BETA Information Technology — SME Case Study (UAE)

The company BETA Information Technology is an integrator of system technology infrastructure serving customers. The company provides consulting and solution architect services with project management and maintenance. The company helps in transforming and securing digital experiences of customers by providing them cyber security solutions to protect the confidentiality and integrity of data. The company also provides remote access and work from home solutions with data networking facilities for employee collaboration and productivity (Beta Information Technology, 2021).

The company provides reliable and trusted solutions for project implementation with higher security standards and professional services.

BETA Information Technology It is worth mentioning that the company helps in maintenance of data in the most efficient manner, giving comparative advantage to the organization as well as continuity and development. The company helps in digital transformation and data networking systems with cloud solutions and application suites with employee collaboration.

Understanding the client’s challenges and business priorities, giving technology solutions to the client for digital transformation, and to achieve regulatory compliances.

Vision The company specifically aims to provide certainty and clarity in its operations with innovative programs and monitoring processes.

Key Founder The key founder of the company is Zaher Al-Bakri, who is also the present chief executive officer and general manager of the company.

Organizational Structure

Project Organizational Chart

Figure 16: Organizational Structure of BETA (Sources: Sani, 2020)

The primary role of BETA Information Technology is to effectively deliver consultancy and other related services to business organizations for effective integration of system software and information technology. In the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization implemented changes to its operating and management system in order to ensure that it functions economically and effectively during this worldwide contingency. It was effectively identified by the management of the organization that due to the imposition of the worldwide lockdown and closure of multinational companies, the organization was unable to increase the delivery of services as it was no longer in demand because no business operations were undertaken by multinational companies.

It was also identified by the management that business organizations were shifting towards a different method of undertaking business, which involved maximum leader interaction and required employees to work from home. In view of the situation, the organization had to completely restructure business operations by focusing on the development of such services that solved individual customer’s problems remotely.

Therefore, the organization came up with a service to effectively cater business activity from remote locations in order to control the spread of the virus and stay efficient and economical during this time. The solution was effectively named by the organization as remote access work from home. Under this solution, the organization solved various problems relating to system hardware and cloud maintenance faced by various employees working from remote locations.

Through effectively restructuring organizational activities and focusing the development of a solution service for work from home, customers as major business organizations undertake business activities in a similar framework. The organization has substantial revenue in order to stay productive and efficient during the pandemic.

BETA Information Technologies belongs to the information technology industry operating in the global, competitive environment, providing a wide variety of services and solutions to multinational organizations for effective handling and maintenance of data, and various other material information. The primary and most viable service provided by the organization is integration of information technology into the system service of a large number of international business operations. Other services provided by the organization are effectively

discussed below

¡ Consultancy Services: Under this service, the organization provides valuable information to clients in relation to the steps that the organization needs to undertake to satisfy customers in a more efficient and effective manner, achieve business objectives economically, and also achieve the desired market share in the industry. This information is communicated to the client after conducting a detailed analysis into the business environment and operating structure.

¡ Solution Architecture Service: Under the solution architecture service, the organization tailors services to effectively solve various problems in the information technology system or hardware of the concerned clients.

In other words, under this service, the organization mixes solution services as per the need and want of clients.

¡ Migration and System Integration Service: Under the migration and system integration service, the technical experts of BETA Information Technology help its client to effectively shift material information from one system server to the other ensuring minimum loss of data and maximum system integration.

This service is widely used by business organizations while expanding business operations as the size of storage devices is increased and the clients shift offices in order to effectively facilitate a higher workload and operational size. Therefore, with the help of the migration and system integration services offered by BETA Information Technology, that business can ensure appropriate integration of valuable data with minimum loss.

¡ Technical Deployment: Under this service, when clients of the organization undertake large scale, complex projects, BETA Information Technology effectively deploys its team of experts to conduct various analysis over the projects and provides valuable information to the organization in relation to whether the project needs to be undertaken or not. BETA Information Technology also ensures the implementation of information technology integration.

¡ Management and Maintenance Service: BETA Information Technology also provides software and system hardware maintenance and management services to its clients, ensuring that the software functions effectively and serves the purpose of installation. The organization keeps in direct contact with clients in order to ensure that the services rendered function. The organization also conducts system checks at regular intervals in order to ensure that the software installed functions effectively.

¡ Outsourcing Services: There are various outsourcing services that BETA Information Technology provides to its various clients in order to ensure collective growth and development in the information technology industry.

