I Know You Marketing Plan

I Know You Marketing Plan

Introduction 

The information technology era has brought many systemic changes with it. Prior to this period, people used to communicate using various methods. The fundamentals were basic and with fewer parameters around the transfer of messages and information exchange. In came the Internet with wholesale changes that revolutionized humanity and how we live in many ways. The reality is that convenience was established, and near-instantaneous communication was possible. However, that introduced new variables to communication which affected all activities and processes that relied on the Internet. Fast forward to the present, where those effects are still present.

Dynamism in technology has not helped either because new vulnerabilities arise from it. They expose information and communications technology (ICT) resources and functionalities to more threats and risks. In the wake of the challenges in the technology era, the creation of awareness is vital. I Know You is a company established in the domain to bridge the gap. The company will partner with relevant stakeholders in ICT and related disciplines to create awareness. Elements of the operations, objectives, and analysis of the environmental factors and competition are provided in this marketing plan.

Mission Statement

I Know You is an entity that will operate primarily in a consultancy role in the country. It will be headquartered in Washington DC, where all operations and facilities will be. Washington DC is also ideal because many federal agencies are located there. The company's primary goal is to let people understand the cost of convenience in technology. Goals may change in focus in the long term. However, they will radiate from the core focus of creating awareness of the implications of technology.

I Know You will operate as a technology company that will offer consultancy on their focal goal. It will also partner with federal agencies to bring light on matters of information technology implications. The primary market will be everyone in the United States. Initial and primary targets will be federal agencies. This is the deal with large volumes of data, i.e., big data. There are additional targets for multinational corporations, state entities, and big companies handling big data. The entities and organizations are prime targets for cyber threats primarily because of their information. Personal and private information is easy to get because of the numerous avenues.

The challenges and risks presented by technological advancements could be managed better if people understood their roles. I Know You aims to improve how people understand tradeoffs and compromises involved in technology. This is in a bid to improve the information technology domain. It will also bolster people's decision-making, thus improving the entire technology sector in information security. Furthermore, I Know You will partner with schools to explore introducing its services in curricula. This will integrate the creation of awareness in education to make it sustainable in the long term.

Goals

I Know You will focus on various issues in the creation of awareness. They will also be the foundation of the company's functions and operations. The two are elements that dictate the company's goals, both short term and long term. First, information technology has become a data-driven domain due to technological advancements. The need for information will only increase and, therefore, need to put safeguards in place. Second, people are a primary information technology component that necessitates educating them. Third, it bolsters the detection of early warning signs of malice and attacks through vigilance. All short term and long term goals will align with confidentiality, integrity, availability, assurance, and accountability (Walden, 2020). The five are the main goals of information security.

Long Term

As a company, I Know You will look to achieve many targets in the next five years ranging from operations and outcomes. Various metrics will be designed to quantify and qualify the efforts made by the company in its domain. The growth, adoption and retention rate will be a significant element in the operations of I Know You. It will dictate the strategy for the succeeding five-year period. The long term goals of I Know You are to:

● Educate users about the risks and appropriate countermeasures for cyber security

● Design/pilot a curriculum program in a school's computing department within five years

● Integrate the company’s operations into a minimum of 20 organizations

● Tailor a framework for implementing cyber security awareness based on best practices in the integrations done by the company.

Short Term

Achieving the company's long term goals will be a function of many short-term things done right. I Know You will leverage the short term goals as steps for growth, but that must start somewhere first. The critical metrics for short term goals are market share, customer value, website content & traffic, customer engagement, and margins. In the first three months, the company will pilot a program in an institution that handles big data. The outcomes will generate insights into how the company will structure itself for the strategic implementation of its goals. Other short term goals of I Know You are to:

● Create and promote a web platform and web services for customers

● Identify the risks, threats and vulnerabilities in computing and information systems

● Establish and design countermeasures to various cyber threats and risks

● Identify patterns and frequency of cyber-attacks related to personal data

● Implement a training program for employees in the first six months

● Position I Know You as an integral federal consultant on cybersecurity awareness

Environmental Analysis

I Know You will operate in a discipline with many entities and components. ICT is an ever-changing domain. Parameters and variables in the discipline are constantly morphing from one to the next, often progressing in functionality and efficiency. Some different factors and forces impact the functions of the company. Some are external, and others are internal for I Know You. This section focuses on the external factors that the company has no control over. Political, economic, socio-cultural, technological and legal factors alongside competition have varied impact levels and capacities on the business.

