Introduction to IT -D322 WGU

Flashcards for this course in WGU

What Is Information Technology?

Information technology is the technology used to create, maintain, and make information available. IT manages and supports the technologies needed to develop, maintain, and use computer hardware and software, along with network connectivity and performance.

Systems

A system is a collection of elements that interact to achieve a common goal.

User Support

Every user across an organization has a different level of experience with technology. As such, IT professionals must provide various levels of support to enable employees to complete their tasks.

Data and Information Management

The IT function focuses on the efficient storage and dissemination of organization data and information to support its effective use.

Networks

Networks support communication between the elements of an IT system.

Systems Integration

Information technology infrastructure includes a variety of different systems.

Software Development

Software systems implement various algorithms that transform data from one form into another, perform calculations, manipulate files, or complete other tasks that may be repetitive, time-consuming, or dangerous to an employee.

Business Analysis

This process is for organizations to benefit from improving and optimizing their operations. With the rapid changes in the IT field, organizations must constantly investigate, assess, and plan for new or replacement systems provided by vendors or developed internally.

Security

Business decisions often rely on sensitive data that should only be handled by specific parties. Unauthorized access could result in data loss or modifications, exposure of data to competitors, or disruptions in availability that affect the normal course of the business.

Web Development

Websites can generally be classified as either intranet, internet, or extranet. Resources available for the public are on the internet, including commercial sites (e-commerce), blogs, social media, and news.

Business Intelligence

An organization creates and gathers large quantities of data during the course of business. The data, when appropriately organized and analyzed, may tell compelling stories about the current state of the organization or the industry as a whole, its customers’ needs and wants, or specific trends that support informed decision-making.

Project Management

The maintenance of an organization’s IT infrastructure includes various projects to ensure continuous functionality and implement improvements or technology changes within the general organizational IT strategy.

Outsourcing Services

The cost of maintaining the IT infrastructure of an organization might not always justify the existence of an in-house IT department.

The Computing Disciplines

Computing is generally understood as any activity that uses a computer to manage, process, or share information.

In 1948

The Manchester Mark 1 was one of the first ever stored-program computers.

In 1954

IBM sold 450 of its first mass-produced computer in just one year. The IBM Model 650 magnetic data storage allowed faster access to stored information than other machines at the time.

In 1958

The first large-scale computer communications. Network SAGE connects 23 computer sites in the US and Canada.

In 1960

The DEC PDP-1 computer systems retailed for approximately $120,000 and required only one operator.

In 1968

Data General introduces the Nova minicomputer. It has 32 KB memory and sold for $9,900. The Nova computers were popular throughout the 1970’s and influenced many later systems.

In 1971

Intel introduces the first microprocessor the Intel 4004 which could perform up to 90,000 operations per second.

1976

Steve Wozniak creates the first Apple I® with friend Steve Jobs. With an order for 50 assembled systems they started Apple Computer Inc.

In 1977

Apple II® sold with keyboard, case, manual game paddles and cassette tape containing the game breakout.

In 1978

Atari launches Model 400 and 800 computers using the marketing slogan of “Computers for People.”

In 1981

MS-DOS, the Microsoft operating system, became the most licensed operating system. Sony introduces the 3 ½ inch floppy drive and diskettes, which became the microfloppy standard for portable storage.

1982-1983

CD-ROMs able to hold 550 MB of prerecorded data are developed by Philips. Microsoft announces Microsoft Word® and by 1989 it became a global word processing standard.

In 1984

Apple launches the Macintosh, the first successful mouse-driven computer with a graphical user interface and a 68000 microprocessor. Compaq Computer Corporation introduces the first 100% compatible computer, the Compaq portable that can run the same software as the IBM PC.

In 1986

Compaq introduces the first computer to use the new 80386 chip, a 32-bit microprocessor with 4 million operations per second and 4 KB of memory.

In 1990

Tim Berners-Lee invents the World Wide Web at CERN in Switzerland. The web is made publicly available on 6 August 1991.

In 1992

JPEG (Joint Photographic Expert Group) creates a set of standards for digital images.

In 1993

Mosaic, the first popular browser for the web, is created. Online advertisements on the web begin. By the end of the decade, over 360 million users are active on the web.

In 1994

CompactFlash memory storage is introduced by SanDisk and becomes popular. Sony releases the Playstation® console and becomes a dominant player in the home gaming market.

In 1997

IBM’s Deep Blue chess computer defeats world chess champion Gary Kasparov. Text messaging becomes the norm after commencing in 1992 accelerated by the introduction of the Nokia 6110, the Blackberry, and other mobile phones.

