MIS FInal Textbook

Computing hardware

Physical components of information technology, which includes the computer and its peripherals
- Storage devices
- Input devices
- Output devices

What's inside computing hard drive

software

software

A computer program or a collection of programs. It is a precise set of instructions that tells hardware what to do. It enables computer to do limitless possibilities

Basics of software

hardware, operating system, application, and user

Operating system

the software that supports a computer's basic functions, such as scheduling tasks, executing applications, and controlling peripherals.

software that controls the computer hardware and establishes standards for developing and executing applications

Applications

Includes desktop applications, enterprise software, utilities, and other programs that perform specific tasks for users and organizations.

User interface (UI)

mechanism through which users interact with a computing device

ex: such as windows, scroll bars, buttons, menus, and dialogue boxes; and can also include other forms of interaction, such as touch screens, motion sensing controllers, or tactile devices used by the visually impaired

Firmware

Software stored on nonvolatile memory chips (as opposed to being stored on devices such as hard drives or removable discs)

Embedded systems

Special-purpose software designed and included inside physical products (often on firmware)

help make devices "smarter," sharing usage information, helping diagnose problems, indicating maintenance schedules, providing alerts, or enabling devices to take orders from other systems

Desktop software

applications installed on a personal computer, typically supporting tasks performed by a single user

Refers to application installed on a personal computer (spreadsheet, office)

Enterprise software

Applications that address the needs of multiple users throughout an organization or work group

refers to applications that address the needs of multiple, simultaneous users in an organization or work group

keep track of their inventory, record sales, manage payments to suppliers, cut employee paychecks, and handle other functions

Software package

software product offered commercially by a third party

enterprise resource planning (ERP)

Business management software, usually a suite of integrated applications, that a company can use to collect, store, manage and interpret data from many business activities.

here are ERP and other enterprise products delivered "through the cloud" to browsers or apps, requiring no back-end software to be run on-site

ERP system with multiple modules installed can touch many functions of the business:

Sales, Inventory, Manufacturing, Human Resources, Purchasing, Order Tracking, Decision Support

customer relationship management (CRM)

Systems that can help a firm manage aspects of its value chain, from the flow of raw materials into the firm, through delivery of finished products and services at the point-of-consumption

business intelligence (BI) systems

Systems that use data created by other systems to provide reporting and analysis for organizational decision making.

database management system (DBMS)

a program used to create, process, and administer a database Sometimes referred to as "database software"; software for creating, maintaining, and manipulating data

Firms without a database system struggle to efficiently manage their value chain

Distributed computing

A form of computing where systems in different locations communicate and collaborate to complete a task

Server

that fulfills the requests of a client

server hardware

a server is a computer that has been configured to support requests from other computers (e.g., Dell sells servers)

Server Software

a server is a program that fulfills requests (e.g., the Apache open source Web server)

Client

software program that makes requests of a server program

Application server

Software that houses and serves business logic for use (and reuse) by multiple applications

Individual software components or Web services

Small pieces of code that are accessed via the application server, and permit interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network

Multi Tiered Distributed System

client browsers on various machines (desktop, laptop, mobile) access the system through the Web server

service-oriented architecture (SOA)

robust set of Web services built around an organization's processes and procedures

Expedia Affiliate Network uses

APIs to allow partner sites to book hotels and other travel services through their own apps and websites

EDI (electronic data interchange)

A set of standards for exchanging messages containing formatted data between computer applications

way to send the electronic equivalent of structured documents between different organizations

extensible markup language (XML)

tagging language that can be used to identify data fields made available for use by other applications

Most APIs and Web services send messages where the data exchanged is wrapped in identifying XML tags

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation)

a popular data interchange format, JSON is a technology standard often used to format data when being sent or received via APIs.

programming language

Provides the standards, syntax, statements, and instructions for writing computer software.

integrated development environment (IDE)

An application that includes an editor (a sort of programmer's word processor), debugger, and compiler, among other tools.

Compile

Step in which program code written in a language that humans can more easily understand, is then converted into a form (expressed in patterns of ones and zeros) that can be understood and executed by a microprocessor

Java

A programming language, initially developed by Sun Microsystems, designed to provide true platform independence ("write once, run anywhere") for application developers

Without Java, application developers have to write and compile software to execute natively by a specific operating system/microprocessor combination (e.g., Windows/Intel, Linux PowerPC, Mac/Intel, Linux/Intel)

Scripting languages

Programming tool that executes within an application. Scripting languages are interpreted within their applications, rather than compiled to run directly by a microprocessor.

