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NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside


After developing powerful software, young entrepreneurs Raffael Maio and JoA?l Winteregg, founded NetGuardians in 2007. Their initial idea was to help companies improve security. (i) Over time, the two entrepreneurs improved their technology and decided to focus on defeating and preventing fraud in banking, where there was a gap in the market. In 2014 around $67 billion was lost due to banking fraud, 70% of it committed by employees inside the company. In 2015 the company was named a Gartner Cool Vendor, a worldwide industry recognition for companies that offer technologies or solutions that are innovative, impactful and intriguing. (ii) In the nine years since they had founded their company, JoA?l and Raffael had raised $6 billion in two rounds of funding. The company employed around 30 people in R&D offices in Kenya, Singapore and Poland. It had customers in Africa, the Middle East and Europe, and was breaking ground in Asia. (iii) Now it was time for NetGuardians to tackle some important strategic decisions: Should the company expand to other markets? Should it expand its product offering? Or should it focus on growing its customer base? (iv) Whatever the decision, it would lead to a change in business model that would have a significant impact on the company.

Authors :: Carlos Cordon, Teresa Ferreiro

Topics :: Technology & Operations

Tags :: Data, Entrepreneurship, Ethics, Financial management, Technology, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside" written by Carlos Cordon, Teresa Ferreiro includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Netguardians Raffael facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Data, Entrepreneurship, Ethics, Financial management, Technology and Technology & Operations.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside casestudy better are - – there is increasing trade war between United States & China, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing transportation and logistics costs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , technology disruption, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, geopolitical disruptions, increasing commodity prices, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Netguardians Raffael, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Netguardians Raffael 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 NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Netguardians Raffael
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 Netguardians Raffael




Strengths NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Netguardians Raffael in NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside Harvard Business Review case study are -

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside 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.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Netguardians Raffael is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Netguardians Raffael in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Strong track record of project management

– Netguardians Raffael is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Netguardians Raffael in the sector have low bargaining power. NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Netguardians Raffael to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Innovation driven organization

– Netguardians Raffael is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Organizational Resilience of Netguardians Raffael

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Netguardians Raffael does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

Digital Transformation in Technology & Operations segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Netguardians Raffael digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Netguardians Raffael 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.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Netguardians Raffael has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Netguardians Raffael 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.

Diverse revenue streams

– Netguardians Raffael is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside 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.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Netguardians Raffael 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 NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Netguardians Raffael 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 NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.






Weaknesses NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside are -

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Netguardians Raffael 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 Netguardians Raffael supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Netguardians Raffael vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Netguardians Raffael 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 - NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Need for greater diversity

– Netguardians Raffael 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.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside, it seems that the employees of Netguardians Raffael 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.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Netguardians Raffael is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Technology & Operations segment. Netguardians Raffael needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Netguardians Raffael to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Netguardians Raffael is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside 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 Netguardians Raffael products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Netguardians Raffael needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside, is just above the industry average. Netguardians Raffael 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.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Netguardians Raffael 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. Netguardians Raffael 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.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside, in the dynamic environment Netguardians Raffael has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Netguardians Raffael has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.




Opportunities NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside | 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 NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside are -

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Netguardians Raffael is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside 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.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Netguardians Raffael 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 Netguardians Raffael to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Loyalty marketing

– Netguardians Raffael 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.

Manufacturing automation

– Netguardians Raffael 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.

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. Netguardians Raffael can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

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. Netguardians Raffael 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. Netguardians Raffael 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.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Netguardians Raffael to increase its market reach. Netguardians Raffael 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.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Netguardians Raffael 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, NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Netguardians Raffael has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Netguardians Raffael to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside case study. Netguardians Raffael can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Netguardians Raffael 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.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Netguardians Raffael 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.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Netguardians Raffael can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Netguardians Raffael operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Technology & Operations sector.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Netguardians Raffael 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.




Threats NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside are -

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 Netguardians Raffael.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Netguardians Raffael has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Technology & Operations industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Netguardians Raffael 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.

Regulatory challenges

– Netguardians Raffael 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, Netguardians Raffael 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 NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside .

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.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Netguardians Raffael 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.

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. Netguardians Raffael can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

Increasing wage structure of Netguardians Raffael

– 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 Netguardians Raffael.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Netguardians Raffael is facing in Technology & Operations sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside, Netguardians Raffael 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 .

Environmental challenges

– Netguardians Raffael 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. Netguardians Raffael can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Technology & Operations industry.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Netguardians Raffael 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.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Netguardians Raffael 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.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside 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 NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside 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 NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside 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 NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside 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 NetGuardians: Beating Fraud From the Inside 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 Netguardians Raffael needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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