Management Information Systems:

Managing the Digital Firm

Sixteenth Edition

Chapter 5
IT Infrastructure and Emerging
Technologies

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Learning Objectives
1. What is IT infrastructure, and what are the stages and
drivers of IT infrastructure evolution?
2. What are the components of IT infrastructure?
3. What are the current trends in computer hardware
platforms?
4. What are the current computer software platforms and
trends?
5. What are the challenges of managing IT infrastructure
and management solutions?
6. How will MIS help my career?

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Key Terms-1
Android, 178 Infrastructure as a service (IaaS), 185
Application server, 169 iOS, 178
Apps, 195 Java, 191
BYOD, 182 Legacy systems, 180
Chrome OS, 178 Linux, 178
Clients, 169 Mainframe, 167
Client/server computing, 169 Mashup, 195
Cloud computing, 170 Minicomputers, 167
Consumerization of IT, 182 Mobile device management (MDM), 196
Edge computing, 189 Moore’s Law, 171
Green computing (green IT), 189 Multicore processor, 190
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), 191 Multitiered client/server architecture, 169
HTML5, 191 Multitouch, 178
Hybrid cloud, 188 Nanotechnology, 173
On-demand computing, 188

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Key Terms-2
Open source software, 190 Tablet computers, 180
Operating system, 178 Technology standards, 175
Outsourcing, 194 Total cost of ownership (TCO), 198
Platform as a service (PaaS), 185 Unix, 178
Private cloud, 188 Virtualization, 183
Public cloud, 188 Web browser, 191
Quantum computing, 183 Web hosting service, 179
Scalability, 196 Web server, 169
Server, 169 Web services, 192
Service level agreement (SLA), 195 Windows, 170
Service-oriented architecture (SOA), 192 Windows 10, 178
Software as a service (SaaS), 185 Wintel PC, 169
Software package, 194 XML, 192
Software-defined storage (SDS), 183

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Video Cases
• Case 1: Rockwell Automation Fuels the Oil and Gas Industry with the
Internet of Things (IoT)
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApJJuS5_lC8 (06.41)
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7Fm5thPE4o (02.15)

• Case 2: ESPN.com : The Future of Sports Broadcasting in the Cloud

– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zv7q1Wx_QHw (07.19)

• Case 3: Netflix: Building a Business in the Cloud

– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrWII4ewrXA (16.02)

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PeroxyChem’s Cloud Computing
Formula for Success (1 of 3)
• Problem
– Loss of IT infrastructure from divestiture
– Limited time frame and resources
– Inadequate in-house IT staff
• Solutions
– Plan new IT Infrastructure
– Make ITinfrastructure investments
– Shift from operational to strategic technology orientation
– IBM-managed cloud computing services
– SAPapplications

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PeroxyChem’s Cloud Computing
Formula for Success (2 of 3)
• Outsource IT infrastructure management and operations
• Demonstrates the role of cloud computing in re-shaping a
firms infrastructure
• Illustrates how firms can integrate their existing
applications into a cloud platform

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PeroxyChem’s Cloud Computing
Formula for Success (3 of 3)

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Defining IT Infrastructure
• Set of physical devices and software
required to operate an enterprise
• Set of firm-wide services including:
– Computing platforms providing
computing services
– Physical facilities management
services
– IT management, education, and
other services
• “Service platform” perspective
– More accurate view of value of
investments

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Figure 5.1 Connection Between the
Firm, IT Infrastructure, and Business
Capabilities

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Evolution of IT Infrastructure
• General-purpose mainframe
and minicomputer era: 1959
to present
• Personal computer era:
1981 to present
• Client/server era: 1983 to
present
• Enterprise computing era:
1992 to present
• Cloud and mobile
computing: 2000 to present
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Figure 5.2 Stages in ITInfrastructure Evolution

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Figure 5.3 A Multitiered (N-Tier)
Client/Server Network

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Technology Drivers of Infrastructure
Evolution (1 of 2)
• Moore’s law and microprocessing power
– Computing power doubles every 2 years
– Nanotechnology
• Law of Mass Digital Storage
– The amount of data being stored each year doubles
• Metcalfe’s Law and network economics
– Value or power of a network grows exponentially as a
function of the number of network members.

