BU 415
Analysis:
What did organization do well? * Connected all devices allowing for synergy between users devices, this also makes people buy all of their products since only their products are all connected (drives sales) * The syncing of all items (emails, documents etc) allows for business’ to have people work from home, vacation etc which increases workers satisfaction (the flexibility of being able to wdo work anywhere) * Information systems promote business cohesion, efficiency, globalized markets and workplace * iCloud API addition provides value for the developers of Mac Apps allowing them to integrate iCloud into their apps. Third party iOS and OS X developers who want to keep loyal users and attract new users, can engage consumers through iCloud’s network of users providing flexibility to reach thousands of apps regardless of the device they are using.
What measures might have facilitated or improved the process? * Apple’s ultimate goal is to create a world of only Apple devices and their associated platforms where users can live and work. Apple’s vision creates a perception of exclusivity and builds a barrier to entry. However, this can either be viewed as facilitating the company’s underlying goal or hindering it. Apple operates in a closed system with proprietary hardware and software that is often incompatible with software applications used in the business realm. Keeping both short and long term sustainability in mind, the introduction of the iCloud could have been improved by making the system available to the open market beyond the Apple Service platform. * Features to improve the process: * Business Accounts * Apple should look to designate existing Apple IDs to include in a company group, or assign new company based Apple IDs to employees * Domain Support * Apple iCloud makes email, calendar, contacts and files available online, but these need to be accessible through a company's domain, not only by going to iCloud.com

What insights can you gain from theories of information systems? * Information systems can flatten organizations enabling managers to broaden their span of control over greater distances. The iCloud brings greater transparency and more timely accurate information to an organization allowing for faster management decisions, and efficiency across a company’s hierarchical structure * ERP is it * * Business value chains – create technological value in both the primary and support activities throughout the value chain. Implementing IS strengthens the incumbents switching costs * Apple with its iCloud offering is attacking the consumer facing digital content big data problem. Big Data is challenging on many fronts from the insights (e.g., analytics and query optimization), to the practical (e.g., horizontal scaling), to the mundane (e.g., backup and recovery).
What have you learnt from your involvement in this project? * IS systems have become an integral tool involved in the daily operations and decision making of large organizations * Has had a fundamental impact on the economics of organizations and increased the different ways in which organizations can organize their work * When planning a new information system, there are several organizational factors one must consider beginning with the environment the organization must operate in, the structure of the organization, the organization’s culture, the type of organization and its leadership style, the attitudes and interests of employees and stakeholders, and the kinds of business processes and decisions that the IS will support. Often IS systems such as the iCloud are unsuitable for certain organizations because of the above factors or because the company focuses solely on the hardware and software components of the IS system overlooking the data, procedures, and the people who interact with the system. Major issues;
Security, availability, performance, hard to integrate with inhouse
VALUE FOR THIRD PARTY USERS
Apple’s iCloud API is an important addition for the makers of Mac apps in Mountain Lion. It allows developers to incorporate iCloud into their own apps, so documents can for the first time be automatically synced and accessed on both iOS and OS X devices much easier and faster than before. And users won’t have to do anything — stuff will just automatically sync.
It’s also an important step for Apple’s third-party iOS and OS X developers who want to keep users engaged. With iCloud in Mountain Lion, developers can enable users to more easily access their data and, as a result, can follow their users across multiple devices. Engagement is one of the most important metrics for app makers. There are so many apps out there — 650,000 iOS apps, 10,000 in the Mac App Store — that it’s easy for apps to be lost in the crowd. Connecting users through iCloud to apps regardless of the device they’re using is a big boost to attracting and keeping loyal users.
When Apple allows users to access their content and data anywhere, it helps create a virtuous cycle in which those users find they can live (and someday possibly work) in a world of only Apple devices and their associated platforms. That is one of Apple’s ultimate goals. ver time, the cloud - both personal and enterprise - has to open up if it's to become the massive business opportunity we hope it will be.Open standards make big markets; closed standards make big companies. We want the former or CSPs and BDR providers and MSPs the key takeaways are clear: * You’ve got to extend your thinking beyond data protection, which will become a commodity over the next few years. * You need to understand how and why customers want to access any application or service from any device. * And you need business solutions, driving profitable margins, to support customers’ any-to-any desires.

It seems that changes in technology are never-ending. The use of technology now extends far beyond the simple desktop computer, especially in the business world. As the text points out, three interrelated changes are affecting companies worldwide:

• The emerging mobile digital platform • Growth of online software as a service • Growth of “cloud computing”