Case Study 3: Soundbuzz’s Music Strategy for Asia-Pacific

Q1 : Analyze Soundbuzz and its business strategy using the competitive forces models. What strategies did it develop for dealing with competitive forces?

The competitive force models have four concepts which are as follows:

1. new market entrants
2. substitute product and services
3. suppliers and;
4. customer

In terms of customers, Soundbuzz were really well responded to situation that they faced. When they launched B2C model, they found that because of customers` behavior (customers are seeking to download music freely) they cannot make much margin compared with the time when they used B2B model. So they aim other business as their customers. In terms of products and service, they serviced new encrypted MP3 format which makes them be able to sell music in their web sites. Also, they started to treat the music video contents which never treated on-line before. Finally, they launched ISPs billing systems for customers, which makes customers easily purchase their products.

Q2 : What are the critical elements for an online music service? Using the value chain model, analyze Soundbuzz's business processes.

Administration and Management : Online and Mobile music company.

Technology : Source from local and independent record label and content is secured using digital right management technologies consisting of web server , license server , database server and media server.

Procurement : Internet and finance industries

Inbound Logistic	Operation	Sales and Marketing	Service	Outbound Logistic
-Mobile Music Company	-Headquarters in Singapore has more than 750,000 tracks and 500,000 mobile music derivatives in database. -Source form about 60 local and independent record labels.	-Internet -Finance Industries -Partnership	-Download Music (MP3 Format )	-Operate is market under own brand -Partnership with digital music player manufacture Broadband provided

Q3 : Why did Mototrola acquire Soundbuzz? What synergies will be created through the partnership?

The acquisition of Soundbuzz allows Motorola to expand Motomusic beyond China, into India, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand, because Motorola has more than two years’ experience delivering mobile music to customer through this partnership, its represents management current judgment of future event. Motorola and Soundbuzz will be cooperating which is will seek a big risk and uncertainties that could cause actual results; they have to consider the future financial and so on. It is depending on how the way they cooperate with each other.

Q4 : Explore the Soundbuzz Website (www.soundbuzz.com). Briefly describe its products, technology platform, payment methods and revenue models.

Product :
- downloadable music and video.
- digit right clearance.
- acquisition of licenses from music publisher and recording company.
- music video.

Technology platform :
- bundled with creative 's MP3 players.
- Windows Media Player 10.

Payment methods :
- multiple billing channel through Internet Service Provider bills.
- mobiles operator bills to its customers.
- Trivnet payment solution.
- making micro payment.

Q5 : Do you think Soundbuzz is successful? What are the things it can do to improve its business model? What can it learn from iTunes?

No. Along with the dramatic demise of Motorola’s mobile phone business in the past two years, Soundbuzz now also faces closure of its own. It’s an ironic end for a company that seemed ahead of its time when it came out selling legit music in 1999 - at the century of illegal downloads.

Many were surprised at the time, when Soundbuzz CEO SudhanshuSarronwala, a former MTV stalwart, managed to court the music labels even when they were more interested in blocking people from ripping CDs. Its music collection was built up very fast, providing users in Singapore with a legit alternative to pirated songs.

But soon, the competition came for “Suds” and his company. Though Apple iTunes is still not officially here in Singapore now, Nokia has launched its own music store and Sony Ericson has partnered with SingTel to offer a direct-to-mobile music download service too.

Soundbuzz, meanwhile, was a much smaller player and had a less extensive music collection. Plus, it somehow only supported the Internet Explorer browser, likely because of its Windows Media back-end, which kept out a lot of users.

The final mistakes is the sale to Motorola, a company that invented the cellphone, but somehow failed to manage its own cellphone business due to poor management and decision making .

Soundbuzz shall support the popular browser like Google chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Opera and Safari and expand its music collection. This will attract more users since most internet users are no more using Internet Explorer due to it slow performance.

iTunesoffers a catalogue of albums, user reviews, album art, Internet radio, and podcast listings for free. Consumers can benefit from iTunes' content and services without ever making an online digital purchase. Apple even gives away new content every week, so users can expand their music collection without any commitment to buy anything.Soundbuzz shall synchronize and reform a convenient and fresh look to attract consumers.

Case Study 2: Modernization of NTUC Income

Q1. What were the problems faced by Income in this case? How were the problems resolved by the new digital system? 

