Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Technology & Operations
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004
The fundamental change to telephony service that Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) portended affected a number of constituencies. Start-up companies, as well as large, established phone companies and cable television providers, offered VoIP calling plans that could substitute many of the phone services sold by the same or other established providers. These same providers might also benefit from VoIP by using it to enter new markets. Other companies that previously had nothing to do with telephony could become VoIP telephone service providers: For example, the necessary software codes to make VoIP calls were written into Microsoft's XP operating system through its Instant Messaging feature. However, Internet Protocol communications represented a fundamental challenge to the complex web of federal and state regulations that governed telephony. Because VoIP telephony was not tied to physical telephony networks in specific geographic regions, it raised the question of whether federal or state regulators would have jurisdiction over VoIP services and how jurisdiction would be exercised.
Authors :: Robert A. Burgelman, Les Vadasz, Philip Meza
Swot Analysis of "Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004" written by Robert A. Burgelman, Les Vadasz, Philip Meza includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Voip Telephony facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Technology & Operations.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, wage bills are increasing, technology disruption, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, geopolitical disruptions, increasing energy prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Voip Telephony, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Voip Telephony 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 Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Voip Telephony
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Technology & Operations field.
4. Making a Technology & Operations topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Voip Telephony
Strengths Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Voip Telephony in Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Voip Telephony in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Voip Telephony 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Voip Telephony has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Voip Telephony 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.
Training and development
– Voip Telephony has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Voip Telephony is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 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.
Analytics focus
– Voip Telephony 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 Robert A. Burgelman, Les Vadasz, Philip Meza 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Voip Telephony is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Voip Telephony 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Technology & Operations industry
– Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Voip Telephony to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Technology & Operations industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Voip Telephony to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Voip Telephony is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Voip Telephony is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Voip Telephony, firm in the HBR case study Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 HBR case study mentions - Voip Telephony 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Voip Telephony has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
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 Voip Telephony supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Voip Telephony vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Voip Telephony is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Lack of clear differentiation of Voip Telephony products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Voip Telephony needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Voip Telephony needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Voip Telephony 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 - Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Technology & Operations 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 Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 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 Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Voip Telephony is planning to shift buying processes online.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Voip Telephony 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 Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 | 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 Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Voip Telephony 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 Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Voip Telephony to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Voip Telephony has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Voip Telephony to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 case study. Voip Telephony can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Voip Telephony 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Voip Telephony 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 Technology & Operations segment.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Technology & Operations industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Voip Telephony can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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. Voip Telephony can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Voip Telephony 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, Voip Telephony is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Voip Telephony to increase its market reach. Voip Telephony 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.
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 Voip Telephony 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Voip Telephony can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Technology & Operations 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Voip Telephony can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Voip Telephony operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Technology & Operations industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Voip Telephony can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Voip Telephony can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Threats Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 are -
Regulatory challenges
– Voip Telephony 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 Technology & Operations industry regulations.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Voip Telephony is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Environmental challenges
– Voip Telephony 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. Voip Telephony can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Voip Telephony 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 Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 .
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. Voip Telephony 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.
Increasing wage structure of Voip Telephony
– 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 Voip Telephony.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Voip Telephony in the Technology & Operations sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Voip Telephony has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Voip Telephony needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Technology & Operations 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.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Voip Telephony 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 Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004, Voip Telephony may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Technology & Operations .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Voip Telephony 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.
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.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Voip Telephony.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 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 Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 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 Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 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 Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 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 Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 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 Voip Telephony needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.