222  Blockchain

towards draft regulatory papers. IOSpeed also needs to be flexible

in adopting the regulations as and when they get finalised promptly,

meeting regulator requirements. This becomes more complex based

on the IOSpeed strategy to launch the platform in multiple countries.

• IOSpeed needs to review political policies towards blockchain before

deciding on to launch a platform in a specific country as it can impact

the timelines of the launch as well as becomes a bottleneck.

• On top of political policies of a government, it is a good idea and also

recommended to assess the political stability of the country before

targeting it for business launch.

• It is recommended to review existing as well as upcoming tax policies

towards blockchain in a country that is under review for the business

launch. A review might highlight taxation policy to be against the

strategy or in favour.

• It is recommended to review the employment laws in the country

before targeting it for business launch. Some countries have strict

employee unions or employment laws that might be against the strate-

gic goals and might slow down the strategy execution.

• IOSpeed had a business in United Kingdom and so are well verse with

UK laws, the political system, and employment laws; however, they

need to do a deep dive for other targeted countries. It will involve

budget allocation and time to do a thorough assessment on external

factors before the launch of the business in those countries.

Understand the internal environment and our position

A good understanding of the internal environment and where IOSpeed

stands is as important as knowing about the external environment. As part

of the IOSpeed organisation analysis, there are several factors that need

to be reviewed before formulating the strategy and strategic outcomes.

The following are some of the factors that are strengths and others that are

opportunities to improve for IOSpeed.

• As part of the IOSpeed organisation assessment, it was highlighted

that there was a high turnover of staff and artists and also loss of

some customers. IOSpeed must define some strategic objectives within

the upcoming strategy to retain existing employees, artists and cus-

tomers as well as attract new ones.

• IOSpeed went through restructuring, and one of the main elements

that have already been accomplished was to change the leadership

team. The new strategy should include capability uplift of the leader-

ship team to educate the new management about the historical weak-

nesses/gaps, so new strategic programmes could be well defined as

part of the strategic objectives.