Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Info Sy > Chapter 15 Notes > Flashcards

Chapter 15 Notes Flashcards

1
Q

How have low marginal costs, network effects, and switching costs combined to help create a huge and important industry?

A
  • zero marginal costs = attractive and successful
  • network effects = as more people use it, the more positive feedback, attracts more users, then create market dominance and customer retention
  • switching costs = ability to retain its customers even while raising prices due to data stored, learning curve, inbility to replicate customizations and setups
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

How have several increasingly adopted technologies, like open source software, cloud computing, and software as a service, brought about significant and broadly impactful change for the software industry?

A

Open source software, cloud computing, and software as a service have allowed smaller firms access to computing power that only leading tech firms had. This means startup costs are less and that large firms can now reduce their costs. This also makes it easier for companies to outsource their software.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

How does Microsoft benefit from its software?

A

Windows (OS) and Office alone generate $1.5B a month.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What are marginal costs and how does it relate to software?

A
  • the costs associated with each additional unit produced
  • software products have zero marginal costs, a reason why the business is successful and attractive
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Who did the business of software place at the top as among the wealthiest people?

A

Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Oracle’s Larry Ellison

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

How do network effects and switching costs help a software firm?

A

It offers a degree of customer preference and lock-in that can establish a firm as a standard and in many cases, create a winner-take-all market.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What is open source software and why is it a problem?

A
  • Free software where anyone can look and potentially modify the code
  • challenges assets and advantages of market leaders

“how can we compete with free? how can we make money and fuel innovation on free?”

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What is cloud computing?

A

Replacing computing (hardware or software) with services provided over the internet, on other’s hardware

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What is software as a service (SaaS)?

A

a form of cloud computing where a firm subscribes to a third-party software and receives a service delivered online. no burden of owning (buying, managing and maintaining) or installing the program. users access a vendor’s software over the internet.

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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

what is virtualization?

A

technology that can make a single computer behave like many separate computers. helps consolidate computing resources and creates additional savings and efficiencies (Ex. VMWare)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

what firms are pioneering these efforts?

A

Not tech giants like HP, Microsoft, or Sun; contributors to the most widely used open source efforts or providers of widely used cloud infrastructure are other major players: Amazon (retailer), Netflix (entertainment company), Google (advertiser), LinkedIn (resume site), and Facebook (social network).

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

what poses a threat to packaged software?

A

the introduction of app stores challenges packaged software, which usually requires a one-time buy. app stores provide instant access to more than just phones but smart tech as well (TV’s, speakers, etc.). this reduces distribution costs, offers a new revenur stream through in-app purchases/subscriptions, and enable the rise of new business models–companies like Uber, Spotify, and social media networks leverage the app’s accessibility and scalability.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

what trends are impacting the software industry?

A

open source software (OSS), cloud computing, software as a service (Saas) and virtualization create challenges and opportunities across tech markets.

smaller firms have access to the computing power that only giants had access to in the past. startups can scale quickly and start with less investment capital. existing firms can reduce costs.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

who created Linux and how was it created?

A

Linus Torvalds, during a marathon 6-month coding session. He gave the open source software operating system away instead of selling it.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

what is Linux?

A

an open source software that powers everything from cell phones to stock exchanges to supercomputers and supports most Web servers (inlcuding those at Google, Amazon, and Facebook).

Powers servers in AWS, Azure Coud, and TiVO, and is even on mars, powering spacecrafts and rovers.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

what does it mean when OSS is described as free?

A

not only is it mostly free to download over the Internet, but the source code for OSS products is openly shared. anyone can look at, modify, and redistribute the code.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

who saw OSS as a problem and why?

A

OSS was freely distributing code, while software firms treat their intellectual property as secrets. Software industry executives were enraged by the threat undermining their economic model.

SAP former president called it socialism. Microsoft CEO called Linux a “cancer.”

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

how are other companies (those not finding OSS as a threat) responding to the open source movement?

A

Most people who work on efforts like Linux are now paid to do so. Nearly every major hardware firm and tech giants (Apple, Facebook Google, IBM, LinkedIn, Netflix, and Twitter; FLIGANT) have paid staff contributing to open source projects. Firms also fund foundations that set standards and coordinate the release of product revisions to ensure various versions of products can work alike and operate together.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

what is LAMP?

