Francesco CARTINI Grupo B If I were the CTO, I would choose to retain the UNIX platform. My choice is based on the analysis of several factors and data presented in the case study which indicate the inefficiency to start managing the operations of the company operations with a new System, as further elaborated hereunder. The main issue in the case study concerns a strategic decision that the team of casadelibro.com has to take for the development of a ebook shop. The team has to assess and select one of the following options: A) retain the complex IT system already in place or B) installing a new one, more user friendly and cheaper although less capable to keep up with the increasing sales volumes indicated by the company forecasts. Before going into details, I started to take a look at the environment of the company and how the staff is reacting to this the strategic decision and they expect to handle possible operational changes. In doing so, I took into account the views of the managing team, especially in terms of ownership and accountability for the project. The whole team seems to agree on the need for a strategic decision and project to better address and meet the increasing demand of the book market as indicated in the chart n4. Moreover, the team, at a first glance, sees the option of setting a new system as a foregone decision, due to the problems they had to face during the implementation of the UNIX platform. If we analyse more in depth the weaknesses of the existing UNIX platform, it looks evident that they are mainly due to website's deficiencies as well as the low level of knowledge and technical capabilities of the staff on how to operate and maintain this platform. Furthermore, let's have a look at to two possible scenarios which corporate could face In the long run, 5 years exactly, the platforms will have the same maintenance cost: • UnixPlatform Programming Budget+(Annual cost*5)=397,500(147,000*5)=1,1320,000 • MSPlatform Budget+(Annual cost*5)=542,900(119,000*5)=1,137,000 The first one, based on the UNIX platform, has several strengths and weaknesses: according to the scalability which allows you to maintain best performance levels when the volume of transactions increases – Unix seems to work better when sales grow up and can reach five times more the capacity of the MS Platform; on the other hand, UNIX has to be maintained more frequently because of its tendency to malfunction, however it is simpler to find assistance and technical support services for UNIX platform than MS one.

The advantage of the MS system, rather than leveraging on performance, is the semplicity of administration and programming; however this might became a point of weakness in the long term if the volume of sales increases as a result of growing market demand. Both platforms have to be managed in synergy with the launch of AOL partnership; both of them need more in terms of staff, training activities and skills in a tight deadline, before autumn. Other issues to be taken into account, when the platform UNIX was launched, the new management team was concerned about some technical problems due to lack of team's skills that to develop the software and of possible delays. In addition to this, the contracted consultancy firm was unable to redesign the new website and fix the technical problems. There are also additional points to focus on: the technical performance of the UNIX system allows the company to manage a higher volume of sales but also will lead the company to build a team with a elevated knowhow and knowledge to be updated frequently. The one based on MS is cheaper but less performing in terms of efficiency and Human resource development and knowledge of the company, hence the UNIX system seems to be the one which can strengthen the entire chain. What about the forecasting sells? According to the scenario indicated in the initial business plan, the increasing volume has to be managed with a sustainable platform, according to the sales targets hoped to be reached in 2006; on the other hand, the revised business plan shows us know that the potential increase is far from be reached and the forecast are too much optimists. The problem that the corporate is facing it is not merely due to the existing platform in use. A platform can not work by itself: it requires to be managed by a team endowed with the necessary knowledge and ownership of the project. Due to the lack of skills of the team, during the installation of the UNIX platform, the solution is not to set up a new platform, but improving and building the capacities of the team and the HR management of the company.