SMISproject

Information
Systems/Information
Technologies Strategy
Kerry’s Eye Newspaper
Course: BA (Hons) in Information Systems Management
Module: Strategic Management of Information Systems 2
Group Members: Tatjana AleksejenkoT00163772
Danny O’Leary T00156361
Kate Malone T00044202
Lecturer: Conor Galvin
Submission date: 5 May 2015
Institute of Technology Tralee

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Table of Contents
Table of Contents........................................................................................................................i
Table of Figures ....................................................................................................................... iii
Table of Tables ........................................................................................................................ iii
Disclaimer of Liability...............................................................................................................1
1 Purpose of the Information Systems/Information Technology Strategy ...........................2
2 Kerry’s Eye Business Strategy Analysis............................................................................3
2.1 Company’s Current Situation......................................................................................3
2.2 Company’s Future Situation .......................................................................................3
2.3 Strategies.....................................................................................................................4
2.4 Competitive Forces Analysis ......................................................................................5
2.4.1 Threat of New Entrants........................................................................................5
2.4.2 Bargaining Power of Suppliers............................................................................6
2.4.3 Bargaining Power of Customers..........................................................................7
2.4.4 Threat of Substitute Products...............................................................................7
2.4.5 Competitiveness...................................................................................................8
2.5 SWOT Analysis...........................................................................................................8
2.6 Critical Success Factor (CSF) ...................................................................................11
2.6.1 CSF (Critical Success Factors) Analysis ...........................................................11
2.7 Balanced Scorecard...................................................................................................12
2.8 Business Process Analysis ........................................................................................14
2.9 Value Chain Analysis................................................................................................16
2.9.1 Support Activities ..............................................................................................16
2.9.2 Primary Activities..............................................................................................16
2.9.3 External Value Chain Analysis..........................................................................17
2.10 The implications of Business Strategy for Information Technology ....................18

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2.11 Fit between Information Systems/Information Technology and Business Strategy .
...............................................................................................................................19
3 New Information Systems Opportunities.........................................................................21
3.1 Critical Improvement Areas......................................................................................21
4 Review of Current Applications Portfolio.......................................................................22
4.1 The roles of applications ...........................................................................................22
4.2 IS Health Grid ...........................................................................................................23
4.3 Sullivan Matrix..........................................................................................................25
4.4 GAP Analysis............................................................................................................26
5 Recommendations on Future Applications Portfolio.......................................................28
5.1 Recommendation 1....................................................................................................29
5.1.1 Description.........................................................................................................29
5.1.2 Potential Benefits...............................................................................................30
5.2 Recommendation 2....................................................................................................31
5.2.1 Description.........................................................................................................31
5.3 Recommendation 3....................................................................................................33
5.3.1 Description.........................................................................................................33
6 Bibliography ....................................................................................................................34
7 Appendices.......................................................................................................................36
7.1 Team Meeting Minutes .............................................................................................36
7.2 List of Questions and Replies from Kerry’s Eye ......................................................43
7.3 Questionnaires to Managers......................................................................................46
7.4 Presentation on emerging technologies which influence business strategies ...........66

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Table of Figures
Figure 1 Porter's Five Forces (Porter, 1998)..............................................................................5
Figure 2 Quark Publishing Platform (Quark, 2015) ..................................................................9
Figure 3 Balanced Scorecard ...................................................................................................12
Figure 4 Kerry's Eye Balanced Scorecard ...............................................................................13
Figure 5Business Process Model "As Is".................................................................................14
Figure 6 Business Process Model "To Be"..............................................................................15
Figure 7 External Value Chain (Porter, 1998).........................................................................17
Figure 8 IS/IT Business Focus (Analytix, 2015) .....................................................................19
Figure 9 A model for understanding Business Strategy and Information Systems.................20
Figure 10 Kerry's Eye IS Health Grid......................................................................................24
Figure 11 Sullivan Matrix........................................................................................................25
Figure 12 Google Analytics examples of reports ....................................................................30
Figure 13 Capsule CRM subscription details ..........................................................................31
Table of Tables
Table 1 Kerry's Eye SWOT Analysis ......................................................................................10
Table 2 Kerry's Eye Critical Success Factors ..........................................................................11
Table 3 Kerry's Eye Value Chain Analysis (Porter, 1998)......................................................17
Table 4 Cost of Digital Subscriptions......................................................................................22
Table 5Kerry's Eye Applications Portfolio..............................................................................23
Table 6 Recommendations on Future Applications Portfolio..................................................28

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Disclaimer of Liability
This project has been undertaken by the group of ISM students of the Institute of Technology,
Tralee, as a requirement for the Strategic Management Information Systems module. Every
effort has been made to present precise and consistent information and advice. The
information for this project is based upon primary and secondary research, which has been
subject to group comprehension.
Furthermore, neither the group, nor the Faculty of the School of Creative Media assume any
responsibility or liability for the reliance by any party upon the information and advice
contained in this report.
While no responsibility can be accepted by the research group for actions taken on the basis
of information contained in this report, authors of this report would hope that it would
provide an accurate and reliable basis for actions that might be taken as a result of this report.

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1 Purpose of the Information Systems/Information Technology
Strategy
Each organisation performance depends on integrated functioning of all departments within
the organisation. For example, sales, accounting and marketing department should operate
contributing to the overall organisation goals achievement. Therefore, the Information
systems play vital role in enabling the company management making correct decisions in
order to meet the goals and follow the organisational strategy. Control, planning, analysis,
processing activities and improved decision making are supported by the information systems
components. (Hardcastle, 2008)
Information Systems may be categorized as systems which maintain day-to-day business
activities and systems which support decision making process. Information Systems are used
by the organisations to achieve organisational goals and objectives and to gain competitive
advantage in the modern global business world. Information Technology is a part of
Information Systems, which an organisation uses, and which support all business processes,
i.e. storing, collecting and analysing the data, retrieving and manipulating the information.
“The purpose in developing an IS/IT strategy is to ensure that the best possible value can
be delivered from IS/IT investments.” (Ward & Peppard, 2002, p. 141)
IS/IT strategy enables the organisation:
 To reduce costs
 To increase values
 To analyse business performance
 To gather and share the information
 To plan the processes
 To forecast feature outcomes
Overall, IS/IT strategy lead the organisation towards efficient performance and successful
goals realisation.

