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So far throughout this course, you have been looking at different facets of the company from database needs and options to website needs and options. For your Milestone Four assignment, you will be looking at hardware and software needs and hardware and software options. You will be using the Milestone Four section of the template to complete this assignment. Refer to the Sharpe Style scenario for details on the current state of the company and the business owner’s goals. 

Begin your response by explaining why it is important to consider the current IT infrastructure when integrating new e-commerce features to a website (the specifics of which you looked at last module). Discuss how the business’s current IT affects the costs of data storage and processing. You should also discuss how the current business’s current IT affects customer satisfaction with the purchasing experience. 

Next, explain the hardware and software infrastructure currently in place at Sharpe Style. Refer to the scenario and the Final Project Template for an IT flowchart depicting the hardware and software in place. Use the flowchart to describe what the company has, and state what it is the company lacks. Draw conclusions for how the current state is negatively impacting business processes. 

Now that you have systematically gone through and identified needs and options to present to Mary Sharpe to help her migrate into online sales, complete the Matrix of Options in Appendix C of the Final Project Template to help organize the research you have done to persuasively communicate your ideas. See the prompt in the Appendix of your Final Project Template. 

After completing your matrix of options, you can now address some additional considerations. For example, what compatibility issues exist with the different options? Explain your response in terms of how these issues affect the business process. 

In proposing solutions to these conclusions, what factors should the business owner consider when deciding whether to use in-house or external IT resources and services such as cloud computing or companies that specialize in hosting online stores? What are the short-term and long-term trade-offs? 

Use the Milestone Four section of the template as well as Appendix C, and submit the template to your instructor for feedback. Remember to incorporate instructor feedback before your final submission in Module Seven. 

For additional details, please refer to the Milestone Four Guidelines and Rubric document and the Final Project Guidelines and Rubric document in the Assignment Guidelines and Rubrics section of the course.