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4Top

IT Strategic Assessment Report

4/16/2016

4Top Version: <1.2>

IT Strategic Assessment Report Date: 16/April/2016

Confidential Bradley Erickson 2016

Revision History Date Version Description Author

5/April/2016 1.0 First Draft Bradley Erickson

10/April/2016 1.1 Draft Revised Bradley Erickson

16/April/2016 1.2 Final Draft Bradley Erickson

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Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary 4

2. History and Purpose 5

2.1 History of 4Top 5 2.2 Purpose of 4Top 6

3. Management and Business Processes 7

3.1 Practice 1 7 3.2 Practice 2 7 3.3 Practice 3 8 3.4 Practice 4 8 3.5 Practice 5 8

4. Current IT Environment 9

4.1 Hardware 9 4.2 Software 9 4.3 Staff IT Skills/Training 10 4.4 IT Budgeting and Spending 11

5. Envisioned IT Capabilities 11

5.1 Leadership’s Vision 11 5.2 Top 10 Technology Issues 13

6. Closing the Gap 16

6.1 Recommendation 1 16 6.2 Recommendation 2 17 6.3 Recommendation 3 17 6.4 Recommendation 4 18 6.5 Recommendation 5 18

7. Conclusion 19

8. Appendices 19

8.1 Basis of Analysis 19 8.2 Technology Inventory 22 8.3 Top 10 Technology Issues 223 8.4 Strategic Planning/Visioning Documents 23 8.5 IT Budget/Spending Documents 23

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1. Executive Summary

4Top is currently a start-up based in Louisville, Ky. 4Top was started by Mark Read, who

before 4Top worked with an undisclosed group of people on a similar App. Mark was the project

manager on the previous App and he hated it. It was unorganized and a giant nightmare, as stated

by Mark. With a goal of creating an ecosystem that will enhance the experience that patrons will

receive, 4Top plans to do this by creating an application that will help the restaurants know who

their customers are and the different things, such as food or drinks that each individual customer

prefers.

Aiming to increase the customer experience for each individual customer, 4Top wishes to

create a new application that will allow them to reach their goals and provide a platform for the

organization to grow in the future. Some of the key needs that need to be filled by a new system

are a base for the actual application since there is currently no final application in place as of

now. The new system would need to allow for Restaurants to customize the dining experience

for each customer, users to connect with others within the app, allow restaurants to send

customizable offers to each individual user, allow users to make reservations to different

restaurants within the 4Top network, which will be “white linen” restaurants. These restaurants

are more upscale, and fast casual such as Jeff Ruby’s. This app will allow for users to enter their

own personal preferences so that restaurants will be able to send out custom offers to each

individual customer. The new system would have to have a web based interface for the restaurant

side in order for them to track the data for each customer. The system would call for each

different restaurant to have a different login for the website. A micros/NCR terminal will be

needed on the restaurant side to record your seat and order to extend their record keeping. This

will help in making it easier for restaurants to gain further information on each individual

customer including what they eat and when they eat. The restaurants will be able to further

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enhance the experience of each individual customer with this data.

4Top currently has no permanent system in place, which shows the best way in assisting

4Top in reaching its goals in the implementation of a new and improved system. The best way to

assist 4Top would be to implement a new system that would call for a new website interface for

the restaurant side allowing the restaurant to send out custom offers to individual customers. The

new system will also allow for users to connect with other users within the app, allow for users

to enter their own personal preferences such as what they like to eat and when they usually eat

which will allow for restaurants to use this data to send out the custom offers. Lastly, the new

system will allow for users to make reservations to any Restaurant within the 4Top network.

2. History and Purpose

2.1 History of 4Top

4Top was an idea generated from a previous app that Mark Read was head of.

Mark was the founder of an upscale restaurant. He wanted this idea of 4Top so he developed an

app but this app didn’t get out of the Alpha stage. The programming of the app was outsourced

to an undisclosed Louisville developer and Mark was the manager on this app. It was a giant

nightmare and Mark hated it. This project was going nowhere so Mark got out and the project

fell through. Mark like the idea though even though the project itself fell through.

