Ais Assignment 4

Replacing a Legacy AIS Application Case Study

Calvin Anthonyson

ACC564 Accounting Information Systems

Prof. Alonda Vaughan

03/11/2013

1. Analyze the need for changing to a new system and the potential benefits and risks associated with this change.

2. Identify three (3) advantages and three (3) disadvantages for each of the following choices:

Purchase the AIS from Oracle and have it maintained by the company’s information systems group;

Modify the company’s current AIS application and have it maintained by the company’s information systems group; and

Outsource the AIS to Oracle and have Oracle maintain the system.

3. Make a recommendation to the CEO. Defend why you chose the option and rejected the

others.

4. Propose a system development life cycle (SDLC) approach for your recommendation.

Analyze the need for changing to a new system and the potential benefits and risks associated with this change.

The need to change to a new system are caused by decisions made because of various factors, which include, advances in technology, better business intelligence and reporting capabilities, and financial needs in order to improve productivity and profits. Usually, the IT department is at the forefront of these decisions and are based on response to a changing market and regulatory mandates. As technologies and customer demands change, the original legacy systems are often stretched beyond their functional limits. Some of the most common IT drivers for replacing a legacy system include the following: System not compatible with newer technologies; technology that is no longer supported or a sun-setting technology; a corporate mandate to support only specific application types such as Oracle-based applications; financial drivers, such as applications that require a large or uniquely qualified staff to support operations (often the case with highly customized in-house systems); mergers and acquisitions that create the need to consolidate systems...