In the last decade, many companies have benefitted immensely from investment into Information Technology. Advantages of adopting such technology include better communication, greater efficiency, and a greater control of what goes on within a company. Best Buy is a well-known retailer of many different technological products, including computers and networking products such as modems.
However, even this technology-oriented company did not begin to incorporate Information Technology into its business structure until 2004, when it found that traditional methods of information transfer were too slow and unreliable to compete with other markets. At first, Best Buy primarily outsourced such teams for cheap, on demand labor. However, as information demands began to grow, the company began adopting its own internal IT department, seeking 200 IT professionals to add to its team, allowing them to tackle more complex problems, as well as make more complex upgrades.
One such way that an expanded IT investment has helped the company, is allow it to become better connected, and allow for faster transfer of information. This is especially important in today’s world, where everything and everyone is connected via the internet, and information is always accessible with the click of a button. Having a devoted information technology department has allowed the company to build and maintain its website, as well as more effectively advertise its presence online. With its online presence, the company can reach millions more consumers who otherwise would not have access to a physical store. The development of an internal domestic IT team has also allowed the company to secure their web based operations, and instantly attend to any issue that arises, rather than wait on outsourced work to complete at their own leisure.
Investment in the information technology has also allowed for far greater data storage and retrieval than previously imagined.
References: Johnston, L. (2012, May 03). Best buy exec: Cloud helps link mcommerce, ecommerce and point-of-sale. Mobile Commerce Daily, Retrieved from http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/best-buy-exec-cloud-helps-link-mcommerce-ecommerce-and-point-of-sale Lee, T. (2011, August 29). Best buy seeks geeks. Star Tribune, Retrieved from http://www.startribune.com/business/128647773.html McClatchy, T. (2011, September 05). Best Buy shifts from outsourcing information technology work. Chicago Tribune, Retrieved from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-09-05/business/ct-biz-0905-best-buy-geeks-20110905_1_information-technology-outsourcing-retailers