IT Consulting and Services Business Plan Proposal Sample

The IT Consultancy Industry: ‘MB Tech’ IT Consulting Company

MB Tech is in the process of being established as an IT consulting company in the New York City. The company targets firms operating in the financial sector within New York City and the tri-state area, though it eventually has ambitions to expand operations overseas. This business plan acts as a guide for establishing and managing MB Tech. It will also serve as the grounds for a separate and detailed marketing plan. The mission of the organization will be to enrich the lifestyle of the public through redefinition of mobility through technology. The keys to success for this organization will be products that meet an immediate need, quality services, financial control, and maximization of marketing. The initial deployment will involve targeting the SME firms operating in financial sector. The second deployment will involve targeting both SME and LE firms in New York’s financial sector. MB Tech hopes to break even after its initial seven months of operations.

Statement of Mission and Company Description

Mission and Vision

The mission of MB Tech will be to enrich the public’s lifestyle by redefining mobility via continuous innovation. The company’s vision will be to be the leader in the building of excellence and delivery of innovative workforce services and solutions that facilitates customers in winning in the dynamic world of business and work. MB Tech hopes to stand out as a top IT company in consultancy and solutions with passion for knowledge sharing, satisfying customers whom it sees as the main reason for its innovativeness.

The company values will include excellence, integrity, efficiency, commitment, teamwork, empowerment, innovation, productivity and social responsibility. By valuing excellence, MB Techn aims to offer services of exceptional quality. By value integrity, MB Tech emphasizes on performing its duties in an ethical and professional manner. By valuing efficiency, the company stresses on achieving speed and quality every day in its business undertaking. Through commitment, MB Tech demonstrates total dedication to its vision and mission statement. Through empowerment, the organization hopes to encourage its employees to take the initiative by practicing role delegation, as well as succession planning. By valuing teamwork, MB Tech emphasizes that unity and collective focus from all organizational stakeholders is essential for the attainment of company’s business goals. By valuing leadership, MB Tech unceasingly anticipates future dynamics of the market and contributing to the design of employment and social systems on the international stage. The value of innovation implies that MB Tech must continuously seek creative ways of doing business. Through social responsibility, the company shows support of issues that influence the corporate citizen in a positive manner.

MB Tech, as an empowered organization, will dedicate itself to realistic and achievable goals with a fervent leadership. The company has a mission, responsibility and consensus, as well as a sense of motivation. At MB Tech, continuous adaptation to the dynamic industry environment will play a crucial role in its survival as a business entity. However, there are certain tenet ideals that remain comparatively constant, and offer guidance in the strategic decision-making process. These constant ideals of MB Tech are evident in the mission statement, and they include:

• Providing an exceptional information technology experience by meeting the wants and needs of customers faster and in more comprehensive manner than the competitors;
• Providing a platform for employees to associate, learn and innovate new technologies;
• Showing a commitment to exceptional customer satisfaction with a sense of brand value, pride and warmth;
• Optimizing the customer experience by consistent and readily available IT solutions;
• Emphasizing on fulfilling the expectations of customers and other stakeholders while offering the best career opportunities to employees.

Company Description

Mikhail Boretskiy will establish MB Tech in New York City. The company will strive to improve the operations of other businesses in New York and the tri-state area by finding technological solutions that appropriately suit the business needs of their clients. The company will design and manage networks environments of other client companies by developing technological solutions, which include onsite and offsite 24-hour IT support, network design, offering cost effective solutions, and product procurement.

Technology is continuously changing, which means that organizations hoping to seize the benefits of new technological solutions must seek services of companies such as MB Tech. Mikhail Boretskiy identified an opportunity in the financial sector. New York City has several worldwide renowned financial firms concentrated in one place. This makes it easy for MB Technology to target financial companies, such as Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, S&P Dow Jones, NASDAQ OMX Group, and NYSE Euronext among others (AON, 2012). By seizing this opportunity, MB Tech aims to offer its exceptional services, and exceptional customer experience, to firms operating in the financial sector. Some of the possible services of great benefit to this sector will include information technology consulting, data recovery/ disaster prevention, cloud solutions, sharepoint development, email solutions, and data backup. Besides this sector, MB Technology will also specialize in medical, legal, and non-profit fields. Nevertheless, the company also offers support to businesses in all other industries.

