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Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

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

Topics :: Technology & Operations

Tags :: , SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

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 - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing energy prices, increasing commodity prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, wage bills are increasing, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, etc



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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 -

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.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Voip Telephony 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 Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

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 brand equity

– Voip Telephony has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Voip Telephony to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

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.

Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Voip Telephony digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Voip Telephony has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.

Learning organization

- Voip Telephony 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 Voip Telephony is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

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.

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.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Voip Telephony 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 Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004 HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

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.

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.






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 -

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.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004, is just above the industry average. Voip Telephony 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.

High bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, Robert A. Burgelman, Les Vadasz, Philip Meza suggests that, Voip Telephony 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.

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.

Capital Spending Reduction

– Even during the low interest decade, Voip Telephony has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Voip Telephony 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.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004, it seems that the employees of Voip Telephony 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.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004, in the dynamic environment Voip Telephony has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Voip Telephony has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Voip Telephony 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.

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.




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.

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.

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 Voip Telephony in the consumer business. Now Voip Telephony can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

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.

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.

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.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Voip Telephony 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.

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.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Voip Telephony 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, Hanging Up the (Old) Phone: IP Communications in 2004, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Voip Telephony can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

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.

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.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Voip Telephony in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Technology & Operations segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.




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 -

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.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Voip Telephony 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.

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.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Voip Telephony in the Technology & Operations industry. The Technology & Operations 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.

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.

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.

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.

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. Voip Telephony needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Technology & Operations industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

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.

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 .

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.

Easy access to finance

– Easy access to finance in Technology & Operations field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Voip Telephony can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

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.




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.



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