For this assignment, you will return to the course scenario involving Reynolds Tool & Die. Senior leadership has asked for a detailed analysis of the current IT infrastructure, with an emphasis
COURSE SCENARIO
Reynolds Tool & Die
Reynolds Mission Statement
“We are committed to providing our customers quality products with the highest engineering standards.”
Reynolds Vision Statement
“We are committed to achieving our goal of being a market leader for engineering solutions and will investment in technical innovation. Our desire is to continue to expand our markets, our technical competence, and our intellectual curiosity to serve our customers.”
Additional Information
Reynolds Tool & Die is an automotive component manufacturer supplying suspension pieces and technology to both other suppliers and major U.S. and foreign manufacturers. Annual revenue is around $50 million, and the company is profitable.
Reynolds has production facilities at their headquarters in Akron, OH; in Bloomington, IN; and in Memphis, TN. Approximately 300 people work for Reynolds, including 7 in IT. The IT staff is broken down as follows:
• IT Director
• 2 Help Desk personnel
• 3 Network Engineers
• 1 Software Engineer, primarily supporting the company’s ERP system
One network engineer works in Bloomington, one in Memphis, and the rest of the IT staff is in Akron.
The three sites are networked via an MPLS circuit. In addition to SAP® software, the company uses Microsoft® Office 2010 for administrative work along with several specialized CAD programs for design. The SAP software is two versions behind, but not at end of its life. A data center is in Akron, while the other two sites have smaller hardware footprints consisting of Microsoft Exchange servers for email, a small file and print server, and redundant Active Directory servers. EMC Storage Area Network (SAN) devices are at each site. Redundant backup appliances are in Akron and Bloomington, and data can be cycled among the SANS for further redundancy. While some server virtualization has been achieved, only about 20 percent of all servers have been virtualized with the help of VMWare. All sites use Cisco® switches, routers, and firewalls. Servers, desktops, laptops, and printers are all HP®, and are between 3 and 5 years old and the desktops and Laptops use Windows® 7 as the operating system. All servers are on Microsoft Server 2012.
There are no cloud applications. There has been a demand by administrative personnel and engineers for integrating mobile devices with Microsoft Exchange and other apps but to date the company has not implemented a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) or a MDM (Mobile Device Management) solution.
The IT budget typically is between $1.2 and $1.5 million annually, depending on capital expense. Note that this budget ONLY covers hardware, software, services, and licensing. Personnel costs are not included, nor do you need to include them for the Week 4 budget assignment.
This year the company is embarking on significant expansion. A joint venture has been signed with a firm from Mexico Peraltada LLC to gain access to a new supplier market. Both companies will remain independent, but Reynolds will exchange engineering expertise for a percentage of sales in Mexico and there will be joint development of intellectual property.
Peraltada uses Microsoft Office 2016 and Oracle as their ERP solution. Desktop and laptops are HP, and they are running Microsoft Server 2016. They employ around 200 people with 5 in IT. The company provides key employees with iPhones for mobile access to their network.
To diversify, the company has purchased a small company in Vancouver, Canada that makes light aircraft landing gear components. P.T. Tracy, LLC employs about 80 people, with 3 in IT. They also use SAP for an ERP solution but one version newer than Reynolds. They use Microsoft Office 2013 and Windows 10 for their desktop OS. Their firewall solution is Palo Alto, and they use Cisco routing and switching equipment. Servers, desktops, and laptops are all Dell®. They also have implemented a BYOD policy, using the MDM solution VMWare AirWatch®, supporting both Apple® and Samsung® Galaxy phones. They are running Microsoft Server 2016.
All three companies in the scenario have a Microsoft Enterprise License in various stages of life; none will be up for renewal at the same time.
Week 2 Assignment Instructions
Aligning IT Strategy to Organizational Vision and Goals
To complete this assignment, reread the course scenario involving Reynolds Tool & Die. Analyze the Reynolds Mission and Vision statements listed in the course scenario, and then write a 3-page analysis assessing the company’s current IT strategy (including existing hardware, software, licensing agreements, etc.) and aligning each strategy component to Reynolds’ organizational vision and goals. The result will be a detailed analysis of how well the company’s existing IT infrastructure is supporting the company’s mission and vision.
Your headings for this assignment should include:
I. Business Vision and Goals
Outline the goals and vision for the business. (You will find them in the course scenario.) Remember that this is not a strategic plan, so your assessment will not need to address every single aspect of the company’s vision and goals. Instead, you will be analyzing IT components in the context of the company’s vision and goals.
II. IT Internal Analysis
You may want to review the assessment you produced in Week 1’s assignment and expand on it here, in the Week 2 assignment. Be specific when analyzing hardware, software, licensing, and external services. For example, how old are the company’s servers, switches, routers, desktops, etc.? Is the company current in terms of operating systems, security patches, etc.? What enterprise business applications are in use, such as accounting packages, CRM, ERP, etc.? Are they all current? Are their licenses current? What external services, if any, is the company using? Is the company using managed services, cloud computing, mobile technology, etc.?
III. How the IT Infrastructure and Organization Can Be Optimized to Achieve Business Goals
Explain how the IT function within Reynolds is achieving or can achieve, with changes you suggest, the stated goals of the business as described in the first heading. For example:
• If one of the company’s goals was to rate high with customers consistently on customer service, you would explain how the current call center infrastructure could produce lower wait times, achieve 99.9% uptime, etc. Perhaps you would also explain how the addition of a mobile app could enhance the customer experience by enabling timely feedback, finding nearby retail shops, etc.
• If one of the company’s goals was to grow revenue by 10% annually, you would explain how the current CRM or ERP software is helping to achieve that goal by helping to target new customers and achieve faster, better production.
Look at Amazon’s vision statement as an example: “Our vision is to be earth’s most customer-centric company; to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online.” There is a lot of IT potential there. Now take the Reynolds Tool & Die vision statement and explain how the IT infrastructure and organization can help achieve the company’s vision.
As you develop your analysis, remember that the current IT assessment may not support the goals and vision. You may have to suggest certain changes in the IT organization and infrastructure to achieve the organization’s goals and vision.
