ITEC N453 – Information

Technology Practices

201220 - Week 05 - Lecture 01• IT Infrastructure

IT infrastructure• The shared technology resources that provide the platform for the firm’s specific information system applications.

• IT infrastructure includes investment in hardware, software, and services – such as consulting, education, and training – that are shared across the entire firm or across entire business unites in the firm.

• Investments in infrastructure account for 25 and 35 percent of IT expenditure in large firms. [2] Laudon, K. Laudon, J. “Management Information Systems” 2010, 11/e

Defining IT infrastructure• IT infrastructure consists of a set of physical devices and software applications that are required to operate the entire enterprise.

• IT infrastructure is also a set of firm wide services budgeted by management and comprising both human and technical capabilities.

Defining IT infrastructure (Cont.)• Computing platforms• Used to provide computing services that connect

employees, customers, and suppliers into a coherent digital environment, including large mainframes, desktop and laptop computers, and PDAs and internet appliances.

• Telecommunications services• Provide data, voice, and video connectivity to employees,

customers, and suppliers.

• Data management services• Store and manage corporate data and provide capabilities

for analyzing the data.

[2] Laudon, K. Laudon, J. “Management Information Systems” 2010, 11/e

Defining IT infrastructure (Cont.)• Application software services • provide enterprise-wide capabilities such as ERP, CRM,

SCM, KMS, that are shared by all business units.

• Physical facilities management services• Develop and manage the physical installations required for

computing, telecommunications, and data management services.

• IT management services• Plan and develop the infrastructure, coordinate with the

business units for IT services, manage accounting for the IT expenditure, and provide project management services.

[2] Laudon, K. Laudon, J. “Management Information Systems” 2010, 11/e

Defining IT infrastructure (Cont.)• IT standards services• Provide the firm and its business units with policies that

determine which IT will be used, when, and how.

• IT education services • 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• Provide the firm with research on potential future IT

project and investments that could help the firm differentiate itself in the marketplace.

[2] Laudon, K. Laudon, J. “Management Information Systems” 2010, 11/e

IT infrastructure components• Computer Hardware Platforms

• Dell, IBM, Sun, HP, Apple

• OS platforms• MS Windows, UNIX, Linux, Mac OS X

• Enterprise Software Applications• SAP, Oracle, MS, BEA

• Networking/Telecommunications• Linus, Cisco, Lucent, Nortel, AT&T, Verizon

• Consultant and system integrators• IBM, EDS, Accenture

• Data Management and Storage• IBM DB2, Oracle, SQL Server, Sybase, MySQL, EMC Systems

• Internet Platforms• Apache, MS IIS, MS.NET, UNIX, Cisco, Java

Computer Hardware Platforms

• In 2008, 258 million PCs were shipped worldwide ($253 billion) [2, P.204]

• U.S firms spent about $150 billion in 2008 on computer hardware (client machine and servers)• Client machine (PCs, Mobile computing devices such as

iPhone, Blackberrys, and laptops) [2, P.204]

• Servers (Intel, AMD, IBM processors)

OS platforms• At client level 95% of PCs and 45% of handheld devices use some form of MS Windows OS.

• Window comprises 70% of the server operating market• 30% of corporate servers using some form of the Unix OS or Linux.

• Windows server 2008• Capable of providing enterprise-wide OS and network

services• Appeals to organizations seeking Windows-based IT

infrastructures.

Enterprise Software Applications

• US firms spend about $250 billion in 2008 on SW for enterprise applications that are treated as components of IT infrastructure.

• Largest providers are SAP and Oracle (acquired PeopleSoft)

• Middleware software supplied by vendors such as BEA (acquired by Oracle in 2008)

• MS attempting to move into the lower ends of this market by focusing on SME

Data Management and Storage

• Few choices• Leading DB software providers are:• IBM (DB2)• Oracle• MS (SQL Server)• Sybase (Adaptive Server Enterprise)• MySQL (growing new entrant from Linux supported by HP

and others)

• Physical data storage• Market is dominated by EMC for large scale systems• Seagate, Maxtor, and Western Digital (small market)• SANs connects multiple storage devices on a separate

high-speed network dedicated to storage. (Large firms _

Networking/Telecommunications

• US firms in 2008 spend $210 billion a year (hardware)• $850 billion on networking services (telecommunications and telephony company charges for voice lines and internet access

• LAN/WAN use TCP/IP• Leading networking hardware providers (Cisco, Lucent, Nortel and Juniper networks)

Internet Platforms• U.S firms spend in 2008 an estimated $52 billion on Internet-

related infrastructure • HW & SW • Management services to support a firm’s Web site including Web hosting

services and for LANs and WANs

• Overlap with, and must relate to:• Firm’s general networking infrastructure• Firm’s hardware and software platforms.

• Internet HW server market concentrated in the hands of dell, HP/Compaq, and IBM.

• Major SW application development tools and suites supplied by MS (.NET using ASP) Sun (Sun’s Java for developing interactive Web applications), Macromedia (Flash) Media software (Real Media) Text tools (Adobe Acrobat)

Consulting and system integrators

• Even Large firms cannot implement all its own IT infrastructure? Why?• Large firms do not have the staff, the skills, the budget, or the necessary

experience to implement all its own IT infrastructure.

• Implementing new infrastructure requires?• Significant changes in business processes and procedures• Training an education• Software integration

• Leading consulting firms providing this expertise?• Accenture, • IBM Global Services, • Electronic Data Systems, • HP Technology Solutions, • Infosys,• Wipro Technologies

Consulting and system integrators (Cont.)

• Software integration?• Ensuring the new infrastructure works with the firm’s

older, so –called legacy systems and ensuring the new element of the infrastructure work with tone another.

• Legacy systems?• Older transaction processing systems created for

mainframe computer that continue to be used to avoid the high cost of replacing or redesigning them.

• Replacing these system is cost prohibitive• Generally not necessary if these older systems can be integrated into a contemporary infrastructure.

End of Lecture