Industry Analysis and Trends

The contemporary digital era has made it almost impossible to read news or magazines without seeing information about the effect of information technology on business and society (Huang & Hsueh, 2007). Information technology (IT) is spreading faster, and being shared by individuals more so than at any other moment in history. Besides becoming faster and improving efficiency in virtually all aspects of life, IT has emerged as one of the most convenient platforms for the financial sector firms in cutting costs and improving profitability (Chen & Tsou, 2006). Consumers can purchase items and services online, and apply for credit online using mobile phones or wireless internet connections. Virtually all commercial activities conducted online touch the financial sector. For instance, take purchasing a product online using PayPal, which is linked to a bank account (Olorunniwo & Hsu, 2006). In this scenario, the bank acts as a company in the financial sector, and it participates in the information technological industry by transferring ‘virtual’ money to online shoppers. It is evident that an increasing number of firms from various industries, including the financial sector, are recognizing the significance of deploying IT solutions in their daily operations. Firms have linked their systems together as a means of filling orders on time and serving customers efficiently. Financial sector firm are similarly integrating information technology in offering credit and monitoring credit, among other uses. Software firms are continuously developing new solutions to assist in the streamlining of work and achievement of better results (Mulligan & Gordon, 2002). Seeking to improve the capacity of information technology, several firms are tapping IT professionals.

Information technology consultancy refers to the field that focuses on advising business and offering technological solutions relating to how best to deploy information technology to achieve business objectives (Levina & Ross, 2003). Information technology professionals offer their expert advice and help in fields of developing, planning, modifying, testing and supporting technological solutions to meet the specific needs of the customer (Love, Irani & Edwards, 2004). As an IT professional firm, MB Tech plans and designs computer systems, and integrates computer hardware with both software and communication technologies. Along with offering advice, IT professional companies frequently project, manage, implement, and implement systems on behalf of their customers. In this scenario, the customer is be outsourcing the services of an IT firm.

Another industry closed confused with, if not related to, IT consulting is management consulting. According to Brynjolfsson & Hitt (2000), a comparatively unclear line separates these two industries, although to some extent, they overlap. Nevertheless, IT consultancy industry requires knowledge related to computer science, electronics, technology, and management information systems. On the other hand, management consultancy requires knowledge related to economics, industrial engineering, finance, accounting, and business administration. For an IT professional to offer an IT solution to a business organization, it is important that he/she have adequate knowledge concerning business operations, and aspects related to consumer behavior (Chen & Tsou, 2006). Consequently, most IT firms will conduct a thorough investigation of the needs of their clients prior to formulating an information technology solution.

The IT consulting industry is a system comprising of four tiers (AON, 2012). The first tier comprises of professional service firms that maintain large professional workforce, and command high bill rates. The second tier comprise of staffing firms that place technologies with business on non-permanent grounds. The third tier comprises of independent consultants who are self-employed. The last tier comprises of information security consultants (AON, 2012). It is important to recognize that each tier poses competition to other tiers, making the industry one of the most competitive domains in the entire technological sector.

Major Players and Market Share

The global IT consulting and services market recorded total revenues of about $516 billion (AON, 2012). This translated to a compound yearly growth rate of about 3.9% for the period between 2006 and 2010. According to AON (2012), the development and integration of services segment was the industry’s most profitable endeavor, with total income of about $254.2 billion, which translated to about 49% of the market overall value (AON, 2012).

Polishing Your Writing to Make it Shine

In the United States, IT consulting and services comprise of approximately 100,000 firms with combined yearly revenue of approximately $290 billion (AON, 2012). IBM, SK C&C, Accenture Plc., NTT Data Corp, Cap Gemini, and SAIC are some of the firms in the first tier that command largest market share. These companies are therefore potential sources of competition for MB Tech (AON, 2012). With revenues of about $100 billion, the Internal Business Machines (IBM) Corporation enjoys the largest market share. SK C&C Co. Ltd is the second with revenues of about $79 billion (AON, 2012). In third place is Accenture Plc. with revenues of about $23 billion. The fourth key player is NTT Data Corp with revenues of about $14 billion. Cap Gemini has revenues of about $12 billion. The fifth key player is the SAIC, with revenues of about $11 billion. (AON, 2012) It is evident that MB Tech will have to work hard if it wants to find itself among the top key players.

