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INFOSYS.110 BUSINESS SYSTEMS:

DELIVERABLE 2: BUSINESS SECTION
2014

Name Mackenzie Harris
NetID Mhar762
Group Number: 322
Website Link: http://infosys1102014s1group322.blogspot.co.nz/
Tutorial Details
Tutor: Day: Time:
Kirsten Thursday 12 pm
Time Spent on
Assignment:
16 hours Word Count: 1421

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SURFING AROUND
INTRODUCTION
Sufers who make up a significant part of New Zealands population frequently travel to beaches only to find that the conditions are bad, thia is
a major problem as valuable time resources and money are wasted. In order to prevent this problem from persisting is an application available
for most smartphones which allows users to upload personalised surf reports, these reports are instantanteous allowing other users to get the
latest reports.
3. BUSINESS SECTION
3.1 Vision
We wish to create a network where the surfing community can communicate and help one another, creating a more productive and enjoyable
surfing experience for everyone.
3.2 Industry Analysis: Smartphone application Industry
Industry: Mobile app.
Force: High/Low: Justification:

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Buyer power: Low There is currently no existing product similar to
ours, in reagrds to the social aspect. We also plan
to have a loyalty program in place to reward
customers based on their reports, further
reducing buyer power.
Supplier power: High Supplier power will be high in terms of relations
to our customers. There is the threat though that
our suppliers may seek to leapfrog by marketing
and selling substitutes (Grundy, 2006)
Threat of new entrants: High Because the social aspect of surf reports has
never been implemented before it means that we
will be one of the first onto the market. Although
we could be considered a monopoly for a while
other organizations may easily interpret this as
low competition. Startup costs for creation of any
rival pruducts is reasonbly low due to the
decreased costs required for networks

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(Camponovo & Pigneur, 2003).
Threat of substitutes: High Technology is rapidly evolving and as such there is
the chance that soon there will be ways of
capturing and constantly updating detailed surf
reports. If this were to arise however it still would
not be able to capture the socialisation element
offered by our product. Because customers will
need to put time and effort to make the most of
our product they will be demotivated to switch to
any later substitutes (switching costs).
Rivalry among existing
competitors:
High There is already existing mobile apps for
smartphones geared toward surf reports. These
apps try to differentiate their product from
competitors but have yet to include any
socialisation aspects.
Overall attractiveness of the industry: Because thiis problem has not yet been adressed with a social element attached, it means that there
are no competitors in the market to compete with, however this also applies for any potential future organisation who wish to enter.

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3.3 Customers and Thei r Needs
Our product would be targeted towards the local NZ surfing community. Their main need is to ensure their time is not wasted by going to a
beach only to find that the conditions are bad. When this happens valuable time and possibly resources such as petrol are wasted possibly
become demotivating surfers for the rest of the day. Tracks Magazine (2014) has commented on the issue of wasted time looking for good
conditions only to find that the first site was the best. Because of this the surf community needs to have constant reports on site nationally to
avoid unfavourable beaches. Our product will also fufill a demand for socialisation needs for consumers as it will allow them to interact with
people with similar hobbies (surfing), as well possibly organise meet ups with other surfers based on what beach theyre at.

3.4 The Product and Service
In order to address our customers main need of not wanting to waste time and resources we will offer a product that informs them of surf
conditions nationally which is constantly updated. Because they will be able to check the latest up to date surf reports before heading out this
means that they will be able to avoid unfavourable conditions and may pick an alternative beach, saving any resources that would have been
wasted going to the first site.

