Informační management View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE MANAGEMENT OF BUSINESS INFORMATICSprovided by DSpace at University of West Bohemia MODEL – PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES Jiří Voříšek, Jan Pour, Alena Buchalcevová Introduction currently represents a dominant IS community This paper describes the characteristics within the German-speaking countries (Austria, and principles of the MBI (Management of Germany, Switzerland) and is best characterized Business Informatics) model developed at by its strong connection to industry especially the Department of Information Technologies, focused on engineering [7]. University of Economics in Prague. The aim Management of business informatics has of the MBI model is to offer IT professionals been in the spotlight of researchers and IT in charge of information technology practitioners from all over the world for a number management in organizations a comprehensive of decades. However, a rising complexity and methodological support based on industry best heterogeneity of technological infrastructure and practices. An application of this model brings enterprise applications together with the growing along the potential to increase an overall IT possibilities of information service provision effectiveness, improve IT governance and have contributed to a demanding management IT services effi ciency, and furthermore result of business informatics. In particular, diverse in a better business performance. The MBI options of IT service provision, i.e. except model comprises important relationships and standard outsourcing of selected applications attributes relevant to information systems and services also various cloud computing management and in addition provides models such as Software as a Service (SaaS), a suitable methodological basis for university Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure courses focused on Business Informatics and as a Service (IaaS), signifi cantly increase IT Project Management. The paper is organized the number of stakeholders and business as follows. Firstly, current issues in Business relationships a company may have. Nowadays, Informatics Management are described in company management expects an improved section 1 followed by an overview of a present effectiveness and reduced costs associated status in the Czech Republic. Section 2 with IT services provision forcing IT executives introduces a concept of the MBI model including to seek better methods for business informatics its principles and meta-model. Further, various management. Such a need to improve quality model types within the MBI area are presented of business informatics management has led to in section 3. Section 4 then outlines a pilot a development of numerous approaches. We application of the MBI model. Lastly, concluding discuss these approaches and the challenges remarks and future research are presented. organizations face in their implementation in the following section. 1. Current Issues in Business Informatics 1.1 Existing Approaches Information Systems (IS) is a scientifi c to Management of Business discipline with a global reach that investigates Informatics a development, use, and impact of information Increasing requirements on the extent and and communication technologies (ICT). quality of business informatics management Business Informatics (BI) as such constitutes have resulted in a development of various a major scientifi c community within the IS methodologies, models, frameworks and discipline according to [7]. Business Informatics standards and also their further application 160 2015, XVIII, 3 DOI: 10.15240/tul/001/2015-3-014 EEM_3_2015.inddM_3_2015.indd 116060 225.8.20155.8.2015 110:51:380:51:38 Information Management in practice. To such methodological base informatics management, and also their primarily belong COBIT [11], CMMI [20], integration with IT performance management ISO/IEC 20000 [9], [10], ITIL [24] and methods. According to [2] and [26], performance TOGAF [15] that are mostly process-oriented management of business informatics approaches. These methodological sources represents one of the most important areas represent current best practices and include where business informatics and performance recommendations addressing various IT management principles are applied in practice. management issues encountered in practice. However, we need to differentiate between Their detailed comparison is presented in performance management in organizations that [5], [21], [25], [26]. However, their application provide IT services (i.e. IT service providers) in practice brings along numerous problems. and performance management in organizations A recent survey among Czech organizations that are not service providers (i.e. consumers of [28] has indicated a relatively low adoption IT services) [25], [26]. IT service providers tend level of methodologies applied within business to focus on an effective delivery of IT services informatics management, and also an overall that maximize their profi t, while IT departments perception their benefi ts are signifi cantly of organizations consuming IT services are limited. Considering ITIL being the most focused rather on securing the availability of broadly applied methodology worldwide, it is all IT services used by various business units. utilized by 53% of Czech companies. However, Thus, it is important to consider a relevant only approximately 6% of them have ITIL fully composition of indicators for measuring and implemented. In the case of COBIT, 53% of evaluating process performance quality, as respondents do not utilize COBIT within their Šimonová [23] points out. organizations at all. On the other hand, 12% The role of IT executives such as Chief of Czech companies apply this methodology Information Offi cers (CIOs) in ensuring exclusively for strategic IT management. a continuous development and innovation of both According to survey respondents, to the IT applications and IT infrastructure represents most signifi cant reasons for the low level quite an important issue of business informatics of methodology utilization belong their related to a harmonization of technology complexity, excessive cost associated with innovation with organization’s business needs. their implementation, and considerable IT leadership issues comprising a suitable requirements on IT practitioners and their allocation of responsibility and authority in professional qualifi cation even in the case of relation to IT, effective use of human resources, SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises). and IT effectiveness monitoring and evaluating A current trend in business informatics is are extensively covered in [3], [8], [14], [21], to strengthen the use of strategic applications, [22], [26], [27]. i.e., enterprise applications that have A key challenge of business informatics a potential to deliver a competitive advantage. management consists in a creation of a single Such strategic applications include Business universal model applicable across different Intelligence (BI), Competitive Intelligence (CI), types of organizations. Many researchers and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) practitioners argue that each organization (in particular social CRM), and various forms needs to develop its own model for management of electronic and mobile business applications of business informatics that meets its specifi c [12]. Their implementation is quite common in requirements. Our surveys (see section 1.2) multinational corporations. However, SMEs as well as international studies, e.g. Weill face signifi cant problems while implementing and Ross [27], confi rm such statements such applications because of limited fi nancial since IT executives tend to develop specifi c and human resources, as stated e.g. by Molnár management models adapted to a particular [13]. On top of that, IT management in these environment an organization operates in. enterprises is distinguished by a number of Among factors infl uencing the organization’s specifi c features which are in detail described environment are industry sector, organization by Antlová et al. [1] size, corporate culture, employees’ skills and Further, IT professionals discuss the knowledge, legislative environment, and IT application of metrics in business informatics services available at acceptable quality and especially in relation to the processes of business price. 3, XVIII, 2015 161 EEM_3_2015.inddM_3_2015.indd 116161 225.8.20155.8.2015 110:51:380:51:38 Informační management Overall, business informatics management largest group of respondents. On the contrary, is affected by a number of issues, including e.g. mining industry comprised only a negligible potential risks associated with IT operation and group of respondents reaching 0.5%. All innovation as stated by Kozel et al. [12], other sectors were represented quite evenly An identifi cation and further analysis of the ranging from 3 to 8%. The vast majority (81%) above mentioned issues and other challenges of respondents constituted Czech companies related to management of business informatics followed by companies within multinational determine the objectives and principles of the corporations (13%). Czech enterprises Management of Business Informatics (MBI) with foreign subsidiaries accounted for the model. The MBI model was designed on the remaining 5.5%. A broad description of these basis of several surveys conducted among survey results is presented in [18]. Below we Czech organizations during the period of summarize just