Profiling the customers of the e-commerce company Kalahari.net. The purpose of the study was to profile the customers of the e-commerce company, Kalahari.net which sells books, music CDs, DVDs, videos, computer software and hardware amongst others. The literature study includes a discussion of marketing management and e-commerce in South Africa. Customer profiling is discussed to indicate the need and importance of knowing the customer. The quantitative research was done amongst the customers of Kalahari.net by means of an online questionnaire in 2003. The findings concluded that the customers browse the Internet between one and five hours per week. The customers are aged between 21 and 25, mostly female, predominantly English-speaking, married, two to three people per household, have a monthly household income of more than R18 000, are well-educated and are residing predominantly in Gauteng. The study was concluded with the limitations experienced by the researcher and a short discussion of the general usability of the study. / The purpose of the study was to profile the customers of the e-commerce company, Kalahari.net which sells books, music CDs, DVDs, videos, computer software and hardware amongst others. The literature study includes a discussion of marketing management and e-commerce in South Africa. Customer profiling is discussed to indicate the need and importance of knowing the customer. The quantitative research was done amongst the customers of Kalahari.net by means of an online questionnaire in 2003. The findings concluded that the customers browse the Internet between one and five hours per week. The customers are aged between 21 and 25, mostly female, predominantly English-speaking, married, two to three people per household, have a monthly household income of more than R18 000, are well-educated and are residing predominantly in Gauteng. The study was concluded with the limitations experienced by the researcher and a short discussion of the general usability of the study. / Business Management / M. Comm. (Business Management)

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Information Technology in the Faculty of Informatics and Design at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2012 / The purpose of this research is to investigate Enterprise Architecture (EA) strategies, and experiences with EA in the Provincial Government of the Western Cape (PGWC). This research examines the organizational and individual impacts as well as the organizational and technological challenges associated with implementing EA. The principles of EA are conceptualised and mapped in a structured manner to obtain a means to assess the EA experiences of the PGWC. The problem statement is: The efforts to implement Enterprise Architecture in the Provincial Government of the Western Cape have not delivered the desired benefits. This leads to the following objectives namely:  To establish an understanding of EA concepts and the basis for these concepts.  To investigate the current deployment status of the PGWC IT and business strategies.  To identify the stakeholders involved in EA deployment and how they participate in the deployment process.  To develop and propose a suitable framework for EA strategy deployment for PGWC. The main research question for this study is: How can enterprise architecture be deployed in PGWC in order to deliver EA benefits (of reducing redundancy, achieving alignment between business and IT, minimising costs) to PGWC? The main research sub-questions for this study are namely:  How did PGWC choose EA frameworks for their EA strategies?  How do PGWC deploy the chosen frameworks within the organisation?  What steps could be taken in order to deliver the benefits of EA at PGWC? The research philosophy is an interpretive qualitative approach. The methods for this research were an in-depth literature review, interviews with key role players, and questionnaires that gained information from a wider set of respondents. The aim of this study was to understand and explain the problems of implementing EA in PGWC. A guideline and an EA framework are proposed for organizations to assist in the deployment of an EA strategy.

The purpose of this project is to build a working intranet containing core applications that create the framework for a small business intranet. Small businesses may benefit from an intranet because of its ability to effectively streamline the processes for retrieving and distributing information. Intranets are internal networks using TCP/IP protocols, Web server software, and browser client software to share information created in HTML within an organization, and to access company databases.

Today's environment is filled with the proliferation of cyber-attacks that result in losses for organizations and individuals. Hackers often use compromised websites to distribute malware, making it difficult for individuals to detect. The impact of clicking through a link on the Internet that is malware infected can result in consequences such as private information theft and identity theft. Hackers are also known to perpetrate cyber-attacks that result in organizational security breaches that adversely affect organizations' finances, reputation, and market value. Risk management approaches for minimizing and recovering from cyber-attack losses and preventing further cyber-attacks are gaining more importance. Many studies exist that have increased our understanding of how individuals and organizations are motivated to reduce or avoid the risks of security breaches and cyber-attacks using safeguard mechanisms. The safeguards are sometimes technical in nature, such as intrusion detection software and anti-virus software. Other times, the safeguards are procedural in nature such as security policy adherence and security awareness and training. Many of these safeguards fall under the risk mitigation and risk avoidance aspects of risk management, and do not address other aspects of risk management, such as risk transfer. Researchers have argued that technological approaches to security risks are rarely sufficient for providing an overall protection of information system assets. Moreover, others argue that an overall protection must include a risk transfer strategy. Hence, there is a need to understand the risk transfer approach for managing information security risks. Further, in order to effectively address the information security puzzle, there also needs to be an understanding of the nature of the perpetrators of the problem – the hackers. Though hacker incidents proliferate the news, there are few theory based hacker studies. Even though the very nature of their actions presents a difficulty in their accessibility to research, a glimpse of how hackers perpetrate attacks can be obtained through the examination of their knowledge sharing behavior. Gaining some understanding about hackers through their knowledge sharing behavior may help researchers fine-tune future information security research. The insights could also help practitioners design more effective defensive security strategies and risk management efforts aimed at protecting information systems. Hence, this dissertation is interested in understanding the hackers that perpetrate cyber-attacks on individuals and organizations through their knowledge sharing behavior. Then, of interest also is how individuals form their URL click-through intention in the face of proliferated cyber risks. Finally, we explore how and why organizations that are faced with the risk of security breaches, commit to cyberinsurance as a risk management strategy. Thus, the fundamental research question of this dissertation is: how do individuals and organizations manage information security risks?

