- Technology Involved
- Hardware
Inhouse hardware
Tesla has a complicated IT hardware infrastructure formed of desktop computers, tablets, data storage servers, CCTVs, and robots, known as X-men, to achieve optimum use and benefit of technology. Furthermore, With the amount of technology involved in its cars and other products, Tesla made sure to use strong and fast hardware in order to power its Computer-Based Information Systems (CBIS).
- Software
- Inhouse Software (Warp)
Tesla relies on a group of integrated operating systems to reach its goals from decision support systems to cloud systems and others. One of Tesla’s core management systems is Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), which is software designed to carry out daily administrative tasks such as administrative, financial, and commercial work, as well as its wide use in managing transportation processes, optimizing data, and managing risks and non-compliance. Tesla’s ERP is developed in-house and is defined within Tesla as (Warp) and is an integrated managerial, financial and operational system that meets Tesla’s massive requirements.
- Networks & Telecommunication
- Telefónica and KPN
Telefónica and KPN, two European operator companies, are two of Tesla’s declared M2M partners. Under the terms of the deal, the operator will offer in-car connectivity for Tesla’s Model S in numerous European nations.
Moreover, Tesla makes use of Wide Area Enterprise Networks (WANs) backed up by strong mainframe computers in order to connect its offices around the globe.
- Information Security
With hundreds of threats affecting Tesla and its data, especially the enormous amounts of data they gather and the fact that a Tesla’s car can be stolen entirely through hacking and no need for physical intervention, Tesla has taken protective measures to protect its customer cars:
- Using access controls by using a smart key for the customer to open the car
- Communication controls using encryption for the data moving through the network.
- Data Management
- Methods for Managing Data
Tesla gathers large amounts of data using its car sensors that are scattered all around the world. Data of this size is considered to be Big Data, and as we all know, big data has many issues, including:
- Big data is dirty and must be filtered, with many errors in the sensors.
- Big data changes a lot depending on the weather and street conditions
But with a company the size of Tesla and with the huge investments of money in R&D, large amounts of data are inevitable, and such data must be managed and processed properly in order to use the resulting information to gain competitive advantages.
Hence, Tesla makes strong use of Data Mining for the data in Data Warehouses and Data Marts in order to find trends.
To make up for the cost of these processes, Tesla has opted to sell these data for the users through monetization in order to provide them with better and more tailored driving experience.
- Advantages
The advantages of Data Monetization and collecting data using customer cars are:
- Tesla’s method of data collection and utilization is simple, inexpensive, and has no negative effects on the business, the consumer, or the functioning of the car.
- Assuming consumers are interested in purchasing this information, Tesla has a simple opportunity to increase revenue.
- Disadvantages:
- Privacy and ethics issues appear as Tesla try to sell data that does not belong to them.
- Identifying The Stakeholders
Recall that systems stakeholders are “everyone who is affected by changes in a company’s information systems-for example, users and managers.” (Rainer, Prince & Watson, p. 34).
The main system stakeholders in Tesla are:
- Owners of Tesla, as each update to the company’s computer systems necessitates new software, which must be downloaded from Tesla’s website and installed individually for each car. Stakeholders, in this case the client, may either benefit or suffer from these shifts.
- The community, even if they do not own a Tesla automobile themselves, may feel the effects of the shift in technology, especially software utilized in cars. A faulty automated driving aide, for instance, might lead to accidents.
