Corporate IT Research Articles

AI Technology Adoption in Corporate IT Network Operations Based on the TOE Model

As the digital environment evolves, the need to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) technology into corporate IT network operations increases. In this study, the aim was to define the factors that influence AI adoption in the network operations and analyze their impact on productivity and service stability. The technology–organization–environment (TOE) framework was employed for this investigation, focusing on technological, organizational, and environmental factors. In addition, in this study, structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the relationships between these influencing factors and the intention to adopt AI. The mediation effect was examined through the network operation productivity and network service stability. A survey was conducted targeting network operations and AI professionals to collect data. The analysis results revealed that technological and environmental factors positively influenced the network operation productivity, while only environmental factors positively influenced the network service stability. Furthermore, the findings of this study highlight that environmental factors are the most significant factors that influence network operation productivity and network service stability. Moreover, the direct positive impact of network operation productivity and IT network service stability on the intention to adopt AI underscores their crucial role. In conclusion, when evaluating AI adoption in terms of network operation productivity and network service stability, prioritizing technological and environmental factors over organizational factors is necessary.

Digital Employee Training With Digital Adoption Platforms Boost Learning and Knowledge Management of Corporate IT Systems

Due to increasing digitalization, employees need to use an increasing number of corporate IT systems. Digital Adoption Platforms (DAPs) recently address the resulting need for increased learning and skills to master such systems. Although of great practical importance, software adoption and learning literature has not yet studied the phenomenon of DAPs. Thus, after studying currently used DAPs (n=22 DAPs) we created our own DAP with interactive functionality based on this research. Subsequently we conducted an online experiment (n=152 employees) to assess if DAPs have positive training and learning effect on employees. More specifically, we compared the training and learning effects of using the DAP vs. using a classic user manual. The results of our ANOVA analyses show that employees using a DAP for learning will perceive a new corporate IT system as more useful than employees using a classic user manual for training. The use of DAPs significantly increases an employee's intention to use the new corporate IT system showing significant positive learning and training effects.

Analysis of Software Tools for Automation of Configuration and Management Functions in It Infrastructures

The work by the authors, using a systematic approach, analyzes a group of software tools that are functionally oriented towards the automated implementation of configuration and management processes in IT infrastructures. The research profile focuses on a methodology known in the professional environment as “Infrastructure as Code” (IaC) and is one of the foundational methodologies implemented in a systemic combination within the DevOps methodology. This methodology is actively used in processes of dynamic formation, deployment, and maintenance of corporate IT infrastructures in many modern successful high-tech companies to achieve the best business performance, efficiency, guaranteed success, and security. The article discusses two basic approaches to building software tools that implement the IaC methodology, namely the declarative and imperative approaches. The main emphasis is placed on the formation of a set of advantages and disadvantages inherent in software tools such as Terraform, ARM, Ansible, and CloudFormation. The focus of researchers on these four software tools is explained by their leading positions in a fairly extensive lineup of possible alternative software products that allow for a comprehensive implementation of the IaC methodology in the context of full and functional systemic deployment of the DevOps methodology in specific implementations of corporate IT infrastructures. The authors' generalized conclusion of original scientific research is that there is currently no single clearly distinguished universal software tool among others that fully satisfies the entire spectrum of requirements and needs. Potential users in this context are communities of DevOps professionals and clients – owners and managers of modern dynamic high- tech and successful companies, firms, and businesses that rely on modern information systems and technologies.

A Study on Challenges and Benefits of Remote and Hybrid Work Model from Employees Perspective