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / There are many advantages of mobile agent such as delegation of tasks, asynchronous processing, adaptable service in interfaces, and code shipping. Mobile agents can be utilized in many areas such as electronic commerce, information retrieval, network management, etc. The main problem with mobile agents is security. The three basic security design goals of a system are confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The goal of this thesis concerns the property of secure purchasing by mobile agents. First present Jalal's anonymous authentication protocol. Next, we construct our single mobile agent protocol based on Jalal's authentication technique. Also, we add some addition cryptography techniques to make the data more secure during its migration. Lastly, we build a multiple mobile agent protocol based on the single mobile agent protocol. Here, the multiple mobile agents are capable to make the decision and purchase the item for user.

In a traditional business environment, companies set up their organisation’s IT data infrastructure, install their applications and carry out the maintenance and management of their infrastructures. Whereas Cloud computing removes the need for companies to set up own data centers and run enterprise applications. Cloud computing technology provides businesses with the advantage of on-demand access, agility, scalability, flexibility and reduced cost of computing. An appreciable increase is being observed in the acceptance and migration to this new IT model in developing economies. In Nigeria, it has been observed that there is a somewhat unimpressive rate of adoption of Cloud computing by the microfinance operators. This research investigates the reason for the slow adoption of Cloud computing by SMEs in Nigeria with special consideration to the Microfinance subsector and to develop a model for improving the adoption of cloud computing by microfinance organisations. The research was conducted using a qualitative research design method. Interview was the main data collection instrument and data collected was analysed using thematic content analysis method. The analysis of the study revealed that SMEs in Nigeria, with particular reference to microfinance subsector in Akwa Ibom State are yet fully to embrace cloud technology. It was discovered that most of the SMEs studied, has some level of reservation about cloud computing arising from not having appropriate education and enlightenment about the cloud economic offerings and potentials. From the outcome of the research, the researcher identified that most people’s concerns are as a result of lack of knowledge about cloud computing and so the researcher concluded that appropriate enlightenment by industry stakeholders, cloud service providers, cloud enthusiasts and even the government on the risks and overwhelming economic incentives of cloud computing as well as the provision of a monitored free trial services will encourage the adoption of cloud computing by SMEs. / College of Engineering, Science and Technology / M.Tech. (Information Technology)

Enterprise Architecture endeavours to resolve the complexity of increasingly distributed systems by aligning business vision with IT strategy, which in turn should reduce the overall costs of IT in the business and provide simpler, better and faster solutions to business problems. There are many Enterprise Architecture frameworks. The main purpose of most of these frameworks is to assist with the challenges of managing the increased complexity of distributed systems, aligning business vision with IT strategy and reducing IT costs. Many of the studies which produced the results stating Enterprise Architecture aligns business vision and reduces IT costs, were based on Zachman’s work, and most of the published Enterprise Architecture success stories focus on the benefits provided to the company with regards to IT. In contrast very little documentation could be found that addresses the impact of Enterprise Architecture implementations on the individuals and systems within a company. If the individuals as the main implementers of any strategy are impacted negatively by Enterprise Architecture management decisions, there would be a negative impact on the return on investment of the company. Enterprise Architecture allows the use of overlapping departments’ processes and data, which translates into less development time as system components would already exist. Changes that are made to the Enterprise Architecture result in several additional changes that had to be implemented by the software developers. These changes influenced the workload, roles and responsibilities of the developers in such a way that the development team became negative about the additional work. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of Enterprise Architecture management decisions on the responsibilities, work experience and attitude towards Enterprise Architecture of the software developers in a company that develops software by exploring and describing the nature of software development. Based on the findings of this study, a list of impact of Enterprise Architecture decisions on the responsibilities of software developers in companies that develop software were identified. In this respect, the study identified impacts of Enterprise Architecture management decisions as well as possible solutions to these impacts. / Computing / M. Sc. (Information Systems)

