MNG 3204 Flashcards

IT Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies

Learning Objectives

  • What is IT infrastructure and what are its components?
  • What are the stages and technology drivers of IT infrastructure evolution?
  • What are the current trends in computer hardware platforms?
  • What are the current trends in software platforms?
  • What are the challenges of managing IT infrastructure and management solutions?

What is IT Infrastructure?

  • IT infrastructure includes investment in hardware, software, and services (consulting, education, training) shared across the firm or business units.
  • Provides the foundation for serving customers, working with vendors, and managing internal business processes.
  • Consists of physical devices and software applications required to operate the enterprise.
  • Includes firmwide services budgeted by management and comprising human and technical capabilities.

IT Services

  • Computing platforms:
    • Provide computing services connecting employees, customers, and suppliers in a digital environment.
    • Include mainframes, midrange computers, desktop/laptop computers, and mobile handheld devices.
  • Telecommunications services:
    • Provide data, voice, and video connectivity to employees, customers, and suppliers.
  • Data management services:
    • Store and manage corporate data.
    • Provide capabilities for analyzing the data.
  • Application software services:
    • Provide enterprise-wide capabilities such as:
      • Enterprise resource planning (ERP)
      • Customer relationship management (CRM)
      • Supply chain management (SCM)
      • Knowledge management systems
    • These services are shared by all business units.
  • Physical facilities management services:
    • Develop and manage physical installations required for computing, telecommunications, and data management services.
  • IT standards services:
    • Provide policies determining which IT will be used, when, and how.
  • IT education services:
    • Provide training in system use to employees.
    • Offer managers training in how to plan for and manage IT investments.

Evolution of IT Infrastructure

  • Today's IT infrastructure is an outgrowth of over 50 years of evolution in computing platforms.
  • Five stages of evolution, each representing a different configuration of computing power and infrastructure elements:
    • General-purpose mainframe and minicomputer computing
    • Personal computers
    • Client/server networks
    • Enterprise computing
    • Cloud and mobile computing

Technology Drivers of Infrastructure Evolution

  • Moore's Law (1965):
    • Gordon Moore (Fairchild Semiconductor) observed that the number of components on a chip (transistors) doubled each year since 1959.
    • Later revised to doubling every two years.

Infrastructure Components

  • Seven major components that must be coordinated.

  • Computer Hardware Platforms

    • Client Machines: Desktop PCs, mobile computing devices (netbooks, laptops), excluding devices like iPhones or BlackBerrys).
      • use intel or AMD microprocessors

  • Operating Systems Platforms

    • The most important software that runs on a computer.
      • Manages the computer's memory, processes, software, and hardware,
      • Allows communication with the computer without knowing its language.
      • A computer is useless without an operating system.

  • Enterprise Software and Applications

    • Enterprise software (EAS) manages various aspects of a business rather than individual tasks.
      • Examples:
        • Accounting, sales, marketing, and human resources
        • Data analysis
        • Payment and project handling
        • Custom application development
      • Enterprise database management software organizes and manages firm data for efficient access and use.
        • Storage area networks (SANs) connect multiple storage devices on a high-speed network dedicated to storage.
        • The SAN creates a large central pool of storage that can be rapidly accessed and shared by multiple servers.

  • Internet Platforms

    • Internet platforms overlap with the firm’s networking infrastructure and hardware/software platforms.
      • Expenditure focuses on hardware, software, and management services to support a firm’s Web site.
        • Web hosting services
        • Routers
        • Cabling or wireless equipment
    • A Web hosting service maintains a large Web server (or series of servers) and provides fee-paying subscribers with space to maintain their Web sites.

  • Consulting and System Integration

    • Firms may not have staff, skills, budget, or experience to deploy and maintain their entire IT infrastructure alone.
    • Implementing a new infrastructure requires:
      • Changes in business processes and procedures
      • Training and education
      • Software integration
    • Software integration means ensuring the new infrastructure works with:
      • Older, legacy systems
      • New elements of the infrastructure work with one another
        • Legacy systems are older transaction processing systems created for mainframe computers.
          • They continue to be used to avoid the high cost of replacing or redesigning them.
          • Replacing these systems is cost prohibitive and generally not necessary if these older systems can be integrated into a contemporary infrastructure.

Contemporary Hardware Trends

  • Grid Computing:
    • A network of computers working together to perform tasks difficult for a single machine.
    • Machines work under the same protocol to act as a virtual supercomputer.
    • Tasks include analyzing huge datasets or simulating situations requiring high computing power.
    • Computers contribute processing power and storage capacity to the network.
  • Virtualization:
    • The process of presenting computing resources so they can be accessed in ways unrestricted by physical configuration or geographic location.
    • Enables a single physical resource (server or storage device) to appear as multiple logical resources.
  • Cloud Computing:
    • Defined by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) with essential characteristics:
      • On-demand self-service
      • Ubiquitous network access
      • Location-independent resource pooling
      • Rapid elasticity
      • Measured service
  • Green Computing:
    • Practices and technologies for designing, manufacturing, using, and disposing of computers, servers, and associated devices to minimize environmental impact.

Contemporary Software Trends

  • Open Source Software:
    • Software produced by a community of programmers.
    • Free and modifiable by users (OpenSource.org).
    • Derived works must also be free, and the software can be redistributed without additional licensing.
    • Advantages:
      • Cost
      • Flexibility
      • Collaboration
      • Security
      • Innovation
    • Disadvantages:
      • Limited support
      • Compatibility
      • Limited functionality
      • Lack of professional development
      • Legal issues
  • AJAX:
    • Allows a client and server to exchange small pieces of data in the background.
    • An entire Web page does not have to be reloaded each time the user requests a change.
  • Web Services:
    • Loosely coupled software components that exchange information using universal Web communication standards and languages.
    • Can exchange information between different systems regardless of operating systems or programming languages.
    • The collection of Web services used to build a firm’s software systems constitutes a service-oriented architecture (SOA).
    • SOA set of self-contained services that communicate with each other to create a working software application.
      • Business tasks are accomplished by executing a series of these services.