A novel application of ICTs can radically change the way the business operates and generate significant competitive advantages. As evidenced in a previous article, information technologies can radically modify the business model and the products or services offered. Therefore, the innovative use of ICTs is an integral part of strategic planning.
Strategy
In general, a strategy is a plan designed to help an organization perform better than the competition . Unlike war plans, however, business strategies usually emphasize the identification, creation and exploitation of new business opportunities rather th
an defeating the rival.
The strategies are usually based on the development or improvement of products / services, identification of unsatisfied needs of the consumer, customer retention or any other action aimed at increasing the value of the business through review generation software.
A business achieves a competitive advantage by maximizing its strengths by executing some strategy. When the intention of the strategy is to create new markets, it does not aim to compete with rivals because the marking does not yet exist. Therefore, a strategic action does not always have a competitive nature considering similar products or services. However, markets rarely remain for a long time under the domain of a single organization and competition arises almost immediately.
Extending business to the Web opens the doors to a global market with millions of potential customers; However, just extending the business to the web is no longer a guarantee for the achievement of a competitive advantage. But doing it in an innovative way is.
Creation of competitive advantage
A for-profit organization achieves competitive advantages when its earnings increase significantly; in a good part of the cases due to a greater participation in the market thanks to the creation of opportunities and the strengthening of some competitive advantage. The following point shows the most usual initiatives in which ICT could be applied to achieve a competitive advantage:
Costs reduction
A company can gain an advantage if it can sell at a lower price than the competition. Automation to reduce time and personnel is the usual way of using ICT to help achieve this goal.
Create entry barriers
A company can gain an advantage if the entry of new competitors is difficult. Reaching the market first, capitalizing on the experience and protecting the intellectual capital accumulated in the development of ICTs help to execute this strategy.
