...For Companies Both Big and Small: Running a Business on Smartphones 02 September 2015 In which ways do smartphones help these companies be more profitable? To what extent are improvements in performance coming from revenue increases or cost reductions? Provide several examples from the case. Smartphone’s assist these companies in multiple ways to increase their profitability. In the case of San Antonio based utility provider, CPS Energy, it streamlined there operations. In some situations in the field their current model of operation often required multiple, non-specialized individuals to address a single incident or work order. The use of cell phones allowed not only for a single individual in most cases to be dispatched, that individual could perform multiple functions. The Smartphone could be utilized to take pictures on site of damage or infrastructure concerns and relay that information (photo) to the office immediately. This allows expert troubleshooting off-site, enabling instructions to be sent back to the employee in the field or the appropriate individual dispatched; who also will be available, in a moment’s notice, via theory Smartphone. In addition the Smartphone provides GPS capability for tracking and locating and as emergency notification if necessary. All of this translates into to fairly significant cost reductions for CPS Energy. While it does not specifically state in the case study, it can be assumptive that the fewer field personnel dispatched...
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...Real World Case 2: For Companies Both Big and Small: Running a Business on Smartphones BACKGROUND CPS Energy CPS Energy, based in San Antonio, Texas, is the largest municipally owned energy provider in the nation. Acquired by the City of San Antonio in 1942, it serves 717,000 electric customers and 325,000 natural gas customers in and around the 7th largest city in the nation. The company’s VP and CIO compared the company to other major companies like UPS and FedEx, and realized there was a disparity in his business operation – insufficient labor usage due to the lack of adequate communication. From this realization, the Magellan Program was created. As a traditionally siloed workforce, the Magellan Program was a way to “better mobilize and connect its workforce to the people and systems they needed to do their jobs.” It provided smartphones and custom mobile devices to field employees, most of who did not previously have PC’s, cell phones or Internet access. The company was able to build its own secure Wi-Fi networks. Workers now have access to SAP, e-mail, office applications, voicemail, video and pictures, conferencing, and other corporate systems and applications. It extended CPS’s networking infrastructure and connected a traditionally siloed workforce. The program reduced workers resolution process. Field employees can work more efficiently because they have access to data they need to...
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...Current Trends Grace D. Buencamino BSIT-S7C 1.) E1 – World’s smallest 4K interchangeable lens camera The E1, two years in the making, is currently running a Kickstarter campaign not to raise funds for manufacturing, but to promote the company (Z Camera), as it is still an unknown startup. The company launched the campaign in advance of its official announcement, and has already shattered its $42,000 goal (as of this writing, it’s currently at more than $147,000). And unlike many Kickstarter projects, the E1 is real and we’ve played with one; its engineer and creator, Jason Zhang, told us that manufacturing has already started and first deliveries are scheduled for later this year. Zhang was a former engineer with Ambarella, the chipset maker that supplies hardware to GoPro. After branching out on his own, Zhang and a few colleagues saw an “opportunity gap” for a camera that fits between an action cam and a DSLR – small and light enough to fit onto a drone, but more powerful and flexible than an action cam. Built around an Ambarella 4K-capable A9 chipset, Zhang went with a Micro Four Thirds sensor (made by Panasonic) for the E1 because it’s the only open standard option in interchangeable lenses, Zhang says. The E1’s mount works with most Micro Four Thirds lenses from Olympus and Panasonic, as well as some third-party makers like Sigma. The camera doesn’t have any built-in image stabilization, but you could use one of Panasonic’s O.I.S. lenses. The E1 will autofocus any attached...
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...Professor Kevin Ho December 09, 2011 Executive Summary The advancement of technology has helped organizations reach success. Because Information Technology (IT) plays an important role in business, it is important to understand how it improves business functions. Mobile devices are common in the market and since it reaches millions of consumers, it makes it easier for businesses to stay connected with their employees. In this paper I explore the correlation between organizational success and the use of mobile devices, what smartphones have to offer and how it creates employee mobility, and a comparison of the top two selling smartphones currently in the market, the Blackberry and the Iphone. Mobile Technology: Paving a Way to Organizational Success The invention and revolution of mobile devices Since the beginning of civilization, men have discovered ways to be more efficient. With the discovery of science sprang the creation of electricity. Since then we have been looking for more innovative ways to invent things that make our lives more comfortable. For example, the first car was invented in the 1700s and has come a long way since then. What was once to be considered heavy steel on wheels running on motor oil has revolutionized to a fuel efficient vehicle mostly running off electricity. With the advancements in technology, it is hard to imagine a world without it. Technology has opened many doors that has allowed us to do things people back then can only dream...