Competitive Analysis

Multinational entities in cybersecurity are the main competitors to I Know You. This is mainly because they have a massive outreach and command a considerable market share in ICT. A few changes in their operations can raise them into dominance in cybersecurity awareness. The only hurdle is that their operations and services are aimed at specific elements in ICT. Consultants in information security and related experts also present major competition for clients in the federal and corporate entities the company targets. They specialize in specific elements of information security and boast of years of experience.

The cyber security ecosystem incorporates many stakeholders who serve a specific role. Compliance and regulatory frameworks set by governance authorities make indirect competition to the company. They advocate dealing with cyber security issues through policy, best practices, and standardization. While they are not directly involved with the domains of I Know You, their policies and standards create an industry-wide wave of change. Some changes can quickly render the company redundant in its operations. Data protection agencies also pose an indirect threat as competitors for their contributions to InfoSec.

The stakeholders in the domain have some form of competition in the line of business I Know You will explore. The company differentiates itself by offering specifically tailored solutions to existing challenges. Independently, they pose little to no threat to the I Know You, but they are a formidable competitor if they collaborate. They focus on cyber security as a whole instead of specificity. Each of them is aligned with a role/function in ICT security, but very few focus on creating awareness.

Economic Analysis

Cybersecurity educational plans for the awareness ecosystem command high costs that may be too high to settle. Inflation is a significant factor and impacts the economy and initiative directly. It will be an even bigger issue in the long term when the undertaking is implemented into the educational system. The unemployment rate and policies made to cater for the same is an avenue for risks, threats and vulnerabilities.

Federal agencies and companies hire entry-level teams with limited skills due to unemployment. They handle basics and minor roles and the same people who interact with information systems. Cost savings and unemployment rates effectively become a concern (Vazquez, 2019). Policies should promote information security regardless of the setting, which needs progressive and visionary economic strategies.

Political and Legal Analysis

Politics and legal frameworks have a major impact on educating people on cyber security because they are associated with governance. The lack of a critical regulatory framework in information security is a significant issue, alongside inadequacy of coordination or lack thereof. Training systems in place are also limited due to a shortage of skills. It makes them inefficient even while working optimally. Finally, a critical challenge in implementing cyber security is that change agents focus more on change politics than on actual change.

Information security and awareness creation on the same have been politicized so much. This is because players are interested in collaborations that require more integrations. Strangely, no public/federal entity works in standardizing roles of professionals in cybersecurity. The lack of skills necessary to upgrade the domain emanates from a knowledge gap that exists. In addition, variations in regulations for safety, taxes, and trade significantly affect the standardization of legal components in cyber security.

Technological Analysis

The dynamism of technology is the most significant factor that will affect I Know You's operations. It constantly creates new challenges in the sector through advancements. The benefits drawn from them cannot be understated, and thus, the need to counter challenges for better efficiency. Another crucial player in cyber security is the Internet. It has been a massive component of the connectivity of systems and integration for superior convenience and functionalities. However, it has created a new set of challenges that awareness must address. Most of the exposure points and backdoors have been exploited via the Internet.

Government spending on technology in the past has primarily been on adoption. Systems integration is the current stage of technological growth in the US to facilitate collaborations. The federal government has been focused on implementing information security directly. Efforts are mainly directed at monitoring tools and techniques. They address the direct issues in systems but leave out the most important, educating the users. People are the ones that engage with systems and it can only be right that they are prioritized. Their efforts create a major shift by reducing threats and vulnerabilities with the proper knowledge.

