Evaulation Of C3 Solutions – A Case Study

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Evaluation of C3 Solutions – A Case Study

In reading, “FromOn-premises Software to Software-as-a-Service: Transforming C3 Solutions” by Gregory Vial and Suzanne Rivard, regarding the C3 Solutions company, it is evident that the case study presents as an evaluation (VIAL and RIVARD 1-18). The company, C3 Solutions, presents to the reader, information regarding their business model, the problems which their company encounter and what plan or solutions they utilized to minimize or solve their problems.

The basis of the C3 Solutions Company revolves around yard management and dock scheduling solutions. By using technology to their advantage, they are able to reach a broader spectrum of customers. The case study provided the reader with a background of how the company evolved. Some problems that were discussed were the long period of time that certain steps needed to be completed (VIAL and RIVARD 1-18). Some of these tasks could take months, weeks or days to complete. C3 Solutions staff would need to travel to local or abroad locations to complete the work. This would leave lapses in available staff, lead to expenses and made it so only one customer at a time could essentially be helped.

Other issues that the company encountered revolved around the different modems in which they worked with other companies. They worked in both virtually and in-person. Because this company developed at the beginning of the technology era, they experimented with which software and online sources would work the best for their company framework (VIAL and RIVARD 1-18). Through research, they were able to weight the pros and cons to COM/COM+ versus .NET, as well as, Microsoft software and Java software.

C3 Solutions valued their ability to assist customers online and in person. Inevitably, this led to problems in the long run. Being a small company, they did not have the ideal number of staff and resources (VIAL and RIVARD 1-18). During "go live:" periods, they would send staff to assist with quality assurance, implementation of the system, assistance in debugging and patching up issues. As previously stated, this leads to unavailability to other customers and could take an extended period of time.

The C3 Solutions Company learned from their mistakes. They utilized an application called Alassian JIRA and were able to speak with customers online. This allowed them to implement bug tracking and workflow management applications. Through this forum, they had more availability and better communication with customers (VIAL and RIVARD 1-18). They also utilized a Wiki application which made it easier to create, update and search information compared to their older Microsoft SharePoint system. Their issues with time constraints were minimized because the new software went from taking months to days.

Though C3 Solutions has made great strides in their company, there is still room for improvement. Their product model us only being utilized for automated dock scheduling and yard management systems but it could be expanded to other types of companies (VIAL and RIVARD 1-18). Since the company has been financially stable following a new implementation of the product, it could increase its staff. This would allow them to have a wider customer range.

The case study is an evaluation type:

Position statement –

According to my evaluation of the case study, it can be seen that the implementation of the new software had been beneficial for the company (VIAL and RIVARD 1-18). The actions implemented within the company's existing framework helped them in reaching a higher number of customers. Furthermore, with the implementation of certain software, decreased the time taken to complete certain steps.

Evaluation criteria

For the evaluation criteria, the impact on the technological and the business side. On the technological side, the criteria for valuation is how the implemented actions have better served the company in attaining a higher number of customers. The level of improvement within communication between the company and its customers (Bouwman, et al, 105-124). On the business side, the criteria of evaluation would be based on the level of expenses that the business was previously incurring and how they were minimized.

Proof of the evaluation

The proof of evaluation of the case study was based on multiple factors. These included both technological aspects and business-related aspects. The technological related aspect involved an increased ability to reach a higher number of customers. The use of Alassian JIRA, in order to speak to their customers (VIAL and RIVARD 1-18). Furthermore, in the business aspect, the company was able to minimize expenses by cutting short the time taken in completing certain steps. Furthermore, through the use of the new software, the company was able to reduce travel expenses, minimize the unavailability of the staff to help the customers during the go-live periods and many more.

Qualifications 

There are some other factors and assumptions that need to be considered in order to fully evaluate the actions taken by C3 solutions. These can be considered to have the actions had any effect on the competitive edge of the company. Furthermore, has it helped in increasing its market share within its industry. These are some of the additional factors that need to consider.

Action plan -

There are certain future steps that the business needs to take in order to further develop itself. The software that they are currently using for dock scheduling and yard management system can also be implemented within other companies as well (Saebi, et al, 564-581). Furthermore, with the increased inflow of cash and the newly renewed financial stability of the company, the company should look towards hiring more employees.

Works Cited

Bouwman, Harry, et al. "The impact of digitalization on business models." Digital Policy, Regulation and Governance 20.2 (2018): 105-124.

Saebi, Tina, Lasse Lien, and Nicolai J. Foss. "What drives business model adaptation? The impact of opportunities, threats and strategic orientation." Long range planning 50.5 (2017): 567-581.

VIAL, Gregory, and Suzanne RIVARD. "From On-Premises Software To Software-As-A-Service: Transforming C3 Solutions." International Journal of Case Studies in Management 15.3 (2017): 1-18. Print.