IT Management Assignment: Issues Encounter By Apple

Question

Task:
Overview
Students must write a report on IT management assignment about leading IT companies like Microsoft, Apple or Google and discuss the following:

1. Contemporary IT Management issues the organization(s) experiences, their impact and solutions
2. Risk management processes in the organization(s).
3. The value the organization(s) can achieve from aligning IS/IT solutions with business operations and strategy.

Answer

Introduction
The current IT management assignment critically discusses about the various IT management issues the big tech companies are facing today. Apple, Google, Microsoft, and others are facing several challenges regarding their IT management. These issues are impacting the overall performance of the organizations. The IT professionals are working day-in and day-out to find some perfect solution to these problems. In this report, the contemporary IT management issues faced by Apple will be discussed. The impact and solutions to these issues will also be highlighted. The report will further reflect upon the risk management processes. The way the organization is achieving value by aligning IS/IT solutions with its business operations and strategy will also be discussed.

Contemporary IT Management issues, impact and solutions
Today the IT environment has become highly competitive. To sustain in this ever-changing, competitive business environment, the top-notch IT companies are struggling to improve their IT infrastructure while dealing with their IT management issues. Apple Inc. is a multinational company of America. The company specializes in computer hardware and software, consumer electronics and online services (Kangyi, 2021). The company is globally popular and has its own share of the market and a loyal customer base. However, due to the increasing competition across the world, the company is emphasizing on effective management of its IT issues. The competitors of Apple include IBM, HP, Acer, Toshiba, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Microsoft, Samsung, etc. To bear the flagship in the technology industry, Apple has to deal with its IT management issues (Salgues, 2018).

One of the IT management issues that Apple is facing today include network management which deals with the security issues across the network. Today, hacking and breaching of data, cybercrime, etc. are so common, that Apple needs to improve its network management (Jiang, Strufe & Schott, 2017). There have been instances when Apple users have felt threatened by loss of data. The Apple users need to feel safe and secured about their data which they store on Apple devices. The built-in should be enhanced for better protection of data across the Apple network.

Security management is another issue which pertains to the operational aspect of information technology management. As per Floris, Ahmad & Atzori (2018), service management is a contemporary issue Apple has to deal with. It includes effective management of its operations support system, inventory management, order management, maintenance activation, performance diagnostics, etc. There are instances where the inefficiency of the ‘back office’ has led to service issues. Apple needs to assure that its systems are running error free and proficiently.

Development management is another significant IT management issue which Apple needs to handle. They need to research and work constantly to create new or enhance their existing software (Torres, 2021). Apple often faces challenges pertaining to their software development. The users need the devices and entire system of Apple to be more user-friendly. Apple must invest resources in re-engineering, new development, research, modification, etc.

Human management might not seem a part of the IT management. However, humans are an inseparable part of the IT management. It is a struggle for Apple to find the right staff for the right position at the right time. This search for talent is frustrating and a time-consuming process, mainly handled by the HR. But, the IT managers need to be sure of the ones being finally recruited in the IT wing of the company. Not having competent employees or IT professionals could affect the IT management adversely, eventually impacting the overall performance of the company (Galli, 2020).

Some of IT management issues include application management, project management, outsourcing management, time management, performance management, data management, portfolio management, etc. Apple has to consider all these issues, address them and find relevant solution.

The lack of management of the IT issues could impact the company adversely. The lack of network management or service management could lead to loss of loyal customers by Apple. The lack of human management could lead to inferior performance outcome of the company (Lockamy III, 2017). If Apple fails to manage its development of software, it will be lagging behind in the competitive environment.

Each of the IT management issues will have some specific solutions. However, there are some common aspects of resolving the management issues. These include prioritizing the problem, focusing on the issues being controlled, and utilizing and applying root cause analysis. As stated by Wang et al (2017), the IT management issues can be solved when decisions are made with facts. The entire problem needs to be broken down into parts, so that one could be solved at a time. Apple needs to break out of their paradigm and consider all possibilities while addressing an issue.

