology on innovation in determining firm performance.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.The aim of this study was to investigate if IT Capability played a moderating role on the relationship between Innovation Capability and the Firm Performance. The study used resource-based theory to test if IT was a competitive resource, by examining the role it played between the constructs of innovation capability and firm performance. A cross-sectional study was conducted amongst two hundred and ninety two (292) employees at the Hillside Aluminium Smelter in Richards Bay, South Africa. The results showed a strong, positive and statistically significant relationship between innovation and firm performance (r-value of 0.616, p-value <0.01, and R2 value of 0.375). The results also support the model in showing a moderate and statistically significant relationship between IT Capability and Innovation Capability (r-value of 0.563, p-value <0.01, and R2 value of 0.32). The conceptual model tested the moderation role of IT Capability between Innovation Capability and Firm Performance. These results showed a favorable result for the moderator variable (p-value <0.01), however the Innovation Capability as the independent variable showed an unfavorable results (p-value=0.579 > 0.05), albeit with a good R2 value of 0.45. Consequently, a multiple regression analysis was conducted using IT Capability and Innovation Capability as independent variables. This model proved to be statistically significant with both p-values of <0.01 and a R2 value of 0.4573. This result fitted well with the research analysis. For practice, the drive for innovation as a key determinant of future firm competitive advantage must factor in the technological capability, specifically information technology. Through the careful selection of IT resources and skills, IT capabilities the are valuable, rare, imperfectly imitable, and non-substitutable can be achieved, resulting in IT as a strategic resource

Manufacturers’ Strategic Intensity on Servitization and its Impact on Firm Profitability: A Panel Analysis

Manufacturing industries across developed countries such as Germany, Japan, and USA face stiff competition and rapid product commoditization. As a reaction, manufacturers are looking for new ways to gain and sustain a competitive edge in their markets. In the past decades, industrial services have become the central element around which manufacturers build a sustainable competitive advantage. Firms increasingly shift their strategic focus from producing physical goods to providing services. This fundamental transition from goods-based to service-based business models is known in research as “servitization”. Real world examples such as IBM’s shift from a hardware manufacturer to a consulting and software company has fueled the continuous interest in servitization from researchers as well as practitioners. Extant research studies provide first valuable insights into the conceptualization, contingencies, and outcomes of servitization. However, there are two existing research gaps in the literature. First, there is no recent research study that takes stock of the servitization landscape and its development over time. Servitization is a very dynamic trend which requires an up-to-date look at developments. Second, research about the financial impact of servitization remains inconclusive. The majority of studies link servitization with positive financial outcomes. However, the type of link (i.e., linear vs. non-linear) as well as contingency factors vary significantly between studies. Against this backdrop, this study compiles a dataset consisting of panel data for over 1,000 U.S. manufacturers for the years 2009 to 2018. The first part of this dissertation draws a picture of the U.S. servitization landscape and its development during the past decade. The second part of the study investigates the profitability effect of industrial services.Industrieunternehmen in entwickelten Staaten wie Deutschland, Japan, oder USA sind zunehmend hohem Wettbewerbsdruck und Kommodifizierung ausgesetzt. Als Reaktion auf diese Entwicklung suchen Unternehmen neue Strategien, um in ihren Absatzmärkten wettbewerbsfähig zu bleiben. In den letzten Jahren haben sich industrielle Dienstleistungen zu einem zentralen Wettbewerbsvorteil in Industriemärkten entwickelt. Unternehmen fokussieren ihre strategische Ausrichtung zunehmend auf die Erbringung von Dienstleistungen. Die strategische Neuorientierung von Produktion zu Dienstleistungen wird in der Marketingforschung als „Servitization“ bezeichnet. Das Interesse an Servitization in der Forschung als auch Praxis ist durchgehend hoch und wird in der Realität zum Beispiel durch IBMs Transformation vom Hardwarehersteller zum Softwareanbieter veranschaulicht. Bestehende Forschung liefert bereits erste wertvolle Ergebnisse in Bezug auf Konzeptualisierung, Einflussfaktoren, und Folgen von Servitization. Jedoch gibt es zwei Forschungslücken in der Servitization Literatur. Zum einem gibt es keine aktuelle Forschung über die gegenwärtige Servitization-Landschaft und wie sich diese über die Zeit entwickelt hat. Servitization ist ein sehr dynamischer Prozess, der stets einen aktuellen Blick darauf erfordert. Zum anderen sind die finanziellen Folgen einer Servitization Strategie immer noch nicht abschließend geklärt. Zwar weisen die meisten Studien auf positive finanzielle Auswirkungen industrieller Dienstleistungen hin, aber die genauen Zusammenhänge sind noch relativ unklar. Zum Beispiel werden lineare als auch nicht-lineare Zusammenhänge zwischen Dienstleistungen aufgezeigt. Diese Studie hat zum Ziel diese beiden Forschungslücken zu schließen. Dazu werden Paneldaten von über 1.000 U.S. Unternehmen für die Jahre 2009 bis 2018 untersucht. Im ersten Teil der Studie wird ein Überblick über die Servitization Landschaft in amerikanischen Industrieunternehmen gegeben. Der zweite Teil der Arbeit fokussiert sich auf die Profitabilitätseffekte industrieller Dienstleistungen