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2 Kerry’s Eye Business Strategy Analysis
2.1 Company’s Current Situation
Kerry’s Eye is a weekly newspaper founded in 1974. The newspaper continues to be
published by the Kennelly family with a weekly distribution of over 26,000. The digital
edition of newspaper is available for a subscription of €50 per year. The paper is available
each Thursday and is distributed in Kerry, Limerick, Dublin, North Cork, London and New
York.
The company invested on innovative newspaper printing facility. This has resulted in the
company becoming one of the leading newspaper contract printers in the country, with
weekly print contracts from Louth, Waterford, Tyrone, Cork and Dublin. (Eye, n.d.)
The company uses the standard Microsoft programmes. Additionally, in Accounts office
bespoke accounts package called Input, specific for newspapers package, is used. Production,
Editorial and Advertising departments use a specialised newspaper software suite called
Baseview, which include NewsEdit, NewsProduction and NewsAdvertising. In addition, they
use Photoshop, Quark Express and InDesign software. Kerry’s Eye Facebook page is digital
marketing tool used to advertise and promote the company on social media platforms.
2.2 Company’s Future Situation
According to Tom McMahon, Accounts Manager, Kerry’s Eye does not have a Mission
Statement as such. Mr. McMahon stated that “organisation aim is to compete and beat the
daily papers in terms of Kerry news content on Thursday’s [the publication day]”.
(McMahon, 2014)
Mr. McMahon also said that Kerry’s Eye was one of the first coloured papers in Ireland.
Always being progressive, the paper has the highest news count and number of photographs
printed of any regional newspaper in the country. The goal of the company is to incorporate
any changes affecting the industry, using any available social media platform or website.
Newspaper guarantees that accurate and up to date news about Kerry will be always available
for the readers both in physical and digital version of the newspaper.

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2.3 Strategies
Strategy is applicable to all organisations, small or large, profit-making or non-profitable.
There are three levels of functional strategy: corporate strategy, business strategy and
operational strategy. Various factors affect company’s performance. Using the variety of
frameworks the business can analyse the performance and choose the efficient strategy for
the company.
Current strategies applied within Kerry’s Eye are as follows:
 Distribution of newspaper in other counties and abroad
 Digital edition of Kerry’s Eye
 Investment into new printing facilities
 Contract printing for other companies in Ireland
 Hiring new skilled staff
 Online Photo Sales
 Kennelly’s Archive
 Introducing a Cloud based backup and archive

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2.4 Competitive Forces Analysis
Figure 1 Porter's Five Forces (Porter, 1998)
2.4.1 Threat of New Entrants
Kerry’s Eye is an established company in the area and because it is a newspaper, the threat of
new entrants would be minimal. Outlook and The Advertiser are being published currently,
so they may grow to be a New Entrant in the locality in the future. A way of reducing the
threat of new entrants are as follows:
 To increase production and take advantage of the economies of scale.
 To differentiate, and Kerry’s Eye has done this to a certain extent with the digital
paper.
 To ensure an access to various distribution channels, including online sales
From an IS/IT perspective there is some threat of new entrants to Kerry’s Eye.
TraleeToday.ie are a free online website bringing all the daily news about Tralee using a
variety of headings such as

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 News (Politics, Schools, Older News)
 Sport (GAA, Soccer, Rugby, Racing, Other Sports, Club News)
 Entertainment (What’s On, Dining Out)
 Business/property (Features, Directory)
 Living (Beauty & Fashion, Health & Fitness)
TraleeToday.ie have consistently over 500,000 views a month and have over 70,000 unique
users and also have over 8,000 likes on Facebook. The fact that Kerry’s Eye customers in
Tralee can get a free daily news roundup of all these different features will surely affect sales
of the papers, both sheet and digital. (Today, 2015)
2.4.2 Bargaining Power of Suppliers
The company would be reliant on their suppliers for inbound logistics such as paper, ink and
other consumables so the bargaining power of suppliers would be strong. Kerry’s Eye would
require high volumes of paper, ink, etc. in order to get the newspaper to print and distribute it
weekly, hence suppliers would have a substantial amount of control over costs as these
logistics and consumables are essential for Kerry’s Eye.
 The introduction of a CRM system would help in keeping suppliers details enabling
everyone in the organisation to have full information about any supplier. This could
also help in keeping stock (Ink, Paper) levels appropriate through alerts when stock
levels are low.
 In order to reduce the bargaining power of suppliers, Kerry’s Eye have broadened
their search for suppliers by locating different suppliers worldwide. An example of an
international supplier they use is Norse Skog paper hailing from Norway. They also
order their printing plates from Israel. Researching and ordering via the Internet
provides the opportunity to find low-priced and good quality resources that you may
not find locally.

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2.4.3 Bargaining Power of Customers
Customers have a good degree of bargaining power as the Kerryman newspaper (biggest
competitor) is readily available at a similar price and unless the customer has an online
subscription, then there would not be any switching costs. The Kerryman also has a digital
version with a free trial of one week while Kerry’s Eye charge 2 euro for one online edition.
However the Kerry’s Eye is cheaper by 30 euro for a year’s subscription which is a large
difference.
 Perhaps the introduction of a loyalty card would be one way of reducing customer’s
bargaining power.
 The existing App is beneficial to customers as a lot of people own a smartphone.
However, if readers could access a sample of the paper before purchasing this app, the
bargaining power of customers would be reduced.
 The introduction of a CRM system would help in keeping customers (contract
printing, advertisers and community groups) happy and also keep all information
about these people together enabling everyone in the organisation to have full
information about any customer.
2.4.4 Threat of Substitute Products
The Kerryman is an obvious direct substitute but there are other different products that used
in a combination, could offer a reduced but plausible coverage of local news. This
combination could be made up of the:
 Radio Kerry website which updates their news feed regularly throughout each day.
 Additionally, the use of Social media networks by Kerry’s Eye improves the
communication with readers allowing to earn customer loyalty and, therefore,
decreases the threat of substitute products.
 Tralee Today.ie has excellent coverage of news, sport and entertainment in Tralee.
The latter in particular is free and has been operating for 9 months and is becoming
increasingly popular.

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2.4.5 Competitiveness
Although The Kerryman newspaper was established first in 1904, the Kerry’s Eye newspaper
has become the leading independent local newspaper in County Kerry since it was founded in
1974. The Kerry’s Eye is still owned and run by the Kennelly family. They have an invested
relationship with numerous local businesses to aid in advertising and promotion for both the
newspaper and the business.
The Kerryman remains a competitor for the Kerry’s Eye. The Kerryman’s App allows reader
to read headlines without having to purchase it, whereas to access news on the Kerry’s Eye
App, customers must purchase it first and the cost is quite substantial at €65.00 for the year
and €50 for six months.
In speaking with Kerry’s Eye, they feel quite happy with their increased coverage of events
county-wide, particularly in Listowel and Killarney. The utilisation of a number of
applications and technologies within the company provides an opportunity to gain
competitive advantage. For example, cloud computing, which is introducing in Kerry’s Eye
currently for backup, is cost-efficient as it reduces expenditure on hardware. The use of
technology improves internal and external communication, the quality and relevance of
contents and the performance overall. (Porter, 1998)
2.5 SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis is a technique for understanding and identifying micro environmental
factors. This type of analysis involves the examination of internal strengths and weaknesses
of the company and external opportunities and threats in order to find the ways to turn
organisation’s weaknesses into opportunities and to use strengths overcoming threats (Ward
& Peppard, 2002). The identification of these factors is vital in decision-making process and
strategic planning while implementing Information systems within the organisation.