Mark was a consultant dealing mostly with management. He ran an ERP for the publisher

of all the directories which were the phonebooks. With his experience and knowledge in the field

of management, Mark came up with the idea of 4Top. During the first couple months, Mark

received an offer from Uproar Labs for a total of $56,000 that involved them building an app that

had elements of the 4Top business concept. Uproar was going to make an iOS native app and

was going to take 15 weeks. Their goals was to point toward the liquor manufacturers to upsell

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brands to existing customers/fans or steal customers from rival brands and find out when and

where people are drinking their products. Uproar would link the social plugins and multimedia of

drinking brands together with rewards/deals directly from the brands themselves. Lastly, the

proposal included what the app would do. Uproar wanted the app to feature picture/video, check

in functionality and promoting brand discussion. Sharing your media on the platform and posting

to social media earns more credit toward deals on your drinks. The users profile will publish any

given drink preferences, to create a searching engine to enable micro-targeting by the brands.

Mark did not proceed forward with this outlined proposal, largely due to regulatory and legal

issues which foreclosed the possibility of launching such an offering.

Open table is the current tool that 4Top is most comparable too. Open table allows you to

make reservations to different restaurants within a network of restaurants and allows you to

search for different restaurants. Most of the restaurants hate using open table, but it is the only

option available to them. 4Top is a more customizable experience in the fact that you can make

reservations, add your preferences and receive offers from different restaurants. Knowing what

your patron’s like to eat and/or drink can possibly phase out the ordering process. This could

decrease the dining time, which could in turn increase customer volume. Currently Mark is still

working out all the details on the 4Top app, but all of the concepts are in place. The base of the

app is there but the programming is yet to be done.

2.2 Purpose of 4Top

The purpose of 4Top is to help restaurants get to know their customers on a more

personal level. By allowing users to input their food preferences and make reservations, 4Top is

able to fulfill its goal of allowing restaurants to be able to “know” their customer and send

specialized offers to each individual user. The vision for the future of 4Top is to include every

restaurant that fits the “white linen” definition within the network and help create an ecosystem

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that enhances patron’s experiences at restaurants and bars.

4Top not only wants to serve the restaurants in the Louisville area, but nationwide. 4Top

wants to bring restaurants and the people who eat at these restaurants closer together on a more

customizable level. Making an ecosystem combined with customers and restaurants is 4Tops

main goal.

3. Management and Business Processes.

3.1 Capture customer dining preferences

A primary business process for 4Top would be to capture customer dining preferences.

Now this process can be broken down into different parts. One would be the user side of actually

entering what the user likes to eat, where the user likes to eat and what the user drinks. The user

would enter this information into the app that is provided by 4Top and that data would be

captured and sent back to 4Top to a database. This information, along with the user’s name,

would be stored in a specific location of the database and every time the user changes his/her

preferences, data in the database would also change. It would continuously update to what the

user preferred.

4Top would have to provide the app interface in which the user will be able to enter their

preferences. It would be required of 4Top to capture this data so that the restaurants will be able

to retrieve it and use it to send customized offers. This could bring up issues of privacy so a

privacy statement would have to be provided.

3.2 Store customer information in a database for retrieval

This process would be required by 4Top because it would be 4Top’s responsibility to

provide a database for the user data that each individual user has entered using the app. This

process is extremely important because this is where all the user data that has been collected will

be stored. 4Top will have to be careful in doing this process because they need to be aware and

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make sure that they don’t intrude on anyone’s privacy. 4Top will have to make sure that the user

has given consent, via a privacy statement, that their personal data can be shared with the

restaurants within the 4Top network. This database will be where the restaurants go to retrieve

the preferences of each individual user. This will allow for the restaurants to send out customized

offers to users.

