Technology Plan for Indi chocolate paper

Technology Plan for Indi chocolate

[This is an outline for the Technology Plan. Your plan should include all of these items.]

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Executive Summary

Background Information

Current State of Technology

Company’s Technology Plan

Timeline

Budget

Evaluation

Attachments/Appendices

Technology Inventory
Network Diagram
Internet Use Policy
Other attachments/exhibits as needed

Certification Page

Executive Summary

History/Background

Indi Chocolate is a small, family-owned chocolate making company that specializes in dark chocolate. About one year ago, owner, Erin Andrews opened the first Indi Chocolate retail store in Pike Place Market, Seattle, WA. Ms. Andrews began making body care products two years ago to make enough money to afford equipment to begin producing different kinds of chocolate. Ms. Andrews is a direct buyer of chocolate beans from Belize, where she travels to form relationship with cocoa bean producers. Once the cocoa beans arrive in the Seattle area, the chocolate is produced in Ballard, WA.

Operations

Erin is currently in the startup phase of her company, indi chocolate. She has a specific product(s) that she is basing her business around. Thus, this start-up phase consists of her attempting to promote the “indi chocolate” name, get her it out into the market, and build a positive reputation while becoming efficient in running the business. It is important for her to operate at a low cost in order to stimulate growth and have a better inventory system for her business

Recommendations

Based on the analysis of indi chocolate and the chocolate industry, I have compiled several recommendations that I believe indi should implement. I believe that the implementation of these recommendations will help indi increase revenues, increase awareness and achieve its’ desired goals. The following are several key recommendations.

Strategically sample small portions of the chocolate in the market to create word-of-mouth marketing.
Better utilize Indi’s current social media sites.
More information about chocolate and their origins on the websites
Simpler online shopping experience for customers
Better system for inventory to increase efficiency

Background Information

History/Background

Ms. Andrews’ passion for chocolate began at a very young age with a desire to teach/educate children about how chocolate grows on trees. She used to be a senior manager at Price Waterhouse Cooper before she took a break when her children (ages 11 and 12) were born. She has a passion for chocolate and people, so she decided that she wanted to base her career around chocolate. She not only wanted to produce chocolate, but she wanted to share her passion for it with others by teaching them the process and educating them about where chocolate originates.

When she went back to work, she decided to create a chocolate company, called Cotton Tree Chocolate Company. She co-founded Cotton Tree chocolate Company, which is located in the Toledo District of Punta Gorda, Belize. Several months ago she decided to establish her own chocolate company, indi chocolate. Her idea evolved through many years of research in the chocolate industry.

Indi chocolate products have been engineered through many years of research and education about the industry. Ms. Andrews decided that she wanted to make “chocolate” not “chocolates.” This means that she did not want people to associate her chocolate with chocolate that is overly sweet because of milk. She focused on dark chocolate due to the source and quality of the cocoa beans.

Indi chocolate began by producing chocolate body care products, not actual chocolate. Ms. Andrews did this because there were fewer barriers to entry and also due to the novelty of her products. She felt this was a good way to create and increase brand awareness. She then began producing and selling dark chocolate. Indi chocolate products continue to evolve based on customer demand.

Mission Statement:

To make the best chocolate for the inside and out, while positively impacting our communities
Ethically and sustainably sourcing the cocoa beans we use to make our chocolate and chocolate body care. Using the best and fewest ingredients to create superior chocolate for the inside and out.
To create a positive, healthy relationship with our suppliers around the world and to offer them a fair price to create sustainable relationship.
To inform the world about the world of chocolate especially Indi Chocolate and how consuming chocolate could be beneficial for health.

Technology Vision:

Ms. Andrews’ hope is by bringing technology to her business, it would create awareness to more people. She would like to share her passion not only with people in Seattle but also United States. She also stated that she wants to increase efficiency and decrease waste for her inventory, thus, she wants to apply new technology to her operations.

