CASE QUESTIONS - CISCO 1a. How did Cisco struggle with its planned IT before Brad Boston arrived? Before his arrival, Cisco had a decentralized approach to IT spending. Independent business groups made decisions in functional silos. Each group had its own IT funds, so redundant applications such as CRM systems were created. It was a global problem but also a localized problem. The Cisco philosophy regarding IT was simple: as long as someone was willing to pay for it, the IT department would work on whatever process/project was specified. This is not only a waste of money, but also creates problems when trying to work across teams. If two teams use two different processes to obtain the same information and communicate it differently, they will have difficulty communicating.b. Why didn't the Single ERP System help the situation? The ERP system has become somewhat obsolete as each business group has created customized software applications, each with different interfaces. Furthermore, the business groups were not consistent with their organizational definitions. Some units defined a shipment as the product moving from the manufacturer to the distributor, while others defined it as the distributor sending the product to the customer. This inconsistency has led departments to create their own software capable of extracting specific information as defined by them.c. Why didn't this ensure greater consistency? There was no consistency because the process was decentralized. The lack of consistency was inevitable considering the number of functional silos established with Cisco. As stated in the case, there was “no centralized group checking for conflicts.” d. What was Brad Boston's solution to the problem? Brad Boston's solution was to create a centralized IT department that would oversee all IT expenses. This department would have a standardized process for individual departmental projects. This would allow the company to retain outside contractors without incurring the additional expenses of including them in Boston's workforce. It would also allow departments to initiate projects, but ensure that these projects do not undermine company goals or duplicate resources. Does the CIO's amnesty program have a good chance of uncovering most of Cisco's shadow IT projects? The amnesty program had a chance of uncovering some of the Shadow IT projects, but not most. If departments believed projects were critical enough that they could “sneak in” and implement them themselves, it is unlikely they would be willing to give them up voluntarily. The projects that would be handed over in the amnesty program would be insignificant projects requiring small amounts of time and money.