A

Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP/Python/Perl; a software stack (bundle) that developers use to power websites (like Facebook and Youtube). All are open-source softwares, that are free and community supported/written.

Linux = OS
Apache = web server software that receives requests and delivers web content
MySQL = database to store and manage data
Perl/Python/PHP = generates dynamic content

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

what are the 5 main reasons why firms choose open source?

A

low cost, increased reliability, improved security and auditing, system scalability, and helping a firm improve its time to market

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

what happened with the Heartbleed bug?

A

Many open source projects are well maintained by well-funded professionals. Red Hat > Linux; Google > Python. But some products were neglected and exposed due to the Heartbleed bug.

Heartbleed was an error in the OpenSSL security toolkit, a product used by Internet websites to send secure information over the internet. The product was undersourced, and had a routine coding error that opened a hole that could have been used to gather passwords, encryption keys, and other sensitive information, triggering the largest security breach.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

How was the heartbleed bug addressed?

A

The Linux Foundation developed a multimillion-dollar project called the Core Infrastructure Initiative, designed to fund open source projects that are in the critical path for core computing functions; backed by Google, IBM, Facebook, and Microsoft.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

What was the lesson learned from the Heartbleed bug?

A

Just because a tool is widely used does not mean its software products shouldn’t be auditited to understand the strength of support and potential risks associated with use.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Explain cost as a reason to choose open source.

A

cost - free alternatives vs. costly ccommercial code (conventional software charges for every copy and for running on powerful hardware). Banking giant, Barclays, reduced software costs by 90%. Online broker E*TRADE and Amazon saved tens of millions of dollars. No need to spend on developing own OS or license from a vendor like Microsoft.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

Explain reliability as a reason to choose open source.

A

reliability - a community of software developrs that improve quality; more people = less errors; quality outperforms commercial competitors

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

Explain security as reason to choose open source.

A

security - “many eyes” = security vulnerabilities addresssed faster; Windows and MacOS were hacked faster thank Linux, which remained unhacked. OSS offers security-focused, hardened versions that contain strong security features like monitoring distribution, checking file size and code for any malicious modifications

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

Explain scalabiliy as a reason to choose open source.

A

scalability - ability to handle increasing workload, and powerful hardware; allows a firm to grow from startup to blue chip without having to significanly rewrite their code; Ex. E*TRADE who faced a spike after US. Fed Reserve decision

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

Explain agility and time to market as reasons to choose open source.

A

agility and time to market - vendors can skip parts of software development process, allowing products to reach the market faster; no need to develop from scratch. (ex. Motorola’s mobile phones and Zimbra e-mail and calender releasing first product in a few months with free code)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

Examples of Open-Source Software

A

WordPress–running a blog or website, powering a third of websites

Firefox–web browser

LibreOffice–similar to Microsoft Office

Gimp–graphic tool like Photoshop

Magento–e-commerce software

TensorFlow–open source machine learning software

Alfresco–collaboration software

Zimbra–email

MySQL–open-sourse relational database

SugarCRM–competes with Salesforce.com and Siebel

Free BSD and Sun’s OpenSolaris–open source versions of Unix operating system

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

Every type of commercial product has an open source equivalent. (T/F)

A

True, many come with installation tools, support utilities, and full documentation that make them difficult to distinguish from traditional commercial efforts.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

Are all open source products contenders?

A

No, less popular products do not attract the users and ocntributors necessary to help these products improve over time (network effects).

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
32
Q

Does the open source industry have a proportionate impact on the IT market?

A

No, it has a disproportionate impact. Most IT organizations use open source software in projects. By lowering the cost of computing, computing options are more accessible to smaller firms, which means the need for IT organizations/solutions grow.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
33
Q

Open source firms valued more than $1B

A

Hortonworks, Cloudera, MapR (provide BigData tools built on open source Hadoop), MongoDB and Docker (virtualization technology).

RedHat market cap of $30B.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
34
Q

How do vendors make money on opensource if it is free?

