Management of information technology - Essay Example

in this hostile environment and to cope with such dynamic environment brought by information technology, it is extremely important to keep pace with management, technological and organizational issues concerned with the development and use of information systems. There are massive issues in this field and they need to be thoroughly evaluated in order to reap maximum benefits. This report explores the management and other issues related with information technology in the leading bank of Middle East, Eskan bank.

Eskan bank has a huge customer base and it has been consistently expanding for the past few years. With increased competition from the rival banks entering the market and with consumers demanding a wider range of financial services, the bank was looking for ways to exploit the available technology to sustain its lead. It took a major shift in its direction and invested in information technology and acquired a core banking solution for its banking operations from a well-renowned software service provider Misys.

Information Systems Strategic Planning (ISSP) refers to the “activities directed toward (1) recognizing organizational opportunities for using information technology, (2) determining the resource requirements to exploit these opportunities, (3) and developing strategies and action plans for realizing these opportunities and for meeting the resource needs” (Boynton and Smud, 1987, p.59). Strategic planning is a top level management activity and it requires absolute commitment from those positioned at the higher level of organizational hierarchy.

The strategic plan charters the mission, short term and long term plans of the organization. The need for improved information systems project planning has been obvious because the cost of information system has risen rapidly and it’s approximately forty percent of the total expenses in some organizations (Hoffer, George and Valacich 2002, p. 141) As the Eskan bank was embroiled in a competitive