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MIS lecture 5

Terms

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IT infrastructure
includes hardware, software, and serices.
- a set of physical devices and software applications that are required to operate the entire enterprise.
Three main levels of infrastructure
public, enterprise, business unit
public intfrastructure includes:
Internet, telephone network, industry network, cable systems, cellular networks
enterprise-wide infrastructure includes:
email, corporate website, enterprise systems, corporate-wide intranets
business unit infrastructure includes:
order processing, production systems, transaction systems, customer data, vendor data.
Evolution of IT infrastructure
- electronic accounting machine era (1930-1950)
- general-purpose mainframe and minicomputer era (1959-present)
- personal computer era (1931-present)
- client/server era (1983-present)
- enterprise internet computing era (1992-present)
Moore's Law
assertation that the number of components on a chip doubles every year.
- the power of microprocessors doubles every 18 months
- computing power doubles every 18 months
- the price of computing falls by half every 18 months
Law of Mass Digital Storage
the amountof digital information is roughly doubling every year.
- the cost of storing digital information is falling at an exponential rate
Metcalfe's law and network economics
there are increasing returns to scale for network members as more and more people join the network
- as the number of members in a network grows linearly, the value of the entire system grows exponentially
declining communication costs and the internet
communication costs are declining rapidly, causing more people to utilize facilities
Technology standards
specifications that establish the compatibility of products and the ability to communicate in a network
Seven major IT infrastructure components (must be coordinated to provide the firm with a coherent IT infrastructure)
1. computer hardware
2. operating systems
3. enterprise software
4.networking/telecommunications
5. consultants and system integrators
6. data management and storage
7. internet
computer hardware platforms
intel, AMD, IBM, Dell

- server market increasingly dominated by inexpensive generic processors from the same manufacturers
operating systems platform
Microsoft OS dominates client and handheld market

Linux is growing in corporate server market

Windows 2002 and 2003 Server remains strong in smaller enterprises and workgroup networks
Enterprise Software Applications
the enterprise market is consolidating around a few huge firms that have gained a signficant market share such as SAP and Oracle

Microsoft is expanding into smaller firm enterprise systems where it can build on its Windows server-installed base
Data Management and Storage
Oracle and IBM dominate th e database software market

Microsoft (SQL Server) and Sybase tend to serve smaller firms

Open source Linux MySQL now supported by HP - inexpensive - used in small to midsize firms
Networking / Telecommunications
local area networking still dominated by microsoft serer but strong growth of lunix challenge this dominance

enterprise networking almost entirely lunix or unix

cisco, lucent, nortel, and juniper networks continue to dominate network hardware

telecommunications services market is highly dynamic with MCI, AT&T, and Sprint providing most trunk line services for both phone and internet

growth of non-telephone Wi-Fi and Wi-Max services, and Internet telephony
Intenet Platforms
internet hardware server market concentrated in Dell, HP, and IBM

prices fall rapdily for low-power servers

open-source Apache remains the dominant Web server software, followed by Microsoft's IIS server

Sun's Java grows as the most widely used tool for interactive Web application
Consulting and System Integration Services
most firms need signifant outside help in order to develop their systems

integration services invole integrating data, and applications in a firm

connecting new applications and systems to legacy systems


IBM has transformed itself into a systems integration firm with IBM Global Services, the largest system integration firm
Integrating Computing and Telecommunications Platforms at the CLIENT LEVEL
itegration of cell phones and PDAs

- TV, video, and radio move toward digital production
Integrating Computing and Telecommunications Platforms at the SERVER LEVEL
the integration of voice telephone and the Internet bring together two historically separate and distinct global networks

network is the source of computing power
Grid Computing
involves connecting geographically remote computers into a single network capable of working in parallel on business problems that require short-term access to a large computational capacity

firms can chain together thousands of smaller desktop clients into a single compting grid

grid computing saves infrastructure spending, increases speed of computing, and increases the agility of firms
On-Demand (Utility) Computing
firms off-loading peak demand for computing power to remote, large-scale data processing centers

developed by IBM, HP, and Sun

firms pay only for the computing power they use

excellent for firms with spiked demand curves caused by seasonal variations in consumer demand

saves firms from purchasing excessive levels of infrastructure
Autonomic Computing
compuer systems (both hardware and software) have become so complex that the cost of managing them has risen