How the Plan Was Developed

After starting her own company with the resources she was able to afford Ms. Andrews’ felt that more people needed to know about the benefits of chocolate both inside and outside the body. Most of the people around had known the quality of not only the chocolate body products but also of the edible chocolate Ms. Andrews’ was producing. So as to be able to reach an even bigger clientele outside Seattle, she consulted her IT Manager who later gave her an overview of what was required after that she visited various firms that were selling or installing different technology apparatus.

Technology Plan Team Members

The technology team members was comprised of experts from various IT fields, they were drawn from firms that Indi chocolate had worked with before when the firm was started. Some of the companies that sent its experts were AT&T, Cisco Equipment and Comcast Company.

Current State of Technology

Indi chocolate is currently linked to the internet via a fiber link provided by AT&T. the firm has expanded its bandwidth from 10mb to 30mb in January 2013. Indi chocolate has LAN connection which is managed by a firm known as Cisco Equipment. There is an ASA model 5520, a core switch model number 3250 and 5 switches (2-2950s and 3 2900s) they are connected by fiber right between the wiring closets.

The firm also has its own cable modern provided by Comcast which it maintains on its own. The modern cable is used to support wireless network used by the public. The LAN connections which aid the wireless system is maintained by a switch (D-link) and a wireless gateway.

Servers

Indi chocolate upgrades and maintains its own network. The firm supports all the equipment provided for the network. The firm (Indi chocolate) did the installation of the entire infrastructure needed for a virtual server; this was done in May 2013. The virtual servers include one HP servers which is capable of running ESX. To add onto the current server (ESX) Indi chocolate will maintain one more physical server which is very vital for key network responsibilities which include about two domain controllers. A Polaris server and the physical server is used to run the Windows 2003 or 2008.

Indi chocolate maintains two domains one for the staff and the one for the public.

Workstations

Indi chocolate has replaced most of the computers in the firm for the last three months; the company has a total of 15 computers. All of them are connected to the internet and are mainly used both the employees and the public. Public computers are 4 two dedicated to adults and the other two to children.

Software

The Indi chocolate firm uses Windows XP in all the computers. The software applications that the computers use include: Microsoft office 2007, Mozilla Firefox, Web browser, Internet explorer.

Printers and Copiers

Indi chocolate several copiers of different make that are used by the staff and the clients. There are 2 color printers and two black and white printers. The number of color copiers is also 2 while black and white is 3. In total the firm has 5 copiers and 4 printers.

Telephony

Indi chocolate has two lines of which are PRI and DSI, there is also some DID numbers, the firm further has 1 POT line and another analog trunk. Both long-distance and local telephone service is provided by AT&T. Indi chocolate has 6 telephone handsets.

CCTV/ Satellite

The firm does not have any CCTV equipment, thus making it difficult to keep in touch with what is happening in various parts of the firm. The firm does not have any satellite connection.

Staffing and Training

The current technology for the firm is managed by an IT manager; there is an IT technician who is a full time employee. The firm has also employed another IT technician who works part time so as to assist the IT manager when necessary. The technical services department consists of 2 clerks who work under the supervision of the departments head. The firm also has a circulation department which has four full time clerks, and two part time clerks.

IT Staff Training

The field of IT is experiencing new developments every day, what is considered as modern technology might not be so in a few months or years which mean the firm will have to train the staff continuously so that they are not left behind in any technology advancement.

The Technology Plan

Technology Vision:

The new plan will enable the firm to reach even more clients that it is doing at the moment, the firm will also be able to transact business with the clients without the clients having to come over to Seattle. The plan will also be expected to achieve the following objectives:

The firm will be able to relate with the clients more efficiently, as it will be able to interact with the clients over the social sites.
Continue to improve on the various products by accessing more information from various parts of the world.
The staff will be more equipped with It Expertise which will bring the firm to the level of other big firms.

So as to be able to achieve the goals and objectives, the firm will have to train the employees, this will be done with the help IT Professionals who will be visiting the firm and teaching the IT department employees. Out dated computers are already being disposed so that new computers can be brought, those that can work with the new plan are being upgraded (Speshock, 2010).