This research study delves into the multifaceted landscape of remote and hybrid work models, focusing specifically on the experiences and perspectives of employees. As the global workforce undergoes a profound transformation, understanding the challenges and benefits associated with remote and hybrid work arrangements becomes imperative for organizations striving to adapt to the evolving work environment. Through qualitative and quantitative analysis, this study aims to provide insights into the key factors shaping employees’ experiences, including the impact on work-life balance, productivity, communication, collaboration, and overall job satisfaction. By synthesizing empirical data and existing literature, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of the complexities inherent in remote and hybrid work models, offering valuable implications for both employers and employees navigating this paradigm shift. The hybrid workplace is a concept on the lips of every industry trend in the world today. With digitalization becoming more normalized across every sphere in the global village. Every workplace needs to maximize and transcend obstacles and innovations to ease into the hybrid workplace. The work from home also becomes more relevant during the pandemic. The study was conduct in Kannura corporate IT company. This research paper focused on understanding the impact of both hybrid and work from home and the various challenges and benefits and also the preference of the employees to the future work model. The study was carried out by primary data with a sample size of 120 employers which were chosen by simple random sampling method. To analyse benefits of Work from home and hybrid work model, to analyse challenges of Work from and hybrid work model, to analyse the preference of employees in choosing the future work model. Statistical tools used for this data collection are simple frequency analysis, Independent sample T- test, Chi square test, One-way Anova: The finding soft the study revealed that the employees are happy with choosing hybrid work model as their future model. The employees can work as per their comfort zone and their comfort place to work.

Aligning disaster recovery to company technical direction and objectives

One of the many concerns of disaster recovery specialists is how to create disaster recovery scenarios, strategies and related solutions that meet the vision of management while building solutions for the critical business process within budget, with refined technical resources and operational and maintenance processes and procedures similar to those utilised in production. Rather than consider disaster recovery as a separate environment from production, this paper suggests that there are areas where the disaster recovery solution can map more closely to production solutions to better manifest the critical business process, avoiding the decreased sales forecasts and reputational impacts resulting from an outage. There is no magic here — just ideas for designing a solution and enhancements to the disaster recovery programme that may help to meet business expectations. A disaster recovery site based on similar production technical solutions and overall corporate IT vision can provide such benefits as: faster recovery time objective; faster availability of the data while maintaining data integrity; fewer manual procedures during switch/failover; ability to utilise similar resources to work both environments resulting in a smaller training programme; similar operational and maintenance processes and procedures; ability to switchover components rather than declaring disaster recovery; and an environment that supports production by running critical business process while production suffers an outage or requires maintenance. This paper provides readers with ideas to take back to their disaster recovery solution and how it manifests the critical business process during an outage.

Visualization of Digital Transformation Initiatives Elements through ArchiMate Viewpoints

AbstractDigital transformation stems from a mix of personal and corporate IT environments and involves integrating digital technologies and business processes in a digital economy. As such, organizations expect that digital transformation improves performance, increases their reach, and ensures better business results. However, there is still a lack of (i) conceptual models to provide an accurate representation of the digital transformation elements; and (ii) standard visualizations of such elements to specific stakeholders. In a previous work, a reference model to support digital transformation initiatives using ArchiMate was proposed. In this paper, we address the second part of this problem regarding the need for specific visualizations. We followed the Design Science Research approach to learn how to identify the needs of the stakeholders, extending and improving the reference model through the design of a set of architectural viewpoints. We used the well-known ArchiSurance case to demonstrate the application of the viewpoints and semi-structured interviews to evaluate the proposal, providing insights to the discussion of the results obtained.

To alert or alleviate? A natural experiment on the effect of anti-phishing laws on corporate IT and security investments

In the United States, between 2005 and 2017, 23 states enacted anti-phishing laws to prosecute those suspected of phishing. As the primary targets of phishing attacks, firms' interpretations and reactions toward these laws are worth investigating. Utilizing a unique dataset in a natural experimental setting, this study employed the difference-in-differences method to contrast firms' investment decisions related to IT and cybersecurity in states in which such laws had been enacted and those in states without such laws, both before and after their enactment. We found that firms with different operational experiences react to the enactment of the anti-phishing laws in different ways. We further demonstrate the moderating roles of the industry risk landscape and IT capability. Specifically, firms with high-IT increased investments in both IT and cybersecurity while the risk landscape stimulated investments in cybersecurity only. This suggests that the risk landscape facilitates sensitivity to the immediate risk signaled by enactment of the laws, and IT capability further enables the alignment between IT investments and security objectives. This study also discusses the policy implications of our findings.