In 2000

First camera phones are introduced. USB flash drives are introduced for data storage and backing up as well as transferring files between devices.

In 2001

iTunes released for the Mac operating system only as a media player and management tool. By 2013, over 25 billion songs had been downloaded from the iTunes store.

In 2006

The verb “to google” was added to the Oxford English and Merriam-Webster dictionaries. Amazon Web Services launches cloud-based services allowing users to rent virtual time on the cloud to scale server capacity.

In 2007

Amazon Kindle is released. Apple iPhone is released with apps available from the Apple Store. Google’s Android mobile platform followed.

In 2010

Apple iPad is released with a nine-inch screen and without a phone. The device has been adapted for thousands of different applications.

In 2011

Adobe Creative Cloud is announced as a subscription model of distribution for its major software products.

In 2012

Raspberry Pi, a small single board computer, is released as a tool to promote science education. Each weighs 45 grams and is initially sold for $25-35 USD.

In 2013

Microsoft Office 365 is announced offering Microsoft’s product suite online for a subscription.

In 2014

Apple Pay mobile payment system is introduced into Apple’s product ecosystem.

In 2015

Apple Watch is released incorporating Apple iOS operating system with sensors for environment and health monitoring.

In 2019

Oculus releases the Oculus Rift S with a 2,560 x 1,440 LCD and one more camera facing upwards.

System Administrator

This administrator is responsible for providing technical support for hardware and software issues end users encounter, such as log-in issues.

Network Administrator

This administrator is responsible for designing, planning, setting up, and maintaining an organization’s network.

Database Administrator

This administrator is responsible for installing and configuring databases.

Security Administrator

This administrator is responsible for installing, administering, and troubleshooting network security issues.

Web Administrator

This administrator is responsible for troubleshooting error messages employees encounter when attempting to access their organization’s website.

Cloud Architect

This architect is responsible for overseeing a company’s cloud computing systems.

Network Architect

This architect is responsible for designing networks and monitoring traffic.

Automation Architect

Is responsible for modernizing business processes and developing reasons or rationales for or against a process being automated.

Cybersecurity Architect

This architect is responsible for designing, building, testing, and implementing security systems within an organization’s information technology network.

Machine Learning Engineer

This engineer is responsible for allowing an organization to take full control of its data.

Software Engineer

These engineers design and develop software that makes hardware and software systems work, including operating systems, database systems, and embedded systems.

Network Engineer

Hardware engineers, network designers, and network engineers set up, configure, maintain, and upgrade systems where data resides and that support the exchange of information, including communication systems and networks.

Cloud Engineer

These engineers, cloud security engineers, cloud system engineers, and cloud network engineers use their technical and analytical skills to help companies identify opportunities for migrating a part or all of their infrastructure to the cloud, supporting the more efficient use of resources and improving IT operations.

Technical Support

This support specialist supports, monitors, and maintains workplace technology and responds to user requests for help.

Systems Analyst

These analysts, product specialists, systems engineers, solutions specialists, and technical designers investigate business problems and create information systems to provide solutions.

Data Analysis

Organizations gather data from customers and internal operations to identify opportunities to improve business operations.

Security Analyst

This analyst is responsible for monitoring an organization's network for security breaches.

Cybersecurity Specialist

These specialists work with organizations to keep their information systems secure and ensure integrity, confidentiality, and availability of data.

Technical Consultant

These consultants, IT consultants, or IT specialists provide technical expertise by developing and implementing IT systems for external clients.

Project Managers

This manager organizes people, time, and other resources to make sure projects meet requirements and are completed on time and within budget.

Web Developer

They build and maintains websites and their infrastructure. Web developers are also called web designers, web producers, and internet engineers.

Software Tester

This tester is responsible for creating, documenting, and executing manually created test plans and procedures relating to system anomalies.

Technical Sales

These IT professionals in the role of sales or account managers identify and help clients adopt IT services or technologies.

The Data Pyramid

Information is defined in terms of data, information, knowledge, and wisdom. The data pyramid is a concept that visualizes the data-information-knowledge-wisdom hierarchy.

Connectedness Wisdom

This process is essentially “the path to connected understanding” when interpreting data. It is that human element leveraging an intelligent technology component when attempting to make fact-based decisions.

Flipped Pyramid

We might be part of an organization gathering customer information on purchasing habits. We gather data that captures which customer bought which product, how much they paid, their method of payment, and their address.

