Enterprise in IT
Unit: 20
Entrepreneurial ideas in IT are plentiful, whether it is to design and develop new software or to provide IT support. IT businesses built on entrepreneurial ideas can create wealth for their owners and the nation, generate new employment opportunities, as well as provide customers with value-added products and services. WhatsApp®, Airbnb®, Impression, and Wizzed Media are examples of software, peer-to-peer services, digital marketing and websites, and mobile application start-ups that were once entrepreneurial ideas that successfully tapped into markets with a high demand and grew into thriving IT enterprises. You will learn about enterprise by looking at the characteristics of entrepreneurs, the techniques they use and how these contribute to setting up and running an enterprise.
Entrepreneurs have to drive through their ideas as there will be resources they need to gain and barriers to success they need to overcome, something that all entrepreneurs are accustomed to dealing with. You will examine whether you have the entrepreneurial skills to start up an IT enterprise. Once you have identified a potential IT product or service, you will investigate whether customers want it and what features they do and don’t like. You will do this by carrying out market research and creating a marketing plan to drive sales and generate the cash needed by an enterprise to survive. Start-up enterprises also need smart, lean plans as entrepreneurs have to focus primarily on product and service development. However, both you and your stakeholders have to be convinced of the realism and viability of your entrepreneurial idea so you will learn how to produce and present a start-up plan for your IT enterprise.
The research, planning and communication skills you gain in this unit will prepare you for entry to higher education to study a range of degrees. The employability and entrepreneurial skills will also be useful when entering an IT apprenticeship or the workplace, or when setting up an enterprise.
Learning aims
In this unit you will:
A Explore the nature of enterprise and entrepreneurship in an IT context
B Develop a marketing plan for an IT product or service based on market research
C Present a plan for a start-up IT enterprise using lean or traditional business principles
