ICTICT508 Evaluate Vendor Products And Equipment Assessment Answer

Answer :

Task 1: Theory – Short Answer Question

Question 1

Answer: Business requirements are defined as a phase of the software development process, which facilitates all essential requirements of the users. As stated by Perunović et al. (2016), these requirements are evaluated by business analysts, who examine business process and activities. 
Business requirements can be analyzed through five steps. These steps include the identification of stakeholders, categorize requirements, understand stakeholder’s requirements, record as well as interpret requirements and finally document the requirement. 

Question 2 

Question 3

Question 4

Answer: We should investigate a representative range of vendor products and equipment

Question 5

Answer: We can get vendor product and equipment information via computer magazines, newspapers, internet, IT consultants, the yellow pages, computer suppliers, IT fairs and exhibitions and so on. 

Question 6

Answer: Organization independencies is the state in which an organization is free from all sorts of 

Question 7

Answer:To identify the business needs, the following gathering techniques can be used:     

Question 8

Answer: Selection of vendor products or business equipment is crucial for business development. In this regards, vendor selection has some criteria, which need to follow by every business organisation. Year of establishment for the company must need to know for the process of vendor product selection. In the words of Bradner & Contreras (2017), the ability to supply product and fulfil the demand of the customers by the vendors should checked in the selection process of the vendor. Besides, the flexibility of the vendors in the product changes as per customer demand should check. On the other hand, substantial catalogue for products, financial stability, and financial sustainability, reliability of the vendors and appropriate supply of the product needs to check in the time of vendor selection.

Question 9

Answer: “Code of Ethics” is an essential principle, which helps the professional to conduct business with integrity and honesty. Such approach evaluates how ethical values can guide business plan and operations. 

Question 10

Question 11

Answer: Product testing is important for business development. In this regard, product testing requires several processes. Such a process includes screening design and concept of the product, checking compliance for requirements, establishing a baseline for other testing function. Evaluating the sustainability of the product, ensuring safety, conducting technical communication, predicting the life expectancy of the product, providing essential evidence for some legal procedure, solving product issues, improving the production process and product quality. 

Question 12

• The business organisation must need to check the sustainability of the product, which help the business to hold its position in the target market.
• Predicting life expectancy of the product is one of the most important for product testing. In this regards, the company ensures product longevity.
• Product issue solving is the important procedure for product testing. Bu this process, the business organisation can ensure product quality.

Question 13

• It helps to reduce subjectivity in the process of judgment.
• Providing control over the activities of vendor
• Evaluate standards for vendors
• Build a better relationship with vendors. 

• It standardizes the entire group of the vendors.
• In this process, the vendor cannot feel secure as his or her details are disclosed to everybody.      

Question 14

Question 15

Question 16

Task 2 – Research: Identify and evaluate vendors

CASE STUDY

Sydney institute is well known for its quality education it provides to its students. Sydney institute is in Sydney and has around 2000 international students who are undertaking different vocational courses. Sydney institute offers many courses in IT and Business. It offers different vocational IT qualifications including Certificate IV and Advanced Diploma and aiming for higher education. 

Sydney institute has contracted and outsourced all the technical jobs to VTS IT as an external vendor who are handling technical assistance, product supply and ICT maintenance. However, looking at their previous work performance issues Sydney institute is not satisfied and they are willing to change the supplier as VTS contract is due to expire.

Due to increase in number of students, the college is also planning to procure new hardware and software for a new campus.

The college would like to maintain strong, secure and reliable IT infrastructure with different hardware and network equipment, as well as different software applications. 

All these hardware and software applications should be properly tested prior to finalising the installation. 

Sydney institute is currently seeking a right IT vendor who can handle the technical support, procurement and regular maintenance in a reliable and ongoing manner. They would like to test the quality of the provided products and services which meet the expectation of their business and client. 

Expected services are as follows 

• Install server as required by the specification, client can be windows 10 
• Setup a domain environment 
• Install required software 
• Manage security and policy 
• Manage a regular backup 
• Provide ongoing support 
• General monthly performance report 
• Maintain fault tolerance, and avoid downtime
• Implement risk management 

In order to setup a new campus, you are required to purchase new hardware devices and software applications. 

• 200 new computers needed to be setup in new laboratory, 10 Printers, 10 Projector, 10 Servers 
• These computers require different hardware and software requirements. The software requirements are Windows OS, Microsoft Office, Norton Antivirus, and Adobe Dreamweaver, NetBeans. The minimum hardware requirements are mouse, keyboard, Network Interface Card (NIC), hard drives, speakers, cable, router, printer etc.
• We need to have the licensing requirement for the software which is going to be installed in these computers.
• Required hardware devices and software applications are mainly used by students and teachers who will be using that computer laboratory to do their different tasks.

