C5- IT Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies

1. C5- IT Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies

2. Input – Process - Output 2 • A computer • Takes data as input • Processes it • Outputs information • CPU  Central Processing Unit • Primary Storage • RAM  Random Access Memory • ROM  Read Only Memory • Secondary Storage, Input/Output Devices, Communications Devices

3. IT Infrastructure Figure 5-1 Hardware Components of a Computer System 5-6

4. Two Views of IT Infrastructure 4 • Technological • hardware/software needed to operate • Capacity, speed • Service • Services provided by the IT infrastructure • Computing platforms, telecommunications, data management, etc.

5. Evolution 6

6. Client/Server 9

7. 10 Enterprise Internet Computing

8. IT Infrastructure Figure 5-4 A client/server network 5-18

9. 9

10. Communication Costs and Network Effects 10 • Declining Communications Costs and the Internet • Rapid decline in costs of communication and the exponential growth in the size of the Internet • Standards and Network Effects • Acceptance of standards to govern specifications and compatibility of technology

11. Seven Major Components of IT Infrastructure • Computer Hardware Platforms • Operating System Platforms • Enterprise and Other Software Applications • Data Management and Storage • Networking/Telecommunications Platforms • Internet Platforms • Consulting and System Integration Services 5-28

12. IT Infrastructure 5-29

13. Consulting and System Integration 16 • Most firms today, even large firms, cannot develop their systems without significant outside help • Must ensure new systems integrate with legacy systems • Consulting and systems integration is a lucrative market

14. Hardware Platform Trends and Emerging Technologies • Integration of Computing & Telecommunications • Increasingly, computing takes place over the network • Client level: The integration of cell phones and PDAs • Server level: The integration of voice telephone and the Internet bring together two historically separate and distinct global networks • The network in many respects is the source of computing power 5-38

15. Grid Computing 17 • Involves connecting geographically remote computers into a single network capable of working in parallel on business problems that require short-term access to large computational capacity • Rather than purchase huge mainframes or super computers, firms can chain together thousands of smaller desktop clients into a single computing grid • Enabled by high-speed Internet

16. Utility Computing • also called on-demand computing • Peak times • off-load to a remote and large-scale data processing center. • Example  CIBC out sources to HP • 28,000 e-mail; • 41,000 desktops PCs, • 4,500 ATMs, and • 10,000 POS terminals.

17. Autonomic Computing • Computer systems (both hardware and software) have become so complex that the cost of managing them has risen • Thirty to fifty percent of a company’s IT budget is spent preventing or recovering from system crashes • Operator error is the most common cause of crashes • Autonomic computing is an industry-wide effort to develop systems that configure, heal, and protect themselves

18. Edge Computing 20 • A multi-tier, load-balancing scheme for Web-based applications • Processing load is distributed closer to the user and handled by smaller, lower-cost servers

19. Five themes in Software Platform Evolution: • Linux and open-source software • Java • Enterprise software • Web services and Service-Oriented Architecture • Software outsourcing Software Platform Trends and Emerging Technologies 5-48

20. Linux and Open Source 23 • 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. Linux is an operating system derived from Unix

21. Java 24 • Java is an operating system-independent, processor-independent, object-oriented programming language • The leading interactive programming environment for the Web

22. Enterprise Integration 25 • Priority of integrating legacy systems with newer Web-based applications • Growth of enterprise-wide applications • Use of middleware to create an interface or bridge • Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) software packages connect disparate applications

23. Software Platform Trends and Emerging Technologies 5-48

24. Web Services 27 • Web services refers to a set of loosely coupled software components that exchange information with each other using Web communication standards and languages • Foundation technology is XML (eXtensible Markup Language), a more powerful and flexible language than HTML • Service-oriented architecture (collection of Web services)‏ • Major vendors provide tools for building software using Web services

25. Software Outsourcing 28 • Today large and small firms purchase most of their software from outside vendors. • Three kinds of outsourcing: • Purchase of software packages • Using application service providers (may rent)‏ • Custom outsourcing

26. Sources of Software 29 • Software package • Prewritten off-the-shelf software • Application Service Providers (ASP): • A business that delivers and manages applications and computer services from remote computer centers to multiple users using the Internet or a private network • Software outsourcing • Contract the development of custom software

27. Management Challenges 27 • Making wise infrastructure investments • Choosing and coordinating infrastructure components • Dealing with infrastructure change • scalability • Management and governance • Model total cost of ownership (TCO)‏