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Strengths Weaknesses
Opportunities Threats
Figure 2 Quark Publishing Platform (Quark, 2015)
"Performing a SWOT analysis is a great way to improve business operations and
decision making. It allowed me to identify the key areas where my organization was
performing at a high level, as well as areas that needed work. Some small business
owners make the mistake of thinking about these sorts of things informally, but by
taking the time to put together a formalized SWOT analysis, you can come up with
ways to better capitalize on your company's strengths and improve or eliminate
weaknesses." (Andrew Schrage, founder and CEO of Money Crashers) (Daily, 2013)
The Kerry’s Eye is heavily reliant on technology for the daily running of the business. All
their technology would be advanced and fit for purpose. For example, they use Microsoft
Office for writing up articles, specific for newspapers Accounts package, specialised
newspaper software suite called Baseview, Quark Express, etc.

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Kerry’s Eye SWOT Analysis is displayed in Table 1.
Strengths Weaknesses
 Local newspaper 40 years in
business
 Distribution in Ireland and overseas
 High quality printing facility
 Highly qualified technical staff
 Available in digital format
 Digital photo archive
 Presented on social media platforms
 Website
 The use of modern technology
 Opportunity to read digital edition of
newspaper using mobile app
 To read digital version subscription
(€50 a year) and good internet
connection is required
 No product differentiation
 The suppliers aren’t local, therefore,
the maintenance or replacement of
the machines is time consuming and
might be costly
 Subscription for Kerry’s Eye app is
overpriced compared to the digital
newspaper.
Opportunities Threats
 Monitor changes in technology and
use the advantages of it
 Lessen ads on every page and print
them separately
 Introduce CRM system
 Expand the website services by
linking to Social Media Platforms
 Include translation to different
languages option on a website to
create a wider customer base
 Include sample paper on App
 Competition with other local
newspaper and national
 Fast changes in technology
 Costs associated with information
systems and technology maintenance
 Digital subscription may lessen sales
of physical newspaper
 Readers preferences may change and
can be hard to predict
 Data protection and security issues
by using cloud computing
 Technology breakdown
 Online sources such as
TraleeToday.ie and
KillarneyToday.com are a real threat
to the physical paper.
Table 1 Kerry's Eye SWOT Analysis

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2.6 Critical Success Factor (CSF)
“Critical success factors (CSFs) refer to specific activities, procedures or areas that a
business or organization depends on for its continued survival. Critical success factors
are unique to each organization, and will reflect the current business and future goals.
An organization’s critical success factors can be identified by applying business
analytics.” (techopedia.com, 2014)
2.6.1 CSF (Critical Success Factors) Analysis
This analytical tool may be used to develop an IS/IT strategy in combination with the value
chain analysis to identify processes which are critical to the success of a business strategy.
CSF issues are key areas which help to insure valid competitive performance within an
organisation. Focussing on these areas will help Kerry’s Eye to gain and maintain a
competitive advantage.
Critical Success Factors should directly relate to the objectives of the business. Kerry’s Eye
has objectives which include:
Objective Technology Critical Success Factor
Accounts Package Input Bespoke accounts package
for newspapers
Software Package Baseview A specialized newspaper
software suite that
incorporates News Editing,
News Production and News
Advertising
Layout Package Quark Xpress A computer application for
creating and editing
complex page layouts
Photo Software Photoshop Alters images digitally
using Photoshop image
editing software
Desktop Publishing
Software
InDesign can be used to create works
such as posters, flyers,
brochures, magazines,
newspapers and books
To source suppliers
internationally
Internet to establish
international contacts
As a result, Kerry’s Eye
have three main suppliers
that come from the UK,
Norway and Israel
Table 2 Kerry's Eye Critical Success Factors

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2.7 Balanced Scorecard
Ward and Peppard (2002) suggest that the Balanced Scorecard became a prevalent tool for
managing the performance of the organisation and for developing the strategy. In
combination with CSF analysis, the Balanced Scorecard provides the opportunity to make
decision on prioritising IS investment relevant to achieving business objectives. The
Balanced Scorecard technique supports the analysis of organisation performance from the
following perspectives:
 The financial perspective refers to objectives which allow tracking financial success
and shareholder value.
 The internal business perspective relates to operational objectives within the
organisation, such as key processes required in achieving customer objectives.
 The innovation and learning perspective refers to potential future success drivers,
i.e. new applications, skills and training.
 The customer perspective relates to the customer objectives, i.e. customer
satisfaction and market share.
Figure 3 Balanced Scorecard

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Financial Perspective
Objectives Measures
Keep control
over production
and sales
Reduce costs
Ensure accurate
reporting using IT/IS in
addition to cooperative
work of all departments
New suppliers and
distribution channels
Innovation & Learning Perspective
Objectives Measures
Skilled Staff
Innovations in
IS/IT
Staff training
Track new
applications suitable
for the business
Internal Business Perspective
Objectives Measures
Functionality of
IS/IT
Recruit
professional staff
Ensure IS/IT systems
are properly
maintained and used
to its full potential
Database containing
employees details
Customer Perspective
Objectives Measures
Improve
communication
with customers
Gain market
share
Social Media channels
to utilise efficiently
Modify Marketing mix
according to customers’
preferences
Figure 4 Kerry's Eye Balanced Scorecard
Vision
Mission

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Figure 5Business Process Model "As Is"
2.8 Business Process Analysis
Figure 3 illustrates the “As Is” process model for managing images used for publication and
archives.

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Figure 6 Business Process Model "To Be"
Figure 4 illustrates the use of cloud computing and how it could potentially improve the
process of managing images for use in publication and archives in Kerry’s Eye.

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2.9 Value Chain Analysis
2.9.1 Support Activities
Infrastructure: Input accounts package.
HR Management: Training systems for all the technologies Kerry’s Eye use.
Technology Development: Kerry’s Eye are currently spending approx. €250k [over the
next 3 months] on updating their hardware and software
programmes. They are also introducing a Cloud based backup
and archive.
Procurement: When Kerry’s Eye invests in new technology they also enter a 5
year support and maintenance agreement that gives them access
to training and any upgrades that might be introduced.
2.9.2 Primary Activities
Inbound Logistics: Stock control system and stock reordering system for paper, ink
and printing plates.
Operations: Photoshop for image editing, Quark Xpress for page layouts,
InDesign for creating posters, flyers etc., Baseview for news
editing, advertising and production.
Outbound Logistics: Systems for the distribution of papers including overseas and
storage.
Sales and Marketing: Baseview software package for news advertising
Services: Website, Facebook Page, Twitter Account as well as contact for
stories, photo sales, and the Kennelly archive. (Porter, 1998)

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Support Activities
Infrastructure: Input Accounts Package
HR Management: Training Systems for Used Technologies
Technology Development: Updating Hardware and Software currently investing €250,000
Procurement: 5 year support and maintenance agreements when investing
Primary Activities
Inbound
Logistics
Operations
Outbound
Logistics
Sales/Marketing Services
Stock Control Photoshop Distribution System
BaseView
Advertising
Website
Stock ReOrdering
Quark
Xpress
Storage System Facebook
InDesign Twitter
Table 3 Kerry's Eye Value Chain Analysis (Porter, 1998)
2.9.3 External Value Chain Analysis
Figure 7 External Value Chain (Porter, 1998)