Part A: Research on Client requirements

Need and Information gathering techniques used for business requirement

Sydney Institute is gathering resources for the expansion of student facility along with an increase in quality of service, thus planning for new arrangements and infrastructure is initiated for the proper fulfilment of service needs (thesydneyinstitute.com.au, 2019). Former supplier of IT equipment and services VTS IT has failed to satisfy needs thus need to change for better service availability. Service requirement of the expansion needs new technical support with equipment, which needs evaluation for business along with maintenance of the existing IT system for proper development of business environment. 

Need for maintenance and services

Sydney Institute is seeking technical help for improvement in business work plan and this needs establishment of a server with client requirement of Windows OS 10. Server installation for an IT based organisation is important for proper governance of connected devices and delivering resources to devices as per requirement. Installation and maintenance of servers are important for delivering flawless and improved services. Setting up a domain environment is essential for proper connection establishment. Installation of software and regular maintenance is needed from the technical assistance for avoiding any technical issue. Installation of the software includes Windows OS, MS Office, Norton Antivirus, and other utility software. Improvement of a secure environment is essential for maintaining security and privacy policy. Service improvement is required for practising backup system and delivering online support (Weinstock, 2017). Monthly performance report construction is important for governance of IT services and network management. Fault repairing and generation of risk management procedure can be implemented through a proper inclusion of supplier and technical assistance.   

Requirement of materials

Establishment of the new communication system can be done through an arrangement of IT equipment. Setting up a new campus within the university campus needs equipment such as 200 new computers for developing a network chain along with 10 printers, 10 projectors, and 10 servers. Server installation and configuration is important for projected expansion and monitoring the computers within the periphery. Software installation within the devices is most important and needs OS installation, MS-Office, Net beans, Dreamweaver, and other important applications (thesydneyinstitute.com.au, 2019). Hardware requirement needs monitors, mouse, keyboard, and NIC along with Hard disk for 200 computer and router, printer, cables and speakers for separate provision of computer use.   

Information gathering techniques used

Information gathering technique used in the above process involves search strategy through company websites and vendor websites. Supplier information and vendor review can be judged and filtered through website reviews and verification of the company services through past reviews. Item requirement is calculated on the expansion basis and ascertained through the former project information and supplier information. Searching for the supplier for product delivery and fulfilment of service regarding IT solution needs to be mitigated with prompt action, thus reviewing local business and local websites (Kim & Chai, 2017).

1. Information regarding Budget and Available Sources

Availability of the resources and detailed requirement of hardware peripherals can be calculated through the manufacturer website. Availability of the sources subjected to supplier management and organisation requirement. Large amount of products can be obtained in multiple bundles along with different supply and demand format.

2. Finding Suppliers (Product Supply, Technical Services, Assistance)

Supplier selection is important for the sustainability of product delivered and services obtained. Positive supplier selection can generate user satisfaction otherwise it can result in grievance and ill effects of the security system. VTS IT was the former IT supplier of the company and it failed to meet the required criteria and discarded by the organisation for the betterment of the plans and expansion ease. Supplier selection, in this case, was based on local and website review conducted through online and offline means of communication and further contacted for the availability of equipment and services. Online website search for the supplier is used in this method developed on a specific algorithm and requirement within Australian directory (austrade.gov.au, 2019). Supplier selection has been unsatisfactory in the past and affected in the performance and security along with maintenance.

3. Computer peripheral Supplier details and negotiation

Negotiation for computer peripheral needs to be managed for availing discount from supplier, for administrating within given details. Supplier management should include quality management of the products and comparison with other products. This can be done through negotiation as pricing can be considered as the most important aspect of supplier selection along with proper derivative regarding quality and support. Need for peripherals cannot be avoided for the construction of a network framework besides pricing management is important for quality development. Suppliers selected for peripheral products are Compuworld and Techbuy (techbuy.com.au, 2019). Verification of the vendors is constructed upon certification for recognition of devices and reputation of the vendors in the local market along with external markets. Access to the local vendor is important for communication with client and problem solution regarding the problem. Financial measures are also important for choosing the proper vendor and preparing a budget-friendly expansion plan.

Part B: Request for Proposal (RFP) 

Introduction 

Company background

Sydney Institute is engaging for issuing a Request for Proposal for choosing and vendors for going into an expansion of IT environment along with the development of a sustainable business environment with technological remedies. Increase in student numbers has insisted on the expansion of the services and it can consider valuable business support for IT solution and client satisfaction. Sydney Institution is renowned for the provision of quality service and it was associated with more than 2000 students (thesydneyinstitute.com.au, 2019). Various courses of educational advancement regarding the delivery of technical and vocational work knowledge with advance IT diploma awarded for higher education.