3.3 Coordinate the creation of an interconnected network of restaurants

Coordinating the creation of an interconnected network of restaurants plays a very

important role in the success of 4Top. 4Top will have to make sure that each restaurant in the

network has access to the database so that they send out these customized offers. Keeping the

restaurants interconnected is a tough task but is required in order for 4Top to be successful. 4Top

will have to provide a website for the restaurants to use and keep each restaurant up to date with

current updates to the site.

3.4 Facilitate a relationship between customers and restaurants

This process is critical to the success of 4Top. A good relationship between 4Top, the

restaurants and the customers is a key aspect to growth in the future. 4Top will have to provide

the app for the users to find these restaurants and make reservations, and they will have to

provide a website for the restaurants to use in order to reach out to their customers. Keeping a

good relationship between the restaurants and customers will allow for 4Top to have significant

growth in the future. If the customers are happy with their experience, they will eat at the

restaurant again. If they are repeat customers, the restaurants are happy because they have more

business. If the restaurants are happy, then 4Top stays in business and continues to grow.

3.5 Enable customers to view the menu and pricing in order to cut down on the time for the

ordering process

An important process for 4Top would be allowing for the users to view the menu and

pricing for each individual restaurant so that the time of the ordering process will be lower. This

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is important because the customers will be happier because they won’t have to wait as long for

food. If you make the customers happy, then the restaurants are happy. The faster the ordering

process, the quicker each customer is done eating. It would potentially bring in more customers

to the restaurant. If the restaurants are happy, then 4Top will continue to get their business

causing 4Top to grow now and in the future.

4. Current IT Environment

4.1 Hardware

Currently, 4Top is working with a single Lenovo laptop. This Laptop runs with an Intel®

Core™ i5-3337u CPU @ 1.80GHz. This laptop has all of the software that 4Top is currently

using. This could pose potential threats because a single point of failure, such as the laptop

crashing, could cause a loss of important client data. 4Top doesn’t rely on outside sources for the

information technology that it uses. 4Top also has around a dozen Samsung media players that

looked like phones. They are similar to an iPod or tablet. These were from the past project that

Mark had been working with. These devices had the app installed but never made it to an Alpha

stage. 4Top also currently has a Kodak ESP Office 2150 series printer. This hardware is all

provided by Mark Read Who works out of his home. This is the information technology

hardware that Read currently has with 4Top.

4.2 Software

Currently, 4Top uses many different software packages. Most of the data used by Mark

and 4Top is stored in the cloud using OneDrive and Google Drive. With the cloud storage, Mark

uses Dropbox in order to keep the files safe in case of a failure of the laptop. Like previously

stated, Mark also has Google drive installed in order to keep 4Top’s files safe. Some of the other

software installed is:

- Adobe Reader Xl (11.0.10)

- Bluestacks App Player

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- Bluestacks Notification Center

- Dropbox

- Evernote v. 5.6.4

- Google Apps Migration for Microsoft Outlook® 4.0.29.9

- Google Chrome

- Google Drive

- Intel® Dynamic Platform and Thermal Framework

- Intel® Graphics Driver

- Intel® Management Engine Components

- Intel® SDK for OpenCL- CPU Only Runtime Package

- Lenovo OneKey Recovery

- Microsoft Office Professional 2013 –en-us

- Microsoft OneDrive

- Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition [ENU]

- Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Tools for office Runtime (x64)

- mlRC

- Mozilla Firefox 43.0.4 (x86 en-US)

- Mozilla Maintenance Service

- Nitro Pro 8

- Pushbullet version 338

- Realtek USB 2.0 Card Reader

- REALTEK Wireless LAN and Bluetooth Driver

- SugarSync Manager

- Synaptics Pointing Device Driver

- TeamViewer 7

- User Guide

- Windows Driver Package- Lenovo (ACPIVPC) System

- Windows Driver Package- Lenovo (WUDFRd) LenovoVhid

- Windows Essentials 2012

As you can see, 4Top has a lot of software installed on the one laptop, but there is

software installed that provides cloud storage in order to back everything up. Bluestacks can be

used in order to run android apps straight to the laptop running windows or iOS. This could help

in testing the 4Top application straight on the laptop. All of the software is beneficial to the 4Top

business processes as well as the business itself. In addition to all of the software listed, 4Top has

a GoDaddy domain of 4tabletop.com. The site is currently not functional, but the domain is there

and is a good starting point.