A proposed model to analyse risk and return for a large computing system adoption

This thesis presents Organisational Sustainability Modelling (OSM), a new method to model and analyse risk and return systematically for the adoption of large systems such as Cloud Computing. Return includes improvements in technical efficiency, profitability and service. Risk includes controlled risk (risk-control rate) and uncontrolled risk (beta), although uncontrolled risk cannot be evaluated directly. Three OSM metrics, actual return value, expected return value and risk-control rate are used to calculate uncontrolled risk. The OSM data collection process in which hundreds of datasets (rows of data containing three OSM metrics in each row) are used as inputs is explained. Outputs including standard error, mean squared error, Durbin-Watson, p-value and R-squared value are calculated. Visualisation is used to illustrate quality and accuracy of data analysis. The metrics, process and interpretation of data analysis is presented and the rationale is explained in the review of the OSM method.Three case studies are used to illustrate the validity of OSM:• National Health Service (NHS) is a technical application concerned with backing up data files and focuses on improvement in efficiency.• Vodafone/Apple is a cost application and focuses on profitability.• The iSolutions Group, University of Southampton focuses on service improvement using user feedback.The NHS case study is explained in detail. The expected execution time calculated by OSM to complete all backup activity in Cloud-based systems matches actual execution time to within 0.01%. The Cloud system shows improved efficiency in both sets of comparisons. All three case studies confirm there are benefits for the adoption of a large computer system such as the Cloud. Together these demonstrations answer the two research questions for this thesis:1. How do you model and analyse risk and return on adoption of large computing systems systematically and coherently?2. Can the same method be used in risk mitigation of system adoption?Limitations of this study, a reproducibility case, comparisons with similar approaches, research contributions and future work are also presented

Quality management performance modelling for the South African contact centre industry.

Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu- Natal, Durban.Against the background of an extreme youth unemployment problem, South Africa seeks to identify and support industries that may offer substantial solutions. The employment potential of the contact centre industry was recognised by the South African government as far back as 2004. By capitalising on comparative advantages such as lower costs, South Africa has successfully claimed a place amongst the preferred international customer service destinations. While lower costs remain a key driver behind the outsourcing of services to offshore destinations like South Africa, a shift in focus towards the ‘quality of service’ is increasingly featured in outsourcing decisions. It follows that, in order to maintain the competitive momentum amidst intense international rivalry, it is imperative that contact centre managers understand the relationship between quality practices and business performance. While these relationships have been investigated across various industry sectors and in various locations globally from as far back as the early 90s, such relationships have not been empirically investigated in the contact centre environment and specifically not in the South African context. The primary objective of this study is to address this gap by developing a model that reveals the nature of the quality practice / performance relationships together with the moderating impact of contingency factors. This should serve as a valuable, context-specific, industry reference while academically contributing towards the development of quality management theory. Based on extensive academic and practice literature, a new industry-specific measurement instrument was developed that demonstrated very good reliability and validity. By initially exploring the extent and manner in which quality practices are deployed it was found that the South African contact centre industry are generally ‘high users’ of quality practices that are normally deployed as part of a more holistic quality program. The proposed quality practice / performance model was based on features of prominent models found in the literature where Path Analysis techniques were employed to test the relationships among variables. Regression analyses confirmed the importance of ‘Top Management Support’ where Leadership quality practices showed a strong, positive and significant impact on the deployment of ‘Core quality practices’ such as Customer, Human Resource, Operational, Infrastructure and Relationship practices. When the impact of each core group of quality practices was measured in isolation i.e. via directly related performance metrics, the results show that all groups have a strong, positive and significant impact on performance. Similar results were obtained when performance was measured at an organisational level for both operational and business performance. Further, synergistic value was found in the deployment of quality practices thus confirming the interdependent nature of such practices. The key implication is that although there are variations in the impact among the various quality practices, all contribute significantly to operational and business performance – thus supporting the deployment of full-blown quality programs. The results may however be used for piecemeal program implementations that focus on the practices that offer the highest impact on performance i.e. customer and human resource-related practices. Finally, the contingency factors that demonstrated the highest moderating impact on the practice / performance relationships included ‘Management Knowledge’, External Demand for Compliance’ and ‘Culture’ while demographic factors had no significant impact. The result partially supports both the universal and context driven approaches to quality management. Path analyses revealed a good fit of the model to the data