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INFOSYS.110 BUSINESS SYSTEMS:

DELIVERABLE 2: BUSINESS SECTION
2014

Name Nick Wotton
NetID Nwot194
Group Number: 145
Website Link: http://infosys110group145.blogspot.co.nz/
Tutorial Details
Tutor: Day: Time:
Helen Tuesday 3pm
Time Spent on
Assignment:
21 hours Word Count: 1455

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THE SMART ELECTRIC BLANKET
INTRODUCTION
Lack of sleep, or poor sleeping habits, is a massive problem in todays society. With the
forever increasing pressure work, school, etc is putting on people, sleep is becoming
increasingly scarce for some. In order to function at optimum levels during the day, it is
important to make the most out of the hours one spends in bed.(Gilvert, Van den Heuvel,
Ferguson , & Dawson, 2004) reports that if body temperature fluctuates throughout the night,
one will have broken sleep, and upon waking up, will feel sleep deprived, tired, and sluggish.
(Reissig, Strain, & Griffiths, 2008) also reports that lack of sleep can lead to insomnia, which
furthers sleeping problems. There are many proven ways in which the quality and quantity of
sleep can be improved, but nothing physical that is convincingly proven to create a better
nights sleep. Scott (2013) reports on studies that have found links between lung damage
and the prevalence of asthma in children that sleep in cold temperatures Pryor (2013)
produced a report that a 1 degree drop throughout the night can lead to decreased lung
functions. Because of this we have created an advanced version of the electric blanket. The
smart electric blanket has regulatory systems and sensors. What this does is collects
information from its surrounding environments and the body temperature of the person
sleeping on it.


3. BUSINESS SECTION
3.1 Vision
To increase both quality and quanity of sleep to increase quality of life
3.2 Industry Analysis
Industry: Sleep improvement.
Force: High/Low: Justification:
Buyer power: High The concentration of buyers in the market is high,
which in turn means buyer bargaining leverage is
high.
Supplier power: Low There is low supplier concentration because there
are many suppliers in which could provide us with
the suppliers we need, therefore reliance on

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suppliers is low.
Threat of new entrants: High There is a high threat of new entrants, because
with technology evolving it is possible that new
and improved ways to optimise sleep levels are
created.
Threat of substitutes: high The threat of substitutes is high as consumers
may believe that substitutes such as sleeping pills
are adequate enough to ensure they have a
quality sleep.
Rivalry among existing
competitors:
Low The rivalry among existing competitors is low
because there is nothing else like our product on
the market.
Overall attractiveness of the industry: High. This is because there is low rivalry between existing
competitors, and this couple with the fact that there is no other product similar to this on the
market makes the sleep improvement industry a highly lucrative industry to enter. Our
ground breaking technology ultimately cancels out the fact that the threat of substitutes is
initialy high, because in time the effectiveness of our product will be proven and thus the
threat of substitutes, and the reliance on those subsitutes will diminish.
3.3 Customers and Thei r Needs
The potential customer base for the product is large. This is because every person on the
planet requires sleep. There is also a need for this product for each age group. For young
children it is important to prevent disease and infection while a childs immune system is
strengthening; and it is also important for people between the ages of 12 and upwards. This
is because from 12 humans are subject to more stressful events in their lives such as high
school, and often romantic relationships. It is because of this that all humans need to find a
way to optimise their quality and quantity of sleep, in order to ensure maximin functionality
during their day to day acitivities.
3.4 The Product and Service
Our product satisfies the needs of our customers because of its many aspects in which work
together to provide a better nights sleep. For example, The smart electric blanket has
regulatory systems and sensors. What this does is collects information from its surrounding
environments and the body temperature of the person sleeping on it. The smart electric
blanket then adapts its own temperature to ensure the buyer is sleeping in a climate which
will ensure they have a quality nights sleep. It also has kinetic sensors which detect

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movement to show what sleep stages a person is in throughout the night. It then feeds
information to a computer or a device so that the blanket can understand at what
temperature one is at their most peace. Advances in the smart blanket will allow you to
integrate your blanket with your smart phones smart alarm apps, which wake you up in a
better sleep cycle by placing your phone next to you while you sleep (Sport.com, 2013)


3.5 Suppliers and Partners
A supplier for The Smart Electric Blanket would be computer programmers who have the
knowledge to be able to install a device in which can read ones sleep patterns, as well as
being able to turn that information into a better sleeping environment, so to speak. In a
sense that means the blanket must also be able to read the information and transmit
information to differing climates and temperatures. A potential partner would be the
government of New Zealand. This is because it is in their best interests to ensure the
countrys people as a whole are thriving and are as productive as possible, therefore they
may look to subsidise our product to ensure it is in as many homes as possible.
3.6 Strategy: Product differenti ation.
The smart electric blankes would target a large market because everyone in the world
sleeps. Therefore the strategy we would look to implicate is product differentiation. It is
important our product is cutting edge and makes a difference to peoples lives.
The overall strategy is therefore: Product differentiation.
3.7 Value Chain Activity: Research and Development
The most important value chain activity for this business is research and development. It is
important that the information gathered by the smart electric blanket is developed and is
used to further look into how sleep can be improved, whether that be through the use of our
product or not. It is important that people are getting the best sleep possible so it is important
to go to great lengths to ensure this is achieved.
3.8 Business Processes

3.8.1 Market Research Process: It is important that prior to manufacturing our product that
we survey communities to ensure people are willing to purchase a product that is going to
improve their sleep patterns. Just as importantly, we must work to ensure people have faith
in our product and believe as much as we do that it will work and will overall improve their
quality of life.

3.8.2 Software Development Process: It is important that the consumer actually does get a
better nights sleep after purchasing the product, so we must get as much in depth feedback
as possible from consumers to ensure we can continuously develop our product/software so
that optimum sleep levels are reached

3.9 Functionalities

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3.9.1. MARKET RESEARCH PROCESS
-SURVEY RESULTS ARE DI SPLAYED
-THE RESULTS GATHERED ARE ABLE TO BE INTERPRETED

3.9.2. SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
-CUSTOMERS FEEDBACK I S NOTED
-SOFTWARE IS DEVELOPED
CONCLUSION

The Smart Electric Blanket is aimed at all New Zealanders, and in fact all people around the world. Anyone who
wishes to improve their quality of sleep can do so with this product. The attractiveness of the industry is high
for us, but after the development of this product is may become low as their might not be a market for a
product as advanced as the smart electric blanket. It is important for us to continuously get feedback from
consumers, both who have the product and who dont. We would monitor the mindset of those who dont to
see if our product appeals to those who do not own it as well as those who do. Information systems would
provide value by transmitting and development information quickly and efficiently so that consumers are
getting the best nights sleep they possibly can.


REFERENCES
Gilvert, S. s., Van den Heuvel, C. J., Ferguson , S. A., & Dawson, D. (2004). Thermoregulation as a sleep
signalling system. Sleep Medicine Review, 81-93.
Pryor, N. (2013, August 16). Lung Damage from one cold night. Retrieved from Stuff:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/9051872/Lung-damage-from-one-cold-night
Reissig, C., Strain, E., & Griffiths, R. (2008, September 21). Caffeinated Energy Drinks-A growing
Problem. Retrieved from National Center for Biotechnology Infomation:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2735818/
Scott, E. (2013, August 16). Cold rooms damage kids' lungs - study. Retrieved from 3 News:
http://www.3news.co.nz/Cold-rooms-damage-kids-lungs---
study/tabid/423/articleID/309291/Default.aspx
Sport.com. (2013). Smart Alarm. Retrieved from Sport.com:
http://sport.com/smart_alarm_clock.html

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