UCrest (UCRE) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Computer Networks
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for UCrest (Malaysia)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , UCrest is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, wage bills are increasing, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that UCrest can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the UCrest, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which UCrest 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 UCrest can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of UCrest
2. Improving business portfolio management of UCrest
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Malaysia
4. Making a Computer Networks sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of UCrest
Strengths of UCrest | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of UCrest are -
Ability to lead change in Computer Networks
– UCrest is one of the leading players in the Computer Networks industry in Malaysia. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Computer Networks industry in Malaysia but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled UCrest in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of UCrest comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Computer Networks 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.
Successful track record of launching new products
– UCrest has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. UCrest 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Computer Networks industry
– UCrest has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled UCrest to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Computer Networks industry. The sustainable margins have also helped UCrest to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the UCrest 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.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– UCrest has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – UCrest staying ahead in the Computer Networks industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Digital Transformation in Computer Networks industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For UCrest digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. UCrest 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– UCrest is present in almost all the verticals within the Computer Networks industry. This has provided UCrest 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.
Training and development
– UCrest has one of the best training and development program in Technology industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in – 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
– UCrest is one of the leading players in the Computer Networks industry in Malaysia. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in Malaysia. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of UCrest in the Technology sector have low bargaining power. UCrest has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps UCrest to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Analytics focus
– UCrest 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 Computer Networks industry. The technology infrastructure of Malaysia is also helping it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Weaknesses of UCrest | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of UCrest are -
High dependence on UCrest ‘s star products
– The top 2 products and services of UCrest still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Computer Networks industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though UCrest has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Lack of clear differentiation of UCrest products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, UCrest needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Employees’ less understanding of UCrest strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of UCrest don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
High bargaining power of channel partners in Computer Networks industry
– because of the regulatory requirements in Malaysia, UCrest 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 Computer Networks industry.
Products dominated business model
– Even though UCrest has some of the most successful models in the Computer Networks industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. UCrest should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As UCrest is one of the leading players in the Computer Networks industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Computer Networks industry in last five years.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, UCrest has high operating costs in the Computer Networks industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract UCrest lucrative customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of UCrest is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Computer Networks industry, but UCrest needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help UCrest to focus more on services in the Computer Networks industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Aligning sales with marketing
– From the outside it seems that UCrest needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Computer Networks industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at UCrest can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as UCrest is planning to shift buying processes online.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Malaysia, UCrest needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Need for greater diversity
– UCrest 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.
UCrest Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of UCrest are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– UCrest has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Computer Networks sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled UCrest to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help UCrest to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, UCrest 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 UCrest 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 UCrest has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Computer Networks industry. This can help UCrest to build a more holistic ecosystem for UCrest products in the Computer Networks industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. UCrest 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, UCrest 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.
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 UCrest 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Computer Networks industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. UCrest 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. UCrest 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Computer Networks industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. UCrest can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for UCrest 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 UCrest to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help UCrest to increase its market reach. UCrest 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.
Buying journey improvements
– UCrest can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Computer Networks industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. It 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.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at UCrest 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 Computer Networks industry.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Computer Networks industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for UCrest in the Computer Networks industry. Now UCrest can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Threats UCrest External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of UCrest are -
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that UCrest is facing in Computer Networks sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– UCrest has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Computer Networks industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, UCrest needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Computer Networks 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.
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 UCrest.
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. UCrest needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Computer Networks industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 UCrest business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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.
Regulatory challenges
– UCrest 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 Computer Networks industry regulations.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, UCrest 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 UCrest prominent markets.
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 UCrest in the Computer Networks sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– UCrest 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 Computer Networks industry.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, UCrest may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Computer Networks sector.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Computer Networks industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. UCrest can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of UCrest Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at UCrest 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 UCrest 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 UCrest 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 UCrest 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 UCrest needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.