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Suppliers: Kodak (Printing plates), Norse Skog (Paper), Sun Chemicals (Ink)
Competitors: Kerryman, Clearys Photo Sales, Traleetoday.ie
Distributors: Munster Newslink
2.10 The implications of Business Strategy for Information Technology
It is very important to ensure that planning and implementation of IS/IT strategies are linked
to business strategies. The integrated process determines efficient business performance in
order to achieve organisational goals and objectives. Various tools and techniques, discussed
in previous chapters of this report, are used in business strategy planning and development
process and also in planning and implementation of IS/IT.
For example, Porter’s Five Forces framework helps to identify the impact of IS/IT on
business performance. The framework determines how information systems can build
barriers to entry and reduce bargaining power of Kerry’s Eye competitors. The Value Chain
Analysis helps to identify how the use of IT within an organisation can reduce costs and add
value to business processes.
Kerry’s Eye is in a process of phasing out QuarkXpress and phasing in InDesign, which may
lead to possible switch over problems. Any new system has a settling in period. Staff who
would be used to the old system, need to be trained to use the new system which can take
time.
According to Ward and Peppard, IS/IT can be considered as a contribution to development or
alteration of business strategies. On the other hand, the same IS/IT might be used by
competitors and could become a threat for the business. The organisation must be aware that
IS/IT strategies must be interrelated to business strategies when developing these strategies.
Therefore, the role of IS/IT would vary dependent on economic and competitive situations.
This may create the opportunities for business growth, but also may cause the decline in the
industry.

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Figure 8 IS/IT Business Focus (Analytix, 2015)
2.11 Fit between Information Systems/Information Technology and Business
Strategy
According to Tom McMahon (Accounts Manager), Kerry’s Eye aims to compete and succeed
in providing their customers with quality services. The influence of information systems and
technology on a business's strategy can create a competitive advantage for the business. The
role of IS/IT has become significant in most businesses and should be used effectively in
order to achieve business objectives. Figure 9 demonstrates how Business Strategy is
interlinked with Information Systems in achieving business objectives.

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Kerry’s Eye management understands the importance of IS/IT integration with business
strategy. The company is currently in a process of modifications of current information
systems. For example, cloud computing has evolved and is growing in use among businesses
for backup and storage. Input is used by Kerry’s Eye as an accounts package which is
designed specifically for the newspaper industry. The current desktop publishing platform,
QuarkXPress, is going to be gradually replaced by InDesign, a more innovative software used
for editing and publishing.
Online presence is important for any business and for a newspaper business in particular.
Kerry’s Eye offers their readers the opportunity to read a digital edition online or by using an
App on mobile devices. This is beneficial for the company in the current environment as a
number of substitutes exist now in the media industry. These examples demonstrate how the
integration of IS/IT systems support Kerry’s Eye business strategies.
Figure 9 A model for understanding Business Strategy and Information Systems Invalid source
specified.

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3 New Information Systems Opportunities
LinkedIn is a network for professionals to connect with each other. In order to communicate
with external contacts and exchange experiences with other publishers, creating an account
on LinkedIn would be very advantageous for them. As the majority of their customer base
would be local, LinkedIn could provide a wider market for them to reach out to people they
wouldn’t ordinarily come in contact with, thus enabling brand expansion. Presently Kerry’s
Eye has printing contracts with companies in Cork and Louth. Using LinkedIn they could
connect with more businesses which may lead to new contract printing opportunities.
A Customer Relationship Management System (CRM) would be hugely beneficial to the
Kerry’s Eye newspaper. This system could be used to maintain and improve the relationship
they have with their customers and clients, thereby gaining an advantage over competitors.
By using this system, they would be able to keep track of what customers they have and what
they have used the Kerry’s Eye for (i.e. advertising, online subscription, contract printing).
Social media is a very popular way of advertising in today’s society. To get the latest news
and events from around the globe, various pages such as Traleetoday.ie have been set up to
provide information to Facebook users and has proven to be very popular. By enhancing their
Facebook page, Kerry’s Eye would be putting their name out there as a reliable online source
for covering news from Kerry and the surrounding areas.
3.1 Critical Improvement Areas.
As mentioned in the SWOT Analysis, the App needs improvement. Currently, potential
customers can’t view a sample paper on the app. A sample paper is available when accessing
the digital paper on the Kerry’s Eye website so this is an area that should be rectified.
Another problem with the app is the cost. The app is 25% more expensive for six months than
the cost of the digital paper on the desktop and about 30% more expensive for twelve months
as shown in the Table 4.

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Digital Paper Cost Duration of Subscription
App €50 6 months
€65 1 year
Desktop Version €40 6 months
€50 1 year
Table 4 Cost of Digital Subscriptions
4 Review of Current Applications Portfolio
The applications in Information Systems portfolio need planning, management and
evaluation of their current and future contribution into the business as a whole. In order to
assess the relationships between IS/IT and the business a matrix developed by McFarlan can
be used (Ward & Peppard, 2002, p. 42). This model is a tool for analysis of all existing and
potential applications into four categories based on the importance of the applications for the
business. The components of IS/IT of the organisation can be defined as strategic, high
potential, key operational or support, depending on the contribution to business efficiency.
The contents of the IS/IT portfolio in the organisation may change over time as all segments
will be influenced by external and internal factors. Therefore, it is very important to carry out
the review of current applications portfolio on a regular basis. In Chapter 4.1 the roles of
applications utilised currently by Kerry’s Eye will be discussed.
4.1 The roles of applications
The categories used in a framework are as follows:
 Strategic applications which are essential for business success aiming to provide
competitive advantage.
 Key operational applications, which are inevitable for business processes.
 Support applications help to improve business productivity and management
efficiency.
 High potential applications may become beneficial in future, but this is questionable
and need to be verified.

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Table 5 demonstrates McFarlan’s Strategic Grid (McFarlan, 1983) generated for Kerry’s Eye.
The applications used within the organisation are plotted into different categories, displaying
the role of each application for business success.
STRATEGIC HIGH POTENTIAL
 Specialised newspaper software
Baseview, i.e. NewsEdit,
NewsProduction, NewsAdvertising
 Online Photo Archive and Photo sales
 Social Media, i.e. Facebook, Twitter
 Digital database of photos
 Photoshop
 Company’s website
 Quark Express
 InDesign
 Internet
 Microsoft Office package, including
Word, Excel, Access, etc.
 Accounts package Input
KEY OPERATIONAL SUPPORT
Table 5Kerry's Eye Applications Portfolio
4.2 IS Health Grid
The health of the Applications Portfolio can be defined as
“…a combination of the assessments made by individual, senior managers, based on
the management value, technical quality, investment, importance, and use of each of
the systems in the manager’s domain.” (Weill & Vitale, 1999)
The management and individuals who are using the applications may provide their opinion
on a variety of attributes
 Cost
 Technical quality
 Frequency of use
 Management value
These attributes are important in order to decide whether the business will invest or eliminate
a system.
.