Technology Needs:

The current telecommunication services available have to be upgraded to a much faster service. Most of the hardware that are in use cannot support the intended technology, thus they will have to be replaced and some upgraded. Some of the software being used are old and will have to be done away with entirely so that new ones can be put in place. The staff will also need to be trained so that they can be able to make use of the new technology (Rivard, 2008).

Action Plan:

Staff Training/Professional Development Strategy

The IT manager will be responsible for ensuring that the IT department employees and other employees who will have to use the new technology are adequately trained to handle the new technology. Before the system is fully implemented the staff will have to undertake training on how to handle the new technology before it starts being used in the firm. The training will not be done within the firm until the implementation is over; the reason for the training is to ensure that the firm continues with production. Employees with some knowledge on technology will have the chance to advance their skills through internal training and external training. The employees will also be taken to other firms that have already embraced the new technology where they will be able to learn from the other firms’ employees (Gupta, 2010).

Timeline

The plan will have to start immediately it is approved by the major stakeholders, the timeline for the plan will be 2 years. In the first quarter of the first financial year the firm will have to start buying the hardware needed for the plan. In the second quarter the firm will have to start training all the employees who will have to use the new technology, this will be done in bits first starting with the IT department employees especially the technical department (Stoyles, 2004). The training will go on until the last quarter of the first financial year. In the second financial year, the first quarter will be dedicated to replacing all the hardware that is not compatible to the new technology. The second quarter of the second financial year will be dedicated to installation of all the required software. The third quarter will be used to fully install the technology and allow the staff to get oriented with the system, by the fourth quarter the system will have been fully implemented (DeLuccia, 2008).

Budget

Budget Requirements

IT Equipment

Most of the funding will come from the various stake holders of the firm and other associates.

Servers needed for Polaris together with the Virtualization $ 5,000.

Buying of new computers and upgrading some old ones $ 8,000.

Maintenance, supplying, and buying of smaller IT Equipment $ 10,000

Category subtotals $ 23,000

Equipment or system maintenance:

Maintenance of Polaris $ 12,000

Postal maintenance $ 1,500

Photocopier maintenance $ 1,000

Maintenance of telephones $ 500

Category subtotals $ 15,000

Network Connection

Internet $ 9,000

Category subtotals $ 9,000

Software Maintenance and Support

Symantec anti-virus $ 2,000

Firewall $ 2,500

Category subtotals $ 4,500

Consultation

Consultation fee $ 4,500

Staff Training

Chocolate companies Association Conference $ 1,000

Workshops and conference attendance $ 1,500

Polaris Users Group conference $ 2,500

Category subtotals $ 5,000

Project total cost $ 52,000
Evaluation

Evaluation is a very significant part in the Technology plan so as to be able to carry it out successfully the IT manager will have to review the progress of the plan every three months. The staff will also be interviewed to ascertain what they think of the plan; other stakeholders such as the clients will be provided with catalogs to give their feedback. Each and every goal in the plan has a deadline, thus it will be the responsibility of the IT Manager to ensure that none of the plans falls behind schedule. Where necessary the deadline can be adjusted as per the situation. The IT Manager will always be aware of any new technology that might come up and prove to be useful to the company. The IT staff will also attend IT seminars so as to keep abreast of the new technology that may benefit the firm The IT Manger will have to meet with the Technical staff and the Director so as to discuss the progress of the plan once in a year. Lastly the IT Manager will have to keep the plan up to date and create a new one every five years (James, 2010).

