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Any Topic (writer's Choice)
YourFirstName YourLastName
University title
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Overview & Introduction
First, I will conduct a situational analysis, including such aspects as external and
internal context; firm performance (company’s advantage, customer needs and rival
competition) and I will also review mission statement, stakeholder/preferences,
constraints/risk, SWOT, Porter’s Five Forces, cost leadership, Key Success Factors. Second, I
will identify the critical issues as well as diagnose the problem and alternatives for each
problem. Then, I will make my recommendations based on my list of alternatives and
implement definite recommendations in terms of people, timing, resources and monitoring.
Finally, I will summarize all the key findings of the case study.
Key Success Factors of IT industry
Open communication lines: Marcom (marketing communications) are utilized by
every organization and IT firms are not an exception, but Programs of integrated marketing
communications are divided into two groups such as business-to-consumer (B2C) and
business-to-business (B2B). Communication channels are the most significant components of
interaction in terms of genuine and holistic synergy between producers and customers.
Business requirements analysis: After receiving data from every possible
communication channels, market conjuncture should be identified as the primary goal of each
firm is to meet the most sophisticated demands in such three segments, where CA
Technologies is operating, as mainframe solutions, enterprise solutions and services.
Expectation management: Communications and requirements are the key – factors –
elements of possible firm’s expectations. On the one side, the IT market has certain volume
that can be boosted only to some extent. On the other side, each company has a limited set of
financial resources and technical capabilities.
Organizational protocols and sponsorship: In some degree, protocols are the kind of
bureaucracy, but required procedure in order to fix the agreement of the parties. All decision
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makers are to sign the contracts. In return, CIOs are involved in permanent searching for
allies to perform companies’ assignments and promote the general idea of the company to the
customers and sponsors.
Porter’s Five Forces
Competition from rival sellers
The major competitors of CA Technologies are Hewlett-Packard Company,
International Business Machines Corporation and Oracle Corporation. The IT market is
characterized by highly-segmented rivalry; it concerns especially mainframe computing
where IBM is the strongest competitor.
Competition from potential new entrants
It should be noted that any developing or emerging markets may produce extremely
innovative products and these technological solutions are able to fuel constantly increasing
competition even for such giants as CA Technologies, IBM, Oracle and others.
Competition from producers of substitute products
The top players on the market of mainframe are IBM, Compuware Corp, and BMC.
CA Technologies is aiming at software developing. Such growing markets as European
(eastern part, particularly), Chinese, Indian challenge the current IT corporations on the
regularly basis due to lower prices and technological potential existed in that markets.
Supplier bargaining power
The supplier bargaining power is enough high to set the technological pace on the
market. During the 1990s CA Technologies supplied 95 percent of the whole Fortune 500 list
as a vendor of software. Furthermore, Fortune magazine marked the CA Technologies as one
of America’s “most admired” companies, stated Soltes (2011). On the other side, such
vendors as Microsoft, Oracle, IBM and others deepen the level of competition by means of
pricing, servicing and innovation movements.
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Customer bargaining power
Almost each customer is forced to buy a license in order to utilize the products of CA
Technologies for a certain period of three to ten years. Subsequently, that fees is increasing
when the duration of the contract is primarily longer, on the contrary, additional year of
utilizing the products is evaluated lower that previous one as the degrading of software
occurs. So, the customer has limited trade space, but initially the products are lineup of
qualitative software solutions.
SWOT Analysis
Strength: 1. Three direction-oriented product line that consists of mainframe
solutions, enterprise solutions and services. Each direction has own target customers:
mainframe solutions provide IBM, enterprise solutions are for business entities with nonframe platforms, including such groups DevOps, management cloud; service direction is
aiming at resolving IT problems in the sphere of open enterprise. 2. The company is
operating in more than 40 countries and has nearly 5,100 employees. 3. CA Technologies is a
leading innovator in IT industry – the company has 1500 patents by March 31, 2015 and
invest more than 600$ in software designing, additionally, 950 patents are in progress
Weakness: 1. Among such markets in the United States, the Asia Pacific, Japan, the
Middle East and Africa, CA Technologies is not broadly represented in European market and
other emerging markets. 2. The diversification measures should be applied to a greater extent
in order to reduce dependence on some players (the B2B direction) and broaden the line of
products – build new directions of developing IT solutions, with the exception of current
three ones.
Opportunities: 1. The launch of cloud campaign originated from 2010 with the
buying 8 IT companies. 2. To seize greater share of market due to brand new potential
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directions of development from the perspective of cloud, SaaS, applications, service,
optimization of critical application solutions.
Threats: 1. The looming risks of negative impacts cause by self-dealing scandal and
service drawbacks. 2. The market fluctuations – the echoes of financial crisis in 2008 – that
take place both in the US and overseas markets. 3. Rapidly boosting IT sector is characterized
by step-by-step furious completion and functional depreciation.
Issues
Ecological and environmental
E-business is forced to pay high fees and various regulations procedures may be an
obstacle in the UK and EU, comparing with other countries.