Sydney Institution has undergone expansion and needs a potential It vendor to provide technical solution and handle the existing system along with the delivery of effective IT   support. 200 computers are being introduced to the infrastructure along with various peripheral and software support. 

Scope

Sydney Institution is searching for a vendor with business accommodation and configuration of IT structure and seeks hardware and software support with the properly documented offering. Purpose of the RFP in this study is to confirm the efficiency expansion and reaching out to the maximum number of student through contracting a vendor eligible with an integrated database system. This study is being conducted for a mutually beneficial arrangement of the plan along with a documented summary of the proposal. Improvement of the summary plan helps in delivering key performance indicators for a successful procurement plan. Concerned company forms the proposition in order to satisfy all term, condition necessary for the establishment of an IT wing, and aim at facilitating students.

●Timeframe

• Proposition plan of the events is planned to organise in the Sydney Institution Auditorium, which can help in obtaining on-site designing idea for product installation of the company. Proposed time plan for events are described below: 

• Budget/cost

Amount of hardware and peripherals should exclude extra taxes and delivery charges for in campus delivery of Sydney Institute. All item tags need to be presented in dollar and Cent currency figures and quotation related to Material and Time will not be considered as valid. All right will be reserved to Sydney Institute regarding procurement activities thus; below is a budget plan for 

• Detail product & service specifications

Hardware

Hardware requirement of Sydney institution is aimed at obtaining Monitors, cables, mouse, keyboards, printers, servers, keyboard, and other peripherals. Warranty of hardware peripherals needs prompt replacement if needed for the provision of uninterrupted service and delivery of the proper replacement needs compliance with the product manufacturer (compuworld.com.au, 2019). Manufacturer website provides the hardware with a different price tag compared to the supplier offering thus, quality checking of the products and online verification in official website for recognition and a warranty claim is mandatory. 

Software

Software requirement is restricted to multiple requirements such as Microsoft Window OS 10, Norton Antivirus for security purpose, Adobe Dreamweaver, Net beans, Ms Office for utility purposes. Software licensing and authenticity is important as fulfilment of the requirement thus delivering the software license key and update on a regular basis is an inevitable and integral part of Software requirement.  

Support service

Service requirement of the company is dependent upon the supplier’s technical support areas it can be enhanced through optimised device performance and maintenance of the entire framework on a regular basis. In order to create a complete It environment for library and educational use, the company needs to develop a server connection with various computers and the establishment of the domain for use in educational purpose and safe web surfing. Installation of the device peripherals and establishment of the communication among the computers is necessary for the service department of the selected vendor (Olsen et al. 2018). Managing security module and regular back up creation is also considered as the primary tasks.

●Service Level Agreement

Warranty: Vendor needs to provide warranty tenure of more than six months from the date of application and vendor warranty needs to be availed easily without any intervention of term breech. Warranty term and conditions are documented in the process contract papers needs compliance with company terms (Yang et al. 2016). Physical defect and manufacturing defect coverage with defect-free equipment supply is necessary in case of replacement or exchange.   

Service Cost: In the case of service warranty exclusion and physical damage, vendors can redirect hardware equipment for cost-included service. Service cost needs to be within a regular budget frame for maintenance and repairing in Hardware restructuring. Service cost needs to be in a shape for considering into insurance in case of a large incident and it can further proceed to an extent for cost involved recovery and delivery of service units. 

Scope of Training: Provision of training for new and advanced software user needs to be done with proper training. Training can be conducted to check the performance of the devices with proper consciousness for the sustainability of the work environment through the fulfilment of proper training (Calapai et al 2017). Concerned Vendor is responsible for delivering of service and regular backup along with security checkups of the programs, thus engineers of the service department of the vendor company need to establish a proper understanding with the system and provide a short guideline to users.

Service Details: Service details of the vendor in case of requirement of hardware repairing or software assist can be done through a prompt arrangement of service by capable service engineers. Training of service engineers and transferring knowledge of using the system within operators can help to build up a bridge of communication. 

• Client references

In order to acquire clean and gain a response from existing clients and inviting more new clients, client reference is needed to be fulfilled with proper fulfilment of hardware and software fulfilment criteria and security propositions offered by the company for detailed analysis of the business environment.