Attachment 1: Technology Inventory

	How many?	Date Obtained
1. Client Devices & Software
Client Devices
Character-based terminal	2	March 2^nd 2011
Protocol (“dumb terminals”)	3	March 2^nd 2011
PC		March 2^nd 2011
Processor Type and Speed		March 2^nd 2011
RAM		March 2^nd 2011
Disk space available	1200 mb	March 2^nd 2011
Operating System	2	March 2^nd 2011
Color monitor resolution	1024 by728	March 2^nd 2011
Sound card	1	March 2^nd 2011
Speakers or headphones	5	March 2^nd 2011
Client Software
IP Services	2	Feb 12^th 2010
Telnet	1	Feb 12^th 2010
Browser	2	Feb 12^th 2010
Helper Applications	3	Feb 12^th 2010
		Feb 12^th 2010
Application-specific client software	3	Feb 12^th 2010
		Feb 12^th 2010
		Feb 12^th 2010
Commercial Applications	4	Feb 12^th 2010
		Feb 12^th 2010

2. Servers and Printers
Servers
Function:		March 2^nd 2011
Processor type and speed		March 2^nd 2011
RAM		March 2^nd 2011
Disk space available		March 2^nd 2011
Operating System		March 2^nd 2011
Function:		March 2^nd 2011
Processor type and speed	3	March 2^nd 2011
RAM	15	March 2^nd 2011
Disk space available	230mb	March 2^nd 2011
Operating System	2	March 2^nd 2011
CD server		March 2^nd 2011
Number of drives	3	March 2^nd 2011
Speed	0	March 2^nd 2011
Other	0	March 2^nd 2011
Printers
Serial		Feb 12^th 2010
Parallel	2	Feb 12^th 2010
Networked (Y/N):	4	Feb 12^th 2010
Color (Y/N):	1	Feb 12^th 2010
Resolution		Feb 12^th 2010
LAN
Hubs	13	Feb 12^th 2010
Total Ports	60	Feb 12^th 2010
Unused Ports	20	Feb 12^th 2010
Network Type	2	Feb 12^th 2010
Speed	6	Feb 12^th 2010
Terminal Servers	3	Feb 12^th 2010
Total ports	40	Feb 12^th 2010
Unused ports	10	Feb 12^th 2010
Network Type	2	Feb 12^th 2010
Speed	6	Feb 12^th 2010
Network Operating System	2	Feb 12^th 2010
WAN
Internal
Multiplexors	3	Feb 12^th 2010
Bridges/routers	2	Feb 12^th 2010
Protocol(s) supported	4	Feb 12^th 2010
Speed	6	Feb 12^th 2010
External
Bandwidth to ISP	20mb	Feb 12^th 2010

	Skills Needed		Skills Available		Additional Tech Support
	Staff	Outside	Staff	Outside
Technical Staff Skills	2	1	2	1	2
PC skills	8	0	10	0	0
Install & configure hardware	3	1	2	1	0
Load & update software	2	1	4	1	0
Troubleshoot & repair problems	2	0	3	1	1
LAN Skills
Design Network
Install & configure hardware	2	0	2	0	0
Load & update software	2	0	2	0	0
Troubleshoot and repair problems	3	1	2	1	0
WAN Skills
Install & configure hardware	2	1	2	1	0
Load & update software	2	1	4	1	0
Troubleshoot & repair problems	2	1	3	1	0

Staff Skills	Number	Public Skills	Number
Windows skills		*Adults*
None	0	Windows skills
Basic	18	None	0
Expert	4	Basic	12
Web-browser skills		Expert	13
None	10	Web-browser skills
Basic	10	None	0
Expert	2	Basic	21
Application (list): _____		Expert	22
None	10	*Children/YA*
Basic	10	Windows skills
Expert	2	None	0
Application (list): _____		Basic	30
None		Expert	40
Basic		Web-browser skills
Expert		None	0
Application (list): _____		Basic	13
None		Expert	20
Basic
Expert

Reference

DeLuccia, J. J. (2008). IT compliance and controls best practices for implementation. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Gupta, P. (2010). Information technology. London: ABD Publishers.

James, G. R. (2010). Citrix XenDesktop implementation a practical guide for IT professionals. London: Syngress.

Rivard, S., & Aubert, B. A. (2008). Information technology outsourcing. New York: M.E. Sharpe.

Speshock, C. H. (2010). Empowering green initiatives with IT a strategy and implementation guide. New York: Wiley.

Stoyles, P., Pentland, P., & Demant, D. (2004). Information technology. New York: Smart Apple Media.

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Technology Plan for Indi chocolate paper