Industry Revenue Drivers

Consulting companies earn revenue by selling and services that bolster value for their clients. Clients might hire out or outsource their services. Consequently, customers in this industry have a great deal of flexibility (AON, 2012). Consulting companies guarantee to their customers the professional skills as needed, for as long as they are needed. The IT consulting and services market is valued in terms of the revenue accumulated from the provision of information technology and systems integration.

The fees paid by consumers of IT solutions to IT firms are often based on the level of knowledge, service, experience, complexity of the project, and value of service (Chen & Tsou, 2006). In addition, the fees paid by these consumers might also vary depending on the industry the consumer operates. For instance, a consumer of IT solutions in the financial sector has different needs from a consumer in the manufacturing sector. In terms needs, firms in the financial sector might require extremely secure systems and processes to avert fraud, while those in the manufacturing sector might only need systems that can streamline production and supply of raw materials (Huang & Hsueh, 2007). Frequently, the fixed fee consulting approach is for certain amounts of work performed within a well-defined timeframe. Several firms are shifting towards this fixed price approach. According to AON (2012), this trend is anticipated to continue, as more firms now demand the delivery of consulting within defined price structure and timeframe. The open-minded approach of consultancy often favors consulting companies, and it is an opportunity MB Tech cannot afford to miss. As MB Tech is rewarded on daily basis, there is no inducement to complete assignment in well-defined timeframe.

Cost Structure

The main cost incurred by firms operating in this industry is wages. However, for self-employed individuals, wages might not be an expense. Consequently, they are likely to offer services at comparatively lower services, which poses competitive threats to MB Tech Consulting. Based on the location and the nature of the company employing an IT consultant, the starting annual salary might range between $40,000 and $131,000 (AON, 2012). Salary is often linked to the performance of the IT professional, and impressive bonuses are common. The cost approximation of IT consulting company is prepared by adding the remuneration of consultant staff and the direct expenses incurred by the consultants in performing their duties. The figures are based on an approximation of staff time needed for performing the services and an approximation of every related cost of components (AON, 2012).

The main bulk of the budget for IT consulting companies comprises of capital expenditures, such as the purchasing of computer software, hardware, and the establishment of licensing agreements with various software vendors (Chen & Tsou, 2006). For IT consultancy firms with the ability to develop their software from scratch, they might not incur costs related to licensing agreements with their vendors. MB Tech also has to consider expenses associated with office rent, supplies, travel and transport, mobilization, surveys, communications and training programs in its quest for acquiring the rich financial market segment in New York (Huang & Hsueh, 2007).

Target Marketing

Having identified a new market niche as a firm operating in the New York financial sector, it will be important for MB Tech to segment these consumers in order to target them effectively. Different firms in the New York financial sector have different needs, and there is no one-size-fit-all approach for MB Tech in meeting the varying needs of these companies. Firms in the New York financial sector can be segmented into two main categories, which include small-medium sized financial enterprises (SMEs), and large financial enterprise (LEs).

Small and medium sized financial companies refer to those firms whose sum of worker or returns is lower than certain established limits. In the US, the size of the workforce in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) range from 1 to 500 employees (Brynjolfsson & Hitt, 2000). Small and medium enterprises (SMEs), including those operating in the financial sectors, have a tendency to invest in technological solutions. As a result, most firms in this category are the strongest domain of innovation. According to Huang & Hsueh (2007), the need to attract capital and finance projects is consequently crucial for SMEs. In order to be competitive, SMEs in the financial sector require innovative solutions, which are largely facilitated by information technology; even if they have to surrender some functionality. The tendency among SME companies to spend in the financial sector make them a lucrative target for MB Tech Consulting. Some of the SMEs in the New York financial sector include accounting companies, such as Adelman Katz, Arcara & Borczynski, The Bonadio Group, and Demott & Smith (Olorunniwo & Hsu, 2006).

