R.L.Polk Case Study
Introduction:
What is the business rationale for making the technology investment? This is one of the most important questions to ask. Almost all companies depend on some technology solution to deliver goods and services. Investing in new technologies for the sake of having the latest up-to-date systems, just does not seem to cut it in the minds of most industry executives, nor does trying to rationalize a major technology investment solely on the basis of reducing ongoing maintenance costs of the old systems. Information technology usually does not have a direct impact on the bottom line. “IT is applied to business processes, and it is those business processes that increase revenue or reduce expenses” [Berman,Knight]. This implies that an ROI analysis of a technology solution must be done in the context of its effect on the business processes.
The analysis of the article “SOA Case study: How R.L. Polk revved their data engine” reveals a similar dilemma faced by a company whose core business of data aggregation depends on Information Technology. The Southfield, Mich.-based company’s Chief Information Officer Kevin Vasconi realized in 2004 that their existing technology infrastructure was unable to support their business needs in the coming decade. Although the executives at R.L. Polk agreed with Vasconi’s assessment, they were afraid of the risks that came with undertaking massive technology projects. It was this reluctance that resulted in failure during two previous scaled down attempts to upgrade the infrastructure.
Costs and time frame are two of the most pressing issues that cause the greatest anxiety among business executives pertaining to major technology investments. Cost and benefit analyses are best guess estimates and difficult to calculate especially in the case of complex projects. In addition, upgrading or replacing existing infrastructure can negatively impact current cash flows caused by disruption of services. Executives at R.L Polk
What is the business rationale for making the technology investment? This is one of the most important questions to ask. Almost all companies depend on some technology solution to deliver goods and services. Investing in new technologies for the sake of having the latest up-to-date systems, just does not seem to cut it in the minds of most industry executives, nor does trying to rationalize a major technology investment solely on the basis of reducing ongoing maintenance costs of the old systems. Information technology usually does not have a direct impact on the bottom line. “IT is applied to business processes, and it is those business processes that increase revenue or reduce expenses” [Berman,Knight]. This implies that an ROI analysis of a technology solution must be done in the context of its effect on the business processes.
The analysis of the article “SOA Case study: How R.L. Polk revved their data engine” reveals a similar dilemma faced by a company whose core business of data aggregation depends on Information Technology. The Southfield, Mich.-based company’s Chief Information Officer Kevin Vasconi realized in 2004 that their existing technology infrastructure was unable to support their business needs in the coming decade. Although the executives at R.L. Polk agreed with Vasconi’s assessment, they were afraid of the risks that came with undertaking massive technology projects. It was this reluctance that resulted in failure during two previous scaled down attempts to upgrade the infrastructure.
Costs and time frame are two of the most pressing issues that cause the greatest anxiety among business executives pertaining to major technology investments. Cost and benefit analyses are best guess estimates and difficult to calculate especially in the case of complex projects. In addition, upgrading or replacing existing infrastructure can negatively impact current cash flows caused by disruption of services. Executives at R.L Polk
References: Karen Berman + Joe Knight: Financial Intelligence for IT professionals,2008 Henry C. Lucas: Information Technology Strategic Decision Making for managers, 2005 Computer World: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9004263/Auto_market_researcher_revs_up_Oracle_grid_for_massive_data_ warehouse,2007 Jaspersoft: http://www.jaspersoft.com/press/rlptechnologies-recognized-technology-leader-using-jaspersoft-open-source-business-intelligenc,2007