THE BUSINESS BENEFITS OF A
SOLID
MIS INFRASTRUCTURE Chapter 5
• MIS Infrastructure—Includes the plans for
how a firm will build, deploy, use, and share its
data, processes, and MIS assets
Hardware
Software
Network
Client
Server
• Enterprise Architect—Is a person grounded
in technology, fluent in business, and able to
provide the important bridge between MIS and
5-1
SUPPORTING OPERATIONS:
INFORMATION MIS
INFRASTRUCTURE Chapter 5
• Backup and Recovery Plan
• Backup—An exact copy of a system’s
information
• Recovery—The ability to get a system up and
running in the event of a system crash or
failure
Fault tolerance
Failover
Failback
• Companies should choose a backup and 5-2
SUPPORTING OPERATIONS:
INFORMATION MIS
INFRASTRUCTURE Chapter 5
• Disaster Recovery Plan
• Hot Site—A separate and fully equipped
facility where the company can move
immediately after a disaster and resume
business
• Cold Site—A separate facility that does not
have any computer equipment, but is a place
where employees can move after a disaster
• Warm Site—A separate facility with computer
equipment that requires installation and 5-3
SUPPORTING OPERATIONS:
INFORMATION MIS
INFRASTRUCTURE Chapter 5
• Disaster Recovery Plan
Disaster Recovery Plan—A detailed
process for recovering information or an IT
system in the event of a catastrophic disaster
such as a fire or flood
Disaster Recovery Cost Curve—Charts (1)
the cost to the organization of the
unavailability of info and technology and (2)
the cost to the organization of recovering
from a disaster over time
5-4
SUPPORTING OPERATIONS:
INFORMATION MIS
INFRASTRUCTURE Chapter 5
• Business Continuity Plan
Business Continuity Planning (BCP)—A
plan for how an organization will recover
and restore partially or completely
interrupted critical function(s) within a
predetermined time after a disaster or
extended disruption
Emergency Notification Service—An
infrastructure built for notifying people in
5-5
SUPPORTING CHANGE:
AGILE MIS INFRASTRUCTURE
Chapter 5
• Accessibility—Refers to the varying levels that
define what a user can access, view, or perform
when operating a system
Administrator Access—Unrestricted access to the
entire system.
• Availability—Time frames when the system is
operational
Unavailable—Time frames when a system is not
operating and cannot be used
High availability—System is continuously operational
at all times
• Maintainability—How quickly a system can
transform to support environmental changes 5-6
SUPPORTING CHANGE:
AGILE MIS INFRASTRUCTURE
Chapter 5
• Portability—The ability of an application to
operate on different devices or software
platforms
• Reliability—Ensures a system is functioning
correctly and providing accurate information
• Scalability—How well a system can scale
up, or adapt to the increased demands
of growth
5-7
SUPPORTING CHANGE:
AGILE MIS INFRASTRUCTURE
Chapter 5
• Performance—Measures how quickly a
system performs a process or transaction
• Capacity planning—Determines future
environmental infrastructure requirements to
ensure high-quality system performance
• Usability—The degree to which a system is
easy to learn and efficient and satisfying to
use
5-8
MIS AND THE
ENVIRONMENT Chapter 5
• Moore’s Law—Refers to how the computer
chip performance per dollar doubles every
18 months
• Sustainable, or “Green,” MIS—Describes
the production, management, use, and
disposal of technology in a way that
minimizes damage to the environment
• Corporate Social Responsibility—
Companies’ acknowledged responsibility to
society 5-9
MIS AND THE
ENVIRONMENT Chapter 5
• Increased Electronic Waste
Ewaste—Refers to discarded, obsolete, or
broken electronic devices
Sustainable MIS Disposal—Refers to the
safe disposal of MIS assets at the end of
their life cycle
• Increased Energy Consumption
The energy consumed by a computer is
estimated to produce as much as 10 percent
of the amount of carbon dioxide produced
by an automobile
5-10
MIS AND THE
ENVIRONMENT Chapter 5
• Increased Carbon Emissions
The major human-generated greenhouse
gases, such as carbon emissions from
energy use, are very likely responsible for
the increases in climatic temperature over
the past half a century
When left on continuously, a single desktop
computer and monitor can consume at least
100 watts of power per hour
5-11
SUPPORTING THE ENVIRONMENT:
SUSTAINABLE MIS
INFRASTRUCTURE Chapter 5
• Grid Computing—A collection of computers,
often geographically dispersed, that are
coordinated to solve a common problem
• Cloud Computing—Refers to the use of
resources and applications hosted remotely
on the Internet
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
Software as a Service (SaaS)
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
5-12
SUPPORTING THE ENVIRONMENT:
SUSTAINABLE MIS
INFRASTRUCTURE Chapter 5
• Virtualization—Creates multiple “virtual”
machines on a single computing device
• Data Center—A facility used to house
management information systems and
associated components, such as
telecommunications and storage systems
• Sustainable Data Centers
Reduces carbon emissions
Reduces required floor space
5-13