On conducting a detailed address into the operating structure of clients, the organization also provides valuable information in relation to the services which need to be outsourced for enhancing productivity and efficiency.

¡ Project Management Service: Under the project management service offered by BETA Information Technology, the organization evaluates the product which its client is considering to take up in the future.

Based on the analysis of the project in terms of viability, profitability, attractiveness, and revenue generating capacity, the experts of BETA Information Technology communicate with its client, providing an appropriate basis whether to choose the product or not. Under the project management service, the organization also suggests the client in relation to the various information technology systems and hardware needs to be incorporated for efficient completion of the project.

It can be effectively identified from the above analysis that the primary product offered by BETA Information Technology is in the field of consultancy and information technology, providing appropriate information to clients and ensuring profitability and efficiency.

Business Strategy of Beta Information Technology The business strategy of Beta Information Technology is to provide effective solutions in terms of cyber security and cloud solutions (Sani et al., 2020). The company also provides a well-defined, structural data networking and data infrastructure solution to clients with remote access. The company provides applications of digital transformation and infrastructure software development to protect the confidentiality and integrity of the data.

The business strategy provides a smart and confined software development process for cloud professional services to clients and to create application-based smart centres and infrastructure development for digital transformation.

Business Requirement Information Technology Strategy with Business Requirement IT Business Requirement o IT Organization o IT Governance o IT Processes o IT Service Management IT Process Management IT Portfolio Management IT Architecture Management o IT Project Portfolio o IT Service Portfolio o Enterprise Architecture o Application Landscape Figure 17: Business Strategy of BETA (Sources: Kizi, 2020) It also provides collaboration and productivity for smart and remote-control suites. The main focus of the company is to develop appropriate information technology infrastructure systems to serve customers in a well-defined and confined way (Dieny et al., 2020). The business strategies of the company include the effective understanding of current challenges and business priority for making smart approaches in technology solutions, and to cater to the needs and aspirations of the client.

The company also provides certain digital transformation in information technology solutions for providing security to the clients in terms of regulatory compliances. It is worth mentioning that the company includes innovative quality assurance programs with effective monitoring and training practices as a very important business strategy. The workflow and increase in productivity and efficiency in the performance is included and considered as an epic business strategy of the company.

The company follows a competitive IT policy to increase the competitive strength in the market with the new attitude and approach for proper accountability and management of the organization (Muhammedrisaevna, Mubinovna & Kizi, 2020). The company specifically wants to attain smart selling solutions with a customer- oriented approach and integrated efforts for the overall development, increasing the productivity and efficiency of the organization.

The Systematic Pyramid Approach The main focus of the company is to emphasize the support and service system giving effective training and development programs to employees for better productivity and performance. The company Beta Information Technology has also undertaken a customer relationship management system for better and efficient results (McCorquodale et al., 2017). The company certainly emphasizes on creating relationships with customers to increase sales and productivity. Contacting the customer after installation is taken into consideration and after sales services is also considered.

Creating A Competitive Edge The company BETA Information Technology aims to maintain a strategic position with customers to build a very long-standing and business decision with clients to get a competitive advantage in the market (Sasikala & Venkatesan, 2020). It is believed that the longer the relationship goes, the better the understanding with clients about their needs and certainties.

Improvement in the Marketing and Sales Strategy The company BETA Information Technology specifically focuses to maintain a well-defined reputation in the market to sell products and services smoothly. The company has also undertaken research and development processes for any product and service by innovative strategies and technology.

The Operational Strategy of Beta Information Technology The operation strategy of the company includes effective negotiating with suppliers to decrease the cost of production. It also includes delegation of authority for better implementation and smooth productivity of the goods and services produced. The operation strategy of the company includes directing and managing the overall operation with due compliance taken into consideration, the best IT information technology infrastructure into place (Radhamani & Paramanandam, 2020). It is worth mentioning that better planning and collaborative leadership is also taken into consideration for efficient management of the overall processes.

The company focuses on reduction of operation cost by making the organization more competitive in the market with adequate accomplishments from process management resources. The introduction of new and innovative products in the market for generating new lines of business and revenue is also taken into consideration.

The specific management of all the information technology infrastructure and key business operations is also monitored on a regular basis for better delegation of authority and execution with strategic planning and development for better results. It is very important to mention that the company focuses on undertaking appropriate and operational strategies into practice with effective collaboration of the entire organizational professional for better vision and planning.