Research accentuates that end-users‘ noncompliance with information security policy (ISP) is a key concern for government just as it is for the private sector. Although awareness and training programmes are important factors impacting employees‘ intentions to comply with an organisation‘s ISP, it can be argued that there is insufficient empirical evidence to support this assertion. To address this gap, this study seeks to expand research on ISP compliance by focusing on attitudes as targets of change. A research model based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour was proposed to illustrate the influence of ISP awareness training on end-users‘ attitudes towards complying with their organisation‘s ISP. Relevant hypotheses were developed to test the research conceptualisation. A survey and an experiment was undertaken to collect the data from a sample of 173 end-users of a single government organisation in one province. The data was captured and analysed using a Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Furthermore, Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to test whether the overall model appears to be a good fit to support the hypotheses. The reliability, validity, and model fit were found to be statistically significant, and three out of five research hypotheses were supported. Overall this study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by providing an understanding of the methods that can be used to encourage end-users‘ ISP compliance behaviour through an attitudinal shift, thereby targeting end-users‘ attitude as a means to improve information security policy compliance. Implications of the findings are further discussed in the paper. / Information Technology / M. Tech. (Information Technology)

In a traditional business environment, companies set up their organisation’s IT data infrastructure, install their applications and carry out the maintenance and management of their infrastructures. Whereas Cloud computing removes the need for companies to set up own data centers and run enterprise applications. Cloud computing technology provides businesses with the advantage of on-demand access, agility, scalability, flexibility and reduced cost of computing. An appreciable increase is being observed in the acceptance and migration to this new IT model in developing economies. In Nigeria, it has been observed that there is a somewhat unimpressive rate of adoption of Cloud computing by the microfinance operators. This research investigates the reason for the slow adoption of Cloud computing by SMEs in Nigeria with special consideration to the Microfinance subsector and to develop a model for improving the adoption of cloud computing by microfinance organisations. The research was conducted using a qualitative research design method. Interview was the main data collection instrument and data collected was analysed using thematic content analysis method. The analysis of the study revealed that SMEs in Nigeria, with particular reference to microfinance subsector in Akwa Ibom State are yet fully to embrace cloud technology. It was discovered that most of the SMEs studied, has some level of reservation about cloud computing arising from not having appropriate education and enlightenment about the cloud economic offerings and potentials. From the outcome of the research, the researcher identified that most people’s concerns are as a result of lack of knowledge about cloud computing and so the researcher concluded that appropriate enlightenment by industry stakeholders, cloud service providers, cloud enthusiasts and even the government on the risks and overwhelming economic incentives of cloud computing as well as the provision of a monitored free trial services will encourage the adoption of cloud computing by SMEs. / College of Engineering, Science and Technology / M.Tech. (Information Technology)

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Technology: Information Technology in the Faculty of Informatics and Design at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology 2013 / The alignment between business and information technology (IT) strategies has been a challenge for many years. Strategic alignment models and enterprise architecture methodologies and frameworks have been developed to assist business and IT managers with improving alignment between business and IT strategies. The business analyst, systems analyst and project manager are key role players in delivering the information systems (IS) needs of business and therefore key in aligning business and IT strategies. Despite literature and research suggesting a positive influence of emotional intelligence on occupational performance in various industries, the development of emotional intelligence of the business analyst, systems analyst and project manager is neglected by software development organisations. Emotional intelligence is neglected in industry IS competency models as well as documented standards for the business analysis and project management profession (BABOK and PMBOK). Emotional intelligence is not addressed in strategic alignment models and enterprise architecture methodologies and frameworks. Emotional intelligence is equally neglected in IS literature. Systematic research investigating the impact of emotional intelligence on occupational performance of IT professionals remains sparse. The purpose of this study was to determine which emotional intelligence competencies are needed to improve the occupational performance of business analysts, systems analysts and project managers in delivering business information system needs. The study took the form of a multiple interpretive case study. Qualitative data was collected using semi-structured interviews with stakeholders from 20 software development organisations utilising the roles of the business analyst, systems analyst and project manager. Quantitative data was collected using the Genos Emotional Intelligence Inventory with the aim of identifying the patterns of emotional intelligence visible in the sample of business analysts, systems analysts and project managers assessed. The study suggests emotional intelligence has a role to play in alignment between business and IT strategies. It is proposed that industry IS competency models as well as the standards for the business analysis and project management profession as documented in BABOK and PMBOK include specific emotional intelligence competencies. The study also proposes that higher education institutions in IT/IS such as universities of technology, as well as training providers focusing on business analysis, systems analysis and project management, should focus not only on technical skills but emotional intelligence skills as well when developing the supply pipeline of business analysts, systems analysts and project managers. Keywords: Emotional intelligence, business – IT alignment, information technology, enterprise architecture, business analyst, systems analyst, project manager, competencies, non-technical skills.