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...Case Study Mob War: “Google V/S Facebook Mobile Ad Revenue Shootout” Submitted By: Amaan Ansari ABSTRACT With the advent of tablets and smartphones the mobile advertisement segment has got a shot in the arm like never before. Initially termed as unnecessary cluttering of the device has entered a whole new dimension it seems as the latest reports by a World Wide Web giant, Facebook, suggest its success. So is the mobile advertisement heading for happily ever after? Reports by another World Wide Web giant, Google, suggest otherwise. The case takes into consideration the popularity, inherent qualities and limitations, pricing, challenges and scope of improvement of mobile advertising with respect to two biggest contributors to this segment i.e. Google and Facebook. So what exactly is the scenario? Let’s find out. INTRODUCTION Advertisers in the online realm are spoilt for choice. They have the option of utilizing large sites or a plethora of specialized websites, both large and small, to reach consumers with varied interests. However, few plans can be complete without including the big daddies viz. Google or Facebook - or both - because their sheer dominance on the web. In India, their combined estimate comes out to two-thirds of the total advertising moolah. In 2012, Google’s earnings were almost $44 billion from advertising worldwide as compared to marginally over $5 billion for Facebook. The latter is significantly smaller but plays a special role in...
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...CEO is Thorston Heins, formerly RIM's chief operating officer for products and sales. Barbara Stymiest, who became a director in 2007, will now chair the board. Investors reacted negatively to the news, with RIM shares opening 5% lower on the NASDAQ on January 23. Is it all falling apart? It seems an absurd question to be asking about a company like Research In Motion, Canada’s most successful and influential tech firm. Just how successful it would become was hard to imagine when Mike Lazaridis set up shop in a tiny office above a strip mall in Waterloo, Ont., in 1984. Jim Balsillie joined eight years later, bringing with him the sales and strategy muscle to take RIM’s products to the world. Together, they were unstoppable. They turned RIM into a global powerhouse that delivered mobile e-mail to the masses, sparking a revolution in mobile communication and defining the smartphone as we know it. Under their stewardship, RIM continues to rake in billions in revenue each month and attract new subscribers at a time of fierce competition. But somehow, lately, something’s gone terribly wrong. A deep-rooted dysfunction seems to have overtaken the company. Balsillie and Lazaridis have so badly lost the confidence of the market that investors and analysts no longer seem to care about the billions in revenue or the 35% increase in subscribers over the past year. The highlights of 2011 are almost too painful to mention: the PlayBook, RIM’s first tablet, was a flop; its latest line of BlackBerry...
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...about the problem, who has it, how big it is, why is important, the pains the people have, and the gains they are trying to get. In small retail Food there are several problems. The main cause is an explosive growth of major chains which increase their power of decision over Marks (farmers, processors, manufacturers or wholesalers) and destroy local stores throught taking advantages of economies of scale and their magement of sales promotions based in strong discounts. One of the problems is that between 20 and 25% of sales in big chains stores is made with promotions, but in 6 out of 10 promotions the brands are the ones wihch resigned their profit margin. And this effort did not reach the consumer because the...
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...former head of Microsoft’s Business Division3 (MBD), was brought in to fix the numerous problems faced by the world’s leading mobile phone company, Nokia. His task for entering Nokia is an exertive job because he is expected to reverse not only Nokia’s eroding market share in the high-end smartphone industry segment but also its sharp dropping profits. The Finland-based Nokia had a presence in over 160 countries as of 2010. Although it was the world’s largest mobile phone maker in the first quarter of 2010, Nokia had been losing market share consistently in the high-end mobile phone market. Due to its profit margins have a dropping figure that caused by the company threats, year 2010 has been considered as a tough year for Nokia. On the end of second quarter of Nokia, the company received a substantial drop in profits. According to the analysts, the company’s problems started since 2007 when smartphone portfolio created by competitors and catch an enormous attention on the market. The company loses its customers in the high-end mobile phone market and failed to establish its presence in the world's largest smartphone market, United State as the company failed to create striking smartphone constitutes to catch the eyes of customers among the competitors. To improve the company situation, Nokia decided to overhaul its management and therefore brought in Stephen Elop, a former Microsoft executive. This would be an immense change for Nokia as the company had never hired a non-Finnish...
