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In the report we analyze the current use of IT in the municipality of The Hague and specifically the Design and Engineering Office and propose a new business plan that involves the use of innovative augmented reality technology to transform the organization. The main focus of the report will be on the organization itself, while in our video we will cover most of the technology. We specifically chose to do this project at the municipality, as we thought it was interesting to analyze such an organization, as opposed to a ‘regular’ company selling products or services. The reason why we examined the effects of augmented reality on the Design and Engineering Office, is because we thought that this department would benefit the most from the transformational process.

In the video Remco Duivesteijn, an information architect at the municipality of The Hague talks about augmented reality technology as a whole and its possible applications to the city of The Hague. For example, people used to draw 2D sketch on a paper or build 3D models in the computer when comes to urban construction. Now with the use of augmented reality, people can place a virtual model of the building in the construction site and experience it even before starting the project.

The organization is analyzed in terms of its current business model and its current IT strategy. Porter’s five forces analysis is used to determine the competitive situation that the municipality and the Design and Engineering Office operate in. We have also provided in depth analysis regarding the organizations IT governance. McFarlan’s Strategic Grid Framework helps to position the organization’s in terms of the current and future importance or reliance on IT. Strategic Alignment Model by Henderson and Venkatraman discusses the alignment between business strategy and IT strategy.

Our recommended business plan to implement augmented reality is to make resources available to examine developments in IT and create ways in which they can be applied in future projects (Augmented Reality technology in this specific case). The key focus of  our business plan is on communication between departments and developing smart, innovative and inspiring IT solutions. We believe that the suggested business plan will prove to be beneficial for the municipality of The Hague as a whole, even though there exists some potential risks and implementation issues related to technical expertise and budget expenditures.

We therefore recommend the municipality of The Hague to:

-Consult an augmented reality specialist or developer

-Involve outsiders: Citizens and Companies in the planning process

-Involve insiders: Combining Departments and Budgets

 

IS Team 60:

Max Oudenbroek

Femke Sytstra

Shichen Yang

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When speaking of information goods, one can hardly ignore various kinds of video games in the market. This is an industry that has generated 25.7 billion US. Dollars in 2015. (Statista, 2016). American giant, Blizzard Entertainment is one of the major players in this booming market.

As developers and publishers of Starcraft, Warcraft and Diablo, Blizzard is known for epic, delicate-designed games. In fact, the company has obtained 1.121 billion US dollar income in 2015 (Activision Blizzard, 2016). However, there are hundreds and thousands of games being released every year, and the “gaming” trend changes rather frequently and repetitively. From real-time strategy (RTS) games like Starcraft, to First-person shooter (FPS) games such as Call of Duty, and to Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games for example League of Legends, this decade has witnessed so many major shifts in players’ taste. Facing fierce competition, it is vital for Blizzard management team to make decisions that not only can keep their current market position, but also generate more profit.

Blizzard’s answer to its rivalry is innovation, disruptive innovation to be precise. They break the boundaries of different game genres and this is how Overwatch has been created.  Overwatch  is a team-based multiplayer first-person shooter video game that has been released by Blizzard in May 2016 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Players are shooting each other in a team of 6, with predefined characters （FPS）. These characters each has their own movements, attributes and ultimate ability, which is an obvious feature of MOBA games. Blizzard was never known for FPS games, but Overwatch  still topped May’s digital revenue rankings with $269 million in earnings across all platforms (VG247.com, 2016).

To summarize, innovation is vital for company success across industries. With information goods like video games, creativity never dies.

What do you think could be the new trend in the gaming industry?

References:

Activision Blizzard, (2016). Activision Blizzard 2015 Annual Report. [online] Available at: (http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/ACTI/2949944978x0x887600/BE853918-329D-4E90-ABDC-E669E9D097B9/Activision_Blizzard_2015_Annual_Report.pdf [Accessed 4 Oct. 2016].

Statista, (2016). Video game, gaming industry revenue. [online] Statista. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/278181/video-games-revenue-worldwide-from-2012-to-2015-by-source/ [Accessed 4 Oct. 2016].

VG247.com. (2016). Overwatch earned $269M in digital revenues across PC and console – SuperData. [online] Available at: https://www.vg247.com/2016/06/23/overwatch-earned-269m-in-digital-revenues-across-pc-and-console-superdata/ [Accessed 4 Oct. 2016].

 

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When Nokia was overtaken by Apple in 2011, people sob its death. “At least the world has witnessed its glory”, said they. But Google glass never has its glory, it is a story about a gifted baby choked to death in his/her infancy. And just before the discussion of Google glass’s failure comes to an end, Microsoft has shifted the public eyes to its novel innovation-Hololens.

 

Microsoft Hololens is a pair of mixed reality head-mounted display smartglasses, using augmented reality as its core technology (Wikipedia). Many might argue the similarities between Google glass and Hololens. However, these two devices are totally different. Yes, Google glass also uses augmented reality, but in a limited way. Google glass enables consumers to capture images very fast and absorb simple information (weather, time, search result etc.) by just a glance. Basically It is a pair of regular glasses that has few functions of a smart phone. Hololens, however, is designed for much more intensive tasks. For example, full-scale 3D modelling with 3D print compatibility, audiovisual 3D virtual tourism and even Skype. In fact, Hololens is like a laptop, you don’t need it every moment, but you might find it of great help at work (Jon Mundy 2015).

 

One of the many reasons for Google glass’s failure is the health issue. Wearing internet-connected glasses certainly increases exposure to radio waves, this might pose health risks to consumer (Foxnews 2014). Hololens would face the same criticize as well, however, unlike Google glass, it is unlikely that people would wear Hololens 12 hours a day. By decreasing the time spent with the device, the risk of radiation exposure is lowered. Another advantage of Microsoft Hololens is its operating system. Unlike Google glass which is run on its own custom OS, Hololens is based on Windows 10. This implies a tremendous amount of applications is await in the future.

 

Having discussed all the above merits Hololens owns, price is still the current Achilles’ heel. Google glass is priced at 1500$, which is often criticized as nonconsumer-friendly. Hololens, with price of 3000$ each, is even worse. The device is therefore still somewhat of a prototype, and the current potential buyers are still “early adopters”, such as technology geeks or journalists.

 

“Thanks for exploring with us. The journey doesn’t end here” This is what you will see on the Google glass page at the moment. The device is been redesigned but we still have no idea when it will come back again. A visionary, bold product has fallen, let’s hope there won’t be another.

 

Reference:
Mundy, J. (2015). Microsoft HoloLens vs Google Glass: Can you compare the AR headsets?. [online] TrustedReviews. Available at: http://www.trustedreviews.com/opinions/microsoft-hololens-vs-google-glass [Accessed 23 Sep. 2016].

 

Fox News. (2014). Experts: Why Wearable Tech Could Pose Health Risks. [online] Available at: http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2014/10/20/experts-why-wearable-tech-could-pose-health-risks.html [Accessed 23 Sep. 2016].