4.3 Staff IT Skills/Training

Mark Read is the executive director of 4Top and has had past management experience on

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other projects. Mark currently works out of his home and is the only person involved with 4Top

at the moment. Mark was the project manager on a similar app in which he hated it. The whole

project was a giant nightmare. That project never reached the alpha stage so there was no beta

testing. Mark worked with start-ups in Atlanta before moving to Louisville. Mark is a consultant

mainly in management. He ran an ERP for the publisher of all the directories (Phonebooks).

Mark is qualified for the job at hand even though he is currently the only one.

4.4 IT Budgeting and Spending

Mark has stated that he doesn’t want to outsource the coding for the app to an outside

company. There is no current budget in place as of now according to Mark. Most of the budget

would have to go towards the design of a new website for 4Top and the programming of the app.

Programmers will need to be hired to program the app. The website will be used by the clients

(restaurants) in order to reach out or send customized offers to individual users. These are the

two main budget issues that will need to be addressed.

5. Envisioned IT Capabilities

5.1 Leadership’s Vision

The leadership of 4Top was a new IT system that will help 4Top grow and reach its

goals. 4Top leadership envisions a new front-end functional website that will be for the clients

(Restaurants within the network) so that they will have a place to send out personalized offers to

each individual customer. Each restaurant would have its own login to the site in which would be

identified by a location indicator. The site would have a database in which customer data, such as

preferences, will be stored. This will allow for the restaurant to better understand their customers

on a more personable level. As well as the website, a Micros/NCR terminal will record the

customer’s seat and order to extend their record keeping. This will help in the data retrieval

process.

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4Top would also like to have a front-end application for the users (customers) to use in

order to create their own personal profile. With the app, the users will be able to input their

personal information such as age, name and food/drink preferences. The app will also allow for

users to search for restaurants in the area using a location indicator as well as make reservations

for an open table for a restaurant that is in the 4Top network. The server will send the requests

for seating to the restaurant. This will make it easier for users to find a place to eat and won’t

have to wait about wait-times. The users will also be able to give ratings and write reviews about

the restaurant within the app. This data will be sent to the website for the restaurant to see

personally.

4Top leadership would also like to have a CTO (Chief Technology Officer) and

programmers to work with the app. The CTO would be an executive-level position whose main

occupation is focused on scientific and technological issues within 4Top. He/she would be

responsible for the day-to-day technological issues and would also be responsible to find the

right people to upkeep the application and the website. 4Top leadership would also like to have

good programmers to program and upkeep the 4Top application and the 4Top website.

The primary function of this new system envisioned by the 4Top leadership is to provide

the tools for the restaurants to better know their customers. The restaurants will be able to send

out personalized offers to those customers who have visited before or the ones who reviewed the

restaurant and/or the ones who liked the specific restaurant. The users will add their preferences

such as what they like to eat and/or drink and their preferred restaurants. This will make it easier

for the restaurants to interact and get to know their customers on a more personal level. Lastly,

the 4Top leadership envisions that this new system will create an ecosystem of “white linen”

restaurants and the very customers that eat at these restaurants that will enhance the experience

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the customers experience at the restaurants.

5.2 Top 10 Technology Issues

Various information technology issues face 4Top

1. Lack of Website

A good portion of the problems facing 4Top currently is the lack of an online presence in

the form of a 4Top website. Without a website, it is hard for 4Top to establish a firm online

presence. Establishing a website will allow for 4Top to obtain a social presence as well as a

business presence. With the goal of bringing restaurants and customers closer together, 4Top

would need a website to really help do this. The website would be the main tool for the

restaurants to use in order to interact with the customers.