Strategic Scenario Study of Industry 4.0 Prospects

Digital technology development and convergence within the ICT field has led to increased significance of technology platforms and ecosystems organizing around them. Even the corporate IT systems are migrated more and more to the cloud platforms. The current explosive growth of artificial intelligence and big data utilization will accelerate that trend also for the industrial value network partners, where the amount of data produced, and low latency requirements force the processing more towards the edge of the cloud. Utilizing technology platform analyses, theory of technology and market disruptions, Value Capture Model, and scenario building, this study investigates Industry 4.0 drivers towards generic digital platforms and ecosystems, and the scenarios to which this development can lead. In addition, the strategic position of different kind of players related to the presented scenarios are examined. The perspectives provided in this study help the players in directing their strategic cooperation and competition efforts in the current early phase of the Industry 4.0 ecosystems formation.

Improving healthcare at home for complex chronic patients (CCPs) in Andalusia (JADECARE pilot)

Introduction: A Complex Chronic Disease is a condition involving multiple morbidities that requires the attention of multiple health care providers and, therefore, a holistic approach. 
 The Andalusian Public Health System is responsible for the provision of healthcare and public health services to the Andalusian population (8.5 million inhabitants), where around 200000 complex chronic patients (CCPs), with chronic heart failure (CHF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have been identified and prioritized. Healthcare at home for CCPs is considered a key element that facilitates patient follow-up, can avoid emergency episodes, promoting patient empowerment.
 The Andalusian participation in the EU Joint Action JADECARE “joint action on implementation of digitally enabled integrated person-centered care” (GA 951442) focuses on improving healthcare at home for CCPs with CHF and COPD. The development, implementation and testing of a Centralised System for Proactive Follow-up (SCSP) of chronic patients is being monitored, as well as the tele-referral service which is being expanded. The SCSP is supported by National funds as well (Servicio para la implantación de una solución corporativa para el seguimiento proactivode pacientes crónicos en el sistema sanitario público de Andalucía (Expdte. 039/21-SP.).
 The aim of the JADECARE Andalusian pilot is to improve health status and quality of life of CCPs by enhancing home healthcare proactive follow-up and its evaluation.
 Method: The development, implementation and testing of the Centralised System for Proactive Follow-up of chronic patients within Andalusian Public Health System includes several steps, from tendering, SCSP design and development, to training and assessment.
 The SCSP will allow to gather information from home healthcare of CCPs integrated in the corporate IT system and EHR (Diraya). The platform will be a key element for healthcare professionals in the proactive and remote monitoring of chronic patients, allowing early identification of warning signs/signals, adaptation of prescriptions, anticipation of health problems, providing support to caregivers and avoiding unplanned inpatient episodes. This SCSP will be monitored as well as the tele-referral system for CCPs.
 
 Results, Conclusions and Lessons learned: Results of this pilot will be presented during the conference. Process, outcomes, patients’ satisfaction and technology acceptance model indicators will be measured.
 The SCSP is expected to facilitate patients’ follow-up, improving continuity of care by healthcare professionals and patients’ quality of life.
 Discussions: The Andalusian JADECARE pilot is aligned with the Andalusian Comprehensive Healthcare Plan for Patients with Chronic Diseases and the Andalusian Comprehensive Care Plan, and takes into account the experience of the “Digital roadmap towards an integrated health care sector”, from the Region of Southern Denmark.
 An integrated healthcare system linked to a solid corporate IT system allow the development of a Centralised System for Proactive Follow-up of chronic patients that leads to an improvement of patient care and quality of life while public healthcare resources are optimized.
 Limitations: Health outcomes assessment in the timeframe of the project.
 Suggestions for future research: Home healthcare monitoring assessment.