The training and development given to employees helps in supporting the company to achieve its desired goals, and encouragement for developing several innovative policies and practices are also entertained.

The Future Digital Business Infrastructure Operation Service Line Core Operations Security Operations Network Operations Edge Operations Figure 18: Operational strategy of BETA (Sources: Paramanandam, 2020) It is essential to mention that the company emphasizes bottom to top implementation policies with participatory management for better execution of tasks. It is worth mentioning that the overall operations of the organization are streamlined in a well-confined working strategy to run the business smoothly and efficiently.

This process specifically helps to increase the efficiency and productivity of the organization with strategic implementation of the desired process and procedures with quality assessment and continuous development (Jeong & Ahn, 2020). The main projects of the organization are kept functional with collaborative efforts and planned initiatives for better execution, with collaborative effort of trained professionals and top- level executives with specific recovery and a conflict resolution system into practice.

Marketing Strategies of BETA Information Technology The company has trained professional and knowledgeable experts in information technology services for marketing its product and services. Companies create a well- defined and effective plan, which is kept aligned with the product and services for best marketing results.

It is commonly said that information technology companies spend more than 90% of the revenue in sales and marketing in the first few years of their existence. It is worth mentioning that the company specifically follows the attracting, nurturing, and closing policy, making it the most ideal marketing strategy for the company in the field.

Figure 19: Types of digital marketing (Sources: Jeong, 2020) The company specifically markets its goods and services to attract the prospective buyer searching the desired goods and services, and then nurturing the contracts in the specific deals. At the end, the goods and services are showcased to close the deal.

The company focuses on attracting potential customers to its website and stores and after that, the customer intention is analyzed (Ngobe, 2020). The interaction with potential customers begins, and relevant information about the product and services are given, which includes videos and different formats, giving a comprehensive understanding to the client. The collaboration with social media is also taken into consideration with content strategy into practice.

Major and Minor Business Challenges As per the information provided about the company, there is no such legal case found, but the company did face some business challenges since 1988, when it was founded. A few challenges faced by the company have

been described in detail below

¡ Adapting to changing needs of customers ¡ Changing to new technology and processes ¡ Mechanizing security dictation and response ¡ Training employees about cyber threats ¡ Delivering improved software ¡ Tech term complacency ¡ Adapt to Changing Needs of Customers The BETA Information Technology Company has faced challenges in terms of change in technology, budgets, timelines, and team dynamics in today’s changing climate. Adapting to how the consumers change would be the most demanding challenge for the company.

¡ Changing to New Technology and Processes Another major issue for the company was the use of obsolete equipment and software. The company faced difficulties in introducing new hardware or software into its existing network.

Budget restraints are another major source of stress for the company. It’s critical to have existing devices maintained on a regular basis and to use support services if necessary. It’s always a good idea to take advice from IT professionals about new and the most advanced technology in the market (Haseeb et al., 2019).

¡ Mechanizing Security Dictation and Response Cyber security has been the major challenge for the company with being an IT company. If its data is hacked or lost, it can be a huge loss.

¡ Training Employee about Cyber Threats This has been the most challenging issue for the company.

Nearly 50% of the data is lost because of the negligence of employees. To tackle this situation, it was important for the company to make some rules and regulations on opening any personal and important data of any client or customer ((Mendling et al., 2018).

¡ Delivering Improved Software BETA Information Technology Company spends more than $200 million on its data development every year.

It can impact the management on which technology should be used so that the company can match up with the changing needs of the customers and market (Lee & Shin, 2018).

¡ Tech Term Satisfaction The biggest problem that the company faces is satisfaction. Technology advances at a breakneck pace, and if teams don’t keep up with the latest technologies and strategies, the company will lose its competitive edge. Keeping up with emerging technologies and advancing them will keep it ahead of the curve and allow the company to advise its clients on how to implement them.

Overcoming Challenges Outsourcing to a managed services firm with plenty of insight into today’s technology and how to deal with common technology problems as well as emergency IT issues that can occur without warning is one of the simplest ways to deal with IT challenges.

Outsourcing allows a company to focus on its daily operations rather than having to deal with IT problems in-house. This quick and efficient step will provide the business with time and manpower and it’s also cost effective.