2. No current exposure

As it stands, 4Top currently has no current exposure. 4Top wants to directly compete

with open table, which is an application for users to search for restaurants and make reservations

for any open table that is available. In order for 4Top to be able to compete, they need to get

some exposure in the market. This can be done by doing a soft launch of the app (beta testing) or

even buying advertisement spots on restaurant websites or even social media sites. This could

help in getting the 4Top name out there and they will get the exposure that is needed if they want

to compete with 4Top.

3. Has one laptop

Having only one computer can be a big issue. With only one computer, there are

limitations in what you can do. There is one point of error, meaning that if the laptop were to

crash, there would be no other physical back-ups for it. Even though there is storage in the cloud,

multiple laptops or PCs would be better in providing physical backups for all of the business

information for 4Top. With only one laptop, it could potentially hinder the growth of 4Top and

they may not be able to expand as planned.

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4. Has no current Database

With no current database in place, it is hard to store any data that would have to be

collected for 4Top to work. 4Top relies on a good database in order to work correctly. In order

for the restaurants to be able to send out these customized offers to customers, a database needs

to be implemented so that customer preferences that have been put in the app by the customer

will have a place to be stored.

5. Has no Anti-virus on Laptop

Having no Anti-Virus is always a big issue when it comes to IT. 4Top relies on the use of

data in order to work correctly, so if anything were to happen to the laptop and make it unusable,

there would be no other physical back-ups for it. Having no Anti-Virus could potentially cause

this to happen. If the laptop were to get a deadly virus that causes the computer to crash, 4Top

would potentially lose client data and/or financial records. This could cause clients, being the

restaurants, to get upset and potentially they could quit using 4Top. Anti-Virus is a must-have in

an IT environment.

6. Doesn’t currently have programmers to program the site and application

With any application or website, it needs to be programmed. This can be done by an

outside company or by hiring individual programmers to come in and do it within the business

itself. As it stands, 4Top has no programmers lined up to take on the task of programming the

website and application. It is important to find good programmers that are willing to work hard

and together in order to get this daunting task completed. Having no programmers currently

working on the app means that 4Top doesn’t get to see any form of the app as the business

grows.

7. Lack of beta testing

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With any technology business that involves a program or app, beta testing is very

important. 4Top doesn’t really know how consumers and/or restaurants will receive the app. The

only thing 4Top has to go on is other similar apps, such as open table. Knowing how well the

other apps are doing will allow for 4Top to understand what market they are trying to reach. The

issue with no beta testing is that 4Top won’t really know if the app is liked by user. Beta testing

also allows for consumers to give reviews on the app and 4Top can fix all of the bugs found by

all of the users.

8. Lack of prototype

4Top currently has no prototype of the app in place. They know what the app needs to do

and what the website needs to do, but they don’t have any prototypes to go off of. 4Top has all

the ideas in place. Having no prototype could cause issues in the fact that they have no concepts

to review so it is all on “paper”. Ideas are better visualized through a prototype rather than only

on paper.

9. Has no permanent system in place

With 4Top being a start-up, there is no permanent system in place as of yet. With no

permanent system, 4Top will need to get a database in order to fully succeed in the market. A

new system will need to be in place in order for 4Top to succeed. A permanent website would be

a focal point within 4Top.

10. Has no Clients lined up

Since 4Top is a start-up and is new to the market, they don’t really have a customer base

just yet. 4Top will have to slowly ease into the market and start small if they want to succeed. A

big problem is that 4Top currently has no clients, being the restaurants, lined up to test the 4Top

concept. 4Top needs to have some clients that will test 4Top to make sure that the concept will

work. It is difficult to get a large share of the market right away so it is smart to get a select few

to test out the concept, so that other restaurants will potentially fall into place with 4Top.

