Sparkletts – To embrace IT or not to?
Every business decision made has benefits and risks associated with it. The management has to ascertain that the benefits associated with the decision outweigh the risks. Angie, the owner of Sparkletts, a high-end women’s clothing retailer, has made a decision not to adopt information technology (IT) in her business. Since the business has been successful, Angie believes that adopting IT in her business is unwarranted.
The business strategy adopted by Angie is a focused business strategy catering to only a particular (high-end) segment of the market. Angie has built a loyal customer base over the years largely due to her ability to meet the customer’s needs and demands. Angie has a direct contact with her customers which enables her to understand her customers better and also helps in building a lasting relationship with her customers, which is beneficial for every business. By not embracing IT, Angie’s business does not have to face the information security risks. The business operations will not be interrupted if there is a technology infrastructure issue since the business is not relying on technology. The decision of not embracing IT may be suitable for Angie’s business since the business is small, but if she wants to expand her business, then embracing IT is crucial because of its scalability.
As mentioned earlier, every business decision has benefits and risks. The risk of not embracing IT implies Angie has to forego the opportunities presented by technology. Although embracing IT may not affect the bottom line of the business directly or may not produce any tangible benefits, IT will be beneficial to the business in the long run. IT has become one of the principal factors for succeeding in the competitive business environment. The opportunities Angie is missing by not embracing IT are: * IT helps in scanning the