The Impact of Cloud-Based Digital Transformation on ICT Service Providers’ Strategies

The relationship between digital transformation and strategy formulation in the context of new digital technologies is emerging as a research area which is ripe for investigation. Recently, information system researchers have focused their attention on exploring this relationship in the context of cloud computing-based digital transformation. However, while extant research has explored this relationship from an adopter perspective, there is a dearth of research which has used an information and communications technology (ICT) service provision viewpoint. Taking the perspective of fifteen ICT service providers, this comparative case study elucidates how cloud-based digital transformation has impacted these organisations’strategy formulation processes. This paper provides the following insights. First, cloud-based digital transformation can positively impact the realisation of strategic objectives in terms of deliberate strategies such as agility and competitive positioning. Second, we present a process model which delineates how ICT service providers’strategy formulation was observed to be an emergent process, encompassing recursive cycles of business model experimentation and iteration, organisational learning and organisational adaptation, primarily as a result of the profound disruptive and innovative impact of cloud-based digital transformation

E-finance-lab at the House of Finance : about us

The financial services industry is believed to be on the verge of a dramatic [r]evolution. A substantial redesign of its value chains aimed at reducing costs, providing more efficient and flexible services and enabling new products and revenue streams is imminent. But there seems to be no clear migration path nor goal which can cast light on the question where the finance industry and its various players will be and should be in a decade from now. The mission of the E-Finance Lab is the development and application of research methodologies in the financial industry that promote and assess how business strategies and structures are shared and supported by strategies and structures of information systems. Important challenges include the design of smart production infrastructures, the development and evaluation of advantageous sourcing strategies and smart selling concepts to enable new revenue streams for financial service providers in the future. Overall, our goal is to contribute methods and views to the realignment of the E-Finance value chain. ..

Business Case and Technology Analysis for 5G Low Latency Applications

A large number of new consumer and industrial applications are likely to change the classic operator's business models and provide a wide range of new markets to enter. This article analyses the most relevant 5G use cases that require ultra-low latency, from both technical and business perspectives. Low latency services pose challenging requirements to the network, and to fulfill them operators need to invest in costly changes in their network. In this sense, it is not clear whether such investments are going to be amortized with these new business models. In light of this, specific applications and requirements are described and the potential market benefits for operators are analysed. Conclusions show that operators have clear opportunities to add value and position themselves strongly with the increasing number of services to be provided by 5G.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figure

Government Cloud Computing Strategies: Management of Information Risk and Impact on Concepts and Practices of Information Management

Research Problem The objective of this research is to investigate the extent to which the government cloud computing strategies of New Zealand, Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Ireland are supported by defined processes for considering the information risks of shifting to cloud computing, and assessing the impact of these approaches on concepts and practices of information management. Methodology The study undertook a qualitative analysis of published policies, strategies and guidance documents published by regulatory agencies within the target jurisdictions, investigating these documents for evidence of a process to assess and manage information risks. Results The study provides an assessment of the adequacy of governments’ guidance frameworks in preparing government organisations to properly assess the risks, opportunities, and necessary controls for information in a cloud service. Implications The gaps in guidance demonstrated by the study identify opportunities for a more rigorous assessments of the effectiveness of information management controls and privacy safeguards implemented by government organisations, and points to characteristics which could be assessed against in more specific case studies

The Digitalisation of African Agriculture Report 2018-2019

An inclusive, digitally-enabled agricultural transformation could help achieve meaningful livelihood improvements for Africa’s smallholder farmers and pastoralists. It could drive greater engagement in agriculture from women and youth and create employment opportunities along the value chain. At CTA we staked a claim on this power of digitalisation to more systematically transform agriculture early on. Digitalisation, focusing on not individual ICTs but the application of these technologies to entire value chains, is a theme that cuts across all of our work. In youth entrepreneurship, we are fostering a new breed of young ICT ‘agripreneurs’. In climate-smart agriculture multiple projects provide information that can help towards building resilience for smallholder farmers. And in women empowerment we are supporting digital platforms to drive greater inclusion for women entrepreneurs in agricultural value chains

The future of Cybersecurity in Italy: Strategic focus area

This volume has been created as a continuation of the previous one, with the aim of outlining a set of focus areas and actions that the Italian Nation research community considers essential. The book touches many aspects of cyber security, ranging from the definition of the infrastructure and controls needed to organize cyberdefence to the actions and technologies to be developed to be better protected, from the identification of the main technologies to be defended to the proposal of a set of horizontal actions for training, awareness raising, and risk management

Running While Standing Still: Rethinking ICT Business Model Decisions for the New Cloud Economy

Cloud computing has underpinned an accelerated business model evolution for delivering ICT solutions. However, some established business model mature ICT providers are experiencing substantial difficulties related to the formulation of effective business models. Currently, there is dearth of IS research relating to deciphering how large business model mature ICT providers can effectively formalise and sustain competitive cloud enabled business model decisions. Thus, in order to extend the extant research, we derive a conceptual framework as a reference model which is based on business model and decision making theory. We then apply our framework to an in-depth case study of an established large ICT provider (Alpha) who have been provisioning cloud services for the past five years. Our findings reveal how the case organisation are executing their core business model decisions along increasingly specific decision making levels in order to effectively sustain their competitiveness. Our analysis provides new insight into the role of using the business model as a focusing device for enabling the effective provision of cloud technology