Interpreted

each line of written code is converted (by a software program, called an "interpreter") for execution at run-time

Software development methodologies SDLC

Methods to divide tasks related to software creation and deployment up into tasks targeted at building better products with stronger product management guidelines and techniques.

waterfall method

A relatively linear sequential approach to software development (and other projects). Benefits include surfacing requirements up front and creating a blueprint to follow throughout a project. Often criticized for being too rigid, slow, and demanding project forethought that's tough to completely identify early on.

feature creep

occurs when developers add extra features that were not part of the initial requirements

An expansion of the scope of a project

agile development

Developing work continually and iteratively, with a goal of more frequent product rollouts and constant improvement across smaller components of the larger project.

target specific weaknesses, including test-driven design, behavior-driven development, pair programming, extreme programming, and refactoring

popular due to its speed and flexibility

Scrum

An approach to organizing and managing agile projects that breaks deliverables into "sprints" delivered in one- to six-week increments by teams of fewer than ten

total cost of ownership (TCO)

all of the costs incurred before, during, and after a purchase

An economic measure of the full cost of owning a product includes direct costs such as purchase price, plus indirect costs such as training, support, and maintenance

capability maturity model integration (CMMI)

A process-improvement approach (useful for but not limited to software engineering projects) that can assist in assessing the maturity, quality, and development of certain organizational business processes, and suggest steps for their improvement.

marginal cost

the cost of producing one more unit of a good

Open source software (OSS)

Software that is free and where anyone can look at and potentially modify the code.

cloud computing

Replacing computing resources—either an organization's or individual's hardware or software—with services provided over the Internet

software as a service (SaaS)

A form of cloud computing where a firm subscribes to a third-party software and receives a service that is delivered online

Virtualization

type of software that allows a single computer (or cluster of connected computers) to function as if it were several different computers, each running its own operating system and software

can make computing more efficient, cost-effective, and scalable

can make a single computer behave like many separate machines

Linux

An open source software operating system.

LAMP

Linux, the Apache Web server software, the MySQL database, and any of several programming languages that start with P (e.g., Perl, Python, or PHP)

Security-focused

Also known as "hardened." Term used to describe technology products that contain particularly strong security features.

Scalability

Ability to either handle increasing workloads or to be easily expanded to manage workload increases

vendors make money on open source?

One way is by selling support and consulting services

sell their premium add-ons on top of the free stuff

utility computing:

A form of cloud computing where a firm develops its own software, and then runs it over the Internet on a service provider's computers.

SaaS

delivering end-user software to a firm over the Internet instead of on the organization's own computing resources

PaaS

delivers tools (a.k.a., a platform) so an organization can develop, test, and deploy software in the cloud

IaaS

offers an organization a more bare-bones set of services that are an alternative to buying its own physical hardware—that is, computing, storage, and networking resources are instead allocated and made available over the Internet and are paid for based on the amount of resources used

service level agreement (SLA)

A negotiated agreement between the customer and the vendor. The SLA may specify the levels of availability, serviceability, performance, operation, or other commitment requirements.

vertical niches

Sometimes referred to as vertical markets. Products and services designed to target a specific industry (e.g., pharmaceutical, legal, apparel retail).

platform as a service (PaaS)

Where cloud providers offer services that include the hardware, operating system, development tools, testing, and hosting (i.e., the platform) that its customers use to build their own applications on the provider's infrastructure

infrastructure as a service (IaaS)

Where cloud providers offer services that include running the remote hardware, storage, and networking (i.e., the infrastructure), but client firms can choose software used (which may include operating systems, programming languages, databases, and other software packages)

Cloudbusting

use of cloud computing to provide excess capacity during periods of spiking demand