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IS Health Grid is a visual aid that indicates the importance of the applications and its’ value
for the company. Figure 3 demonstrates the IS Health Grid for Kerry’s Eye Applications
Portfolio.
Figure 10 Kerry's Eye IS Health Grid

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4.3 Sullivan Matrix
Figure 11 Sullivan Matrix
 The Sullivan Matrix is a framework used to analyse the current portfolio.
 Quark Xpress is being eased out, so, this is not important to the business.
 Baseview and InDesign are important to the business but are not widespread
throughout the business so are highly infused and reasonably lowly diffused.
 Input accounts software is important to the business so is highly infused and
reasonably lowly diffused.
 Microsoft Office is highly diffused and highly infused throughout the business as it is
the vast majority of businesses.
 The website is critical to the business seeing as this is where customers can purchase a
digital paper subscription and can also purchase photos and frames from here as well.
It is also well scattered throughout the business highlighting its importance.

26
4.4 GAP Analysis
Table 6 shows the Gap Analysis of Kerry’s Eye application portfolio.
0= No
Contribution
2= Minor
4=Moderate
6= Major
Driver 1
Information
Efficiency
Weight:5
Driver 2
Customer
Satisfaction
Weight:5
Driver 3
Improved
Profitability
Weight:3
Total
Input Accounts
Package
Current=6
Potential=6
Gap=0
Current=2
Potential=2
Gap=0
Current=6
Potential=6
Gap=0
0
Baseview
Current=6
Potential=6
Gap=0
Current=4
Potential=4
Gap=0
Current=6
Potential=6
Gap=0
0
Photoshop
Current=2
Potential=2
Gap=0
Current=6
Potential=6
Gap=0
Current=4
Potential=6
Gap=6
6
Quark Express
Current=2
Potential=2
Gap=0
Current=4
Potential=4
Gap=0
Current=4
Potential=6
Gap=6
6
InDesign
Current=2
Potential=2
Gap=0
Current=4
Potential=6
Gap=10
Current=4
Potential=4
Gap=0
10
Microsoft Office
Current=6
Potential=6
Gap=0
Current=2
Potential=2
Gap=0
Current=0
Potential=0
Gap=0
0
Website Current=6
Potential=6
Gap=0
Current=4
Potential=6
Gap=10
Current=4
Potential=6
Gap=6
16
Table 6 Kerry's Eye applications' portfolio Gap Analysis
From analysing the results of the Gap Analysis above, it is clear that Input Accounts Package,
Baseview and Microsoft Office are in little need of improvement.
Systems that have potential for improvement are the Adobe software. Kerry’s Eye plan to
eliminate QuarkXPress as it contributes very little to the business and intends to substitute it
with InDesign.
The website is a major contribution to the business. By implementing a translation system on
the website, they could increase customer satisfaction and improve profitability.

27
Next section of the project completed individually
By Tatjana Aleksejenko
T00163772

28
5 Recommendations on Future Applications Portfolio
Kerry’s Eye is currently in the process of making changes in Information Systems utilised
within the organisation. For example, new application InDesign has been introduced this
year, which will replace Quark Express, application used for print design and desktop
publishing.
As an IS/IT consultant, I investigated several options for potential IS/IT solutions that may be
efficient for Kerry’s Eye business strategy. The recommendations are based on the results of
business analysis carried out by our team using different applicable frameworks. Table 6
demonstrates the recommendations on possible alterations in current Kerry’s Eye applications
portfolio. All possible solutions are included with the following detailed description of the
high priority recommendations in the next chapters.
Idea Description Priority Cost Timeline
1 To use Google Web and
mobile App Analytics in order
to produce reports on online
performance
H Google Web Analytics is a free
tool. Need to train an employee;
free online course is available.
Details are provided in Chapter
5.1
December
2015
2 To implement CRM software H Various packages – different
prices. Details are provided in
Chapter 5.2
October
2015
3 Mobile App improvement H Software developer will be
required. Detailed description is
provided in Chapter 5.3
October
2015
4 Multi language feature on
website
L Very expensive for newspaper.
Translation cost is 10 cent per
word. Might not be cost-
effective.
December
2015
5 To use an interstitial ad, extra
digital advertisement for
smartphone and tablet
subscribers.
M Need to know coding, therefore
training costs involved. Can
increase the profit from
advertising, but may lessen the
number of subscribers.
December
2015
6 To use website as a platform
providing Photoshop tutorials
L High cost associated with
programming when introducing
the course.
December
2015
Table 6 Recommendations on Future Applications Portfolio

29
5.1 Recommendation 1
From research and analysis undertaken by me and my colleagues it was identified that
Kerry’s Eye use website analysis tools only for a part of the website, i.e. Kennelly’s Archive
webpage. It is beneficial to monitor performance, visitor engagement and conversion rate on
a photo selling page. However, it would be advantageous for the company to monitor whole
website performance, including mobile app analytics.
As it suggested in Chapter 4.4 of this report, Gap Analysis, company’s website needs
improvements. Google Web Analytics might be used in order to evaluate and monitor
website performance. The reports obtained from this tool can be used to provide constructive
feedback on website performance and to improve experience of online visitors.
“Google Analytics gives us key insights that help drive the evolution of our product
on our mobile app and desktop. It shows us exactly how people are using our product
on each platform.” Jeffrey Fluhr, CEO Spreecast (Analytics, 2015)
5.1.1 Description
At present website plays vital role for the organisation in achieving business objectives. It is
important for Kerry’s Eye to ensure that company’s website performance is effective. As it
was highlighted in previous chapters of this report, IS/IT strategy must be interrelated with
the business strategy. Therefore, the website should work efficiently in order to attract more
customers and give them the best experience. Web Analytics tools can be used for website
and mobile App performance analysis, which provides various reports on number of visitors,
on most useful keywords, on conversion rates, etc.
Google Analytics is the most popular web analytics tool. It is a free tool which helps to
understand website users’ behaviour, how to interpret the data and how to improve online
presence. Google Analytics Academy provides free online course for those who wish to
improve analytical skills. Therefore, Kerry’s Eye marketing department employee can
participate in this course and gain these skills. There is another option to accomplish online
web analytics course with the Digital Institute of Marketing, which costs €195. However, in
my opinion, free course would be sufficient. The following free courses on
https://analyticsacademy.withgoogle.com/explorer are available:
 Mobile App Analytics Fundamentals
 Ecommerce Analytics: From Data to Decisions
 Google Analytics Platform Principles

30
5.1.2 Potential Benefits
Google Analytics standard features include basic metrics that allow to monitor all website
visitors, all transactions, goal conversions and other metrics. Analysis of website and mobile
app would also help to identify weaknesses and how to improve them. Person responsible for
web analytics can create dashboards containing the selection of reports, such as Map Overlay
report which represents visitors’ location, etc. Analytics Intelligence provides automatic
alerts for main changes in data patterns from the website. This will help Kerry’s Eye to gain
advantages having full picture of their online performance.
The implementation of this recommendation does not require large financial investment.
There is a need to find a suitable employee within organisation who possesses relevant skills
and an aspiration to carry out these responsibilities. Google Analytics is a free and easy to
implement tool which is used to measure the success of website and mobile app as an
effective online marketing tools.
Figure 12 Google Analytics examples of reports