A
  • selling support and consulting services (brings in $3B/yr from RedHat subscriptions; Oracle provides Linux for free, selling support contracts; IBM makes more from services than from selling hardware/software)
  • premium add-ons
  • offering hosting to run and maintain customer projects in the cloud
  • licensing OSS for incorporation into commercial products
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
35
Q

What can be said about the open source industry’s evolution?

A

Before Linux, major hardware manufacturers made their own incompatible version of Unix operating system, but had difficulty attracting third-party vendors to write application software. Now, all major hardware frims run Linux, resulting in a large, unified market attracting software developers.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
36
Q

How is sharing development expenses in OSS like going in on a pizza together?

A

With OSS, hardware firms spend less on creating their own OS with little differentiation and incompatible with rivals, and more on value-added services: developing commercial software add-ons, offering consulting services, enhancing hardware offerings

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
37
Q

Why isn’t Linux on Desktop?

A

Common on moblie phones, consumer electrics, and enterprise software, but not on desktop computers.

  • not as easy to install and use as Windows or Mac OS, which raises total cost of ownership
  • dissuades third-party desktop apps

For some, the complexity and incompatibility with apps isn’t worth the money saved. The small user base and switching costs makes the platform less attractive.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
38
Q

what is total cost of ownership?

A

all costs associated with the design, development, testing, implementation, documentation, training, and maintenance of a software/hardware system

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
39
Q

What are the challenges and legal risks of OSS?

A
  • difficult to install and maintain
  • no support contracts means reliance on uncertain community
  • distributing code against licensing implications (software patents or use of proprietary code)
  • varying open source license agreements with different legal provisions, requires effort and attention
40
Q

Did Microsoft take any legal action against OSS firms?

A

Yes, Microsoft suggested that Linux and others violated 235 of its patents. They began collecting payments and gaining access to the patent portfolios of companies that use Linux in their products (including Fuji, Samsung, and Xerox.

41
Q

How have firms been able to navigate the many licensing standards?

A

An industry was made to help firms do so. Black Duck, for ex., analyzes the composition of software source code and report areas of concern so fiirms can honor any legal obligations

42
Q

what is utility computing?

A

firm develops its own software and runs it over the internet on a service provider’s computers.

includes platforms as a service (PaaS) and infrastructure as a service (IaaS)

43
Q

what is PaaS?

A

Platform as a service; delivers tools like programming languages, databases, OS, product testing and deployment software so an organization can develop, test and deploy software in a cloud.

44
Q

what is IaaS? and why is it used?

A

Infrastructure as a service; offering firms to access and use hardware resources on demand. includes computing, storage, and networking resources made available over the Internet and are paid based on amount of resources used.

basic offering, but allows for customization, speed reliability, ability to scale, and less time and money spent on own physical hardware.

45
Q

Some firms are developing their own private clouds (virtualization). (T/F)

A

True, they are creating pools of computing resources that reside in an organization and can be served up for specific tasks when needed.

46
Q

Rank the cloud computing services from least to greatest in terms of amount of support and maintenance required.

A

SaaS, PaaS, IaaS; IaaS requires the most since firms choose what they want to install, craft own solutions, and run it on cloud-provided hardware.

47
Q

how is the evolution of cloud computing affecting industries?

A

Cloud computing reshaping software, hardware, and service markets, improvng cost structure and innovativeness of organization, and offer skill sets likely to be most valued by employers.

48
Q

Benefits offered by SaaS

A
  • lower costs by eliminating or reducing software, hardware, maintenance, license, and staff expenses
  • financial risk mitigation for low startup costs
  • faster deployment times vs. packaged software or in-house systems
  • variable operating expense rather than large fixed capital expense, which helps save money during slow season for heavier months
  • scalability makes it easy for unexpectedly high system use
  • higher quality and service levels through instantly available upgrades, vendor scale economis, and expertise
  • remote access and availability; accessed through Web browser
49
Q

Benefits for vendors of SaaS products

A
  • limiting development to a single platform (instead of creating versions for different OS like SAP)
  • tighter feedback loop with clients to help fuel innovation and responsiveness
  • ability to instantly deploy bug fixes and product enhancements to all users
  • lower distribution costs (tradtl. desktop software may share profits with a store or distributor)
  • accessibility to anyone with Internet connection (allows firms to address highly specialized markets called vertical niches)
  • greatly reduced risk of software piracty (inability to replicate or redistribute code as its run on remote servers)
50
Q

Are SaaS good for the environment?