On the other hand, large companies in the financial sector comprise of firms whose revenue and number of employees is above the established standard. Most large enterprises (LE) have experienced growth to the point where they requires a committed, full time IT staff with specific expertise in the management of IT infrastructure (Brynjolfsson & Hitt, 2000). In the US, large enterprises are those that have a workforce of more than 500. The fact that large enterprises in the financial sector have dedicated full time IT personnel makes them somewhat less lucrative compared to small and medium enterprise. However, despite having dedicated full time personnel, studies indicate that a significant portion of large enterprises undertake outsourcing as a way of cutting costs and allowing their personnel to focus on strategic missions (Brynjolfsson & Hitt, 2000). Consequently, there is a higher chance that MB Tech will be able to seize some of the lucrative outsourcing deals in the New York financial sector. Some of the large financial enterprises in the US include JPMorgan Chase, S&P Dow Jones, and NASDAQ OMX Group. as shown in the pie chart below, SMEs in the New York financial sector are more than large financial enterprises.

After segmenting the market, MB Tech will have to select one of the three targeting strategies. These strategies include niche marketing, undifferentiated marketing, and differentiated marketing. Niche marketing will require MB Tech to focus on a well-defined consumer segment of their services, which in this case can be either small and medium sized financial companies, or larger financial enterprise companies. According to Huang & Hsueh (2007), small firms that have comparatively small overheads, and thus do not require attaining sales volume required by large competitors, can lucratively target niche markets. This targeting strategy will not be effective for MB Tech in the sense that it does not guarantee the highest revenue. MB Tech might experience huge overhead, which is likely to decrease profitability. In addition, the economies of scale, as well the possibility of market growth, are minimal when using niche marketing. In fact, MB Tech’s chances of survival might decline in the event that sales exhibit a downward trend.

In mass marketing/undifferentiated targeting, a firm offers a single product to the entire market. Love, Irani & Edwards (2004) pointed out that this targeting strategy is grounded on the presumption that the needs of consumers are similar or identical in relation to the product or service in question. This might not actually be the case for the new financial sector. The IT needs of firms vary significantly based on their size (Levina & Ross, 2003). For instance, banks might stress on secure transactional needs, while accounting firms might require only small scale accounting software. The primary benefit of this targeting strategy is that it can result in economies of scale. The lower costs realized through economies of scale can be passed on to the consumers in the form of lower prices. However, its main disadvantage is that consumers seem less interested in standardized products, particularly in modern markets.

The selective/differentiated marketing involves targeting every consumer segment with a customized product, with its own marketing mix (Mulligan & Gordon, 2002). The product in this scenario is tailored to suit the needs of the customers in this consumer segment. By modifying the products to fulfill the needs of consumers more closely, MB Tech is likely to increase consumer satisfaction and generate a significant degree of consumer loyalty. The consultation needs of firms are undifferentiated. The technological requirements in this industry vary significantly from company to company (Chen & Tsou, 2006). The IT needs of SMEs would not be similar to those of the large financial companies. This targeting will enable MB Tech to spread risks. Consequently, MB Tech will be less affected by the decline in demand in one market segment. This makes the undifferentiated targeting strategy the appropriate one for MB Tech in marketing its services to the consumers (AON, 2012). Nevertheless, the major limitation to this approach is that it might result in confusion among consumers when they are faced with several brand choices. This limitation can be addressed through conducting extensive brand awareness campaigns among the companies to facilitate consumers distinguish the service categories offer by MB Tech.

Competition

The IT consultancy industry is extremely competitive. This is because of the few entry obstructions (AON, 2012). Competitors range from self-employed IT professionals to large companies, such as International Business Machines. Consequently, strategic marketing, which results in consumer loyalty, is necessary. Some competitors have considerably large financial resources, professional employees, brand recognition and industry-specific expertise than MB Tech. Competitive pressures might decrease MB Tech’s market share, or compel the company to charge low prices for its services and solutions in order to increase sales. Decreasing prices or reducing their market share could negatively affect MB Tech’s business, and results of operations. Besides MB Tech’s capacity to compete relies on various other external factors outside its control, such as industry prices, the capacity of competitors to engage in extensive marketing campaigns; the degree to which competitors develop proprietary tools that improve their competitive abilities; the capacity of customers to perform services themselves; and the degree to which competitors respond to customer needs.

