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IT INFRASTRUCTURE & EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES - Coggle Diagram
IT INFRASTRUCTURE & EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
Information Technology Infrastructure:
Shared technology resources that provide the platform for firm's IS applications
Consists of:
A set of physical devices & software applications
A set of firmwide services budgeted by management & composed of human and technical capabilities
Evolution:
General Purpose Mainframe & Minicomputer Era (1959-Present)
Personal Computer Era (1981-Present)
Client/Server Era (1983-Present)
Enterprise Computing Era (1992-Present)
Cloud & Mobile Computing Era (2000-Present)
Drivers of Infrastructure Evolution:
Declining Communication Costs & the Internet
Rapid decline in the costs of communication & exponential growth of internet
Standards & Network Effects:
Technology standards
are specifications that establish the compability of products and the ability to communicate in a network
Components of IT Infrastructure
Computer Hardware Platforms
, e.g. Dell, IBM, HP, Apple
Operating Software Platforms
, e.g. Windows, Linux, Unix, Android, iOS
Enterprise Software Applications
, e.g. SAP, Oracle
Networking/Telecommunications Platform
Networking hardware providers: Cisco, Juniper Networks
Telecommunications service vendors: AT&T and Verizon
Consultants & Systems Integrators
Leading consulting firms: Accenture, IBM Global Business Services, HP
Data Managements & Storage
responsible for organizing & managing firm's data so they can be efficiently accessed and used
Internet Platforms
Web-hosting service maintains a large web server/series of servers & provides fee-paying subscribers with space to maintain their websites
Major web software development tools suppliers: Microsoft Visual Studio & .NET; Sun's Java
Current Trends in Computer Hardware Platforms
Mobile Digital Platform.
Smartphones have taken on many functions of PCs. Other examples: Tablet, e-book readers
Consumerization of IT & BYOD.
Bring your own device is an aspect of consumerization of IT where new IT that first emerges in consumer market spreads into business org
Quantum Computing.
A quantum computer would gain enormous processing power, allowing it to solve some scientific & business problems millions of times faster than can be done today
Virtualization.
Presenting a set of computing resources so that they can all be accessed in ways that aren't restricted by physical/geographical location
Cloud Computing.
A model of computing where computer processing, storage, software, and other services are provided as a shared pool of virtualized resources over a network, primarily the internet. Models: Public, private, hybrid
Green Computing.
Practices & technologies for designing, manufacturing, using, and disposing of computers, servers, and associated devices to minimize impact on environment
High-Performance & Power-Saving Processors.
e.g.
multicore processor,
an integrated circuit to which two/more processor cores have been attached for enhanced performance, reduced power consumption, and more efficient simultaneous processing of multiple tasks
Current Trends in Computer Software Platforms
Linux & Open Source Software
Open source software
is produced by a community of several hundred thousand programmers around the world & can be distributed by the user w/o additional licensing
Linux
is the most well-known open source software. It's not used in many desktop systems, but is a leading OS for servers, mainframe computers, & supercomputers
Software for the Web
HTML
/hypertext markup language is a page description language for specifying how text, graphics, video and sound are placed on a webpage & for creating dynamic links to other webpages and objects
Java
is designed to run on any computer/computing device, regardless of the specific microprocessor/OS
Web Services & Service-Oriented Architecture
XML
/extensible markup language is the foundation technology for web services
Web services
are a set of loosely coupled software components that exchange info with e/o using universal web communication standards and languages
Software Outsourcing & Cloud Services
Three external sources for software
Software package
is a prewritten commercially available set of software programs that eliminates the need for a firm to write its own software programs for certain functions
Software outsourcing
enables a firm to contract custom software development/maintenance of existing legacy programs to outside firms, which often operate offshore in low-wage areas of the world
Cloud-Based Software Services & Tools
Instead of buying and installing software programs, subscribing companies rent the same functions from these services, with users paying either on a subscription or per-transaction basis
Mashups & Apps.
Individual users & entire companies mix and match software components to create their own customized applications and to share info with others
Challenges of Managing IT Infrastructure & Solutions
Platform & Infrastructure Change
Scalability:
Ability of a computer, product, or system to expand to serve a large no. of users w/o breaking down
Management & Governance.
Who will control & manage firm's IT infrastructure? Each org will need to answer based on its own needs
Infrastructure Investments
Rent/buy decision:
Decision to purchase your own IT assets/rent them from external providers
Total cost of ownership:
Analyze direct indirect costs to help firms determine actual cost of technology implementation