Information System Implementation- Why the Struggle?

 Information systems are vital to the success of many businesses in todays world. But what are they?

Information systems are a set of interrelated components that collect, process, store, and distribute information. This information is then used by the company to aid in decision making and control. Information systems are implemented in order to meet the companies future goals, enhance their process/service, solve internal and external problems and to take advantage of new opportunities. However, the complexity of setting up information systems are often overlooked.

Firstly, a lack of time management often leads to an unsuccessful information system implementation. In the NHS case study completed in this module, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt hoped to have the NHS paperless by 2023, however deeply underestimated the volume of work involved in the project, resulting in a 40% reliance on paper still (Chetty, 2023).

Lack of suitable budgets is another reason for businesses struggling to successfully set up a new information system. Implementing an information system is extremely costly. Bloch et al. found that half of large IT projects end up going over budget. As a result, businesses are left with an information system that is not fully capable of meeting their needs and no further budget to mend this.

Finally, a severe lack of specialist resources and support causes companies to struggle significantly with the implementation of a new information system. In order to set up an information system, an educated team must implement the system, employees must then be correctly trained, and support must be available for any system crashes or confusion. In the NHS case study, it is explained that health organisations would need to change their business procedures, as well as convert all physical information to digital, taking up to 20 hours of a doctors time for training. This high time constraint is likely to face deep opposition from medical professionals, causing a struggle for the organisations to be successful with their new system.

Overall, information systems, if implemented correctly, can bring many benefits for organisations. However a poor management of this implementation can cause deep struggles or complete failure of the project.

I hope you enjoyed this weeks blog, please let me know your views on the topic!