Interdependences Between Business Processes and Use of ITThe first and most fundamental aspect of the concept is that there are strong interdependences between the design, the improvement, and the re-engineering of business processes on the one hand and the use of IT on the other hand. The usage of IT changes the working processes simultaneously on a concrete and on a more abstract level. For example, the introduction of e-mail has changed the way of writing business letters in a way of classical rationalization. The process of preparing documents for shipping or of copying became simplified; the costs for delivering e-mails are less than the costs for conventional postage. But on the other side, the introduction of e-mail systems has changed the relations in and between organizations: because communication is accelerated, answers are expected within a shorter time, and more recipients can be involved with a simple copy. So IT is at the same time a tool and an organizational technique (Papadimitrou, 1981). The impact of the use of IT on business processes seems to make it necessary to keep a certain level of technical and organizational skills inside the organization. This knowledge is needed for rating and for transforming and implementing new ideas and IT products if necessary with external help. Depending on the organizational strategy, the main action fields for IS services will be defined. But also depending on the knowledge of the (IT) actors, new action fields for IS support of business can be planned. In this sense, Sahraoui (2002) makes a distinction between reactive and proactive roles of the so-called information-enabled leaders. Both types of roles are existing simultaneously.
The Structure of User Support TasksThe second aspect is the structure of the user support tasks. One of the ideas of outsourcing is to reduce the need for special skills for the maintenance of information systems. But a large part of the user's requieries do not need special technical skills and they are simple to solve, such as forgotten passwords or transaction codes, a simple help for addressing an e-mail, and so on. Typically, the support cases can be divided into the four following scenarios:
The business-related support and the project work are the support cases where the importance of internal IT knowledge is emerging.
Development of CostsThe third aspect is the cost reduction for automation and for highly reliable hardware in the recent years. Tape loaders, RAID systems, servers with redundant power supplies and network interfaces, management tools, and other similar products are now affordable for SMEs too. The usage of these products reduces operating costs, administration, and trouble-shooting and allows a grade of automation comparable to large data centers. In combination with a simple-structured IT architecture and a restricted use of applications, it is possible to guarantee a high availability at low costs. While the reduction of administration costs and high availability of the systems have been main factors for the outplacement of IT services, these arguments cannot be accepted as valid in every case any more. Also, the decreasing costs of innovative products reinforce the (well-known, and therefore not additionally listed) argument that the long-lasting outsourcing contracts are potentially not flexible enough regarding the changes in business.
Structure of Working Tasks for the IS Service GroupThe working tasks of the IS service groups in SMEs are the same as in larger enterprises. These tasks can be divided into:
The management problem is to find an adequate division of these tasks among the different actors, like the IT / IS service group, internal customers, and the top management and external support companies. This is a general problem in enterprises, but with at least two specific qualities of SMEs. One specific quality of SMEs is the difficulty of an exact division of labour, caused by the low number of employees. Another resulting quality is the difficulty of re-engineering business processes on an abstract level, without regarding the concrete staff in the enterprise.
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