Based on the organization(s) that you visited, what do you think are the risks associated with business and IT/IS change?
First thing first, the organization or company that I visited was the DAVAO LIGHT AND POWER COMPANY. And it is part of Aboitiz Group of Companies under Aboitiz Power Corporation (APC).
To start, I will just give you a little background about Davao Light and Power Company. Davao Light and Power Company is the third largest privately-owned electric utility in the Philippines. Davao Light It holds the franchise for distributing electric power to Davao City, the largest city in the world in terms of land area, as well as Panabo City and the municipalities of Carmen, Dujali, and Sto. Tomas in Davao del Norte.
Davao Light and Power Company started their Information System way back 1978. It was just called the Billing Department where it focuses on Billing. They were just using NCR Tower back then as there system. Their department way back was called EDP or Electronics Data Processing. EDP or EDP-Billing was breakdown into 4 sections which is Programmers section, the Operations section, the Data Controller section, and lastly the Key Punchers section. This was the IS department of Davao Light and Power Company way back 1978.
EDP-Billing - Programmers, Operations, Data Controller, Key Punchers
Later on, the EDP was modified by Davao Light and breakdown 2 sections to make it only 2 sections which is, the Systems section, and the Operations section. To graph it, it will look like this:
EDP - Systems, Operations
Way back before Davao Light and Power Company focus only in the Billing process which made some problems on the company’s part. During in paying customer bills it will take years before the transaction be finish due to the system. Its like 1 system for the cashier, and another system for the printing of receipts something like that, and that was the biggest problem. That’s why Davao Light and Power Company find ways to make their Information System better. As customer is on the rise their system also needs more upgrades or modifications. Davao Light and Power Company simulated a system to make the billing transaction simple and easy. They tried different methods. After they resolved the problem by simulating a new system, they tried it on the accounting department. And when the problem was solved they already applied it. In the year 1992 Davao Light and Power Company applied their first Accounting System.
From the year 1983-1994 Davao Light and Power Company changed their system with the use of IBM 4331/4361 Processor.
By the year 1994 they changed there department into ISD which stands for Information System Department, it has 2 sections which is, the Operations section, and Systems section. The Operations section which is handling the Billing/Collections part while the Systems section was in charge for the new developments.
In the year 1995 they changed there system from using mainframe to Clipper. They changed to Clipper because it has more memory capacity than the mainframe and a little bit faster than the mainframe. And also they added one section for the ISD department which is the Training section, which in charge of training staff and other incoming employees so they will be competitive in work.
By the year 1996 they also added another section for ISD making it into four sections. The new section was named into Hardware. The reason why they added hardware in ISD because they are finding ways to have a good software then also they find ways to have a good hardware. Hardware and software are partners. And we all know that now a day, these types of things are very important in a system because a company like Davao Light you really need have a very strong hardware to make systems more at its best performance.
In the year 2003 they also focuses on the Engineering department due to they forgot also how important these are so they changed the system into ISD/EID or Information System/Engineering Information Department.
From 2005 up to present, the system was changed into ISG or Information Services Group. In this system they changed from Clipper to Oracle. For now Oracle is the most powerful system to date. The Oracle’s features are faster than the Clipper and have a very high storage capacity. And Clipper is not robust than Oracle.
So to summaries it all, the Davao Light is finding ways to make their system simpler. As what have they said, the simpler the better. So from mainframe, to Clipper, and now the system that is still in use is the Oracle. As of now Davao Light has programs to make their systems easier. Some of these programs are Talent Management Program which is focusing on training employees to have the same level of knowledge about the company. For example if John is sick and there is a problem to be fixed then Paul is there for him. Or shall we even if they don’t have other employees they can get from the training employees in the program to assist when needed. Those are just some of there program that aim to improve there system. And also Davao Light is now using Biometrics as keeping track of employees.
For the question about the risks associated with business and IT/IS change?
In every business they are also changes that are happening. And when changes are happening they are also risks associated in these changes. As technology evolves risks also evolves. The main objective to do is how to contain these risks. One thing about changing system is that is makes the system more durable in the sense, when we change we also learn new things. So in order to have a good system we really need to change from time to time in order to keep on track. That’s why they change there system in order to reduce problems in order to have a better system. And lastly, systems should always be compatible with the process not the other way around.