Sociocultural Forces Analysis

The growing culture in the present is a generation that favors functionality and flashiness over security. Buying behaviors in technology mainly radiate from the need for a resource. Such an approach should be controlled by introducing the need to evaluate technology security. It has been established that the technology used contributes significantly to security. Devices must be the first security level by introducing device-level security standards. The lack of a dedicated curriculum to address this issue has been a downside to cyber security.

Stereotypes do not help in cyber security. Instead, they propagate misconceptions that oppose cybersecurity efforts and initiatives. Diversity in the workplace creates heterogeneity in cultures and effectively influences the organizational culture. Gender balance has also introduced new variables to the cyber security domain. For example, men and women have different media consumption and information access methods. The variations in the use of technology in gender and culture are significant factors that affect cybersecurity adoption. Customers need solutions that work regardless of gender or culture in an organization.

SWOT Analysis

The line of business of I Know You will primarily be service-based. There are tools and techniques to protect from threats and vulnerabilities actively. I Know You will leverage its strengths to implement operations successfully in its operations. Weaknesses will be used as learning avenues and a basis for deriving new strategic opportunities. The firm will need to understand the factors that threaten its efforts in all the activities.

SWOT Analysis

Note: Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for I Know You company.

 Strengths

I Know You will be different from most players in the cybersecurity ecosystem. The primary focus will be on creating awareness instead of opponents who consider it secondary. I Know You will have the edge because it is a specialty entity instead of a diverse one. The company will be targeting specific organizations at the federal government level. Additional issues can be dealt with through third parties to bridge the gap. It will tailor comprehensive approaches for people and specific solutions for organizations and federal agencies. Doing this increases the appeal the company has among its customers.

Weaknesses

The lack of skills needed to deliver the services will be a significant issue. The level of customer targeting done by the company requires a very high level of expertise. For instance, the federal government requires a set of certifications for any of its technical consultants and suppliers. The scope chosen by the company should be extensive and effective for its budget. However, the reality is that other factors strain resources. The company's success in creating awareness relies heavily on acceptance from people (Ramluckan & Martins, 2020). Resistance to changes in habits required of them can cause problems to undertakings.

Opportunities

Competition is a significant issue for the stakeholders in cyber security education. It is a good and productive issue if competitors can leverage their knowledge and skills to create harmonious solutions. Entities in the private and public sectors should work together for unified solutions and funding of initiatives. I Know You will be well-positioned to create training programs for everyone in the next five years. Their programs will be efficient and based on best practices established during the implementation of its activities.

Threats

Funding from the federal government is crucial to the success of I Know You and its initiatives. The focus on cyber security politics influences the direction the federal government takes. There may be factions that advocate for various other ICT issues that can be deemed a higher priority. The factions disrupt the harmony in the industry.

Conclusion

Information security is a critical concern for all stakeholders in ICT. The focus has been on detecting and resolving systems challenges through active means. It is time to deal with the problem at its source, the people. I Know You is a perfectly positioned entity to balance the issue by reaching out to the relevant entities. It will also deal with people to help proactively fight cyber threats and risks. The current market and environmental factors are aligned with the need for a change of tact in handling cyber security. I Know You targets ideal customers as entities that actively deal in large volumes of personal data. 

References

Ramluckan, T., & Martins, B. V. N. I. (2020, June). A Change Management Perspective to Implementing a Cyber Security Culture. In ECCWS 2020 20th European Conference on Cyber Warfare and Security (p. 442). Academic Conferences and publishing limited.

Vazquez, J. C. B. (2019). The Influence of Demographic Factors on the Cybersecurity Awareness Level of Individuals in an Academic Environment.

Walden, A. U. R. G. (2020). Creating cybersecurity awareness. Strategic Finance.