A

Cloud computing is said to be good for the environment as firms efficiently pool resources and often host their technologies in warehouses designed for cooling and energy efficiency.

Corporate data centers may have wasteful excess capacity to account for service spikes.

51
Q

What is ASP and HSV and is it still relevant?

A

Application service provide, hosted software vendor; now used less frequently as opposed to SaaS.

52
Q

How do SaaS firms earn money?

A

usage-based pricing model similar to monthly subscription; others offer free services supported by advertising, or promote the sale of upgraded or premium versions for additional fees

53
Q

Most iconic SaaS firm known for being “anti-software”?

A

Salesforce.com, cloud-based and accessed over the Internet with no need for installation. Paid through subscription.

54
Q

SaaS firms competing with big names in software:

A
  • NetSuite - ERP suite bought by Oracle
  • Workday - launched by Peoplesoft for managing HR
  • HubSpot provides marketing software
  • Splunk SaaS-based Analytical techniques
  • ServiceNow manages firm’s IT infrastructure
55
Q

How have traditional software firms countered startups?

A

By offering SaaS efforts of their own.

  • IBM offers SaaS version of its Cognos business inteliggence products.
  • Oracle offers CRM On Demand and purchesed NetSuite
  • SAP’s Business ByDesign - a full suite of enterpirse SaaS offerings
  • Microsoft web-based services include CRM, Web meeting tools, collaboration, e-mail, and calendering
  • Intuit’s online versions of QuickBooks and TurboTax, along with cloud-based Mint
  • Adobe shifted most products from desktop software to SaaS subscription
  • Google, Apple, and Zoho offer office suites and Microsoft is following behind
56
Q

What agreement do vendors sign to guarantee ability to meet demand spikes?

A

Service Level Agreement; specifies levels of availability, servicability, performance, operation, or other commitment requirements

57
Q

Risks associated with SaaS

A
  • Dependence on a single vendor; if traditional software company goes out of business, products are still usable unlike SaaS vendors.
  • concern about long-term viability of partner firms (startups unlikely to survive)
  • users may be forced to adopt to new versions–incurring training costs and possible errors
  • reliance on a network connection–which may be slower, less stable, and less secure
  • data assets stored off-site and allowing employees to view from remote locations–with the potential for security and legal concerns
  • limited configuration, customization, and system integration options compared to packaged software or alternatives developed in house
  • user interface of web-based software is often less sophisticated and lacks the richness
  • ease of adoption may lead to pockets of unauthorized IT being used throughout an organization
58
Q

Examples of how long-term viability of partner firms is important.

A

Pandesic’s collapse on joint venture between SAP and Intel.

IT Factory declared Denmark’s best IT company then filed for bankruptcy a week later.

NetSuite not seeing a profit until years later as the costs of operating are daunting.

59
Q

How are SaaS firms combatting unstable internet connections?

A

offline use of data typically stored in SaaS systems–users can download a subset of data to be offline and then synced when connection is restored

60
Q

Although limited configuration and customization can be a problem, why can it also be a benefit?

A

Lack of complexity means fewer choices, less training, faster startup time, and lower costs associated with system use. This may be restrictive for some firms.

61
Q

How does cloud computing help tackle costs?

A

Most of corporate tech spending goes toward data center maintenance. Cloud computing allows firms to run their own softwre on the hardware of the provider, paying only for services that are used.

62
Q

What firms offer cloud computing services?

A

Amazon AWS, Google, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle/Sun, Rackspace, Salesforce.com, and VMware.

63
Q

Varieties of cloud computing are:

A

PaaS where vendors provide a platform and client firms write their own code (e.g., the OS and supporting software like database managment systems, a software development environment, testing, and application servce) and IaaS where cloud vendors provide and manage the underlying infrastructure (hardware, storage, and networking) while clients create their own platform and choose operating systems, applications, and configurations

64
Q

What is a private cloud?

A

Cloud computing technology used on hardware they own or lease as a sole customer. Some firms allocate resources between their own systems and the public cloud in a hybrid-cloud strategy so resources can be shared with other clients.