31
In Chapter 2.7 the Balanced Scorecard indicates the importance to keep control over
production and sales from financial perspective and to improve communication refer to
customer perspective. In addition, stock control and stock reordering systems are primary
activities within the organisation refer to Value Chain Analysis in Chapter 2.9. It doesn’t
mean that existing IS/IT used for these purposes are poor. However, stock and sales control
activities could be centralised and made easier to use by introducing Customer Relationship
Management (CRM) software.
5.2.1 Description
According to Kerry’s Eye management, the organisation doesn’t use any of available CRM
software. Initially, the technology plays vital role in successful customer interactions and in
learning about the customers. It also helps to build relationships with customers and to ensure
the customer remains loyal towards the business. The goal of CRM is to improve interactions
from the customer’s viewpoint and foster customer loyalty (Rouse, 2015). Customer loyalty
is important in newspaper business as there is a huge competition in media industry.
There are a number of CRM technologies available on different term and conditions. After
some research carried out, I would suggest the Capsule CRM which is easy to implement and
use. Trial subscription is available to test and evaluate the CRM software. No installation is
required.
Figure 13 Capsule CRM subscription details

32
The Professional subscription is not expensive as it is seen from the Figure 13. The guidelines
how to use this software are available when account is created. I created a demo account in
order to check the functionality of the system. I found the software very easy to use.
This online CRM helps to keep track of customers, suppliers and
to plan what need to be done in order to communicate with people
and organisations and fulfil the opportunities. This software helps
to manage all relationships, with customers, suppliers and other shareholders. It can be used
to manage sales pipeline and email system. It is also beneficial as it could be used on any
mobile device.
All existing data on suppliers and customers can be exported from the sources and can be
updated on any stage. Capsule CRM facilitates to keep all customers, suppliers and
employees details in one place. This provides with opportunity to analyse the data in a simple
and fast manner. The CRM is designed in a way to avoid creating duplicate contact records.
The software is upgrading on regular basis and the user is notified about changes as soon as
they appear. For example, new search facility and new interface was introduced last year. The
beauty of this software is that it’s simple, easy to maintain and it could be used on a
smartphone.
The objective of using the CRM software is to enable the organisation to
“…classify, estimate, predict, cluster, and more accurately describe data about
customers, using mathematical models and algorithms that ultimately simplify how it
views its customer base and how it behaves toward individual customers.” (Peppers
& Rogers, 2011)
Moreover, it helps to build relationships not only with customers, but with all stakeholders.
The benefit of utilising CRM application within Kerry’s Eye provides the opportunity to
improve relationships with shareholders and increase efficiency of organisation performance.
Customer retention is a cost-effective strategy and is more efficient than customer
acquisition. Becoming customer oriented, the organisation builds customer trust and loyalty
what will lead to increased revenue.

33
Third recommendation is based on a research carried out while working on a project. I would
suggest Kerry’s Eye to improve the mobile app. Professional software developer service will
be required for this purpose. Therefore, some costs will be applied. This new IS/IT
opportunity will help to gain competitive advantage.
5.3.1 Description
For the purpose of this report the team undertook Competitive Forces Analysis. In order to
gain competitive advantage the organisation need to know their competitors and strategies.
Ward and Peppard (2002) stated that the same IS/IT opportunities exist for competitors.
Therefore, the company need to ensure that IS/IT applied within the company remains an
opportunity, not a threat.
The comparison between Kerry’s Eye mobile app and their main competitor’s The Kerryman
mobile app was made. It was identified that The Kerryman provide the opportunity for the
mobile app users to read:
1. Sample newspaper edition (allowing them to see how the newspaper will appear on
their device before paying for it).
2. Newspaper headlines.
3. Provides different subscription options, i.e. one edition, 1 month, 3 month, 6 month
and 1 year.
All of the mentioned above is lacking on Kerry’s Eye mobile app. The subscription for
mobile app is available only for 6 months and 12 month and the cost is more expensive than
digital edition for desktop. These drawbacks of the mobile app reduce the ability to compete
and also increase the bargaining power of customers.
The benefits of including the options described above to mobile app are clear. The
modifications, such as sample edition, headlines and reduced price, are easy to implement on
a small cost. As to potential benefits, the number of subscribers will increase, leading to
customer satisfaction and loyalty. As a result, the organisation IS strategy will help to reduce
bargaining power of customers and gain competitive advantage.

34
6 Bibliography
Analytics, G., 2015. Google Analytics. [Online] Available at: http://www.google.ie/analytics/
[Accessed 30 April 2015].
Analytix, 2015. IT Management. [Online] Available at:
http://www.analytix.co.za/Training/Courses/ITManagement.aspx [Accessed 29 April 2015].
cgma.org, 2014. Publishing Images - Porters five forces.jpg. [Online] Available at:
http://www.cgma.org/Resources/Tools/essential-tools/PublishingImages/porters-five-
forces.jpg [Accessed 30 January 2015].
Coelho, P., 2012. Creating customer loyalty through service customization, The Netherlands:
Institute of Management Research.
Daily, B. N., 2013. SWOT Analysis: Examples, Templates and Definition. [Online] Available
at: www.businessnewsdaily.com [Accessed 26 February 2015].
Eye, K., n.d. About Us. [Online] Available at: www.kennellyarchive.com [Accessed 29
January 2015].
Hardcastle, E., 2008. Business Information Systems, s.l.: Elizabeth Hardcastle & Ventus
Publishing ApS.
Krafft, M. & Mantrala, M., 2009. Retailing in the 21st Century: Current and Future Trends.
s.l.:Springer Science Media.
McFarlan, 1983. Conceptual Business Models. [Online] Available at:
http://www.comp.dit.ie/rfitzpatrick/Business%20Perspectives%20slides/Conceptual%20Busi
ness%20Models/The%20Information%20Archipelago%20-
%20McFarlan,%20McKenney%20and%20Pyburn.pdf [Accessed April 2015].
McMahon, T., 2014. About Kerry's Eye [Interview] (15 February 2015).

35
Peppers & Rogers Group’s Managed Customer Analytics Drives Transformation and Results
(2009) Peppers & Rogers Group.
Peppers, D., 2014. Building Customer Relationships in Four Steps. [Online] Available at:
http://www.1to1media.com/speaking/blog/2014/01/building-customer-relationships-in-four-
steps.html [Accessed 3 May 2015].
Peppers, D. & Rogers, M., 2011. Managing Customer Relationships: A Strategic Framework.
2nd ed. s.l.:Wiley.
Porter, M. E., 1998. Competitive Strategy. [Online] Available at:
http://books.simonandschuster.com/Competitive-Strategy/Michael-E-Porter/9780684841489
[Accessed April 2015].
Quark, 2015. How it Works. [Online] Available at: www.quark.com/en/Products/Quark
Publishing Plartform [Accessed 28 February 2015].
Rouse, M., 2015. Customer Experience Management (CEM). [Online] Available at:
http://searchcrm.techtarget.com/definition/customer-experience-management [Accessed 30
April 2015].
Today, T., 2015. home. [Online] Available at: http://traleetoday.ie/
Ward, J. & Peppard, J., 2002. Strategic Planning for Information Systems. 3rd ed.
Bedfordshire, UK: John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.
Ward, J. & Peppard, J., 2002. Strategic Planning for Information Systems. 3rd ed. West
Sussex: John Wiley & Sons.
Weill, P. & Vitale, M., 1999. Assessing the Health of an Information Systems Applications
Portfolio: an Example form Process manufacturing. MIS Quarterly, 23(4), pp. 601-624.