30-50% of a company's IT budget is spent preventing or recovering from system crashes

operator error is most common cause of crashes

autonomic computer is an industry-wide effort to develop systems that can:
- configure, optimize, and tune themselves
-heal themselves when broken
-protect themselves from outside intruders and self-destruction
Edge computing
a multitier, load-balancing scheme for Web-based applications

processing load is distributed closer to the user and handled by lower-cost servers

lowers cost of hardware

increases serice levels

provides firm greater flexibility in responding to service requests

seasonal spikes in demand can be off-loaded to other edge servers
4 major themes in contemporary software platform evolution
- linux and open-source software
- java
- web services and service-oriented architecture
- software outsourcing
Linux and Open-Source Software
open-source software is free and can be modified by users

developed and maintained by a worldwide network of programmers and designers under the management of user communities

linux is the most widely used open-source software program (derived from unix)
open-source software
software that provides free access to its program code, allowing users to modify the program code to make improvements or fix errors
Linux
reliable and compactly designed operating system that is an offshoot of Unix, that can run on many different hardware platforms, and that is available for free or at very low cost
- used as alternative to Unix and Microsoft Windows NT
Java
an operating system - independent, processor-independent, object-oriented programming language

applications written in java can run on any hardware for which a java virtual machine has been defined

java is embedded in PDAs, cell phones, and browsers

java is leading interactive programming environment for the web
software for enterprise integration
one of the most important software trends of the last decade is the growth of "enterprise in a box" or the purchase of enterprise-wide software systems by firms

rather than build all their own software on a custom basis, large firms increasinly purchase enterprise applications prewritten by specialized software firms like SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, etc.

the goal is to achieve an integrated firm-wide information environment, reduce cost, increase reliability, and adopt business best practices which are captured by the software

enterprise software firms achieve economies of scale by selling the same software to hundreds of firms
Web services
an alternative to enterprise systems is to use new Web-based standards to create a communication platform allowing older applications to communication with newer applications

web services refers to a set of loosely coupled software components that exchange information with each other using web communcation standards and language

web services permit computer programs to communicate with one another and share information without rewriting applications, or disturbing older legacy systems
Service-Oriented Architecture
SOA refers to the use of Web services in a firm to achieve integreation among disparate applications and platforms

applications are integrated so that information stored on various systems can be brought together and fed into newer applications running on more contemporary equipment

SOA is generally less expensive than rebuilding all the older applications and adopting a new enterprise-wide system
Software Outsourcing - 3 types
- purchase of software packages
- using application service providers
- custom outsourcing
Purchase of Software Packages and Enterprise Software
enterprise software packages: prewritten off-the-shelf software

- a business that delivers and manages appications and comptuer services from remote computer centers to multiple users using the Internet or a private network

- rather than purchase hardware and software, firms can go onto the Intenet and find providers who offer the same functionality over the entertainment, and charge on a per-user or license basis
Software Outsourcing of Custom Applications
a firm contracts customer software development or maintenance of existing legacy programs to outside firms, often in low-wage countries
Competitive forces model - how much should a firm spend on IT infrastructure
1. market demand for your firm's customer services, supplier services, and enterprise services
2. your firm's business strategy
3. you firm's IT strategy, infrastructure and cost
4. IT
5. competitor firms' IT services
6. competitor firms' IT infrastructure investments
total cost of ownership of technology assets includes:
- hardware acquisition
- software acquisition
- installation
- training
- support
- maintenance
- infrastructure requirements
- downtime
- space and energy

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