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6. Closing the Gap

6.1 Start with lower end (price) restaurants

4Top currently has very many paths that it can take and many possibilities as far as the

possible uses for this application. I feel that this start-up and this idea could have excellent

success in the future. As it sits now, 4Top is targeting “white linen” type restaurants, such as Jeff

Ruby’s Steakhouse, which is a relatively small market. This lowers some of the possibilities for

4Top. 4Top is trying to compete with Open Table, which is a similar app that allows for users to

search for restaurants and make reservations at these restaurants that have open tables. Open

Table is the current leader in this industry and it is going to create tough competition for 4Top.

This competition might make it a bit difficult to enter the market targeting the same restaurants.

It will be difficult for 4Top to enter some of these restaurants that are already utilizing Open

Table. 4Top, being a new app, has no proven track record meaning that these restaurants don’t

know if 4Top will even work or not. This means that it will be extremely difficult to pull the

clients (restaurants) that are utilizing Open Table to 4Top.

My recommendation for this problem would be to target a wider market, starting with

lower end (lower price0 restaurants, such as tumbleweed or Texas Roadhouse. This is a much

larger market and currently, Open Table does not have a presence in the lower tier market. It

would benefit 4Top to try and pitch their idea to these lower end restaurants and use them to gain

a good track record for 4Top. I feel that if 4Top does this, they will establish a presence in the

market, and when they have been in the market for 3-4 years, they can move up to white linen

restaurants and pitch their model. It will be easier to enter an upper market that is dominated by

Open Table by showing that you have been successful in other markets. 4Top will have to start

from the bottom and work up. This would be the most effective way to reach the target market

that 4Top wants to be in.

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6.2 Develop a Working Prototype

In order to enter the market successfully, I feel that 4Top will need to create a working

prototype to demonstrate what the app does to potential clients. As stated above, entering a lower

tier market would probably be best and having a working prototype of the app will allow for

4Top to show off the capabilities of the app. It is difficult to sell someone on an idea alone. A

working prototype along with the idea makes it a little easier. First, 4Top would have to hire

programmers in order to develop the prototype. While designing the prototype, a very important

factor to keep in mind is that you want to make the user interface unique. You want the users

who are using the app to know first-hand that it is 4Top by just looking at it. This will allow you

to be different from similar apps such as open Table. You would also need to decide on a catchy,

unique logo. There are many ways that you can decide on this. There are many different sites

that you can go to in order to put out a request for a logo. For example, 99designs.com is a site in

which you put in your information and what you are looking for and that information is sent to

many different graphic design artist. They will then submit designs for you to look at and you get

to decide which one looks best. A good logo can raise awareness of a business. Being able to

show potential clients what the app can do, instead of showing them on paper is very important

on getting clients to use 4Top. You want the client to be able to physically use the app so that

they can see the functionalities of the app first hand. This could give you a competitive edge in

getting a client to use 4Top.

6.3 Have a couple restaurants for Beta Testing

Before entering the market on a full-scale, I would recommend that 4Top get 5-10

restaurants in one city to test out the 4Top app. This would require you to pitch the idea to them,

being easier with a working prototype. Once you get 5-10 restaurants to use the app, you can use

their feedback of the app in order to make improvements on it or even do a complete overhaul.

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Having multiple clients test the app will allow for them to see how the app really works and they

can judge if 4Top is what they want to use. A beta will allow for 4Top to fix the bugs and decide

whether or not they should fully enter the market. If the beta doesn’t go well, it won’t be as

catastrophic as if 4Top were to enter the market on full scale. A beta is very important when it

comes to apps and Information Technology.

6.4 Develop the Website

This, in my opinion, is the most important thing to do. Before even building the app, a

front-end website needs to be created. Having a website for 4Top will allow for users and clients

to understand what 4Top actually is. A Website works on any device because of the language it

is developed in. JavaScript, which is a widely used language in web development, will work on

any devise, as if you were to develop an app, you would have to develop it for android and iOS.

