Project Management BTECH 2007 - Case Study 3 Magic Box Media

Dear Students,This is the 3rd Case Study out of 4 that is scheduled.Thanks.
Prepare.

Zainudin

Project Management BTECH 2007

C a s e S t u d y 3

Magic Box Media

MagicBox is a Perth based Multimedia company. The founders Mike, Sue, Amy and Brian graduated with majors in Multimedia and E-Commerce and frustrated with the local jobs market, decided to start their own company in addition themselves, in their first two years of operation they employed three other people for secretarial and technical support, since then the business has grown to employ twenty-two people, seventeen of whom are actively engaged in multimedia development. The nature of their business is simple, they create web pages and interactive websites for West Australian businesses and they are currently thinking of expending into interstate and overseas markets. Business is good.

Currently every developer has a high end PC for development work. The founders also have high end laptops which they use when travelling or presenting to existing and potential clients. There are two other laptops available by other staff according to need. Portable data projectors are used for presentations and company meetings.

MagicBox makes extensive of Internet resources and due to its location is forced to use 3 ISDN lines. Broadband is not available. Networking is handled via a switch and CAT5 cabling which was installed 2 years ago. The networking solution is Switched Ethernet There are two servers, one for development work and the other for email and web access. The desktop machines are 2 years old and due for replacement. Both servers have been replaced recently and have plenty of spare capacity. The laptops are less than a year old since they can be issued to company directors under favourable tax conditions.

Being located in the outer suburbs has kept rent and rates low but a recent analysis has shown that that it would be more cost effective to move closer to their main client market and try to get closer to the city centre. An entire floor of an office building in Victoria Park has become available. Currently there is no cabling or Internet access, the lease is short term but Mike does not see this as a problem “If things are ok we can negotiate an extension. If things are really good we will need somewhere larger, if things are bad then we move back to the sticks”.

Sue engaged a network consultant to design a network for the new premises. He recommends using a new high speed communications company called “Bright” which is a subsidiary of the local power company. Bright has been operating for a few years and has a reasonable client base but the company is in start up phase and currently operates in a few suburbs only. The rationale here is that Bright can provide 100Mbps speeds which is far faster than the telephone company can supply. The cost of the service is marginally higher. The contract with the existing Internet Service Provider will remain in place. Nobody has a problem agreeing with this. The consultant’s report then offers four basic options:

Option 1: Retain the existing servers and replace the client machines with ordinary, high end PCs. This option requires that the building be fully cabled and a new switch be installed.

Option 2: Replace the servers with higher specification machines, and replace the client machines with thin clients. This option also requires that the building be fully cabled and a new switch be installed.

Option 3: Retain the existing servers and replace the client machines with ordinary, high end PCs. Instead of using a hardwire solution, it is proposed to use IEEE802.11g to create a WiFi network.

Option 4: Replace the servers with higher specification machines, and replace the client machines with thin clients. Again it is proposed to use IEEE802.11g to create a WiFi network.

Here, everyone has an opinion. Mike is in favour of option 1 since it closely mirrors the current situation and he knows that it works reasonably well. Brian understands the cost benefits that thin clients can bring but is worried about the performance aspects. Can thin clients really deliver the performance needed? He is also worried about what happens if the network goes down, because then nothing will work, at least fat clients can be operated in “stand alone mode”.

Sue and Amy find the wireless options very attractive, to be able to move around the building and yet be able to communicate with the network is an advantage that they appreciate it. Sue has heard that wireless networks are easier and therefore cheaper to manage. Adding new machines and relocating equipment is also simpler.

There is no consensus of opinion, and nobody wishes to push it to a vote or make a decision. After all there is a stigma attached to making the wrong decision. In terms of cost there is not to choose between the four options. Thin clients are definitely cheaper to install and manage but there are concerns about performance and reliability. Wireless options are a little more expensive to set up but are cheaper to manage.

Mike looks round the table at his colleagues, “What we have here is paralysis by analysis … how do we move on from here?”

Case Study Questions:

1. What are the likely consequences of making a bad choice?

2. How should Magic Box proceed from this point? You will need to think politically and operationally.

3. What other information would you need to make a decision?

4. Which option would you recommend and why?

5. Would your recommendation be different if the lease were longer term?

6. Do you think that the consultant is right to recommend using Bright as a communication provider? What are the risks?