ASSESSMENT TYPE DUE DATE WEIGHT LEARNING OUTCOMES Research Paper 2 Week 12 25% 5,6 & 7 Total 3000 words Outline of assignment 2 of 5014 (Friday class) 1) Introduction The reason that why there is a trend of using i- clouds, the development of the I-cloud, what is the advantage? Why it is so important? Save cost of storage? Convenience? The push of technological development makes this popular? (100 words) 2) Background information of Azure, Aws, Google (200 words) Links for reference only What is Window Azure ? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poDRw_Xi3Aw What is Aws? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaJCmoGIW24 Introduction to Amazon Web Services by Jeff Barr https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaJCmoGIW24 3) Comparison of the following 5 aspects of the above 3 companies Azure, Aws, Google in terms of (800-1000) a. Networking b. Computing Resources c. Hosting d. Storage e. Security ( please make a table for comparision for the 5 ascepts) links for references: Cloud Wars: Amazon (AWS) vs. Google (GCP) vs. Microsoft (Azure) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=342KEaxFVjM The Difference Between Microsoft Azure & Amazon AWS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9WQ4Fms-Ho Microsoft Azure and Its Competitors: The Big Picture https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P9UyuTJLlQ 4) What is their International Competitive Strategy? (500 - 800 Words ) What are the decisions and the reason behind they make the products or the services they provided for the customers? Value Chain Analysis is used to assess the internal factors influencing the business. i.e. a.Who are the company’s target customers? b.What value does the company want to deliver? c.How will this customer value be created? d. Which markets to enter? regional coverage, target customers ( who use the most respectively and the reason why, why customers will choose which company and reason behind) e. How will we compete? The charge/ the fee/ the plans they provided to the customers / Security? 5. Comparison of their Competitive Advantage to the market / the world (500 Words ) (The ability of a company to have higher rates of profits than its competitors ) Competencies To create competitive advantage companies try to develop skills or competencies that: 1) Create value for customers who are willing to pay 2) Are rare and offer grounds for competitive advantage 3) Are difficult to imitate or substitute 4) Are organised to fully exploit the company’s capability Please mention the company’s strengths and weaknesses and compare them to competitors Compare the strategic planning of the above 3 companies 1. Where it is going in the future 2. How it will get there 3. How it will assess whether and to what extent its goals are achieved Global strategic planning 1. Analyse External Environment 2. Analyse Internal Environment Recommendation ( 500 words) Conclusion (200 words)   Do we need to compare? Organisational Structure The way that an organisation formally arranges its domestic and international units and activities, and the relationships among these various organisational components Structure helps determine where formal power and authority are located Managers must create and evolve structure over time Two main concerns management face: 1.Departmentalising to take advantage of efficiency of labour specialisation 2.Coordinating departmental activities to meet firms objectives Structure of an international company must evolve over time Strategic planning process used to review external and internal factors Four primary dimensions to consider: Product and Technical Expertise Geographic Expertise Customer Expertise Functional Expertise Advantages Structure is easy to implement and support overseas growth in early stages. Control is centralised Disadvantages Not suitable for long-term growth and expansion Individual country needs may not be met