Risk management processes
Apple is trying every day to strengthen its risk management process. The risk management department of Apple is taking the complete responsibility of risk identification. They are working towards accessing the risk at the earliest. The next step is that of communicating the risk to the required people. According to Manab & Aziz (2019), management of the risk is possible when the risk is addressed immediately. The risk has to be prioritized and treated with due concern. Once the company identifies the risk and treats it, it should continue monitoring the risk. Apple’s objective of risk management is to ensure that the company is able to operate in an environment which is risk free. The effective risk management would control and help maintain the large market share which Apple has in the global market.

Aligning IT solutions with business operations and strategy
Apple has been able to achieve value by aligning its IT solutions to its business strategies. As the company operates in the technology company, Apple has used IT to attain its business objectives. This has improved their marketplace competitiveness and financial performance (Street, Gallupe & Baker, 2017). The IT solutions have the potential of producing business value. Apple is maintaining a harmony between its IT solutions and business decisions. The alignment of IT solutions with business objectives will include integrating the mission, strategies and goals of the business with the IT. This will add value to the company as IT has the ability to transform the business. Apple can maintain a single central data warehouse which will improve business performance. IT can improve communication between the customers and the organization. The business and IT professionals should be rotated across different job functions and department to give both a better understanding of the business (Bhattacharya, 2017). Apple should set clear goals for business and IT employees to facilitate integration. Business and IT professionals should know how money is being invested and what returns are expected so that financial resources are not misused. Apple should preach informational unity and inclusive company culture.

Conclusion
It can be concluded that Apple has to effectively resolve and manage its IT issues. The risk management process needs to be more dynamic and proactive so that the risks do not disrupt the operations of the company. The company can further align its business goals with its IT solutions. This will help getting better returns on the investment made on IT. The IT can add value to the business by enhancing its overall performance in the market.

References
Bhattacharya, P. (2017). Modelling strategic alignment of business and IT through enterprise architecture: augmenting archimate with BMM. Procedia computer science, 121, 80-88.

Floris, A., Ahmad, A., & Atzori, L. (2018). QoE-aware OTT-ISP collaboration in service management: Architecture and approaches. ACM Transactions on Multimedia Computing, Communications, and Applications (TOMM), 14(2s), 1-24.

Galli, B. J. (2020). Impact and Role of Motivation Theories in Continuous Improvement Environments: A Reflection of Literature. International Journal of Service Science, Management, Engineering, and Technology (IJSSMET), 11(1), 1-13.

Jiang, W., Strufe, M., & Schotten, H. D. (2017, June). Intelligent network management for 5G systems: The SELFNET approach. In 2017 European conference on networks and communications (EuCNC) (pp. 1-5). IEEE.

Kangyi, W. (2021, June). Analysis of Financial Policy at Apple Company in 2020. In 2021 International Conference on Enterprise Management and Economic Development (ICEMED 2021) (pp. 150-153). Atlantis Press.

Lockamy III, A. (2017, July). An examination of external risk factors in Apple Inc.’s supply chain. IT management assignment In Supply Chain Forum: An International Journal (Vol. 18, No. 3, pp. 177-188). Taylor & Francis.

Manab, N., & Aziz, N. (2019). Integrating knowledge management in sustainability risk management practices for company survival. Management Science Letters, 9(4), 585-594.

Salgues, B. (2018). Society 5.0: industry of the future, technologies, methods and tools. John Wiley & Sons.

Street, C. T., Gallupe, B., & Baker, J. (2017). Strategic alignment in SMEs: Strengthening theoretical foundations. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 40(1), 20.

Torres, C. (2021). 4 Datain and Its ImplicationsAnalytics. Engineering Analytics: Advances in Research and Applications, 61.

Wang, B., Wu, C., Shi, B., & Huang, L. (2017). Evidence-based safety (EBS) management: A new approach to teaching the practice of safety management (SM). Journal of safety research, 63, 21-28.