Economic slowdown
Not precipitously economic growth of the US economy has provoked decreasing of
sales as well as precarious position of Europe, including Greek situation, unemployment,
Brexit.
Consumer attitudes and opinions
A set of allegations, scandal around CA Technologies driven by accounting policy,
self-dealing cases, unsatisfactory level of service provided to customers may influence the
mutual relationship between the company and customers – business and consumers.
Competing technology development
This pressing issue is a required condition of CA Technologies competitiveness
among other companies.
Patenting
The company holds nearly 1500 patents in figures of 2015 fiscal year and 950 patents
are assumed to be obtained. This innovative and intellectual component pushed CA
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Technologies to protect copyright and compete with other IT monsters on the permanent
basis.
Alternatives
1. The possible variant of CA Technologies’ further development is to capture the
share of emerging and developing markets. The company is primarily represented in such
markets as the US, the Asia Pacific, Japanese, the Middle East and African. It can be
achieved by means of brand new cloud strategy, rebranding initiatives and other types of
cooperation with different vendors, outsources, distributors, businesses and others. The
region of East Europe is quite remarkable to promote the ideas of CA Technologies in such
countries as Poland, Hungary, Ukraine, Belorussia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Russia and
others. This option is complemented by Asia Pacific region where market volume is
significant.
2. Marcom (marketing communications) are utilized by every organization. Programs
of integrated marketing communications are divided into two groups such as business-toconsumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B). The third group is aiming at consumers and
customers. So, this multidirectional activity of the company required to be evolved. Play with
words, images and shapes leads to a qualitatively new level of promotion, in a broader sense,
branding. It should be highlighted that due to only logos people are able to identify one or
another brand. Nothing in excess, only a brand logo will be enough – images provoke an
associative array which is individual for every person. It is too simple that some slogans or
words slipped your mind, but it does not apply to vivid images. In order to hold the market
positions and seize new ones, CA Techologies should not only be in trend, but also create
innovative and penetrating movements in IT industry.
3. CA Technologies publicly represented at a global analyst symposium in 2014 its
strategic view with broad portfolio of capabilities and solutions, noted Illsley (March 14,
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2014). During this conference the company announced such steps to improve its market
positions – to develop new skills if it is to win new business in what is currently a “white
space” for its solutions and to enhance decision support by linking strategic plans to
investments and spend. The first direction represents an example of the new type of
marketing and product development. The second direction is designed for executives – to
elevate their level off strategic planning capabilities and boost better collaboration inside of
the teams.
Recommendations
We recommend penetrating the new markets for the following reasons:
1. CA Technologies was able to take leading positions in service management and
assurance, project and portfolio management and security services in frames of US market,
especially. The company should be also focused on European, Asian and African markets.
These markets are relatively full of small firms and not numerous big companies, so, it is a
suitable time to gain the market power on these markets as well as emerging ones.
2. The technological rally is redoubling at high speed – unknown startups and
ventures may really offer a kind of IT revolution. To be a leader in mainframe solutions,
enterprise solutions and services, the company should take into consideration the fact of solid
competitors as Microsoft, IBM, BMC and others from the perspective of home market and
oversea areas.
3. The company is on the right technological path. It should be marked that CA
Technologies committed to but IT firms in order to overcome the obstacles to refresh the
cloud area of activity. Such acquisitions give an opportunity deepen and diversify the sphere
of activity with more or less costs of resources (human, financial), timing and transaction
costs.
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Conclusion
Considering all the key internal and external factors affecting CA Technologies, it
required to be emphasized that on Forbes list the company takes a #1182 place in Global
2000, #1 944 in Sales, #846 in Profit, #1 719 in Assets and #863 in Market value. The
figures are not inspiring. On the other side, approximately $1 billion in cash flow from
operations in 2015 and 11,600 employees in more than 40 countries. From the technological
point of view, the company has more than 1500 patents in world scale, investing 600$ in
software industry. From the customer point of view, the majority of Fortune 500 is served by
CA Technologies alongside with government organizations, educational establishments and a
significant quantity of companies from not only IT sector, but from various industries. The
latest campaigns – 2010 and 2014 – have been promoting the CA Technologies’ philosophy
by means of brand new marketing, service and technological solutions that creates a
qualitatively new level of company serving.
In the Recommendation section were identified three options aiming at improving
strategic operating of CA Technologies. First and second stages were considered by us, at the
same time the third stage is successfully launched and utilized by the company.
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References
CA Technologies Fact Sheet (2015).
Illsley, R. (March 14, 2014). CA Technologies outlines new strategy for growth.
Retrieved July 7, 2015, from http://www.appstechnews.com/news/2014/mar/14/catechnologies-outlines-new-strategy-for-growth/
Key Success Factors in IT Business Alignment (January, 2009). Retrieved July 7,
2015, from http://www.executivebrief.com/blogs/key-success-factors-in-it-businessalignment/
Soltes, E. A letter from prison (2011). Harvard Business School Case 110-045.