Model of four cyber attack information environments

The basis of the functioning of the modern cyber defense infrastructure of the corporate IT system is the procedure of comparing current events in the computer environment with the security event indicator. If the indicator matches the corresponding event, security information about this event is generated and transmitted to the SIEM for analysis. Based on the results of the analysis, a decision is made about the existence of a cyber security incident. At the next stage, a decision is made and implemented, which restores the state of cyber security. A mandatory condition for the effective cyber defense infrastructure is the availability of knowledge about possible cyber threats and relevant signs (indicators) of security events at the technical level of computer systems. Cyber threat intelligence (CTI) is responsible for forming signs of security events. In the conditions of large-scale application of common repetitive cyberattacks, the main function of CTI was to identify simple technical features called indicators of compromise (IOCs). Bit sequences (signatures) are used as such IOCs. In the conditions of large-scale application of complex cyberattacks, the task of developing such APT attack forecasting maps that allow the formation of security event attributes pattern (SEAP) for automated detection by computer means of cyber defense infrastructure becomes urgent. The article is devoted to the development of a model that, with the help of an attribute-transfer approach to the essence of information, allows to formalize the processes of cyber protection. The model visually details and combines the events that reveal the essence of the APT attack preparation and implementation, the processes of protection and the task of cyber threat intelligence to determine specific data for the means of an effective cyber defense infrastructure. The level of detail of the model allows the application of known mathematical constructions to describe security events and security information. This approach simplifies the forming algorithms for automating cyber protection processes.

The Role of Cloud Service Brokers: Enhancing Security and Compliance in Multi-cloud Environments


 The goal of this study is to put encryption key management strategies into practice while taking legal restrictions and the necessity for data accessibility into account. In order to reduce the danger of unauthorized access to cloud resources, this article explores the creation of Identity and Access Management (IAM) solutions that successfully apply role-based access control and abide by the least privilege principle. The advancement of digital business is both facilitated and disrupted by the usage of cloud technologies. Spending on cloud computing platforms and infrastructure is expected to rise significantly, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30% predicted for the period between 2013 and 2018. In comparison, the corporate IT industry as a whole is anticipated to develop at a rate that is quite slow—5%. Additionally, an increasing number of businesses—precisely 85%—are seeing the benefits of using several cloud platforms to boost employee productivity, encourage collaboration, and spur corporate innovation. Regulations and standards are quite complicated, with possibilities for repetition and occasionally discrepancies. Utilizing existing standard models, patterns, architectures, and best practices is one efficient way to manage the difficulties brought on by compliance complexity, uncertainties, and overlaps. Examining regulatory practices and looking for overlaps have been efforts.

Reveal, Inspect, Adapt: Bridging the Gap Between Teamwork Theory and Practice in Corporate IT Projects

This paper presents a rationale for establishing collaboration between corporate IT projects and those conducting empirical research on teamwork. A review of teamwork research reveals gaps in many teamwork models: the influence of context of performance, the mechanisms of team development over time, and data generated by practitioners in naturalistic settings. The paper describes the Scrum framework for executing projects in IT departments in terms of input artifacts, output artifacts, team processes, and the role of organizational context. Given the lack of quantitative project outputs, the method describes how Thematic Analysis and qualitative research are needed to convert project outputs to insights on team processes. This method of conducting research on team performance aligns closely with the Macroergonomics framework for research and its attention to team, task, context, and study with practitioners in naturalistic settings.

The Digital Transformation of Auditing and the Evolution of the Internal Audit

This book discusses the digital transformation of auditing and its impacts on internal audits. It poses the question of whether digitalization significantly impacts internal audit practices and methodologies, information technology/information system audit, IT governance, and risk management. Internal audit, particularly IT audit, addresses corporate strategy and alignment, corporate governance, IT governance, agility, risk management, and compliance

ХМАРНІ РІШЕННЯ РЕАЛІЗАЦІЇ ГІБРИДНОЇ IT-ІНФРАСТРУКТУРИ ІНФОРМАЦІЙНО-ОСВІТНЬОГО СЕРЕДОВИЩА ВИЩОГО ВІЙСЬКОВОГО НАВЧАЛЬНОГО ЗАКЛАДУ