Task 3 – Vendor Application Evaluation

Part A - Activities

Once you read carefully all the information about this vendor application, you need to complete the following activities in order to complete this task - 

1. In my opinion, the business requirement was established in the RFP and maintained throughout the procurement process for the development of financial and organisational arrangement along with documentation requirements. Business procurement of the organisation was formed based on the Request proposal form and further improvement of service and product improvement need to be done through the vendor with adjustment done in warranty and paid services (Wang, 2015).
2. Every organisation needs to choose their vendor wisely. As per the case study, the institute chooses its vendors wisely. The importance of choosing vendors are as follow:
   1. Financial stability: select a proper vendor can ensure financial stability. A loyal vendor can provide a proper business plan, which helps the organisation to track all the information regarding business strategies and plan. Besides, an ideal vendor selection procedure reduces the financial risk of the suppliers in terms of business operation. As stated by byAnumandla et al. (2017),  it reduces the unforeseen implications of cost. On the other hand, such process incsrese financial visibility of the business opeartion. In the words of Dutta et al. (2017), the credit report analysis is important in terms of vendor selection. A credit report consists of information about business management, experience, facilities regarding business operation. 
   2. Quality and Reliability: Quality and reliability are important in any business operation. In this regards, vendors can ensure the quality of the product as well as reliability in the production. In the words of Mora & de la Torre (2018),  for this reason, a vendor needs to choose wisely. The most important key factors of vendor selection are ensuring the quality level of the product, which helps the business organisation to achieve its success. On the other hand, it can achieve reliability in the target market. 
   3. Value of money and profitability: It can say that the lowest price of the product is always not best for the organisation. In this regards, the organisation has to choose their vendors to maintain quality and reliability of the product. In the words of Sunstein (2017), such an approach depends on how much vendors are paid in terms of product delivery. A organisation has to be loyal to their vendors for business development. 
   4. Clear communication and strong service: The business organisation has to choose their vendor, who can deliver the product on time by ensuring product quality. Furthermore, vendors have to deliver the product as their customer needs and must be flexible in terms of product changes. As mentioned by Svensson  (2017), such an approach can extra expenses of the company. 
   5. Strong partnership approach: Strong and good relationship with vendors can create a better business environment, which leads to its sucesss. In such a situation, vendors can acknowledge the importance of the organisational business operation. In the words of Newcomer et al. (2015),  for this reason, vendors can make the most possible efforts to ensure a quality product to the company. In this aspect, they maintain product reliability as well as quality. On the other hand, a storing relation between vendors and business management helps the organisation to achieve its success.
3. Test case: Hardware evaluation
   Product sample test for both the suppliers through group data collection and preparation of product evaluation form and presented on the hardware evaluation form for detailed investigation regarding quality and stability of the product.
   Software Evaluation: MS Word
   MS-Word has been chosen as the test software and testing the software performance has been done based on proper establishment of supplier service and installation of software with serial key activation and compatibility. Updated version of the software provided with proper requirement.     
4. 
   

Executive Summary

The study is focus on the importance of the vendor of the organisation. This study shows that the importance of vendor includes financial stability, strong partnership, and clear communication with vendors, flexibility, and reliability. Hardware evaluation and cost analysis benefits are analysis in this aspect. 

The cost-benefit analysis shows the budget plan of the concerned institute. The analysis evaluates the total cost for establishing computer hardware in the last five year $13,542.00. In this regards, the institute has to choose their vendor wisely and maintain a better relationship for product reliability and product quality.  

On the other hand, scanning hardware and installation procedure recorded in the last five years $1300.00 in last year, which indicates that the institute wants to build its IT infrastructure better for their students. Furthermore, the total annual financial cost in the last five year is $122,788.38. The above analysis shows that the concerned institute has to make a proper budget for implementing the IT infrastructure budget. Additionally, the concerned firm must track all the information about their vendor to maintain their profitability.

Part B – Presentation - (in-class activity)

Students within the group must be present in class for this presentation. Your trainer will use an observation checklist. You will have to upload the observation checklist by signing the form and uploading the form as part of your assessment. 

This is a group presentation task and you need to form a group with maximum 3 students. Group presentation will be given a single grade with individual feedback. You are free to choose your own groups. Please do not share your ideas with other groups. You must maintain the quality of research and present its strong opinion in order to complete overall evaluation. 

For the presentation you need to:

• Specify a vendor based on the Test case and the evaluation report from Task 3 Part A: Q3 & Q4. 
• Include Legal principles and policies, based on your SLA from Task 2 Part B.

Write a report to feedback on the presentation based on questions raised. (this is an interactive session and the audience and trainer involvement is necessary) You need to include questions raised after the presentation and also include your responses for the questions.

Sydney Institution expansion process and plan for supplier management and product requirement was presented and several questions were supporting the supplier selection policy and procurement process for project expansion and IT system establishment was followed by feedback collection method for preparation Q&A section. Question involved in the supplier selection followed along with necessity of a supplier selection instead buying product from the manufacturer. This query can be mitigated through comparison of the price in the manufacturer website and product price on supplier page. Warranty information remains same thus neutralising any scope for product quality tampering. Another question received regarding proper documentation for this prolonged negotiation and business development, which was answered through timely intervention of budget and project overview along with RFP submission. All question regarding support and establishment of network connection for expansion were dealt with proper documented fact and satisfaction among participants.