65
Q

How does Amazon help the CIA?

A

They provide software and services to help the CIA build and maintain its own private cloud.

66
Q

What industries use cloud computing?

A

Publishing
- The NY Times started uploading terabytes of information regarding newspaper archives to Amazon, took 24 hours to complete.
- Cloudara was used by Thomson Reuters to process and analyze 13M tweets daily in seconds

Finance (NASDAQ), and cosmetics and skin care (Elizabeth Arden)

67
Q

Benefits and risks of the cloud?

A

Similar to SaaS efforts.

Benefits:
- good for large batch jobs or limited-time tasks
- saves on expensive computing tasks
- cloudbursting efforts handle system overflow when organziation needs more capacity

Risks:
- impossible to install a complex set of systems on someone else’s hardware
- only best for new software development projects
- regulatory compliance issues
- thoroguh financial analysis necessary
- cloud vendor fails mean firms aresusceptible
- costs add up for unlimited storage

68
Q

Downside of cloud computing:

A

Most legacy systems can’t be easily migrated to the cloud and also doesn’t work in situations where complex legacy systems have to be ported or where there may be regulatory compliance issues.

69
Q

Why may some firms still favor buying over renting?

A

Total cost of ownership and pricing economics may not be too bad depending on scale. Sometime scale (high-volume, low-maintenance systems) suggests an organization is better off keeping efforts in-house.

70
Q

Cloud vendors offer additional tools to help in creating and hosting apps in the cloud. (T/F)

A

True; Salesforce.com offers Force.com which includes a hardware cloud and several cloud-supporting tools to write apps specifically tailored for Web-based delivery. Google’s App Engine offers developers several tools, including a database product called Bigtable. Microsoft offers the Windows Azure cloud platform that runs several tools, including the SQL Azure database. These efforts are often described as PaaS. Cloud providers offer services for customers to build their own applications on the provider’s infrastrcutre.

71
Q

What service is best for firms that want more control?

A

IaaS; clients can select their own OS, development environments, underlying apps, and software packages while the cloud firm manages the infrastructure.

72
Q

How much greater is the cost of running a website with 50M monthly page views on cloud services vs. company-owned computing?

A

3x greater for company-owner computing.

73
Q

How are cloud computing efforts focusing on storage and backup solutions?

A

Carbonite’s cloud-based backup effort, Box, Amazon’s Simple Storage Solution (S3).

Apple’s iCloud provides storage as a services, suncing user data cross devices.

74
Q

what is cloudbursting?

A

the use of cloud computing to provide excess capacity during periods of spiking demand. it is a scalability solution that is usually provided as an overflow service, used when needed (if a firm’s data center is running at max capacity, they can shift part of the workload to IBM’s cloud)

75
Q

why is cloudbursting appealing?

A

forecasting demand is difficult and can’t account for black swans–events that cannot be predicted but can cause an impact.

76
Q

How is Google benefitting from advanced AI and machine learning?

A

Google is making this tech available as pasy-as-you-go cloud services, offering many tools using their tested algorithms which are open source.

77
Q

how has cloud computing impacted the tech industry?

A

in the past, firms needed heavy investments to expensive server hardware, creating a huge market for computer manufacturers, but the market is threatened by the cloud. IBM saw server sales fall, and sold it off to Lenovo (same firm that bought Big Blue’s PC and laptop business). Michael Dell is playing catch up in this industry.

78
Q

What is one reason being a cloud-service provider is not for everyone?

A

Deploying SaaS and operating commercial cloud is expensive. Microsoft invested $2B more than expected into its annual server farm.

79
Q

What is a server farm?

A

a massive network of computer servers running software to coordinate their collective use. Provide the infrastructure backbone to SaaS, hardware cloud efforts, and many large-scale Internet services.

80
Q

How does cloud computing accelerate innovation? how does it affect IS workers?

A

Customers spend less on expensive infrastructure investments and have more money to reinvest in strategic efforts and innovation. More emphasis is placed on business-focused technologists who understand a firm’s competitive environment and can create systems that add value and differentiation. Such talent cannot be outsourced.

81
Q

What happens with barriers to entry in the tech industry?

A

lowering the cost to access powerful systems means barriers to entry decrease. however, firms still need to think about strategic advantages they can create since technology is easily duplicated.