To become the leader in IT services, the company should hire MSP’s professionals. Hiring IT professionals in the company help to avoid problems previously and they can detect the problem quickly to reduce loss and security risk (Achtenhagen, Ekberg &Melander, 2017) Successful Practices ¡ Data Analysing and Reviewing Practices High-performing firms used to analyze data on a more regular basis than low-performing firms and determine standard practices. As a result of frequent monitoring and data analysis, the application’s performance can significantly improve. Adding or updating a company’s data analysis techniques, as well as regularly inspecting processes and procedures, would provide the business with unintentional advantage before performing any task (Hopkinson et al., 2018).

¡ Effective Communication Employees would be better informed about the tasks and what is expected of them if their managers are excellent communicators. Managers may also use good communication skills to provide effective feedback to their workers, strengthen relationships, and realize personal goals that employee’s desire.

When working from home, managers may find it difficult to maintain effective communication, and effective communication helps to overcome this barrier (McCorquodal et al., 2017). A lack of communication will bring any organization to its failure. Communication may also help in improving efficiency and avoiding unnecessary delays in the working process of the company.

of the Company ¡ Appointing Unskilled Employees Appointing unskilled employees can be a major problem for the company as it can lead to loss of private and expensive data of clients and the company.

¡ Skill Gap According to the annual report of the company in 2020, it was found that nearly 80% of the company’s old employees are unaware of the new and advanced technology used in the company. This has been the major problem for all IT companies and for Beta Information Technology Company (Alryalat, Adebiaye&Alryalat, 2017).

Changes in Company’s Position from 1988-2021 Beta Information Technology started in 1988 and after five years, the company was able to hire a good amount of people. The organization started shaping in a structured way and the quality of work and services also improved. The company’s strength is more than 250 people, and all in different departments.

The efficiency of work in the current situation has increased as compared to a decade ago. All the teams that are sales, marketing, field work employees, accounting, R&D, and many more are synchronized in real time. Real data transfer helps the company to provide instant solutions. In previous times, the rate of working and service providence was totally dependent on manpower and means of communication.

Beta Information Technology Company was established to become a leader in the IT sector. The company should work in building a long-term strategy for the vision of the company. The company should focus on its expansion from the UAE to other parts of the world, while also maintaining a decent quality of work (Hlefana et al., 2020). The company should focus on strengthening its cyber security system to reduce data loss. Due to the threat of COVID-19, a new working trend is in demand that is “work from home.” The company should focus on building an effective networking site to help employees to work from home.

The complete evaluation and analysis into the operating structure and various strategies of BETA Information Technology effectively communicates the following

lessons

¡ It is necessary for business organizations to evaluate consumer needs and produce products and services.

¡ It is necessary for the organization to always come up with a technical advancement and changes implemented within the industry of operations.

¡ Business organizations must be committed to constantly improve the quality of services being offered to its consumer base.

¡ Constant training and development of employees is very necessary for overall growth and development.

¡ The employees of the organization must be trained to adapt changes in the operating style and structure so that efficiency is maintained.

In the modern competitive business environment, BETA Information Technology will have to undertake business operations in the most efficient and effective manner by coping with the changes being incorporated in the industry and within the organization. The organization will have to effectively frame strategies to overcome various challenges identified above as they could be a potential danger to business operations and may also reframe the organization from achievement of predetermined goals and objectives.

In order to adapt to the changing needs of the customers, the organization will have to conduct a complete analysis of consumer needs and develop services based on them in order to ensure higher profitability and consumer retention.

Secondly, BETA Information Technology will also have to revolutionize its data security service by incorporating firewalls and security systems competent enough to handle new strategies and systems of unethical hacking.

BETA Information Technology will also have to make use of the most recent and advanced technologies in terms of developing its services as the use of recent technology systems reduce the chances of security threats and are also highly in demand by multinational organizations.

In order to ensure that the market share of the organization’s product and services are effectively maximized, BETA Information Technology also has to maintain the sales service department, which will look up its various clients adding to consumer satisfaction and facilitate consumer retention.

It is also identified in the case study that there is a communication and skill gap within the workforce of BETA Information Technology leading to inefficient business operations, hampering organizational productivity and efficiency.

The situation might be addressed by management of the organization in terms of undertaking regular training and development for its employees, keeping them relevant to the industry and in handling skills and communication aptitude. The appropriate evaluation of the operational structure and management of the organization will lead to efficient business operations and help BETA Information Technology to become a market leader in the information technology industry.