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- Zipcar Case-
Name:
Course Number:
Course Title:
Matthias Griebel
ISM 6488
IT Management and Security
Date Submitted:
02/01/2015
Based on the information given in the textbook, Porters Five Forces are
acting on Zipcar and the car sharing industry to varying degrees.
The potential threat of new entrants is typically identified by
switching
costs,
access
to
distribution
channels,
public
image,
market).
Nevertheless,
car
manufactures
start
to
implement their own car sharing services (e.g. DriveNow by BMW and
Car2Go by Daimler, both Germany) which illustrates the threat of
forward integration by the suppliers. Still there is a possibility for
building strategic alliances like Zipcar did with Ford in 2011 (Vlasic,
2011).
The threat of substitute products
companies
incl.
real
time
ridesharing,
car
ownership,
public
a.
b.
Cloud/Client
computing
(including
alternative
architectures)
Regarding the use of mobile apps (see 3.g), web-reservation system
and the collection and analysis of data in one central data center
Zipcar is already using cloud computing in an advanced way.
c.
Collaboration technologies
d.
e.
Zipcar is already collecting real time data of its fleet (GPS, mileage
information, fuel level, battery voltage) and integrating the data into
the analytical models.
f.
g.
There are mobile apps for iOS and Android are available. The iOS app
was voted as one of the best apps in 2011 (Aamoth, 2011).
h.
Outsourcing
Zipcar offers a fleet optimization service called FastFleet that uses the
embedded IT it has installed in its fleet. The FastFleet service is also
available for companies or universities.
i.
j.
The trends of question 3 that were not fully adopted by Zipcar (in my
view) are collaboration technologies, outsourcing, risk based security
and protection and software defined anything.
Zipcar should extend their efforts to adopt collaboration technologies
because there are a lot of great opportunities connecting hotels, public
transportation, social media etc. with integrated offers from Zipcar
(Strategic Alliances).
Outsourcing should be considered as an option at least for all the
repetitive functions in accounting and payroll processes.
An important factor within the next years will be a working risk based
security and protection system to prevent from system failures or data
theft. Zipcar is collecting and analyzing huge amounts of customer
data. A system failure can cause a downtime for the whole business
and data theft could cause a big loss of brand reputation.
Due to the fact that Zipcar has to handle a huge amount of data, the
use of a software-defined network or a software-defined data center
that is easier to scale can reduce costs and handle even bigger
amounts of data and data analyzing operations in the future.
Question 5:
be
deployed
(e.g.
centralized
vs
regional
vs
consistency when mirroring the data centers (e.g. one member travels
to a different city and wants to use the Zipcar local service). Also it
wouldnt be possible or very difficult to use all the data to analyze the
behavior of members and predict future demands in real time (just
local demands).
A regional infrastructure is a mix of both the centralized and the
decentralize infrastructure. For example North America and Europe
could use one centralized system each. This architecture allows real
time analysis in each area as well as a good response time.
In my opinion, a centralized system based on a Software Defining
Anything/Software as a Service would be the best option because it
combines the advantages of the systems above. Furthermore, it is
easier to scale in case of big growth and new methods for analyzing
data.
Question
6:
For
Zipcar
and
Uber,
compare
and
assess
taxicab
operations
that
cause
unfair
business
practices
and
Bibliography
Aamoth, D. (2011, 01 27). Time. Retrieved 02 01, 2015, from Time:
http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,20444
80_2043593_2043625,00.html
Preston, R. (2014, 04 09). InformationWeek. Retrieved 02 01, 2015,
from
InformationWeek:
http://www.informationweek.com/strategic-
cio/digital-business/digital-disruption-uber-style-is-never-pretty/a/did/1306955
Vlasic, B. (2011, 08 31). Then New York Times. Retrieved 02 01, 2015,
from
Then
New
York
Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/31/business/ford-and-zipcar-joinforces.html?_r=0
Zipcar, Inc. (2015, 02 01). Zipcar. Retrieved 02 01, 2015, from Zipcar:
http://www.zipcar.com/mission
Zipcar, Inc. (2013, 04 03). Zipcar, Inc. Retrieved 02 01, 2015, from
Zipcar:
http://www.zipcar.com/press/releases/zipcar-teams-with-regus-
to-help-businesses-save-money