3.5 Suppliers and Partners
Suppliers:

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KickApps, will allow us to fully integrates any and all applications into our infrastructure
Hawking technology, provide the physical hardware required in order to maintain our servers at low prices.
Partners:
Quiksilver, by associating ourselves with a major surf company we will be able to make ourselves known to surfers. Quisilver recently
experienced one of their competitions being canceled (Transworld Business, 2013) and as such a app like ours would be likely to appeal to the
group.
3.6 Strategy: Focused l ow cost
Because the application appeals to a certain hobby (surfing) it means that we are tragetimng a niche. Our product will be free for download
with a subscription fee attached to it, this means that we will be using a low cost strategy.
The overall strategy is therefore Focused low cost
3.7 Value Chain Activity: Technology development
The most important value chain activity for this business is Technology development
Because the product we are offering is a smartphone application R&D is essential in order to ensure it is functional and quality standards are
met. Good equipment will be needed in order to maintain the networks on which users upload surf reports for one another as well as for the
initial development of the app (user interface, ability to upload photos etc.). New versions of smartphones or software uipdates will come

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along frequently and as such being flexible and possible to update our product with the resources on hand is essential. The use of IT within
these value chain activities will further enhance the value-creating potential of our organisation (Tallon, Kraemer & Gurbaxani, 2001).
3.8 Business Processes
3.8.1. SURF REPORT SUBMISSI ON PROCESS This process is one of the most essential for the key functionality of our product. This process is
entirely dependent on the users of the application to be executed; we have no influence over what users may post asides from how we lay out
the interface as well as what options to include. Once the user pulls up the form and enters all the relevant information to the report they will
be given the prompt whether they want to include a photo taken from their phone. This stage is entirely optional and if a user doesnt wish to
for reasons such as maxed out phone storage then they will still be able to submit the report. Once uploaded it will be stored on the network
for everyone to see and decide whether they wish to go there.

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3.8.2. SEARCHING FOR A BEACH PROCESS This process alongside the submission process is the most essential feature to the functionality of
our product. Our involvement in this process is network and server maitenance and maintaining to ensure that customers will be able to see
the latest surf reports available. Users will be prompted to enter their current location eitheir manually of by using the find my phone
feature available on smartphones. If the find my phone feature is used then beaches and their reports are listed from closest to farthest. If it is
entered manually sites will appear as most recently updated, both options allow for users to be redirected to a map provider. If a user finds a
favourable site they will be able to head out there, if they do not they will have not wasted time/money searching.

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3.11. Summary Table: Value Chain to Systems

Value Chain
Activity
Processes Functionalities Specific Information
System(s)
Broad Information
System(s)
Technology
develeopment
1. Surf Report
Submission
process
1. Monterey jack cow macaroni cheese.

2. Rubber cheese lancashire edam rubber
cheese.
Bavarian bergkase system

Edam cheese system
Collaboration cheese
System

Enterprise Resource
Planning cheese system
2. Searching for
a beach
process
1. Squirty cheese hard cheese dolcelatte
rubber cheese melted cheese.

2. Rubber cheese taleggio squirty cheese
swiss pepper jack dolcelatte.
Cottage cheese system


Edam cheese system
Transaction processing
cheese system

Customer relationship
management cheese
system

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CONCLUSION
Our business aims to address the problem of surfers wasting valuable time, money and
resources by travelling all the way out to sites only to find that conditions are unfavourable.
We will address the problem through the use of a smartphone application that anyone in
New Zealand can download, create an account and upload personal surf reports that are
instantly updated 24/7. This application will also have a social element attached to it due to
the fact that surf reports are user submitted.

REFERENCES

1. Camponovo, G., & Pigneur, Y. (2003). Business Model Analysis Applied to Mobile
Business. In ICEIS (4) 173-183.

2. Grundy, T. (2006). Rethinking and reinventing Michael Porter's five forces model.
Strategic Change, 15(5), 213-229. doi: 10.1002/jsc

3. Tallon, P., Kraemer, KL. & Gurbaxani, V. (2001) Executives' perceptions of the
business value of information technology: a process-oriented approach (Working
paper). University of California. California

4. Tracks Magazine. (2014). WHEN SURFING SUCKS. Retrieved from
http://tracksmag.com.tmp.anchor.net.au/201403246791/Blogs/Tracks-Blog/WHEN-
SURFING-SUCKS.html

5. Transworld. (2013). 2013 Quicksilver Ceremonial Chile cancelled. Retrieved from
http://business.transworld.net/132163/news/2013-quiksilver-ceremonial-chile-
cancelled/


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