Strategic Panning and System Development

Using IT & IS to Create Competitive Advantage:

A Case Study

Juhi Chanchalani

Anam Shahid

American University of Sharjah

PO BOX 26666

Sharjah, UAE

00971-50-6848171

American University of Sharjah

PO BOX 26666

Sharjah, UAE

00971-50-3742375

g00037073@aus.edu

ABSTRACT

g00036286@aus.edu

2. COMPANY DESCRIPTION

In this paper, the authors describes the impact of IT & IS on

various companies in creating a competitive advantage.

Musafir.Com is the UAE's first fully digital firm in the Travel and

Tourism industry that is a separate legal entity and not a group‟s

website. Founded by AUS alumni Sheikh Mohammed bin

Abdullah Al Thani, Sachin Gadoya and Albert Dias in August

2008, this entrepreneurial website was launched in 2009 under the

incorporated umbrella of Universal Tourism LLC – an IATA

accredited travel agency, which was founded by Sheikh

Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Thani and Sachin Gadoya in 2005.

Located in Sharjah, UAE, Musafir.Com is a privately owned

company and operates in the Travel and Tourism Industry as an

„e-commerce‟ firm, and mainly exists to assist customers in

gathering travel information and making legitimate flight and

hotel reservations. To use their services, one has to be at least 18

years of age, resident of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), possess

the legal authority to create a binding legal obligation, and

provide true, accurate, current and complete information.

Today’s era of globalization and technology has brought forward

the importance of IT & IS and its practical application in any type

of organization, be it a profit-oriented business or an NGO. This

project aims to find if regionally established companies use IT and

IS to create a competitive advantage, and if so, how. In order to

achieve the stated aim, analyses have been done on a fully digital

company through interviews, survey and personal observation.

Project results prove that the use of IT and IS has been used by the

company not...