Data

These are

18:23

45 mph

15% humidity

Phoenix

Information

These are

It’s hot outside.

The time is 3:05 am.

The customer’s name is Mike.

The price of the item is $4.25.

Structured Data

This data is coded in a way that makes it easy to convert into a form usable for analysis. Examples of structured data include contact information such as first name, last name, email address, and phone number.

Unstructured Data

Unstructured data refers to data that is more complex and possibly stored in a format that is not easily decoded. Unstructured data takes more time to parse through to retrieve the essential information.

Big Data

Data amasses quickly. As businesses grow, the amount of data grows. In fact, the big data market is estimated to grow 45% annually for the foreseeable future.

Information Systems

Information systems are collections of data and information used to support decision-making in organizations. While information systems do not have to rely on intricate technologies, technology is typically assumed to be one of the components.

Data Management

Data resides either in-house or in the cloud. In other words, we could own the infrastructure that stores our data or share resources with other companies, typically provided by a third party.

Data Management Types

These are

infrastructure as a service (IaaS)

platform as a service (PaaS)

software as a service (SaaS)

The IaaS model

Provides access in a virtualized environment and the computing resources are composed of virtualized hardware. This includes things like network connections, virtual server space, and load balancers.

The PaaS model

Customers have access to a platform that supports the development and management of web applications. PaaS enables quicker development life cycles and reduced infrastructure requirements since the majority of processing happens in the cloud rather than on local storage and processor resources.

The SaaS model

The software is licensed to customers with subscriptions and central hosting. Some examples include Gmail, Google Docs, and Microsoft Office 365.

Data Sources

Extracting and building data about an organization requires tapping into a colossal system of information that exists within an organization and is tied together in many ways.

Data Quality

Analyze the current financial state of the organization in terms of net profits, revenues, cash flow, assets, and liabilities

Increase revenues through better targeting of products and increased customer satisfaction

Examine existing production processes to take corrective action, improve efficiency, and lower costs

Develop new, automated processes that integrate harmoniously into existing workflows and reduce demands on labor

Gather competitive information on product and pricing decisions to stay ahead of competitors

Make evidence-based decisions that utilize verifiable data to maximize profits and efficiency

Understand business value by exploiting rapid changes in information and generating insights from diverse data sources to widen the competitive differentiation gap

Data Hygiene

Refers to the processes of ensuring the cleanliness of data (i.e., that the data is relatively error-free). Dirty data can be caused by things such as duplicate records, incomplete or outdated data, and mistakes introduced as data is entered, stored, and managed.

Types of Bad Data

	Types of Bad DataDescription
Duplicate data	Two or more identical records
Conflicting data	The same records with differing attributes
Incomplete data	Missing attributes
Invalid data	Attributes not conforming to standardization
Unsynchronized data	Data not appropriately shared between two systems

Quality Data Attributes

This data is needed for effective decision-making. Quality data is typically defined as data that is precise, valid, reliable, timely, and complete.

The Functions of a Computer System

The input-process-output (IPO) and input-process-output-storage (IPOS) models are frequently used to explain the function of a system. (1) a requirement from the environment or input, (2) a computation based on the requirement or process, and (3) a provision for the environment or output. In addition, it uses storage for the input and output elements, as well as for keeping the results of the calculations during the processing.

People

The most important element of a computer system is its users, sometimes called liveware.

Input Devices

These are

Mouse

Keyboard

Microphone

Process Device

This is a

CPU

Storage Devices

These are

RAM

Hard Disk

Output Devices

These are

Monitor

Speakers

Printer

The Components of a Computer System

A computer system is a collection of hardware, software, and middleware components (or a combination of these) that work together to transform data into information and meet a specific user’s need.

Hardware

This is the set of computer system components that one can touch.

Software

Without hardware, there would be no way of running the essential software that makes computers run. Software programs run on your computer and provide instructions telling the computer what to do.

Physical Topology

Logical Topology

Hardware

These are

Motherboard

RAM

CPU

Hard disk

Power supplies

Software In Computers

These are

Operating system

Text editing program

Internet browser

Network

These are

LAN/WAN

Bus/Ring/Star/Mesh

Internet

Client-to-server/Peer-to-peer

The Abacus

The abacus was first used in China and then by the early Greek and Roman civilizations. The abacus consists of strings of beads strung on rods which are mounted on a rectangular frame. As the beads are moved back and forth on the rod, their positions represent stored values. To carry out calculations, the abacus needs a human operator. Thus, the abacus must combine with a human to form a system whose purpose is carrying out additions.