Information Systems Today: Managing in the Digital World 4-1
Chapter
Managing the Information System Infrastructure
Based on results of survey data from 2004, 70% of respondents had stolen key information from an employer
Ibas - Data forensics firm, UK
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Infrastructure
• Interconnection of basic facilities and services enabling the area to function properly
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The IS Infrastructure
• Why there?o Fiber-optic network
connectivity o Access to water for
cooling needs o Cheap, uninterrupted
power from a nearby hydroelectric dam
• Google’s newest data center – The Dalles, OR
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The Need for an IS Infrastructure• Businesses rely on IS infrastructure to support
business processes, decision making and competitive strategy
• Business Processeso Activities that
organizations perform to achieve business goals• Core Processes • Supporting
Processes
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IS Infrastructure
• IS infrastructure components include: 1. Hardware2. Software3. Networks4. Data5. Facilities6. Human resources7. Services
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IS Infrastructure: Hardware
• Integral part of the infrastructure:o Computerso Networking
hardware
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IS Infrastructure: Hardware (II)
• Issues:o What technologies to
chooseo When to replace
equipmento How to secure
infrastructureo How to assure
reliabilityo Etc.
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IS Infrastructure: Software
• Software enables companies to utilize their IS hardware
• Issues:o Updateso Fixing bugso Software licenseso Etc.
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IS Infrastructure: Communication and Collaboration• Help
organizations to become powerful• Enabled by networking hard- and software• Alsoo Email serverso Communication
softwareo Etc.
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IS Infrastructure: Communication and Collaboration (II)
• Key issueo What types of
communication technologies support the organization’s goals?
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IS Infrastructure: Facilities
• Need for specialized facilities, including:o Electricityo Coolingo Etc.
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Potential Threats to IS Facilities
• Key issues:o Where to
house data centers, etc.
o Threats to IS facilities•Outside
intruders•Environmental
elements
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IS Infrastructure: Human Resources
• Need for trained workforceo Influences
location decision
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IS Infrastructure: Services• Processes which are
not core competencies are often delegated to companies with more experience
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Managing the Hardware Infrastructure
• Issues to consider:o Fluctuating computing demando Large-scale problemso System complexity
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Fluctuating Computing Demand• On-demand computing
o Available resources allocated based on user needso Utility computing
• On-demand computing rented from external provider
• Paid on as-neededbasis
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Solving Large-Scale Problems• Grid Computing
o Combines computing power of a large number of smaller, independent, networked computers• Tasks broken down
into smaller chunkso Dedicated vs.
heterogeneous grids• Acquisition vs.
management costs
o Edge computing• Save bandwidth• Improved Response time
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Managing System Complexity
• Autonomic computingo Self-managing
systems requiring minimal human intervention to operate
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Managing the Software Infrastructure
• Primary issues to consider:o Cost of softwareo Integrationo Managing bugs
and licenseso Fluctuating
computing needs
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Open-Source Software• Open-source movement aided by the advent of
the Internet• Source code is freely available for use and/or
modificationo Open-source operating
system• Linux
o Used in everything from fridges to personal computers to supercomputers
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Open-Source Application Software• Open-source application software
o Apache Web servero Firefox Web browsero OpenOffice
• Drawback:o Finding customer
support may be difficult
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Web Services
• Web-based software systems allowing for an interaction of different programs and databases over a network
• Service-oriented architecture
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Managing Software Assets• Managing software bugs
o Increased complexity of applications prevents error- free development
o Patch management system
• Managing software licensingo Hot topic due to problems with piracyo Shrink-wrap licenseo Enterprise licenseo Software asset management
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Application Service Providers• ASPs provide on-demand software access
over the Webo Specific software located on the ASP’s servero Accessed using Web-enabled interfaces
• Benefits:o Reduced need to maintain or upgrade softwareo Fixed monthly fee for serviceso Reliability
• Example: Google Calendar
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Application Service Providers (II)
• Types of ASPs:o Specialist or functional ASPo Vertical market ASPo Enterprise ASPo Local ASP
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Managing the Communication and Collaboration Infrastructure
• Diverse communication needs
• Solution:o Convergenceo Increasing mobility
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Convergence of Computing and Telecommunication
• Convergence of functionality of deviceso Cell phone and PDA
• Convergence within underlying infrastructureso IP convergence
• Voice over IP• Videoconferencing over IP
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IP Convergence: VoIP
• Use of Internet technologies for placing telephone callso High quality of
transmission possibleo Ability to call from any
place with Internet connection
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IP Convergence: Videoconferencing over IP
• IP used to transmit video datao Desktop video conferencingo HP Halo meeting room: $400,000
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Increasing Mobility• Knowledge workers require access to
information from anywhereo Communication deviceso Wireless devices capable of connecting to
organization’s internal network
• Wireless security concerns
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Managing the Data and Knowledge Infrastructure
• Organizations need to find new ways to manage: o Data from different
sources•Data mining
o Internal knowledge•Knowledge
management tools
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Data Mining
• Online transaction processing (OLTP)o Immediate response to user
requests
• Online analytical processing (OLAP)o Quickly conducting complex
analyses on data stored in a database
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Data Mining• Enhancing business intelligence by combining data
from various sources
