AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog
AlarmForce Industries Inc. is a developer and sales provider of home security systems with offices throughout Canada. Since the company's inception, it had become one of the leaders in the Canadian home security market and had established a reputation for being a technological innovator in the industry. The president and CEO of the company must decide whether to launch its new product, AlarmFog, which the president believed represented the future of the home security market. This case focuses on past strategic decisions the company made in differentiating itself in a mature market.
Swot Analysis of "AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog" written by June Cotte, David Singer includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Alarmfog Alarmforce facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Market research, Security & privacy and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog casestudy better are - – increasing energy prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, wage bills are increasing, technology disruption, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is backlash against globalization, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Alarmfog Alarmforce, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Alarmfog Alarmforce 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 AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Alarmfog Alarmforce
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 Alarmfog Alarmforce
Strengths AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Alarmfog Alarmforce in AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Alarmfog Alarmforce has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High brand equity
– Alarmfog Alarmforce has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Alarmfog Alarmforce to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Alarmfog Alarmforce 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 AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Strong track record of project management
– Alarmfog Alarmforce is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog 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.
Organizational Resilience of Alarmfog Alarmforce
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Alarmfog Alarmforce does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Alarmfog Alarmforce in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Alarmfog Alarmforce has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Alarmfog Alarmforce 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Alarmfog Alarmforce 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Alarmfog Alarmforce in the sector have low bargaining power. AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Alarmfog Alarmforce to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Alarmfog Alarmforce 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.
Learning organization
- Alarmfog Alarmforce is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Alarmfog Alarmforce is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Weaknesses AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog are -
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog, it seems that the employees of Alarmfog Alarmforce 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Alarmfog Alarmforce has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Alarmfog Alarmforce 's lucrative customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Alarmfog Alarmforce is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Alarmfog Alarmforce needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Alarmfog Alarmforce to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Alarmfog Alarmforce has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
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 Alarmfog Alarmforce supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Alarmfog Alarmforce vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Alarmfog Alarmforce 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. Alarmfog Alarmforce 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog, 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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog, is just above the industry average. Alarmfog Alarmforce needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog 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 AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Alarmfog Alarmforce is planning to shift buying processes online.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Alarmfog Alarmforce has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Opportunities AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog | 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 AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog are -
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. Alarmfog Alarmforce can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Alarmfog Alarmforce can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Alarmfog Alarmforce to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Alarmfog Alarmforce to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Alarmfog Alarmforce can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Alarmfog Alarmforce has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Alarmfog Alarmforce to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog case study. Alarmfog Alarmforce can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Alarmfog Alarmforce can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Strategy & Execution industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Alarmfog Alarmforce can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Alarmfog Alarmforce can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Strategy & Execution segment.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Alarmfog Alarmforce 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Alarmfog Alarmforce to increase its market reach. Alarmfog Alarmforce 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Alarmfog Alarmforce is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Alarmfog Alarmforce in the consumer business. Now Alarmfog Alarmforce can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Alarmfog Alarmforce can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Alarmfog Alarmforce operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Threats AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Alarmfog Alarmforce is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing wage structure of Alarmfog Alarmforce
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Alarmfog Alarmforce.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Alarmfog Alarmforce 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 AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog .
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. Alarmfog Alarmforce can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Alarmfog Alarmforce needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog, Alarmfog Alarmforce 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 .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Alarmfog Alarmforce 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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Alarmfog Alarmforce 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Alarmfog Alarmforce 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.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Alarmfog Alarmforce 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Alarmfog Alarmforce 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 Alarmfog Alarmforce business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog 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 AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog 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 AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog 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 AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog 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 AlarmForce: The Launch of AlarmFog 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 Alarmfog Alarmforce needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.