IT402-4: Appraise historical and international facets of IT consulting.

Purpose

Over the years, the IT consulting industry has responded creatively to the changing needs of clients, leading to the growth of a thriving industry and, for the most part reactive to client demands. IT consulting firms have readily grown and shrunk in response to client demands.

The fortunes of IT consulting firms, like most firms, were impacted by the recent global recession. IT budgets were cut, and most high-profile projects were suspended, most notably in financial services. Having discussed the past and the present, what does the future hold for IT consulting? Which factors will shape the future of the industry?

Assignment Instructions

Prepare an APA-formatted paper with the following content. Your Assignment does not require an abstract page but does require a cover page and separate reference page.

Content

After doing the unit reading, conduct research on the Internet and/or in the library to learn more about the Enron scandal, the role that Arthur Andersen played, and the changes made in the consulting industry as a result. Use at least two different sources for this Assignment.

Assignment Requirements

Use at least two different sources for this Assignment.

• Provide an appropriate paper title. Titles should be short phrases that describe the content. Do not copy Assignment instructions or questions; doing so does not prove an understanding of main ideas.
• Do not quote from your sources, but identify what information came from which source through proper APA in-text citations.
• This paper should be pure research, without personal commentary, conversational speech, or emotional wording.
• The length requirement for this Assignment is 250–350 words. Do not write more than 350 words; it is important that a consultant learn to be concise.

For more information on APA style formatting, go to APA Style Central under Academic Resources of this course or visit the Writing Center.

Also review the university policy on plagiarism. If you have any questions, please contact your professor.

Directions for Submitting Your Assignment

As you save this document, name it according to the following formula (using your own name, of course): IT402-Unit6-Assign1-LastName-FirstName (example: IT402-Unit6-Assign1-Dickens-Francis). Submit your Assignment to the Unit 6 Assignment 1 Dropbox by the deadline.

Review the rubric before beginning this activity.

Assignment 2: Cloud Computing

Unit Outcomes:

• Show an understanding of the history of consultancy.
• Apply the principle of research to a consultant’s job.
• Formulate a Cloud solution for a client

Course Outcome:

GEL-6.06: Apply research to create original insights and/or solve real-world problems.

Purpose

Cloud Computing is a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.

“In today’s world in which digital is omnipresent, no company, old or new, of any size, can ignore the significant impact of the cloud on its production processes, its structure or even its economic model.” (Roques, 2018)

References:

Khanna, T., & Palepu, K. (2006, October). Emerging Giants: Building World-Class Companies in Developing Countries. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved 5 9, 2018, from https://hbr.org/2006/10/emerging-giants-building-world-class-companies-in-developing-countries?referral=03759&cm_vc=rr_item_page.bottom

Levitt, T. (1983, May). The Globalization of Markets. Harvard Business Review (1983). Retrieved May 2018, from https://hbr.org/1983/05/the-globalization-of-markets

M, A., A, F., Griffith, R., Joseph, A., Katz, R., Kowinski, A., . . . M, Z. (2009). Above the Clouds: A Berkeley View of Cloud Computing. Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, 25.

Poonia, A. (2014). Cyber Crime: Challenges and its Classification. International Journal of Emerging Trends & Technology in Computer Science (IJETTCS).

Roque, Philippe. (2018). The cloud coup d’état and its impact on the IT organization. Capgemini. Retrieved May 2018, from https://www.capgemini.com/2018/02/the-cloud-revolution-and-its-impact-on-the-it-organization/

Assignment Instructions

After doing the unit reading, conduct research on the Internet and/or in the library to learn more about Cloud Computing. Using the Technology Consulting template, write a business proposal to your client.

Content

Based on the business scenario chosen in the Unit 5 assignment Part 2 (Client No.1, No. 2, or No. 3 listed again below), and the research performed, analyze and select one appropriate cloud service (Private, Public, Hybrid, Community) and deployment model, e.g., PaaS, SaaS, IaaS.

The three potential client companies are

Client No. 1 – A small bookstore would like to expand what it offers to customers.

Client No. 2 – A small sheet music store would like to expand its business.

Client No. 3 – A car detailing business would like to explore additional services for its customers.

• Using the Technology Consulting template, prepare a business proposal to a fictitious client. The proposal must include at a minimum the following:
  • Described an overview of Cloud Computing technologies.
  • Explained the rationale that you used for the cloud service selection.
  • Described at least three advantages cloud technologies can advance the company’s potentials over the current brick-and-mortar store front alone or by having a website.
  • Identified some of the major concerns for using a cloud group of services.
  • Made a convincing argument that a Cloud solution is the best alternative for the client’s business.

Assignment Requirements

• Your wording must be professional: give facts, explain ramifications, and refrain from emotional writing.
• Use at least two different sources for this Assignment.
• At the end of the proposal, include a Conclusion and Recommendations section and make a convincing argument that a Cloud solution is the best alternative for the client’s business.
• Do not quote or use in-text citation from your sources within the proposal but identify under a separate page the sources you used in your research using proper APA.
• The length requirement for this Assignment is 350–450 words.