It is also important to note that the demand for information technology solutions and services is dictated by the rapid technological improvements (Chen & Tsou, 2006). The profitability of MB Tech will rely on the technical expertise it possesses, innovative services, and effective marketing (internal competitive factors). These internal factors will determine the competitive strength of MB Tech in the financial sector. Large companies have advantages in offering broad services, and in terms of global reach, which offers them the capacity to provide outsourcing services to large corporate customers. On the other hand, small firms have the capacity to compete efficiently by specializing in market niches or by collaborating with large firm that want to widen their mix of services. In the US alone, the IT consultancy industry is extremely fragmented with the 50 largest companies accounting for approximately 40% of the revenue (AON, 2012).

Strategic Position and Risk Assessment

Strategic Positioning

The same manner in which targeting and segmentation involve focusing on specific consumer segment, the concept of strategic positioning involves focusing on a particular aspect of brand (Chen & Tsou, 2006). The main notion behind positioning is that consumers must have a clear idea about the brand, product category, and that the brand cannot be distinctly positioned to be everything to every consumer. According to Brynjolfsson & Hitt (2000), positioning is not related to modifying the product; rather it is about transforming the consumer’s mind in order to influence his or her purchasing behavior. Positioning strategy will be crucial in offering emphasis to MB Tech’s undifferentiated targeting strategy. MB Tech can employ various targeting positioning strategies in influencing the consumer segments in New York and the tri-state area. These strategies are discussed below.

Product/Service Positioning

Positioning strategy often starts with the service or product. Nevertheless, this does not mean that MB Tech should transform its services and products offered to the firms in the financial sector, rather the company should focus on changing the mind of these companies to adopt technologies and solutions that it provides (Huang & Hsueh, 2007). As a result, product positioning will be based on the features of the products or services that will be offered by MB Tech. According to Mulligan & Gordon (2002), unique product/service characteristics form the basis of this positioning strategy. MB Tech will therefore capitalize on the IT service and product characteristics as the basis for developing and adopting its positioning strategy. Product or service innovation will play a crucial role in the adoption of this strategy. Competition in the IT industry in general is driven by innovation (Huang & Hsueh, 2007). Consequently, innovating unique technological solutions and products that no other competitor has developed will assist MB Tech in product/service positioning. Branding itself as the most innovative company in New York and the tri-state area will change the consumers’ mind about MB Tech’s products. Consider Google’s search engine as an example. Google does not normally modify its search engine product, but it has branded itself as providing exceptional services that competitors Yahoo and Bing cannot match. By emulating Google’s approach of product/service positioning, MB Tech will acquire a competitive advantage in the IT consultancy industry (Brynjolfsson & Hitt, 2000).

Price Positioning

Price positioning involves the use of price to influence the purchasing behavior of consumers. Businesses can position themselves as low price providers based on their cost of doing business. Brynjolfsson & Hitt (2000) pointed out that the price of services or products can help a firm in identifying product class. Furthermore, it can also enhance the perceived value in the subjective positioning.

At business level strategy, MB Tech can position itself by using the low cost strategy. In this way, MB Tech will have to charge some of the lowest prices in the industry in order to enter the market. MB Tech will be capable of positioning itself as low price provider by cutting down its operational cost and customers will be able to seek the value for their money. Consequently, MB Tech should be capable of providing high quality services and products even at the lowest cost of production. This is because offering products of low quality decreases sales, and eventually profitability.

However, despite the price positioning strategy appearing lucrative, there are challenges linked to it. According to Levina & Ross (2003), low price strategies are effective for those companies that sustain their operations for a time long enough to drive out competition while generating losses. Consequently, MB Tech will have to bear loses before gaining a market when using this strategy. The fact that MB Tech will be a newly establishment company might mean that huge capital outlay will be necessary in using this strategy.

Risk Assessment

The main challenge for IT consultancy companies is to effectively navigate their way in a maturing market where strong growth and wide margins are a phenomenon of the past, and bitter price wars are the present trend. According to Mulligan & Gordon (2002), these challenges result in initiatives that industry players have to consider for both their survival and growth. Pursuing, or not pursuing, these initiatives come with risks to companies in the IT consultancy industry. There are four categories of risks inherent in the establishment of MB Tech: strategic, operational, financial, and hazard risks. The table below gives examples of these risks that MB Tech might encounter (AON, 2012).

