Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
team used a SharePoint intranet to allow all experts involved
to communicate online. They spent weeks developing, testing,
and adjusting the new system in the virtual store. The devel-
opment continued until all experts were satisfied.
Once the system was designed and running smoothly
in the store prototype, four actual stores were selected for
testing. One at a time, the system was installed in each store.
With each installation, lessons were learned and problems
became fewer. The installation at the fourth store was carried
out flawlessly.
The new system was ready for installation in the remain-
ing stores. One technician was hired and trained for each of
the store installations. Many backup technicians were trained
as well in case the primary technician failed to show up. The
store-in-a-box was shipped to each of the stores in shipping
containers that could withstand the coldest Canadian winter
temperatures. Communications were set up that would allow
each technician to give a step-by-step report to the control
center at headquarters. At headquarters, ten project man-
agers would be tracking the progress of their districts and
reporting to the primary project managers. If trouble arose, it
could be addressed within minutes.
The installation went off without a hitch. The project was
completed on schedule in four months at a cost of one million
dollars. In the end, 500 Rogers employees were trained on the
new system, which included an “intranet for resources and
policies, a new supply chain model, integrated point-of-sale
and merchandise management systems, and a foundation for
good customer service.” The team credits the success of this
ambitious system development project to its detailed prepa-
ration, especially the staging facility, and tight communica-
tions and cooperation throughout the process.
aerospace, and shipbuilding for government and commercial
purposes. Northrop Grumman scientists and engineers place
heavy computational demands on their computer systems.
Simulations and computer-aided design applications require
a lot of processing power, which Northrop Grumman met for
years with multiprocessor workstations and small clusters of
servers. Each project in Northrop Grumman received enough
computing power to support its needs. Unfortunately, budgets
did not always accommodate the needs of new projects, and
if they did, setup was time consuming, and sometimes deals
were lost in the delay. Maintaining many disjoint systems was
also a major challenge for Northrop Grumman's information
system support staff.
Bradley Furukawa, VP and CIO, had an idea for a better
system. Rather than custom-designing, building, and sup-
porting many computer systems for many projects, Furukawa
wanted to build one large supercomputer cluster that could
be shared by all projects. Furukawa was given permission to
try his theory out on Northrop Grumman's Space Technology
unit.
Furukawa assembled a team of information systems spe-
cialists and scientists to create a massively parallel super-
computer from Linux-based blade servers. The cluster
quickly grew to 979 processors supporting over 100 applica-
tions specially adapted for parallel processing. Furukawa saw
his role in the development as more political than technical.
"It was my job to make sure the funds were there, make sure
[the project] stayed visible in front of the vice president and
president, remove any administrative barriers ... and let the
engineers and scientists do their thing."
Furukawa also had important diplomatic responsibilities.
He worked to make sure that the designers of the system kept
an “enterprise perspective” rather than focusing on their own
project's needs. A governance board was created to decide
how supercomputer resources were to be shared across
projects in the enterprise. "No matter how much computing
power you have, you can always max it out. They set the pri-
orities," Furukawa says. The board was responsible for cre-
ating the controls to allocate system resources and monitor
their use.
Furukawa's plan worked. The shared supercomputer
cluster allows Northrop Grumman employees to complete
work faster. Equally important, it allows new project propos-
als to get off the ground quickly. The salesforce now closes
more new deals and keeps existing contracts funded. Cus-
tomers appreciate the additional simulations and analysis
provided by the increase in processing power.
Word of the success of the new supercomputer system
reached top executives, who were so impressed that they
funded additional growth for the system—which now has
1,800 processors running 400 custom designed scientific and
engineering applications. Working to keep the money flowing,
Furukawa has opened up the supercomputer to other areas
of Northrop Grumman over the company's internal network.
He wants to keep the system fully occupied to make a case
for further expansion. The ultimate goal for the system is
3,000 CPUs.
Discussion Questions
1.
What challenges did Rogers face in the installation of its
new retail system?
2.
What implementation techniques did Rogers employ to
assure a smooth transition to the new system?
Critical Thinking Questions
1.
Why did Rogers feel it necessary to upgrade all stores at
the same time? What are the benefits and risks of that
decision?
2.
What role did communications technologies play in the
success of this system upgrade?
SOURCES:
Lau, Kathleen, “Rogers' IT overhaul: All in a day's work,”
itWorldCanada, May 25, 2007,
www.itworldcanada.com/Pages/Docbase/
472646;
Rogers Communications Web site,
www.rogers.com,
accessed
July 20, 2008.
Northrop Grumman is a global defense and technology
company specializing in information services, electronics,