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Technology Drivers of Infrastructure
Evolution (2 of 2)
• Declining communication costs and the Internet
– Exponential growth in size of the Internet
• Standards and network effects
– Technology standards
▪ Specifications that establish the compatibility of
products and the ability to communicate in a
network
▪ Unleash powerful economies of scale and result in
price declines

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Figure 5.4 Moore’s Law and
Microprocessor Performance

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Figure 5.5 Falling Cost of Chips

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Nanotubes

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Figure 5.6 The Amount of Storage Per
Dollar Rises Exponentially, 1950–
2016

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Figure 5.7 Exponential Declines in
Internet Communications Costs
($/MBPS)

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What Are the Components of IT
Infrastructure?
1. Computer hardware platforms
2. Operating system platforms
3. Enterprise software applications
4. Data management and storage
5. Networking/telecommunications platforms
6. Internet platforms
7. Consulting system integration services

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Figure 5.8 The IT Infrastructure
Ecosystem

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Computer Hardware Platforms
• Client machines
– Desktop PCs, laptops
– Mobile computing: smartphones, tablets
– Desktop chips vs. mobile chips
• Servers
• Mainframes
– IBM mainframe
– Digital workhorse for banking and telecommunications
networks

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Operating System Platforms
• Corporate servers
– Windows Server
– Unix
– Linux
• Client level
– Microsoft Windows
– Android, iOS, Windows 10 (mobile/multitouch)
– Google’s Chrome OS (cloud computing)

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Enterprise Software Applications
• In 2018, firms spend
$389 billion on
software for
enterprise
applications
• Largest providers:
SAP and Oracle
•Middleware providers:
IBM, Oracle

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Data Management and Storage
• Database software providers
– IBM (DB2)
– Oracle
– Microsoft (SQLServer)
– Sybase (Adaptive Server Enterprise),
– My SQL
– Apache Hadoop
• Physical data storage for large-scale systems
– Dell EMC
– Hewlett Packard Enterprise (H3C)

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Networking/Telecommunications
Platforms
• Network operating systems
– Windows Server, Linux, Unix
• Network hardware providers
– Cisco, Juniper Networks
• Telecommunication services
– Telecommunications, cable, telephone company
charges for voice lines and Internet access
– AT&T, Verizon

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Internet Platforms
• Hardware, software, management services to support
company websites, intranets
– Web-hosting services
– Routers
– Cabling or wireless equipment
• Internet hardware server market
– IBM, Dell, Oracle, HP
• Web development tools/suites
– Microsoft (Visual Studio and .NET), Oracle-Sun (Java),
Adobe

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Consulting and System Integration
Services
• Even large firms do not have resources for full range
of support for new, complex infrastructure
• Leading consulting firms: Accenture, IBM Global Services,
HP, Infosys, Wipro Technologies
• Software integration: ensuring new infrastructure works
with legacy systems
• Legacy systems: older TPS created for mainframes
that would be too costly to replace or redesign

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What Are the Current Trends in
Computer Hardware Platforms? (1 of 5)
• The mobile digital platform
– Smartphones
– Netbooks
– Tablet computers
– Digital e-book readers and apps (Kindle)
– Wearable devices
• Consumerization of IT and BYOD (bring your own device)
– Forces businesses and IT departments to rethink how
IT equipment and services are acquired and managed

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Interactive Session: Technology: Is
Business Ready for Wearable
Computers? ASSIGNMENT !!

– Wearables have the potential to change the

way organizations and workers conduct
business. Discuss the implications of this
statement.
– What management, organization, and
technology issues would have to be
addressed if a company was thinking of
equipping its workers with a wearable
computing device?
– What kinds of businesses are most likely to
benefit from wearable computers? Select a
business and describe how a wearable
computing device could help that business
improve operations or decision making.
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What Are the Current Trends in
Computer Hardware Platforms? (2 of 5)
• Quantum computing
– Uses quantum physics to represent
and operate on data
– Dramatic increases in computing
speed
• Virtualization
– Allows single physical resource to act
as multiple resources (i.e., run
multiple instances of OS)
– Reduces hardware and power
expenditures
– Facilitates hardware centralization
– Software-defined storage (SDS)
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What Are the Current Trends in
Computer Hardware Platforms? (3 of 5)
• Cloud computing
– On-demand computing services
obtained over network
▪ Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)
▪ Software as a service (SaaS)
▪ Platform as a service (PaaS)
– Cloud can be public or private
– Allows companies to minimize IT
investments
– Drawbacks: Concerns of security,
reliability
– Hybrid cloud computing model

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What Are the Current Trends in
Computer Hardware Platforms? (4 of 5)
• Edge computing
– Servers at the
edge of the
Internet
– Reducing
latency, and
network traffic

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Figure 5.9 Cloud Computing Platform

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Figure 5.10 Amazon Web Services

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Interactive Session: Organizations:
Look to the Cloud
– What business benefits do ASSIGNMENT !!
cloud computing services
provide? What problems do
they solve?
– What are the disadvantages
of cloud computing?
– What kinds of businesses
are most likely to benefit
from using cloud
computing? Why?