Strategic

• New service/product might fail in the newly identified market
• Business initiatives of MB Tech might dilute as a brand
• Inefficient business model/positioning strategy

Operational

• Product development stops because of inefficient sourcing of resources
• Business initiative of MB Tech might fail because of a lack of eligible human resource
• Customer satisfaction might suffer from poor support or service
• Lack of company support might result in the failure of MB Tech’s product or service failure
• MB Tech’s ineffective operations might render company initiatives nonpaying

Hazard

• MB Tech might witness lawsuits arising from the violation of copyrights or patents
• MB Tech’s facilities, data, equipment or facilities might get damaged or destroyed by explosion, fire or natural calamities
• MB Tech might witness lawsuits resulting from contract disputes
• MB Tech might also find itself involved in lawsuits arising from defamation or slander
• MB Tech might also experience legal disputes resulting from performance or non-performance professional services
• The company might be involved in lawsuits with shareholders, particularly because of omission or errors of directors or officers

Financial

• Fluctuation in the dollar might result in instability of MB Tech’s revenue
• Inadequate access to capital market is also a financial risk
• Insufficient cash flow for supporting daily operation
• Indecorous hedging approaches might cause exposure to market volatility
• Low bank borrowing capability might limit MB Tech’s access to credit

Marketing Plan and Strategy

Marketing Strategies

The key economic initiatives for IT consultancy firms encompass strategy, marketing and sales, and product development. Huang & Hsueh (2007) cited that strategic business initiatives might involve refurbishing the whole business and revenue models, increasing the emphasis on market niches, and luring the required talent in accomplishing the strategies. Marketing and sales initiatives seek to increase revenue by expansion, via wider penetration into the existing markets with new services, and creating new markets altogether for the existing and new services. Product development initiatives comprise of streamlining and accelerating internal product development process.

The constantly transforming IT consultancy industry is both a risk and challenge to MB Tech. The industry witnesses continuously evolving services, products, strategies and consumption patterns. Consequently, industry players must regularly redefine themselves and reposition into areas of potential growth (AON, 2012). For the IT consultancy industry, firms focus only on system integration and other general IT services will be interfacing with corporate technology teams that increasingly no longer have the keys to the safe. Through the development and acquisition of strong and experienced technology consulting team, MB Tech can both interact with decision-makers and have control over the implementation of technology. As financial companies in New York City and the tri-state area see the cost of IT bourgeoning, more of them will be looking for utility delivery models where the monthly fee is paid based on consumptions, which is also another business model that MB Tech should consider. Most significantly, MB Tech needs to position itself around areas of growing concerns of customers, which comprises of services related to spiraling demand for storage and security, and different virtualization services that allow optimization of technological resources (Love, Irani & Edwards, 2004).

These business model changes will require an organic structural modification, although acquisitions and partnerships might be significant. Partnerships assist IT consultancy companies in acquiring the hardware required for their clients at cheaper prices. Furthermore, partnerships might facilitate MB Tech in expanding globally, as majority of companies seem to have global dealings via direct subsidiaries, partners and customers. A worldwide perspective will be of key significance when MB Tech deals with multi-vendor approach demanded by corporations. According to Olorunniwo & Hsu (2006), greater geographical coverage will be needed in order to retain consumers demanding more flexibility on a global basis.

Keys to Success

The capacity of management of MB Tech to think, assess and decide is the key determining factor of the organizational profitability. In order to sharpen this ability, Olorunniwo & Hsu (2006) pointed out seven crucial points that can assist an organization to realize the keys to success. The first point is that the product must meet the immediate needs. According to Olorunniwo & Hsu (2006), a new product or a solution must be capable of solving a problem of some kind for the customer. In relation to this principle, MB Tech will be very clear from the beginning about its services and products to the financial sector. The technological solutions will be adequately tailored to meet the business needs of firms operating in the financial sector.

The second principle pointed by Olorunniwo & Hsu (2006) is that the company must offer quality services at a fair price. Because the IT consultancy industry is very competitive, MB Tech will create a unique selling proposition by focusing only on firms operating in the financial sector. The products or solutions will be sold at very competitive prices in order to properly compete in this newly created market niche.

The third principle that acts as key success factor for MB Tech will be careful budgeting and tightening financial controls (Olorunniwo & Hsu, 2006). Successful organizations utilize accurate bookkeeping and accounting systems. Most companies are constantly seeking possible ways of cutting costs of operations. By decreasing costs of operations, MB Tech will be capable of increasing its revenue and expand overseas. Studies have found that all successful entrepreneurs exercise tight financial controls and monitor them each day. Consequently, MB Tech’s management will monitor all expenditures, and evade spending where necessary in order to save. The benefits realized from saving will be transferred to the consumer, who will purchase services and products at lower prices.