Developing an app would require multiple programmers as with a website, you would only need

to hire one developer who has knowledge in multiple languages and different databases. This

developer could not only develop the front-end website, but also the backend. I would also

recommend that 4Top create a dynamic website using a dynamic language and link that page to

databases using JavaScript. This will be cheaper than starting off with an app. As it sits now, the

average costs of building an app ranges from $50,000 to $500,000 according to Formotus

(http://www.formotus.com/14018/blog-mobility/figuring-the-costs-of-custom-mobile-business-

app-development). This can be very expensive, especially for something that isn’t even in the

market yet. Having a website is very important for any Information Technology business.

6.5 Exit the market

The last recommendation I would give to Mark would be to just exit the market and try to

sell the ideas of 4Top to a competitor such as Open Table. You would have to show them the

functionalities of the app and sell them on the customization features. With Open Table being

http://www.formotus.com/14018/blog-mobility/figuring-the-costs-of-custom-mobile-business-app-development


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such a large presence in the market, it would be too hard for 4Top to have success in the same

market. Open Table has been around for over 18 years and provides online reservations for over

31,000 restaurants. They own most of the market space and 4Top doesn’t really improve on the

experience enough for them to compete. Being able to put in food preferences and receive

custom offers are good features, but they don’t build on the original concept enough. Entering a

market where there is already a large competitor is a very daunting task and you have to

differentiate yourself from the competitors to even have a shot. I don’t feel that 4Top will be able

to compete in this space and the best bet for 4Top would be to try and sell the ideas to bigger

competitors and possibly work with them.

7. Conclusions

In conclusion, 4Top should start of by building a functional dynamic website so that it

will work on any device. Having a working prototype will allow for 4Top to demonstrate the

functionalities of the site to potential clients and will them to establish a firm presence in the

market. After having a website, 4Top should try and do a beta test among 5-to clients so that they

can get a feel of how well 4Top will go over in the current market. Restaurants that beta test will

be able to determine if 4Top is a good option to use or not and they can give feedback allowing

4Top to fix the bugs that were found. Doing all of this should help 4Top in establishing a

presence in the market and allow 4Top to grow in the future.

8. Appendices

8.1 Basis of Analysis

The basis of my analysis for this assessment came from many theories and models that

were illustrated in class meetings and in the readings this semester. The most talked about

model in class was the Cash model, as seen below:

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In this Cash model, each block represents a very important part of an organization. The 5

components are: Environment, Operational Structure, IT Architecture, Jobs and People.

Every organization has these 5 components. All of these components are dependent on

each other. When designing or implememnting a solution for an IT problem, each block

must be carefully looked at and analyzed as well. Another model that I used in this

analysis is Porter’s 5 Forces.

8.11 Porter’s 5 Forces

Threat of New Entrants: High

The threat of new entrants is high due to the lack of competitors in the market and low

market barriers.

Threat of Substitutes: Low

In a market of making reservations, the threat of substitutes is low.

Intra-Industry Competition: High

The intra-industry competition is high because there are a low amount of competitors but

they do won most of the market.

Bargaining power of Customers: High

The bargaining power of customers is high because the customers would be the

restaurants and if they don’t like one product, such as 4Top, they can switch to Open Table.

Bargaining power of Suppliers: Low

Due to the nature of the market, the bargaining power of suppliers is low.

Next, we will look at the generic strategy of 4Top. 4Top’s generic strategy would have to be

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differentiation. Since there is such a little market for an app like 4Top, they will have to

differentiate themselves from other competitors, such as open Table. This can be done by the

look and feel of the app or the functionalities of the app. If 4Top wants to be known they have to

be different in order to do that.

Another key model used in this analysis is the Internet Enabled Business Model. There

are 9 key elements within the Internet Enabled Business Model. They are profit site, customer

value, scope, pricing, revenue sources, connected activities, implementation, build capabilities,

sustainability and cost structure. The profit site is the core competency of a business and that is

what the business does best. In this case, 4Top’s profit site would have to be the ability to enter

preferences and receive customized offers.

