Inc. : The Target Segment Decision Essay

10. Conducting a Market Opportunity Analysis (MOA) is the first step in developing a marketing strategy.

The Gap Inc. is a global specialty retailer that operates stores selling casual apparel and accessories for men, women, and children (Yahoo Market Guide, 2001). Under the Gap, are the Old Navy and Banana Republic brands (Yahoo Market Guide, 2001).

Up until this point, Third Star Financial Services has operated via a succession of mergers and acquisitions where systems were inherited but never integrated into the network. Its data management has been virtually non-existent and entirely ineffective. Evidence of this can be found in the absence of an enterprise-wide data management solution and the presence of several disparate systems operating independently with no measurable benefit to the company. Due to a lack of actionable data, management makes decisions based on instinct rather than through analysis. A direct consequence of this is a steadily declining market share and loss of high-level employees to competing companies. Fortunately, this discrepancy has been identified and Third Star executives have established the new goal of modernizing and streamlining operations. Using concepts outlined by the Data Management Association (DAMA), this proposed enterprise architecture will allow Third Star to transform their data from a liability to an asset.

One consequence of data classification is the need for a tiered storage architecture, which will provide different levels of security within each type of storage, such as primary, backup, disaster recovery and archive -- increasingly confidential and valuable data protected by increasingly robust security. The tiered architecture also reduces costs, with access to current data kept quick and efficient, and archived or compliance data moved to cheaper offline

In China, about twenty percent of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) utilized CD’s as their primary source of backing up essential data. Thirty to forty percent utilized the external hard drives, while a surprising forty percent of enterprises used no form of information backup system. Most large enterprises used integrated data backup systems which were offered by larger multinational service providers to store their core data, which could cost millions of RMB, and other forms of non-core data was stored by outdated means. China was very slow in accepting of the use of cloud storage due to the vulnerability of information leakage. In addition, cloud storage from smaller providers also left companies vulnerable as the small cloud storage companies could easily file bankruptcy, leaving the information stored within the cloud vulnerable to disappearing with their data; and small cloud providers would also sell their clients information which made it difficult for companies to ensure their information would be kept private and confidential. (Hao, 2012, p.

Another reason Datavast wasn’t growing was because not many companies new about the many products Hao provided. Because of China businesses feared data leakage, bankruptcy and exposing their data, companies didn’t trust anyone with storing their company information with providers.

The two main methods of storage are manual and electronic, both methods having their own benefits. The data can be used for analysis to assist the organisation fulfil its future goals and overall vision. All data must be stored in such a way that it complies with the regulations put in place by the government. This not only protects the organisation, but each and every member of the public.

DataClear has faced a range of problems related to the market conditions and serious competitors that were already in the market. The company had to create effective strategy and implement it as fast as possible. However, the lack of experience of some executives made a challenge to organize the work, so there were various ups and downs in managing the business and positioning it internationally. Nevertheless, the company seemed to go through all the hard times rather successfully and eventually took it market place, especially progressive in the local market.

Target Corporation is among the top ten largest retail outlets in the U.S. offering clothing apparel, produce, home décor, and other household goods. The utilization of its infrastructure and information technology systems provides Target with one of its greatest strengths of forecasting consumer needs, which establishes repeat customers and consumer loyalty. “Making Target your preferred shopping destination in all channels by delivering outstanding value, continuous innovation and exceptional experiences” (Target Corporate, n.d.). The firm is supported by a strong IT department, a phenomenal leadership team that develops concrete operational planning, and consist of an organizational structure that is one other firms can model to achieve success. Target’s physical locations existence within a foreign market was short lived when Target ventured into Canada in March 2013. After closing its 124 stores in 2015, the firm is in a better position for a global expansion into Ethiopia, which has become an emerging and back into Canada where it first experienced failure.

Datavast began off as a specialist organization of open distributed storage offered to organizations all through China. There are two various types of distributed storage; open cloud and private cloud. An open cloud is an administration that gives stockpiling, ordinarily for non-touchy material,

One of the main benefits of cloud computing is that the company’s resources are used in other different ways and reduce the overall costs. It eliminates the need for a physical hardware computer and replace it with an online storage or a software delivered over the internet. For instance, government agencies are shifting its government IT infrastructure into the cloud and launch mobile and e-services for citizens and businesses. As an example of cloud applications in some countries: In China a company named Wang Fu Jing has deployed cloud services to share supply chain information and implement B2B e-commerce with suppliers (Kshetri, N. ,2011). Another example is in South Korea: IBM’s cloud computing centre provides architecture, skills and pilot projects for banking, telecommunications, and IT hosting services (Kshetri, N. ,2011). An Indian bank named ICICI’s uses Zoho’s applications to develop services such as personalised insurance for diabetes (Kshetri, N. ,2011). Cloud computing offers many services to companies and government agencies; applications, operating systems and data are secured in the cloud environment rather than on a physical computer that is exposed to the risk of lost, stolen or hardware failure. Compared to client-based computing, cloud-based software is easier to install, maintain and upgrade. Furthermore, mobile applications based on cloud computing are becoming increasingly popular. Ericsson estimates that there

Services such as, data storage and security, are provided by cloud computing over the internet. In cloud computing, users can pay for what they consume (Bisong & Rahman, An Overview of the Securtiy Concerns in Enterprise Cloud Computing, 2011). Cloud computing is an emerging information technology, which can make it easier for the users to manage their data. Cloud computing allows businesses to expand as new cloud-based models are being discussed and implemented as solutions (Bamiah & Brohi, 2011).

Usage of remote servers via internet to store, manage and process data instead of using a personal computer is known as Cloud computing. It’s a set of Information Technology services with the ability to scale up or down their service requirements. Most of the cloud services are provided by a third party service provider. In cloud computing, organizations can utilize IT services without in advance investment. Despite its benefits obtained from the cloud computing, the organizations are slow in accepting it due to security issues and challenges. Security is one of the major problems which hinder the growth of cloud. It’s not wise to handing over the important data to another company; such that clients need to be vigilant in understanding the risks of data infringement in this new environment. This paper discusses a detailed analysis of the cloud computing security issues and challenges. (Ayoleke)

Modern day computing systems rely on a distributed system for data, functions and services. Arguably all popular software such as Uber, Spotify, Facebook and Fitbit among others, host their data and applications on dedicated servers to allow for user access services through their devices. The challenge with server based systems is that the integrity and security of private data is left out to third parties, nowadays established as corporations who offer hosting services for applications database and file storage. The main advantage of cloud based models is that customers do not have to pay for the installation of data storage and processing capabilities for applications (Jadeja,

The National Institute of Standards and Technology describes cloud storage as a model for enabling ubiquitous, on-demand network access to a shared configurable computing resources that can be swiftly accessed and released with minimal effort or service provider collaboration. It is comprised of a collection of hardware and software that allows the infrastructure of the cloud to work in a seamless, unified effort. Depending on the classification of information and the service provider the remote servers can be located within the same facility. The stored data is