Microsoft VISIO

Background of Request:

You are the new Chief Information Officer (CIO) of International Plastics Inc. In recent discussions with the CEO you recommended a complete review and redesign of International Plastics’ IT Infrastructure. The CEO just got back to you and asked you to submit an IT Infrastructure review report with upgrade recommendations in six weeks.

The CEO was particularly concerned with improving business performance and lowering costs. After conferring with your IT managers you decided to focus on the enterprise network, information systems, enterprise applications, mobile computing, data management, business intelligence, and security.

Description of Request:

Complete a review of current systems and a revised design.Include new systems or processes that should be added.

Specific areas are of special concern to the CEO and other senior staff:

• Network reliability and uptime
• System response time
• Telecommunication protocols
• Voice, video, and data networks data integrity
• Data security
• Network security
• Addition of systems to integrate functions, address customer relations, and better use available data

Expected Results/Effect When Completed:

You will be presenting senior management with recommendations for upgrades, rationale for these changes, and the recommended time frame for the changes. To provide this information, you will need to develop a comprehensive summary of the International Plastics IT Infrastructure with upgrade recommendations. The summary should include a list of business and functional requirements such as business intelligence, data management, and security. The recommendations must be justified in the context of the stated requirements and include new and emerging technologies, such as cloud computing, Software as a Service (SaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), virtualization, and Big Data.

This document will be completed over the next six weeks and submitted with a 10- to 12-slide Microsoft^® PowerPoint^® presentation of a Request for Proposal (RFP) where you will explain your recommendations to the CEO.

The goal of this project is to review the technical needs of the organization and to be able to communicate them to nontechnical individuals in a business environment.

Weekly Assignments:

Week One

Review the zipped files for International Plastics, Inc. documentation in order to develop a high-level description of International Plastics’ current IT Infrastructure, including network, information systems, applications, mobile computing, data management, Business Intelligence, and security.

Using Microsoft^® Word, prepare and submit a 350- to 700-word executive summary of International Plastics’ business requirements.Include an overview of International Plastics’ operational environment.

Week Two

Review the current networking architecture, and develop an assessment of the current telecommunications standards. After your review, determine what improvements can be made for International Plastics.

Prepare and submit a 1-page table (using Microsoft^® Word or Microsoft^® Excel^®), using the table headings Standard, Protocol, and Recommendation, in which you document the following:

• The current telecommunication standards that are used at International Plastics, Inc.
• The current network protocols that are used at International Plastics, Inc. to support voice, video, and data communications
• At least five recommendations to improve their standards, and protocols for accurate and timely network communications

Week Three

Develop a network drawing for International Plastics, Inc. using Microsoft^® Visio^®, Word, or PowerPoint^®.

In addition to your network drawing, prepare and submit a 260- to 350-word explanation of your network drawing and recommended improvements. Include the following information:

• Explanation of the drawing
• The risks to the current network
• The recommended improvements for the current International Plastics’ voice, video, and data global networks based on the risks that were identified

Week Four

Using Microsoft^® Word, prepare and submit a 525- to 700-word Organizational System Management Plan incorporating ERP, CRM, SCM, and data management into the International Plastics’ IT infrastructure.Include the following:

• Summarize how software applications utilize the IT infrastructure
• Describe the ethical and regulatory concerns associated with the plan
• Justify the plan in the context of improved business performance
• Address current trends and security concerns

Week Five 

Using Microsoft^® Word, prepare and submit a 700- to 1,050-word proposal with a minimum of three options integrating eCommerce into International Plastics’ business strategy.Include a list of anticipated functional requirements, and justify your proposal in the context of the stated requirements.

Week Six

Create and compile the following:

• A 175- to 350-word Executive Summary of the completed project using Microsoft^® Word
• A 10- to 12-slide Microsoft^® PowerPoint^® presentation with speaker notes to present the Request for Proposal (RFP) and recommendations to the CEO
• A final copy of your IT Infrastructure Review and Upgrade Recommendations (a single document that combines all the work completed each week)

Verify your summary includes the following:

• A list of business and functional requirements, such as business intelligence, data management, and security
• The recommendations must be justified in the context of the stated requirements and include new and emerging technologies such as cloud computing, SaaS, IaaS, virtualization, and Big Data