Customer value is determined by how well an organization meets a customer’s needs.

4Top offers many functionalities to help the restaurants reach out to their customers. This is done

through a website developed by 4Top.

The scope of an organizations business model is usually bounded geographically. 4Top

can be spread worldwide but as of right now, it is bound to the Louisville area since it is a start-

up.

The pricing aspect of 4Top would be menu pricing. Restaurants use menu pricing, which

means what you see, is what you pay.

The revenue sources of 4Top are reliant on ad space within the 4Top website and a

portion of a sale for a reservation made on 4Top. Those are the main revenue sources for 4Top.

For 4Top, the major processes performed are the ability to add preferences and receive

customized offers from restaurants. These activities are designed to differentiate 4Top from the

competitors.

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Implementation of a new system for 4Top shouldn’t be too difficult but it would require a

good amount of resources. With Mark having the experience that he does, He would still need to

hire programmers to do all of the programing of the app and website.

The capabilities for 4Top are actually kind of low. As it is now, 4Top doesn’t have much

capital to be able to fully implement a new system at once. It would have to be a process over

time.

For sustainability, there are three different ways to do this and these are: Run, Team-Up

or Block. A sustainability strategy is chosen based on an organizations imitability and

complementary assets. In the case of 4Top, the imitability would be high because it isn’t a very

hard concept to copy. The complementary assets for 4Top are also easily obtainable so the

complementary assets would be high. Using this, the sustainability strategy for 4Top would be to

team-up with a competitor and try to work together. With the market as it is, this would be the

best option for 4Top.

8.2 Technology Inventory

About a dozen Tablets (Similar to an IPod)

1 Laptop (With current Software):

- Adobe Reader Xl (11.0.10)

- Bluestacks App Player

- Bluestacks Notification Center

- Dropbox

- Evernote v. 5.6.4

- Google Apps Migration for Microsoft Outlook® 4.0.29.9

- Google Chrome

- Google Drive

- Intel® Dynamic Platform and Thermal Framework

- Intel® Graphics Driver

- Intel® Management Engine Components

- Intel® SDK for OpenCL- CPU Only Runtime Package

- Lenovo OneKey Recovery

- Microsoft Office Professional 2013 –en-us

- Microsoft OneDrive

- Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition [ENU]

- Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Tools for office Runtime (x64)

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- mlRC

- Mozilla Firefox 43.0.4 (x86 en-US)

- Mozilla Maintenance Service

- Nitro Pro 8

- Pushbullet version 338

- Realtek USB 2.0 Card Reader

- REALTEK Wireless LAN and Bluetooth Driver

- SugarSync Manager

- Synaptics Pointing Device Driver

- TeamViewer 7

- User Guide

- Windows Driver Package- Lenovo (ACPIVPC) System

- Windows Driver Package- Lenovo (WUDFRd) LenovoVhid

- Windows Essentials 2012

8.3 Top 10 Technology Issues

1. Lack of Website

2. No Current Exposure

3. Has One Laptop

4. Has No Current Database

5. No Anti-Virus on Laptop

6. Doesn’t currently have programmer to program the website and application

7. Lack of Beta Testing

8. Lack of Prototype

9. Has no Permanent System in place

10. Has no Clients Lined up

8.4 Strategic Planning/Visioning Documents

Not Available

8.5 IT Budget/Spending Documents

Not Available

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References

- Formotus: (http://www.formotus.com/14018/blog-mobility/figuring-the-costs-of-

custom-mobile-business-app-development. Copyright © 2016 Formotus

- Cash. (n.d.). Building the Information Age Organization

- Afuah, Allan, and Christopher L. Tucci. Internet Business Models and Strategies Text

and Cases. 2nd

ed. Boston: Irwin/McGraw-Hill, 2001. Print.

- OpenTable: http://www.opentable.com/about/

- Goldratt, Eliyahu M., and Jeff Cox. The Goal. N.p.: Gower, 1989. Print.



http://www.opentable.com/about/