Black swans

Unpredicted, but highly impactful events. Scalable computing resources can help a firm deal with spiking impact from black swan events

private cloud

Some firms use cloud computing technology on hardware they own or lease as a sole customer

hybrid-cloud strategy

Other firms allocate resources between their own systems (the private cloud) and the public cloud (where resources may be shared with other clients)

server farm

A massive network of computer servers running software to coordinate their collective use

provide the infrastructure backbone to SaaS

Containers

type of virtualization that allows for shared operating systems for more resource savings and faster execution

but still isolate applications so they execute and move to different computing hardware

virtual desktops

a firm runs an instance of a PC's software on another machine and simply delivers the image of what's executing to the remote device

traditional virtualization

acts as a software representation of hardware where each virtual machine requires its own operating system

managers should consider when making a make, buy, or rent decision include the following

competitive advantage, security, legal and compliance issues, the organization's skill and available labor, cost, time, and vendor issues

Big Data

general term used to describe the massive amount of data available to today's managers

business intelligence (BI)

A term combining aspects of reporting, data exploration and ad hoc queries, and sophisticated data modeling and analysis.

Analytics

A term describing the extensive use of data, statistical and quantitative analysis, explanatory and predictive models, and fact-based management to drive decisions and actions

machine learning

a sophisticated category of software applications known as artificial intelligence that leverage massive amounts of data so that computers can "learn" and improve the accuracy of actions and predictions on their own without additional programming

machine learning examples

making voice assistants and image recognition more accurate and fraud-fighting more comprehensive, and improving the reliability of self-driving cars

Data

raw facts and figures

Information

Data presented in a context so that it can answer a question or support decision-making

Knowledge

their insight from experience and expertise—that stronger decisions can be made

​​database

A single table or a collection of related tables

database management systems (DBMS)

Sometimes referred to as database software; software for creating, maintaining, and manipulating data

Ex: single-user, desktop versions of Microsoft Access or FileMaker Pro

Structured query language (SQL)

most common language for creating and manipulating databases

inhabiting everything from lowly desktop software to high-powered enterprise products

database administrator (DBA)

Job title focused on directing, performing, or overseeing activities associated with a database or set of databases

Might include: database design, creation, implementation, maintenance, backup and recovery, policy setting and enforcement, and security

column or field

A column in a database table. Columns represent each category of data contained in a record (e.g., first name, last name, ID number, date of birth)

row or record

A row in a database table. Records represent a single instance of whatever the table keeps track of (e.g., student, faculty, course title)

A \____ is the field or fields used to relate tables in a database

key

relational databases

most common standard for expressing databases, whereby tables (files) are related based on common keys

serverless computing

A type of cloud computing where a third-party vendor manages servers, replication, fault-tolerance, computing scalability, and certain aspects of security, freeing software developers to focus on building "Business Solutions" and eliminating the need to spend time and resources managing the technology complexity of much of the underlying "IT Solution."

transaction processing systems (TPS)

Systems that record a transaction (some form of business-related exchange)

such as a cash register sale, ATM withdrawal, or product return

loyalty program

that provides rewards and usage incentives, typically in exchange for a method that provides a more detailed tracking and recording of customer activity

loyalty cards can represent a significant switching cost

Enterprise software includes

CRM, SCM, ERP

artificial intelligence

Computer software that seeks to reproduce or mimic (perhaps with improvements) human thought, decision-making, or brain functions

data aggregators

Firms that collect and resell data.

legacy systems

outdated information systems that were not designed to share data, aren't compatible with newer technologies, and aren't aligned with the firm's current business needs

data warehouse

A data warehouse is a set of databases designed to support decision-making in an organization. It is structured for fast online queries and exploration

Data mart

is a database focused on addressing the concerns of a specific problem (e.g., increasing customer retention, improving product quality) or business unit (e.g., marketing, engineering)

online analytical processing (OLAP)

method of querying and reporting that takes data from standard relational databases, calculates and summarizes the data, and then stores the data in a special database called a data cube

data cube

A special database used to store data in OLAP reporting.

data lake

a catch-all term for storage and access technologies used in Big Data

systems that allow for the storage of data in both structured as well as "raw," "unfiltered" formats

provide the tools to "pipe out" data, filter it, and refine it so that it can be turned into information

Hadoop

a set of mostly open source tools to manage massive amounts of unstructured data for storage, extraction, and computation

data cloud

Sometimes referred to as cloud data warehousing, this term refers to a cloud service that provides tools to extract and transform data from disparate sources so that it can be interrogated as needed