EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business
An ethical hacker had recently started his entrepreneurial venture, EnterAll InfoSec Solutions. A technologist who believed that "ethical hacking" had huge market potential, he and his partner were searching for a business model that would address the information security needs of corporate clients, public sector undertakings (PSUs) and government institutions. Ethical hacking was a specialized and relatively nascent field, and the entrepreneur foresaw many challenges in convincing customers to use the services of his start-up company. The immediate concerns were how to expand the business, identify an optimal business model, explore sources of funding and create a strong team. Varsha Verma is affiliated with Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Atul Arun Pathak is affiliated with Xavier School of Management. Dharma Raju Bathini is affiliated with Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. Arun Pereira is affiliated with Indian School of Business.
Swot Analysis of "EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business" written by Varsha Verma, Atul Arun Pathak, Dharma Raju Bathini, Arun Pereira includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Hacking Enterall facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, IT and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business casestudy better are - – challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing energy prices, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Hacking Enterall, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Hacking Enterall operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Hacking Enterall
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Hacking Enterall
Strengths EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Hacking Enterall in EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Hacking Enterall are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Hacking Enterall is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Analytics focus
– Hacking Enterall is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Varsha Verma, Atul Arun Pathak, Dharma Raju Bathini, Arun Pereira can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Hacking Enterall has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Diverse revenue streams
– Hacking Enterall is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Organizational Resilience of Hacking Enterall
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Hacking Enterall does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
High brand equity
– Hacking Enterall has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Hacking Enterall to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Hacking Enterall has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Hacking Enterall to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Hacking Enterall to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Hacking Enterall has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Hacking Enterall has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Strong track record of project management
– Hacking Enterall is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Weaknesses EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business are -
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Hacking Enterall has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Hacking Enterall has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Hacking Enterall even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Hacking Enterall supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Hacking Enterall vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business HBR case study mentions - Hacking Enterall takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Strategy & Execution strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Hacking Enterall is planning to shift buying processes online.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Hacking Enterall has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business, in the dynamic environment Hacking Enterall has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Hacking Enterall has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business, it seems that the employees of Hacking Enterall don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Varsha Verma, Atul Arun Pathak, Dharma Raju Bathini, Arun Pereira suggests that, Hacking Enterall is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Hacking Enterall is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Hacking Enterall needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Hacking Enterall to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Opportunities EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Hacking Enterall has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Hacking Enterall to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Manufacturing automation
– Hacking Enterall can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Strategy & Execution segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Hacking Enterall to increase its market reach. Hacking Enterall will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Hacking Enterall can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Hacking Enterall is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Hacking Enterall to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Hacking Enterall can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Hacking Enterall can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Hacking Enterall operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Hacking Enterall has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Hacking Enterall to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business case study. Hacking Enterall can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Hacking Enterall has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Hacking Enterall can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Hacking Enterall to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Developing new processes and practices
– Hacking Enterall can develop new processes and procedures in Strategy & Execution industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Threats EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Hacking Enterall with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Hacking Enterall demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business, Hacking Enterall may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Strategy & Execution .
Environmental challenges
– Hacking Enterall needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Hacking Enterall can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Regulatory challenges
– Hacking Enterall needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Strategy & Execution industry regulations.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Hacking Enterall business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Hacking Enterall can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Hacking Enterall can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business .
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Strategy & Execution field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Hacking Enterall can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Hacking Enterall high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Hacking Enterall will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Hacking Enterall has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Hacking Enterall needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Strategy & Execution sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Hacking Enterall in the Strategy & Execution industry. The Strategy & Execution industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of EnterAll InfoSec Solutions: Growing an Ethical Hacking Business is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Hacking Enterall needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.