EDS – Case Studies Shaurabh Bhardwaj

IIM Trichy PGPBM – MIS - 1703029

Criticism on EDS - Case

1. EDS has presented a business case to CSAA for the implementation of its IT solution. With
respect to this business case, do you agree with justifications made by EDS to implement the
project (Are they sufficient)? Why and why not?

Ans – Yes I do agree on the specific justification that was made by EDS and these are basically based
on three traditional tools ie., ROI, NPV, and Payback period. On a shorter note, these tools give a
wide understanding of the project unless and until an important aspect is not considered during the
calculations of these tools or any miscalculation is done.

In this case, EDS not only measured the tangible benefits such as ROI, NPV and Payback time, but it
also analysed and recognized the significant intangible benefits, such as improved customer service in
terms of improved response time and optimizing the process and load associated to the process.

So I personally feel, to a certain extent the EDS did provide the sufficient justifications to meet the
expectation of the customers in the case. Howsoever they can have done few more analysis on
considering operational and tactics benefits while presenting this case. Also, they could have provided
few quantifiable results such as Total Cost to ownership or Operations (TCO) along with the
improved response time.

2. Has the analysis included all types of benefits and costs involved in the EDS case? What has
been left out? Can you measure all of these? If not, how do you justify these benefits? How
would you have justified the IT investment in this case?

Ans- The suggested readings (Building Better Business Cases for IT Investments) in the handout will
be useful in analyzing the case and answering the aforementioned questions.

Broadly speaking the maximum of basic benefits and costs tools involved in this EDS case were
considered but if few more things could also be taken into the consideration while giving
justifications such as below:

A. Tactical Considerations – Performance Indicators and Security and Privacy.

B. Operational Considerations - Data Migration, System Integration, Existing Operating, System
and Staff Skills
C. Sunk cost Consideration – minimization plan or optimization.
D. Transaction Cost - Search costs, Information costs, Negotiation costs etc.,
E. TCO – Total cost of Ownership.

Also, there is a problem in calculating all the intangible benefits such as improvement in time
response, satisfaction at users, employee and customer end, control and security etc., These
calculation are not easy to be recorded in terms on monetary grounds. Hence EDS should have
provided more additional non-monetary benefits in this case.
EDS – Case Studies Shaurabh Bhardwaj
IIM Trichy PGPBM – MIS - 1703029

The TCO calculation would also give an upper hand to people to think about the cost associated with
Owning, operating and controlling an IT system which would have taken care of multiple costs such
as acquisition cost, operational cost and control cost. Because TCO will always be higher than just
hardware or system cost and it deals will all the related cost in the project.