36
7 Appendices
7.1 Team Meeting Minutes
Team Meeting No 1 Minutes 29/01/15
12.00
Library
IT Tralee
Chairperson &
Team Leader:
Tatjana Aleksejenko
Minute taker & Document
Manager:
Kate Malone
Liaison
Officer:
Danny O’Leary
Attendees: Danny O’Leary, Kate Malone, Tatjana Aleksejenko
Agenda item1: Create the questionnaire for Kerry’s Eye contact.
Discussion: The team need to ask our contact in Kerry’s Eye about the technology and
information systems used by them in order to implement the strategic directions;
therefore, the questionnaire containing relevant questions to acquire appropriate
information is required.
Action items Person responsible Deadline
 Create questionnaire
 Email our contact
Team members
Danny O’Leary
28/01/15
28/01/15
Agenda item
2:
Commence the current business strategy analysis.
Discussion: The team need to evaluate current and future situation of the company and
determine how IS/IT can contribute to strengthening the business’s competitive
positioning. In order to answer these questions we need to obtain the list of all
systems and technologies the company uses. There is a risk that company will not
give us a full list of all IS/IT in the organisation. That could prevent us from properly
analysing the current business strategy.
 Company’s current and future
situation, strategies
 Competitive Forces Analysis
 Research on competitors
Tatjana Aleksejenko
Danny O’Leary
Kate Malone
03/02/15
03/02/15
03/02/15
Agenda item
3:
Create a skeleton of the report.
Discussion: The team need to start the compilation of the report by contributing individual
sections into one document.
 Create a skeleton of the report Tatjana Aleksejenko 29/01/15
Agenda item
4:
Allocation of roles for the next week.
Discussion: The team decided to allocate the roles for next week. It was decided:
 Team Leader – Danny O’Leary
 Liaison Officer – Kate Malone
 Document Manager – Tatjana Aleksejenko

37
13.00
Library
IT Tralee
Chairperson &
Team Leader:
Danny O’Leary
Manager:
Tatjana Aleksejenko
Liaison Officer: Kate Malone
Minutes of Team Meeting No.1 read and agreed. Action items of previous meeting were
completed by nominated team members on schedule.
 Company’s current and future
situation, strategies
 Competitive Forces Analysis
Tatjana Aleksejenko
Danny O’Leary
Kate Malone
03/02/15
03/02/15
03/02/15
Agenda item1: Contact Kerry’s Eye for more information
Discussion: We received the list of technologies used by Kerry’s Eye at present. The team
need to acquire more information on each of the technologies. We created a
questionnaire, which would help to determine missing facts from the previous
email.
 Email contact in Kerry’s Eye
and ask more questions
Kate Malone 11/02/15
Agenda item 2: Review the completed work from last week
Discussion: Team members discussed the completed by nominated person tasks. Overall
we were satisfied with the completed up to date work. We did some content
modifications. We need to find out more information on competitors.
 Research on competitors Team members 17/02/15
Agenda item 3: Allocation of roles for the next week.
 Team Leader – Kate Malone
 Liaison Officer – Tatjana Aleksejenko
 Document Manager – Danny O’Leary

38
11.00
S304
IT Tralee
Chairperson &
Team Leader:
Kate Malone Minute taker & Document Manager: Danny O’Leary
Liaison Officer: Tatjana Aleksejenko
 Email to Kerry’s Eye went
through with more questions
Danny O’Leary
Kate Malone
Agenda item1: Kerry’s Eye response
Discussion: The contact in Kerry’s Eye didn’t respond within a week. Therefore, Danny called
in and the person explained that he was very busy. We were asked to email all
questions and the contact will answer as soon as he will have time. We asked
about print screens of working applications. Need to email the list of questions
we have created earlier.
 Email contact in Kerry’s Eye
the list of questions and
remind about print screens
Tatjana Aleksejenko 25/02/15
Agenda item 2: Critical Success Factors review
Discussion: Team members discussed the critical success factors and how they relate to the
objectives of the Kerry’s Eye. Danny started this part of the project. We need to
add some points and to complete it.
Agenda item 4: Competitors’ Review
Discussion: Kate completed the review on Kerry’s Eye competitors and the companies within
the same industry. We discussed what technology they use, the prices they
charge for advertising and the cost of subscription. We will use the information
on competitors in the SWOT analysis, which need to be completed.
 SWOT Analysis Tatjana Aleksejenko 02/03/15

39
11.00
S304
IT Tralee
Chairperson &
Team Leader:
Danny O’Leary
Manager:
Tatjana Aleksejenko
 Email to Kerry’s Eye went
through with more questions
 Critical Success Factors
 SWOT Analysis
Tatjana Aleksejenko
Danny O’Leary
Tatjana Aleksejenko
Kate Malone
Agenda item1: Kerry’s Eye response
Discussion: We received the response from Kerry’s Eye. The information received was not
detailed, but it gave some idea about the IS/IT within the company. More
questions arose, which will be recorded and emailed to Kerry’s Eye.
 Update list of questions and
email to Kerry’s Eye
Kate Malone 06/03/15
Agenda item 2: Value Chain Analysis
Discussion: Team members discussed the Value chain analysis and how to approach it
from an IS/IT perspective.
 Value Chain Analysis Danny O’Leary 09/03/15
 Team Leader – Tatjana Aleksejenko
 Liaison Officer – Danny O’Leary
 Document Manager – Kate Malone
Agenda item 4: Main Document
Discussion: The main report document need to be updated. SWOT Analysis, Critical
Success Factors and other completed parts should be compiled together.
 Main document update Tatjana Aleksejenko 09/03/15

40
13.00
Library
IT Tralee
Chairperson &
Team Leader:
Tatjana Aleksejenko
Manager:
Kate Malone
Liaison Officer: Danny O’Leary
 List of questions updated, email
sent
 Value Chain Analysis
 Main document
Kate Malone
Danny O’Leary
Tatjana Aleksejenko
Agenda item1: Applications Portfolio
Discussion: The team need to start reviewing the current systems in place. We will start the
analysis of the roles of each application using McFarlan’s matrix. We also need to
generate an IS Health Grid. For this purpose we need to create questionnaires for
the Kerry’s Eye management and ask them to evaluate their systems. After we
receive all the required information we can update the IS Health Grid.
 Review of Current Application
Portfolio and roles of applications
 IS Health Grid
 Create questionnaires
Tatjana Aleksejenko
Kate Malone
Tatjana Aleksejenko
10/03/15
10/03/15
12/03/15
Agenda item 2: Business Process Model
Discussion: We are awaiting for the reply from Kerry’s Eye regarding their business
processes. As soon as we get a reply, we will create a business process model. If
the management does not email back, we will try to arrange a meeting with the
contact.
 Business Process Model Danny O’Leary 16/03/15