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What Are the Current Trends in
Computer Hardware Platforms? (4 of 4)
• Green computing (Green IT)
– Practices and technologies for manufacturing, using,
disposing of computing and networking hardware
– Reducing power consumption a high priority
– Data centres
• High performance, power-saving processors
– Multicore processors
– Power-efficient microprocessors

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What Are the Current Computer
Software Platforms and Trends?
(1 of 4)

• Linux and open-source software

– Produced by community of programmers
– Examples: Apache web server, Mozilla Firefox browser,
OpenOffice
– Linux
• Software for the web: Java, HTML, and HTML5
– Java Virtual Machine
– Web browsers
– HTMLand HTML5
– Ruby and Python
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What Are the Current Computer
Software Platforms and Trends?
(2 of 4)
• Web services and service-oriented architecture
– Web services
– XML: Extensible Markup Language

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What Are the Current Computer
Software Platforms and Trends?
(3of 4)
– SOA: service-oriented
architecture
▪ Set of self-contained
services that
communicate with one
another to create a
working software
application
▪ Software developers
reuse these services in
other combinations to
assemble other
applications as needed
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Figure 5.11 How Dollar Rent A Car
Uses Web Services

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What Are the Current Computer
Software Platforms and Trends?
(4 of 4)

• Software outsourcing and cloud

services
– Software packages and
enterprise software
– Software outsourcing
– Cloud-based software services
and tools
▪ Service Level Agreements
(SLAs): formal agreement
with service providers
• Mashups and apps
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Figure 5.12 Changing Sources of
Firm Software

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Dealing with Platform and
Infrastructure Change
• As firms shrink or grow, ITneeds to
be flexible and scalable
• Scalability
– Ability to expand to serve larger
number of users
• For mobile computing and cloud
computing
– New policies and procedures for
managing these new platforms
– Contractual agreements with firms
running clouds and distributing
software required

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Management and Governance
• Governance
• Who controls ITinfrastructure?
• How should ITdepartment be
organized?
– Centralized
▪ Central ITdepartment
makes decisions
– Decentralized
▪ Business unit IT
departments make own
decisions
• How are costs allocated between
divisions, departments?

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Making Wise Infrastructure
Investments
• Under-investment and over-
investment can hamper firm
performance
• Rent-vs-buy
• Cloud computing
– Security requirements
– Impact on business
processes and workflow
• Outsourcing

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 Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Model
• Analyzes direct and indirect
costs
• Hardware, software account
for only about 20% of TCO
• Other costs: Installation,
training, support,
maintenance, infrastructure,
downtime, space, and
energy
• TCO can be reduced
– Use of cloud services,
greater centralization
and standardization of
hardware and software
resources
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Competitive Forces Model for IT
Infrastructure Investment
• Market demand for firm’s services
• Firm’s business strategy
• Firm’s IT strategy, infrastructure, and cost
• Information technology assessment
• Competitor firm services
• Competitor firm IT infrastructure investments

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Figure 5.13 Competitive Forces Model
for IT Infrastructure

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How Will MIS Help My Career?
• The Company: A1 Tech IT Consulting
• Position Description: Entry-level IT consultant
• Job Requirements
• Interview Questions
• Author Tips

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Assignments
• Please answer the questions of 2 Case studies
– TECHNOLOGY: Is Business Ready for Wearable
Computers?? (page 181)
– ORGANIZATIONS: Look to the Cloud (page 186)
• Please answer Review Questions at the end of Ch-5 (page 203)
• Please use your own words and understanding while preparing your
work and sent your word document to my e-mail address by 5 Nov
@15.00
• [email protected]

• Please do not skip your assignments without

notice!!!
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• THIS CONCLUDES THE SESSION
• PENDING YOUR QUESTIONS
• MANY THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION
• SEE YOU NEXT WEEK

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