According to the cloud-based project, the information and education environment (IE) of a higher military educational institution is being modernized. Hybrid IT infrastructure and cloud solutions for its implementation are analyzed. As a result, a comprehensive model of dialogically close service solutions is presented as a prototype of an open, coordinated and standardized cloud system. The hierarchical two-level structure of the complex model is represented by: at the lower (physical) level, hardware for providing cloud services; at the upper (abstract) level, physically deployed software. The article presents a combined scheme of corporate IT infrastructure maintenance with priority given to the IaaS services segment, the classic scenario of hybrid IT infrastructure deployment, and a ready-made management software solution. These requirements have been transformed into a cloud-based hybrid system architecture that combines the external infrastructure of service providers with the internal local infrastructure of a military educational institution by integrating corporate resources and services into the information and educational environment. The latter are represented by ready-made solutions from Microsoft Azure, Office 365, Imagine Academy, Virtual Academy, and Google Workspace, which Microsoft and Google provide to educational institutions free of charge. The basic version of the freely distributed cloud platform Apache CloudStack v.4 was chosen as a tool for managing the resources of the hybrid IT infrastructure. In this context, the selection criteria and the overall topological ordering of the cloud platform are defined. The organizational emphasis of the platform implementation as a three-level hierarchical investment of structural elements is set. We propose a technical structure of the implementation consisting of two computers, one of which performs the functions of the CloudStack MS Management Server and the Primary Storage, and the other is responsible for the hypervisor and contains the Secondary Storage. Keywords: information and educational environment, hybrid IT infrastructure, virtualization, service solutions, cloud platform, virtual machine, deployment model.

Well-being and depressive symptoms among corporate employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The aim of the study was to assess the well-being of corporate employees and whether it has changed from the beginning of the first wave of COVID-19 (March) to the development of the second wave of the disease (October). The essence of the study was to estimate the risk of depressive symptoms in the studied population. The study involved 250 corporate IT employees. The study was conducted using the WHO-5 questionnaire and the Beck test. Statistical significance was determined using the Wilcoxon test (p=0.05). In the first stage of the study, the average well-being of the respondents was assessed at 20.2 points, which means moderate well-being. It was observed that the average well-being was worse in the group of women (18.4 points) than in the group of men (22.0 points). In the last stage of the study, the respondents' feeling was 11.0 points - level of bad mood (10.0 points in women and 12.0 points in men). It was found that in the October stage the percentage of people with mild and moderate depression is higher than in the March stage. On the basis of this research, it can be concluded that COVID-19 and related restrictions had a negative impact on the mental condition of the respondents.

Особливості управління правами користувачів у корпоративних IT-системах

Today, there is no workplace at any enterprise where employees don’t use information technol-ogies. Automation provided by information technologies has already covered all the aspects of company’s activity: document flow, accounting, warehouse accounting, financial accounting, analytical accounting, and enterprise management. To work efficiently, employees need access to systems the use of which is required by their positions. The management and control of user accounts in corporate IT systems are serious tasks for the IT department or information security service. Since the systems are weakly integrated with each other, each of them requires a sepa-rate configuration of user accounts and corresponding access rights. The main directions in the management of access to corporate IT systems are the identification of accounts, the manage-ment of user accounts, and compliance with the requirements of authorized access rights. The modern concept of work with corporate systems consists in the formation of a service model based on the used IT systems. From the point of view of the service model, the company pro-vides an employee with a certain service based on the existing corporate systems. The organiza-tion of the effective management of user rights in corporate IT systems requires automation. A step forward in access management automation is the creation of self-service portals, where employees can familiarize themselves with the list of corporate services available to them and request access to them in the automated mode. The automation of the process of giving and changing user accounts in the corporate IT systems allows you to reduce the time it takes to cre-ate or change access rights, create prerequisites for controlling access rights to systems, and in-crease the efficiency of the IT department as a whole.

Sustainability and Green Technology Innovation

This study investigates the relationships between investments in green technology and involvement in sustainability. Small firms' interest in investing in green technology is influenced by how involved they are with sustainability. Investments in green technologies, however, do not seem to be primarily motivated by participation in environmental sustainability. The study's findings demonstrate that businesses using green technologies do not prioritise environmental sustainability over other goals like creating economic and social value. Supposedly, the triple bottom line, which operates in this space, aims to assess corporate performance in terms of its effects on the environment and interested parties in addition to concerns about profitability. The study of sustainability in management information systems has thus far been constrained by the field of green IT, which largely focuses on reducing the energy consumption of corporate IT systems. It shows how to integrate human, supply chain, and IT resources to help businesses develop sustainability capabilities that enable them to deliver sustainable values to relevant stakeholders and maintain competitive advantage. In particular, the development of sustainability capabilities is addressed in relation to the role of automate, inform, transform, and infrastructure IT resources. The project calls for IT to play a daring new role in sustainability that goes beyond lowering energy usage. The ramifications for future IT and sustainability research and management practise are also discussed.