Another key success factor is maximization of marketing. According to Olorunniwo & Hsu (2006), a strong momentum in the business sales division or department is perhaps one of the crucial determinants of success. Consequently, MB Tech will emphasize on marketing, which penetrates the entire organization. Every stakeholder will think about selling and fulfilling the needs of the consumer.

Operations Plan

MB Tech is setting up a computer consultancy business that will allow firms in the New York and tri-state area financial sector to adopt new solutions and technologies. The initial deployment will be focused on small and medium-sized financial companies in New York that do not have large customer base. Such companies will comprise primarily of accounting firms. This will enable the company to access the market while sustaining growth of the company at manageable levels. Following the initial deployment, MB Tech will focus on large enterprise financial companies that have a large customer base.

Staffing Plan

Along with the founder Mikhail Boretskiy, an operations manager and a marketing manager will be recruited. Operations and marketing will very crucial segments of the business, and thus require a dedicated team. The marketing division will require 20 more employees, whereas the operations will require a workforce of 34. The third department will be the technical department, which will comprise of individuals with expertise related to technology. A technical officer, who will be answerable to the operations manager, will head the technical team. The average paycheck for every employee will be $3,500 per month. However, the number of employees is expected to double during the second deployment. Consequently, the salary will also be expected to double. The table below shows the cost for every department for deployment of the organization at first and second deployment. MB Tech will commence its operation by targeting small and medium sized firms, before graduating to targeting large enterprises.

Technology Plan

Technology is extremely important for the success of MB Tech. It is necessary that the management stay updated on the recent technological advancement in the information technology industry. Technology will exist in either hardware or software form.

Management and Organization

MB Tech will be established as a company headquartered in New York City. The founder of the organization will also be its CEO. Besides the shares of the founder, several shares will be established in order to accommodate employee incentive place.

Once the upstart funding has been secured, MB Tech will be actively engaged in seeking additional technical and management specialists. The CEO has adequate expertise in business information technology. The operations manager will also be required to have served in a similar capacity at another company. A matrix organizational structure will be used. The structure will enable individuals from different teams to communicate and share resources appropriately. In this manner, the individuals in the sales and marketing can share information with employees in technical department.

Community Involvement and Social Responsibility

As a starting business, MB Tech will also participate in corporate social responsibility in two crucial ways. However, as the company grows, it will engage in other CSR. The first way will be by disposing old computer electronics in an environment friendly manner. Rather than junk their old computers, MB Tech will donate the old PCs to Computer Aid International. This charity organization refurbishes computers and sells them to schools in developing countries at extremely low costs. This will assist in decreasing electronic waste

The second way is that the MB Tech work environment will be conducive to the employees’ health and safety. The impact of improved health is high employee performance, which in turn results in organizational performance. The management will also strive to make MB Tech the best place to work.

Development, Milestones and Contingency/Exit Plan

The tasks listed in the gaunt chart below show the strategic activities required in setting up the marketing plan and getting the business running.

In terms of an exit strategy, the founder of this company can exit after establishing a flourishing entity, which can be sold for profit or as a franchise. However, it is in the founder’s wish to continue running the business until he is ready to retire. If the proposed plan is not successful, the owner will implement the required measures to exit the business with minimal loss to investors. The assets will be liquidated to cover any outstanding debts. Other remaining debts will be paid on a monthly basis until they are covered.

Financials

The subsequent section highlights the yearly approximations for the stand set of financial tables. Company financials are analyzed in terms of key financial indicators, break-even analysis and projected profit and loss, for the first three years of operation.

Key Financial Indicators

From the key financial indicator below, MB Tech anticipates exponential growth in profits with the first three years. After the second deployment at onset of the third year, profits are anticipated to double from the previous year.

Break-even Analysis

Break even analysis is used to determine the point at which revenue and costs related to attaining are equal. It computes the margin of safety, which the amount that revenues exceed the break-even point. From the figure below, MB Tech projects to break-even in January of its first year of operation. The revenue and cost will be equivalent; consequently, the profits will be 0.