82
Q

What area is tailor-made for creating the kinds of massive data installations needed for cloud computing?

A

Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest; Cheap land, low-cost power, ultrafast fiber-optic connections, mild climates.

83
Q

What major players in cloud computing have rapid-deployment server farm modules?

A

Microsoft, Sun, Google, IBM, and HP. Some preconfigured and packed inside shipping containers ready to be dropped on-site.

84
Q

Advantage of diverse infrastructure in multiple countries?

A

fault tolerance and disaster recovery; if one serve farm is down, simply shift to another. firms are trying to deploy worldwide farms that allow customers to select regional availability zones.

85
Q

Why aren’t computing industries on a decline?

A

While firms are buying less hardware, cloud vendors have become the best customers for computing industry.

86
Q

Benefit of virtualization

A

firms can stop buying separate servers for each application they want to run. instead, organizations can create many virtual computers on a single machine so hardware is used more efficiently.
- reduces costs on hardware, staff, and real estate
- create a firm’s own private cloud of scalable assets
- cut energy consumption and lower carbon footprint
- increase data center utilization
- allows multiple operating systems to run simultaneously
- helps firms scale up by providing more powerful services to shift over to during demand spikes

87
Q

What is containers?

A

a type of virtualization that allows for shared operating systems for more resource savings and faster execution; Docker is well known for this.

88
Q

How is virtualization used in-house?

A

It is used to reduce an organization’s hardware needs, and even to create a firm’s own private cloud of scalable assets. Firms like Bechtel, BT, Merrill Lynch, and Morgan Stanley have private clouds enabled by virtualization.

89
Q

what are virtual desktops?

A

virtual desktops run an instance of a PC’s software on another machine and delivering the image of what is executing to the remote device. this allows firms to scale, back up, secure, and upgrade systems far more easily than if they had to maintain each individual PC

90
Q

Leader in virtualization software

A

Dell-owned VMware; but Microsoft has entered the industry.

91
Q

How have apps and app stores disrupted the software industry?

A
  • app store is always open
  • low distribution and maintenance costs
  • richer, more interactive interface
  • integrate more tightly with a device’s operating system
  • apps are upgraded in the background to fix bugs and add features, which lowers maintenance costs
  • several business use apps as their primary interface: Uber, Instagram, WhatsApp
92
Q

Why are firms starting to make apps?

A
  • Capturing impulse, not waiting for customers to return to a desktop
  • features and tools leveraged to guide consumers to deals, products, and parking spaces
93
Q

Why are some critical of an app-centric future?

A
  • Apps can lock a user into a given platform as it often requires software developers to create a packing using developer tools provided by mibile device manufacturers, deepening switching costs
  • apps need to be downloaded, installed, and upgraded so bugs can linger
  • although the app store can reach millions, the number of apps available makes it more challenging for smaller apps to rise.
94
Q

What are some of the options managers have when seeking to fulfill the software needs of their firms?

A
  • purchase packaged software from a vendor
  • OSS
  • SaaS or cloud/utility computing
  • outsource development
  • develop all or part of the effort themselves
95
Q

Key variables to consider when trying to satisfy software needs of a company:

A

competitive advantage - Do we rely on unique processes, procedures, or technologies that creat vital, differentiating competitive advantage? If so, proprietary systems should be developed.

security - are there risks associated with using the packaged software, OSS, cloud solution, or an outsourcing vender? Is the solution secure, reliable, and trustworthy? For off-site work, are there sufficient policies in place for on-site auditing? If no, outsourcing may not be a good option.

Legal and compliance - Is our firm prohibited outright from using technologies? Are there specific legal and compliance requirements related to deploying our products or services?

Skill, Expertise, and Available Labor - Can we build it?

Cost - Is this a cost-effective choice?

Time - Do we have time to build, test, and deploy the system?

Vendor Issues - Is the vendor reputable and in a sound financial position? Can the vender guarantee the service levels and reliability we need? What provisions are in place in case the vendor fails or is acquired? Is the vendor certified via the Carnegie Mellon Software Institute or other standards organizations in a way thay conveys quality, trust, and reliability?

96
Q
A

Info Sy (10 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions