IT Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies Flashcards
Information technology infrastructure
The shared technology resources that provide the platform for the firm’s specific information system applications
The investment in hardware, software and services (consulting, education training) that are shared across the firm or across business units in the firm
Composed of both human and technical capabilities
Computing platforms (IT infrastructure examples)
provide computing services that connect employees, customers and suppliers into a coherent digital environment
includes large mainframes, midrange computers, desktop and laptop computers, and mobile handheld and remote cloud computing services
Telecommunications services (IT infrastructure examples)
provide data, voice and video connectivity to employees, customers, and suppliers
Data management services (IT infrastructure examples)
store and manage corporate data and provide capabilities for analyzing the data
Application software services (and online software services) (IT infrastructure examples)
provide enterprise-wide capabilities such as enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management, supply chain management, and knowledge management systems that are shared by all business units
Physical facilities management services (IT infrastructure examples)
develop and manage the physical installations required for computing, telecommunications, and data management services
IT management services (IT infrastructure examples)
plan and develop the infrastructure, coordinate with the business units for IT services, management accounting for the IT expenditure, and provide project management services
IT standards services (IT infrastructure examples)
provide the firm and its business units with policies that determine which information technology will be used, when, and how
IT education services (IT infrastructure examples)
provide training in system use to employees and offer managers training in how to plan for and manage IT investments
IT research and development services (IT infrastructure examples
provide the firm with research on potential future IT projects and investments that could help the firm differentiate itself in the marketplace
Five stages of the evolution in computing platforms
- General-Purpose Mainframe and Minicomputer Era (1959 – Present): mainframe computers became powerful enough to support thousands of online remote terminals connected to the centralized mainframe
- Personal Computer Era (1981 – Present): IBM PC in 1981 widely introduced PCs to businesses
- Client/Server Era (1983 – Present): In client/server computing, desktop or laptop computers called clients are networked to powerful server computers. Idea was to connect a personal computer to a large server using the network
- Enterprise Computing Era (1992 – Present): Internet became trusted, so firms began seriously using the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) networking standard to tie their disparate networks together So the IT infrastructure links different types of computer hardware (including mainframes, PCs, mobile devices), uses public infrastructures like the telephone system, the Internet, public network services, links software applications and enable data to flow freely among different parts of the business
- Cloud and Mobile Computing Era (2000 – Present): a model of computing that produces access to a shared pool of computing resources (computers, storage, applications, and services) over the network, often the Internet. Organization does not need to own and manage its computing capacity but can instead access it from a third party via the internet on an on demand basis, so the third party takes care of storage and computing capacity
Client/Server Computing
In client/server computing, desktop or laptop computers called clients are networked to powerful server computers that provide the client computers with a variety of services and capabilities
Two-tiered client/server architecture: simplest client/server network consists of a client computer networked to a server computer, with processing split between the two types of machines
N-tier (multitiered) Client/Server Architectures: Most larger corporations use this more complex architecture, where the work of the entire network is balanced over several different levels of servers, depending on the kind of service being requested –> When you use CBS.dk you connect to a large server located at the CBS campus, using the Internet
See model
Miniaturization
Going over to smaller and smaller sizes of chips (nanotechnology)
Moore’s Law
the evolution of computing technology, does not follow a path of linear growth, but a pattern of exponential growth
Seven Major Components of IT Infrastructure (IT Infrastructure Ecosystem)
- Computer Hardware Platforms (IBM, Oracle Sun, HP, Apple)
- Operating Systems Platforms (MacOS, Android, IOS, Unix)
- Enterprise Software Applications (SAP, Oracle, Microsoft, IBM)
- Networking/Telecommunications (AT&T, Verizon, Cisco, Linux)
- Consultants and System Integrators (IBM, HO, Accenture)
- Data Management and Storage (IBM DB2, SQL Server, MySQL, Apache, Hadoop)
- Internet Platforms (Apache, Microsoft IIS, Cisco, JavaScript)
See ecosystem model