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Data Warehouses and Data Marts
• Data Warehouseo Integration of multiple large databases and other
information sources into a single repositoryo Pull together, integrate, and share critical corporate
data throughout the firm
• Data Mart o Data warehouse that is limited in scopeo Customized for the decision support applications of
a particular end-user group
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Increasing Business Intelligence with Knowledge Management
• Knowledge managemento The process used to get the greatest value
from knowledge assets
• Knowledge management systemo Collection of tools to generate, store, share,
and manage tacit knowledge assets
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Knowledge Assets
• Knowledge assets: skills, routines, practices, principles, formulas, methods, heuristics, and intuitionso Explicit knowledge
assetso Tacit knowledge
assets
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Managing the Facilities Infrastructure
• Ensuring availabilityo High availability
facilitieso Collocation facilities
• Securing the facilitieso Physical safeguards
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Ensuring Availability
High-availability facilities
Collocation facilities
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Managing Human Resource Infrastructure• Need for highly
trained workforce may be managed by:o Facility locationo Educational grantso Human resource
policieso Outsourcing of human
resource services
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Managing Human Resource Infrastructure• Locating facilities in areas with high
concentration of people with a certain skill• Silicon Valley, CA or Seattle, WA
• Providing education opportunities for existing employees
• Educational grants
• Human resource policies• Flextime, telecommuting
• Outsourcing of human resource services• Bangalore, India
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Managing the Service Infrastructure
• Increased complexity of ISo Services providers
address infrastructure needs
o Outsourcing
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Services Providers Addressing Infrastructure Needs
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Outsourcing
• Partial or entire responsibility for IS development and/or management given to an outside organizationo Enables focus on core competencies
•Outsourced functionso Non-core functionso E.g., accounting, human resources
•Some business functions traditionally kept within the organization
o Information systems security
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Ensuring a Reliable and Secure Infrastructure
• Variety of threats to IS infrastructure
• Infrastructure reliability may be the most important concerno Disaster planningo Designing the recovery plano IS controls, auditing and the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act
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Disaster Planning• Disaster recovery plan
o Detailed list of procedures to follow when recovering from a systems-related disaster
• Backup Siteso Cold backup site – an empty warehouse with all necessary
connections for power and communicationo Hot backup site – a fully equipped backup facilityo Choosing a backup site location
• different geographic location to minimize the risk of a disaster happening to both systems
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Designing the Recovery Plan
• Recovery time objectiveso Specify the maximum time allowed to
recover from a catastrophic event
• Recovery point objectiveso Specify how current the backup data should
be
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IS Controls, Auditing and Sarbanes-Oxley Act
• IS controls o Specific IT processes designed to ensure
reliability of informationo Controls should be a combination of three
types of controls:•Preventive controls •Detective controls•Corrective controls
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IS Auditing• IS audit
o Performed by external auditors to help organizations assess the state of their IS controls • To determine necessary changes • To assure the IS availability, confidentiality, and integrity
• Risk assessment o Determine what type of risks the IS infrastructure faces
• Computer Assisted Auditing Tools (CAAT) o Specific software to test applications and data, test data, or
simulations.
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The Sarbanes-Oxley Act• Formed as a reaction to large-scale accounting
scandals o WorldCom, Enron
• Primarily addresses the accounting side of organizations
• COBIT (Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology) o Set of best practices
• Help organizations to maximize the benefits from their IS infrastructure
• Establish appropriate controls
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Opening Case: Managing in the Digital World: “I Googled
You!”
• January 1996 – Brin and Page create BackRub
• September 1998 - Google Inc. began operationso PC Magazine named it best search engine of 1998
• 1999 - Google has 9 employeeso more than 500,000 searches a day
• 2000 – world’s largest search engine o 18 million queries a day
• April 2004 – Google’s first IPOo April 2004 - $85o December 2006 - $466
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Who Owns Company Data?• Stealing information from a company is
worse than stealing hardwareo 2004 survey – 70% of respondents had
stolen key information from an employer•72% reported they had no ethical problems with
stealing the information•30% had stolen customer contact information•80% justified their actions by saying they built the
database in the first place
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Broadband Access Increases• In 2006, nearly 70% of Internet users in the
U.S. had access to broadband connections
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Cognitive Radio• Wireless transmission very popular
• Overcrowding of airways a concerno Dropped calls
• Wireless frequencies are full• Too few wireless towers• Environmental interference
• Solution - “Cognitive radio”o Detects unused portions of signal spectrumo Designed for emergency situationso Intel the leader in commercialization of the technology
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Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Cofounders of Google
• 1st quarter results as a public company: $805.9 million
• Brin and Page are worth $12.8 billion each
• Google.org – addresses world’s most pressing problems
• Developed innovative ways to increase employee moraleo Roller-hockey gameso On-site workout and
massage roomso One day a week spent
on innovation projects
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Toyota’s Savvy CIO
• Problem:o IT failures due to misalignment between business and IT
departments
• Solution:o Creation of cooperative planning process o Input from corporate headquarterso Changes in the IT department
• Results:o Deadlines meto 16% project cost reduction – saving millions of dollars
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BlackBerry• Research in Motion (RIM) introduced
BlackBerry in 1999o More than 3 million users in March 2006
• NTP Inc. sued RIM claiming patent infringement o NTP sent notice of their wireless communications
patents to wireless companies (including RIM)o RIM agreed to pay NTP $612.5 million