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...E-business (Electronic Business), derived from such terms as ‘e-mail’, ‘e-commerce’, is the conduct of business on the internet, not only buying and selling but also servicing customers and collaborating with business partners. History of ecommerce dates back to the invention of the very old notion of "sell and buy", electricity, cables, computers, modems, and the Internet. Ecommerce became possible in 1991 when the Internet was opened to commercial use. Since that date thousands of businesses have taken up residence at web sites. At first, the term ecommerce meant the process of execution of commercial transactions electronically with the help of the leading technologies such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) which gave an opportunity for users to exchange business information and do electronic transactions. The ability to use these technologies appeared in the late 1970s and allowed business companies and organizations to send commercial documentation electronically. Although the Internet began to advance in popularity among the general public in 1994, it took approximately four years to develop the security protocols (for example, HTTP) and DSL which allowed rapid access and a persistent connection to the Internet. In 2000 a great number of business companies in the United States and Western Europe represented their services in the World Wide Web. At this time the meaning of the word ecommerce was changed. People began to define...
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...Table of Contents Table of Contents 1 1. Introduction 3 2. Background of Apple Inc Company 5 3. Background of Samsung Company 7 4. The Comparison Between iPhone and Galaxy SIII 9 4.1 Technical Ability 9 4.1.1 Size 9 4.1.2 Appearance 10 4.1.3 Display 10 4.1.4 Operating System 11 4.1.5 Processor 11 4.1.6 Storage 11 4.1.7 Wireless Connectivity 12 4.1.8 Camera 12 4.1.9 Battery Life 12 4.1.10 Price 13 5.0 The Operation of iOS and Anroid 13 6.0 Research and Development of Samsung Company 17 7.0 Research and Development of Apple Inc 19 8.0 Competitive Advantages 20 8.1 Apple Inc. 20 8.2 Samsung Galaxy SIII 25 9.0 Conclusion and recommendation 27 1. Introduction A smartphone is a mobile phone built on a mobile operating system, with more advanced computing capability and connectivity than a feature phone. The first smartphones combined the functions of a personal digital assistant (PDA) with a mobile phone. Later models added the functionality of portable media players, low-end compact digital cameras, pocket video cameras, and GPS navigation units to form one multi-use device. Modern smartphones also include high-resolution touch screens and web browsers that display standard web pages as well as mobile-optimized sites. High-speed data access is provided by Wi-Fi and Mobile Broadband. The most common mobile operating systems (OS) used by modern smartphones include Google's Android, Apple's iOS, Nokia's Symbian, RIM's BlackBerry OS, Samsung's Bada...
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...Group 1 & 2 Case study 1 Can This Bookstore Be Saved? Barnes & Noble (B&N) has been portrayed in the past as a big bully that drove small independent bookstores out of business with aggressive pricing tactics and an unbeatable inventory of books. Today, B&N finds its role reversed as the company fights a fierce battle to survive in the inevitable era of e-books. Booksellers were one of the many industries disrupted by the Internet and, more specifically, the rise of e-books and e-readers. B&N hopes to change its business model to adapt to this new environment before it suffers a similar fate as many of its competitors, like Borders, B. Dalton, and Crown Books, or their peers in other industries, like Blockbuster, Circuit City, and Eastman Kodak. More than ever, consumers are reading books on electronic gadgets—e-readers, iPods, tablets, and PCs—instead of physical books. Although B&N still depends on its physical, brick-and-mortar stores to drive its business (B&N operates 691 bookstores in 50 states, as well as 641 college bookstores), the company has thrown its energies behind development and marketing of the Nook series of e-readers and tablets. Once simply a bookseller, B&N now styles itself as a seller of e-books, devices to read them on, and apps that enhance the reading experience. The company has had success gaining market share, but at a steep cost, and to stay afloat, it will need to contend with increased competition from Amazon, Apple, and Google—not...
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...devices!have!exploded!in! popularity!as!they!look!to!change!the!way!we!stay!connected.!!Numerous!competitors!have!entered! the!game,!such!as!Samsung,!Sony,!i’m!Watch,!Pebble!and!others.! ! One!of!“The!latest!forecasts!suggest!that!the!demand!for!the!wristKworn!devices!known!as! "smartwatches"!will!increase!by!900!per!cent!over!the!next!12!months.!!According!to!Canalys’s! forecasts,!this!incredible!jump!KK!the!company!believes!that!over!5!million!smart!watches!will!be! shipped!by!the!end!of!2014!KK!will!be!created!by!new!products”!!Read!more!by!clicking!on!this!link:! http://www.ctvnews.ca/sciKtech/smartwatchKmarketKcouldKjumpKbyK900KinKtheKnextKyearKforecastK 1.1370745#ixzz2ZJrVlDaI!! ! Using'ONLY'the'information'contained'in'the'articles'that'follow,'conduct'a'situation'analysis'to' determine'whether'Apple'should'or'should'not'launch'a'wrist'wearable'smart'watch'(ignore'the' fact'that'they'have'launch'a'watch).''Be'sure'that'your'SWOT'analysis'supports'the' recommendation'you'make.' ! Please!come!prepared!to!class,!with!a!list!of!points,!to!discuss!both!the!Micro!and!Macro!(CDSTEP!or! PESTL)!environment!points!in!your!situation!analysis.! ! Prepare!a!list!of!points!of!Strengths,!Weaknesses,!Opportunities!and!Threats!related!to!the! decision/recommendation!indicated!above.! !...