41
11.00
Library
IT Tralee
Chairperson & Team
Leader:
Kate Malone
Manager:
Danny O’Leary
Liaison Officer: Tatjana Aleksejenko
 IS/IT Gap Analysis
 Business Process Model
 Questionnaire created and emailed
to the Kerry’s Eye contact
Kate Malone
Danny O’Leary
Tatjana Aleksejenko
Agenda item1: Update IS/IT Health Grid
Discussion: Kerry’s Eye completed the questionnaires. We have more information, so,
we can update the Health Grid created earlier.
 Update IS Health Grid Kate Malone
Agenda item 2: Business Process Model
Discussion: Danny created a business process model for images gathering and
editing “as it is” within the organisation. He will update this model by
adding “to be” part.
Action items Person responsible
 Business Process Model Danny O’Leary
Agenda item 3: Sullivan Matrix
Discussion: We were not sure how to create a Sullivan matrix. We will research it and
we will use the findings to generate the matrix for Kerry’s Eye.
 Sullivan Matrix Tatjana Aleksejenko
Agenda item 4: Arranged meeting with Kerry’s Eye contact
Discussion: The meeting is arranged for Friday, 27th
March. The list of questions was
emailed earlier. During the meeting we will ask the questions which were
not answered previously.
 Information meeting Team members

42
11.00
Library
IT Tralee
Chairperson & Team
Leader:
Danny
O’Leary
Manager:
Tatjana
Aleksejenko
 Update IS Health Grid
 Business Process Model
 Sullivan Matrix
Kate Malone
Danny O’Leary
Tatjana Aleksejenko
Agenda item1: Contact Kerry’s Eye
Discussion: We discussed what other information we need from Kerry’s Eye and
to email our contact.
 Contact Kerry’s Eye Kate Malone 22/04/15
Agenda item 2: Future Applications Portfolio
Discussion: We discussed that we each have to complete Section 5 individually
and have a draft completed by next week.
 Future Applications Portfolio Team Members Individually 21/04/15
Agenda item 3: Sullivan Matrix
Discussion: Due to Tatjana’s enforced absence, Kate and Danny will complete the
Sullivan Matrix for next week.
 Sullivan Matrix Kate and Danny 21/04/15
 Discussion: The team decided to allocate the roles for next week. It was
decided:

43
7.2 List of Questions and Replies from Kerry’s Eye
Could we ask you for a mission statement if ye have one, company's vision and goals
and some information about stakeholders?
We don't have a Mission Statement as such, however, our aim is to compete and beat the
daily papers in terms of Kerry news content on Thursday's [our publication day] We have
always been a progressive newspaper, being one of the first in Ireland to go Colour and we
also have the highest news count and number of photographs printed of any regional
newspaper in the country.
Our future aim is to embrace whatever changes affect our industry be it the internet or social
media and to use whatever platform is available to provide accurate and up to the minute
news about Kerry and how it affects Kerry. We provide a local forum for concerned
individuals and groups to get their particular issues into the public domain.
Regarding stakeholders, although there are four directors all working in the company and all
shareholders, it is felt within the paper the most important stakeholder are our readers
because without them we would not survive. Also our dedicated staff of news
correspondents, administrators, sales staff and printers are vital to the success of Kerry's Eye
and what it hopes to achieve.
Could you tell us a little bit about your investors and your suppliers?
Investors are basically the directors/shareholders. Padraig Kennelly Snr and his wife Joan
started the company in 1974 after spending many years as professional photographers and
RTE's main cameraman for this area. Their sons joined the company as they got to working
age and I joined the company in the early 90's as company accountant and became a director
shareholder during 1998.
We have 3 main suppliers Newsprint paper Norse Skog [Norway], Ink Sun Chemicals [U.K]
and printing plates Kodak [Israel] We use local companies for misc. services like computers
stationary...etc. We use a U.S. software company that specialises in newspaper software to
provide our programming. Our printing equipment is mostly U.S. with some German
insertion and carousel feeder stations
Would you be able to give us a list of all the IS/IT systems used in Kerry's Eye.
Accounts
Bespoke Accounts package called Input which is specific for newspapers
Production, Editorial & Advertising
They use a specialised newspaper software suite called Baseview [News Edit, News
Production & News Advertising]
They also use Photoshop, quark Express and InDesign
Do you have CRM systems for helping managing relationships with suppliers,
customers, etc.?
When was the last time when the company invested in IT?

44
Did you experience any difficulties with your current Information systems and
technologies?
Do you have the budget to spend on IT? Do you have any plans to invest in IS/IT in the
near future?
Are there constraints that exist that may affect the implementation of IS/IT strategy?
For example, lack of resources, skills, etc.
Would you be able to provide screenshots of the applications in use, for example, Input,
Baseview, QuarkXpress, InDesign, Photoshop, etc.?
Do you have any plans to incorporate new systems or technologies in the near future?
We have a team of 6 Marketing/Sales executives; it is their function to interact with their
client base. It is important that they keep the communication frequent, even if their client is
not advertising at present.
We have a very even supply requirement. We have 3 main supply products Newsprint, Ink
and Printing plates. These are delivered to a defined schedule. Computer equipment and
software are provided for by way of maintenance contracts.

45
We are currently spending approx. €250k [over the next 3 months] on updating our hardware
and software programmes. We are also introducing a Cloud based backup and archive
No we last invested about 8 years ago [apart from some replacement computers? and we are
working with the same supplier on the new package. So we have been satisfied with what we
had in place.
When we invest in new technology we also enter a 5 year support and maintenance
agreement that gives us access to training and any upgrades that might be introduced.
When the current investment is complete we would not envisage having to spend any further
major capital within the next 5 years
Could you provide us with a few processes within the organisation, for example,
subscription process, printing newspaper, hiring process?
What are your methods of internal and external communication?
Is there a clocking system linked with payroll?
Is there an app available to read the digital newspaper?
Is there a process on how decisions are made on what will be included in the next
edition and how the articles are shared
Would you be able to give me some information about the digital paper and the photo
sales, just general stuff about when ye started them, how they are generally
performing?
Do any staff use their own devices for work (bring your own device) or are they all
supplied by the business?
All supplied by the company
What types of internal and external communications does the business use?
Internal phone system and emails
Does the business have its own database(s)?
Yes
Would you be able to tell me what distributors Kerry's Eye use?
Munster Newslink Ltd from Newcastle west, Limerick
Could I ask you do Kerry's Eye use any software to automatically re-order paper or ink
when supplies are low or is it all done manually.

46
7.3 Questionnaires to Managers

66
7.4 Presentation on emerging technologies which influence business strategies

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