Informtion Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Informtion Technology - Essay Example Larkin university faces the dual challenge of integrating itself into a university from a diverse group of colleges and at the same time deploying a technology blueprint to launch itself as a modern competitive educational institution. While traditional thinking may argue that technology deployment is a secondary tool-oriented task, modern approaches to information technology suggest that a sound IT strategy is not only a key enabler for the institutional plan but also an integrated part of it. As a result, â€Å"correct technologies† can â€Å"enable the required IS and corporate strategies to be achieved† (Clarke, 2001, p. 107). A failure in an organisation’s IT and IS strategy can translate into a failure for the organisation itself. A strategy for IT is closely aligned and integrated with the institutions overall strategy for growth and competitive advantage. Organisations typically have a slow response time to change, particularly so in the case of wide scale technology shifts. Larkin University has the unique ongoing challenge of combining existing collages into a university. This challenge could be turned into an advantage by using the new IT infrastructure as the vehicle of change. Laptops for staff, lecturers and students are just the end user side of the sea change in IT infrastructure and IS strategy taking place at the university. A productivity environment with standardised IT/IS platform and common email would free the users from issues of compatibility and delays in support of disparate systems. An institution-wide Internet availability would allow the university’s intranet to be accessed from anywhere. This higher productivity environment would enable the staff and lecturers to concentrate on their core functions. Standardised administrative applications such as scheduling, registration, fee, etc. can be deployed across the campus with minimum integration issues. Lecturers and students would interact and have access to their