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...BUS 2240 News Article Assignment Tap to hail In ever more cities, smartphone apps are reshaping the taxi market Oct 19th 2013 | LONDON AND NEW YORK |From the print edition * * All hail the quick, reliable taxi SINCE last month the citizens of Johannesburg have been able to hail and pay for taxis through SnappCab, a local start-up. A tap on SnappCab’s smartphone app summons a cab; a driver accepts on his own phone; and the passenger sees the driver’s name and photo, so he knows whom to expect and when. At journey’s end, he can pay with another tap through a pre-loaded credit card, or in cash. The idea is simple: the app makes it easier to bring together drivers, whose cabs are often empty, and passengers. Time and fuel are saved. Money is made. In many other cities taxi apps have taken off rapidly. Hailo, founded in London by cabbies and techies three years ago, says 60% of the city’s black-cab drivers are now on its books. Several cabs are decked out in Hailo yellow. It has spread to 14 places, most recently Osaka in Japan. Uber began in 2009 in San Francisco, which has a shortage of taxis but a surfeit of geeks looking for problems to solve. Now it can find you a ride in 49 cities in 19 countries. GetTaxi, set up in Tel Aviv in 2010, has reached London, Moscow and New York. Local apps can be found in cities from São Paulo to Singapore. Besides SnappCab, Johannesburg has Uber and Zapacab (which also started in Cape Town earlier this year) plying for trade. Apps...
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...References………………………………….12 The purpose of this paper The purpose of this paper is to outline the Samsung’s current situation, addressing where and how they currently operate, both in the home market and globally. Detailing such information as market share, product ranges, pricing strategies, competitor analysis, plus other key issues that are relevant to the company and products we are reviewing. We will present issues that will have an impact on the company’s future global strategy. 1.Introduction . Samsung electronics is South Korean global company, a part of the Samsung group established in 1938,employing approximately 206000 people in 197 offices across the 72 countries. The company sales is $ 143.1 billon in 2011 considerably 13% more than previous year(annual report of Samsung 2012).Samsung operates in intense competition from growing number of competitors .All of them have strong brand equity such as LG electronics ,Whirlpool ,Nokia ,Apple and Sony. Among its several products single galaxy s devises has been huge success for Samsung.It announces that it had sold 20 million units Galaxy S !! devices since April 2011 lunch and until October of this year it had sold 30 million Galaxy devices overall. That leads to the top most smart phone seller globally. By considering the emerging demand of Smartphone, Samsung released S3 on 3 may 2012 in London for the first time .Later it was released in other European countries and USA. 2.Current performance : - According to...
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...comparison to other manufacturers. With reference to the financial ratios of HTC in Exhibit 1a, over five years (2004 to 2008), its average net profit margin was 18.8%, return on assets 34.2%, and return on equity 59%. Its earnings per share (EPS) were 13.49, 32.81, 56.97, 50.48 and 36.64 respectively. The company is highly competitive and profitable as a whole. According to Exhibit 1a, and 6, and chart 1, same with its rankings in the smartphone sales, the ranking of the scale of its total revenue also in the fifth place, behind Samsung, Nokia, Apple, and RIM. But its revenue is rapidly growing, doubling nearly every three years. That growth rate is far better than most of the players in the industry and the average. Its return on sales ratio is among the three highest in the industry, which is an average of more than 15% percent. This indicates that HTC has a very good gross profit margin. Marketing performance of HTC compared with its main competitors For this part, we will take a look at handsets shipping per year, performance in different markets, and current positioning of several competitors in the industry. As shown in graph 1, the overall market share of HTC in the smartphone industry is in the fifth place, after Samsung, Apple, Nokia and RIM. HTC did not perform very well in Q4, 2011 compared with the previous three quarters....
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