• Income’s insurance processes very tedious and paper based. 
• The collection schedule could introduce delays of two or three days.
• Investment to upgrade the HP 3000 mainframe that hosted the core insurance application broke down – took several months to restore the data loss if hardware crashes
• In-house IT team – Broke multiple times, halted the system’s and caused temporary interruption 
• Started with customers meeting an agent, filling in forms and submitting documents 
• Then submit forms to branches from couriers to the office service department 
• Office service would log documents, sort them, and then send them to departments for underwriting 
• Proposal allocated to underwriting staff then sent to computer service department lastly redistributed 
• For storage all the original document packed and sent to warehouse, staff log and store the document

Q2. What types of information systems and business processes were used by Income before migrating to the fully digital system?

• In 2002, upgrade the HP 3000 mainframe that hosted the core insurance applications as well as the accounting and management information systems but still frequently broke down.
• HP 3000 only backup system allowed restoration of   previous days backup data.
• The COBOL programs were also developed in early 1980s and maintained by Incomes in-house IT team. 
• To be quite cumbersome and time taken to launch new product ranged.
• New customer application for motor insurance.

Q3. Describe the Information systems and IT infrastructure at Income after migrating to the fully digital system? 

• Information system
• Income change to Java based eBao life system from eBao technology
• Its compromised 3 subsystems which is Policy Administration, Sales Management and Supplementary Resources
• Consist of customercentric design, seamless integration with imaging and barcode technology
• Immediately on high availability platform 
• IT infrastructure
• Has been replaced with a more robust, scalable architecture 
• All servicing branches has been replace with scanner
• Monitor changed into 20inches
• PC Ram size upgraded to 128mb
• new software and hardware for application servers, web servers, and disk storage system were installed

Q4. What benefits did Income reap from the new system? 

• 500 office staff and 3400 insurance advisors could access the system anytime , anywhere
• Staff member who telecommute enjoyed faster access to information almost as fast as those who accessed the information in the office
• Improve cross sells and customer service
• System become more flexible
• Cut the time and cost needed to design or launch new product
• Support agents and brokers
• Customer can do online services easily

Q5. How well is Income prepared for the future? Are the problems described in the case likely to be repeated? 

• Income has continuously upgrade their software system according to the evolving of technology from paper based system to digital web-based system
• This is to ensure the easiness of their services 
• Income also ensured that their customers will always get the best service from them
• Those problem would not likely to be incurred if Income continuously analyzes the problem and drawbacks of their system
• And if Income keep on finding the best and new ways to solve the problems, it might never occurred again

Case Study 1: The National Bank of Kuwait

Q1: How has NBK benefitted from the implementation of SHOROUQ?

NBK was the first indigenous bank in the Gulf Region and it was one of its advantage but it did not help to maintain their position anymore. They need change.
NBK decided to build new ERP system and it made NBK able to expend its market share sucessfully. New EPR system would close the gaps between top management and operating management teams. It helped the bank to be more flesible and more productive by coordinatings its business processes more closely and integrating group of processes so that it could focus and efficient resource management and customer service.
Also, SHOROUQ can be ungrade easily, and additional sercer capacity can be added without a great deal of maintenance. Because of SHOROUQ, NBK was able to expend its market locally, opening 71 local branches spanning all of Kuwait.

Q2: The advantages and disadvantages of implementing the SHOROUQ system at NBK?

Advantages:

• ERP system would help the bank to be more flecible and more closely and intergating group of processes so that employee could focus more on the customer service and rsource management.
• In the NBK had old system that could not support the huge databases with paper-based system.
• After NBK changed to new ERP system, employees can work more efficiently because the ERP system can handle it.

Disadvantages:

• It will cost much to set it up.
• It can be NBK’s dangerous investment implementing the new ERP system because they just servived from the economic crisis in 2008.
• · They night have financial difficulties.
• It will take 2-3 years to stablilize the new system.
• NBK’s employees might have difficult time to learn how to we now ERP system so company will need few years to wait until the system ste up.
• In oder to make their employees to learn about the new system, it will cost more again.

Q3: How do you think NBK’s business would have developed if it had not integrated SHOROUQ?

SHOROUQ was a core system for NBK. This system was developed by the team members taking into consideration their mission as well as the NBK regional status. This is why it was critical for the company and development group to develop a strategic system such as SHOROUQ.