The key role of corporate IT reputation in driving organizational performance

Dans cette recherche, nous étudions la réputation technologique des entreprises et son impact sur la performance. Le sujet est pertinent car (1) la réputation des TI des entreprises, mesurée par la capacité perçue de l’entreprise à développer et à maintenir sa réputation en matière de capacités TI, pourrait être liée à la performance organisationnelle ; (2) l’identification de nouveaux facteurs de succès des TI est nécessaire pour une meilleure compréhension des antécédents à la performance organisationnelle ; et (3) l’importance de la qualité de la haute direction et de la réputation a été observée concernant les PDG, mais peu de recherches ont abordé la contribution de la réputation des TI à la performance. Pour ce faire, nous avons mené une enquête en ligne (n=297), et effectué des analyses par SmartPLS, Le modèle explique plus de 40% de la performance organisationnelle. Les principaux résultats montrent que la réputation des TI de l’entreprise est directement liée à la performance organisationnelle et indirectement à travers des variables médiatrices telles que l’alignement stratégique des TI, l’orientation stratégique ou la valeur commerciale des TI. Avec cette recherche, nous identifions la réputation des TI comme un facteur supplémentaire expliquant la contribution des technologies à la performance organisationnelle. Deuxièmement, nous ajoutons aux travaux précédents sur l’alignement stratégique des TI et son impact sur la performance organisationnelle. Enfin, nous soulignons l’importance de l’expérience antérieure du DSI dans d’autres entreprises en tant que facteur clé de la réputation TI des entreprises et de la performance organisationnelle.

INTEGRATION BETWEEN CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY GOVERNANCE TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE FRAUD/ TESTING STUDY ON COMPANIES REGISTERED IN THE IRAQ STOCK EXCHANGE

Corporate governance in general and IT governance in particular have recently received a great deal of attention in developed countries، developing countries and transitional economies as a result of a number of cases of financial and administrative corruption that have plagued many major companies in the United States of America and East Asian countries، for example، due to weak corporate governance and IT governance systems. The lack of corporate governance and IT governance systems as a subsystem of corporate governance enables company administrators to prefer their personal interests at the expense of the interests of minority rights، shareholders، creditors and other stakeholders such as employees، suppliers and the general public، The study found a set of results after the statistical tests، which created scientific evidence of the effectiveness of the test on the existence of an organic link between the mechanisms and principles of corporate governance and IT governance as an integral part of corporate governance، as the diversity of asset portfolios and obligations enhances the occurrence of financial and administrative fraud، as well as the activation of the application of corporate governance and IT governance contributes to reducing the risk of financial and administrative corruption and improper practices that may facilitate the possibility of Fraudulent practices occur، The study recommends the application of the integrated portal between corporate and IT governance aimed at reducing risks arising from financial and administrative corruption while intensifying training courses to increase their technical skills and expertise in how to deal with IT governance mechanisms in order to ensure that their competitive advantage is enhanced. Keywords: Risks of Financial And Administrative Fraud، Corporate Governance، IT Governance

The Impact of IT Capability on Corporate Green Technological Innovation: Evidence from Manufacturing Companies in China

In this paper, we theoretically discuss and empirically show how IT capability spurs companies towards greener strategies. Based on the data of listed Chinese manufacturing companies from 2008 to 2018, using a panel regression model, the results show that: (1) corporate IT capability can promote green technological innovation. (2) Compared with state-owned enterprises (SOEs), the IT effect is more significant for non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs); compared with regions with weak environmental regulation, the IT effect is more significant in regions with strong environmental regulation. (3) Additionally, we found that the promotion of IT software capability is stronger than IT hardware capability, and they have a synergistic effect on green technological innovation. Overall, our findings offer a new point view for a deeper understanding of green technological innovation, and provide microscopic evidence for the objective evaluation of corporate IT capability.