ICT 20230

Business Information Systems

IT Infrastructure

Nishanthini Simon
School of Accounting and Business
CA Sri Lanka
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 Learning Objectives
• On the completion of this session you
should be able to,
– Identify the components of IT infrastructure
– Evaluate the role of major computer
hardware, data storage, input, and output
technologies used in business
– Evaluate important contemporary hardware
and software trends
– Understand the principal issues in managing
hardware and software technology
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 IT Infrastructure
• The composite hardware, software, network
resources and services required for the
existence, operation and management of an
enterprise’s IT environment
• Allows an organization to deliver IT solutions
and services to its employees, partners and/or
customers
• Too much complexity, too hard to change,
frustrating

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IT Infrastructure Cont.

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Evolution

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Evolution Cont.

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 Components
• IT infrastructure: provides platform for
supporting all information systems in the
business
– Computer hardware
– Computer software
– Data management technology (Organizes,
manages, and processes business data
concerned with inventory, customers, and
vendors)
– Networking and telecommunications technology
– Technology services (E.g., consultants 7 for
systems integration with legacy systems)
 Hardware
• Client Machines
– Desktop PCs, Laptops
– Smartphones, Tablets

• Servers

• Mainframes

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Computer System

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 Hardware Trends
• The emerging mobile digital platform
– Based on new handheld hardware like cell
phones, netbooks, and tablet computers.
– Wearable computers
– Wireless communications through 4G / 5G
cell networks and Wi-Fi

– BYOD

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 Hardware Trends Cont.
• Cloud Computing:
– A model of computing in which firms and
individuals obtain computing resources over the
Internet
• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
• Platform as a Service (PaaS)
• Software as a Service (SaaS)

– Utility computing, On demand computing

– Public vs Private clouds 11

• Hybrid cloud
Hardware Trends Cont.

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 Hardware Trends Cont.
• Cloud Advantages:
– Eliminates need for large up-front capital investments in systems
– Eliminates lengthy implementations on corporate computers
– Low cost subscriptions; no expensive licensing and maintenance
fees
– No hardware for subscribers to purchase, scale, and maintain
– No operating systems, database servers or applications servers
to install
– No consultants and staff
– Accessible via standard Web browser with behind-the-scene
software updates
– Better scalability, eliminate cost and complexity of managing
multiple layers of hardware and software
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 Hardware Trends Cont.
• Cloud Disadvantages:
– May not be attractive to larger companies for
their application needs
– Responsibility of data storage and control is in
the hands of the provider
– Security risks may increase and open
vulnerabilities to data maintenance
– System reliability issues
– Users dependency on the cloud computing
provider 14
 Hardware Trends Cont.
• Virtualization:
– Process of presenting a set of computing
resources so they can be accessed in ways
that are unrestricted by physical configuration
or geographic location
• Server virtualization: running more than one
operating system at the same time on single
machine – allow single physical resource to act as
multiple resources

– Reduce hardware and power expenditures15

 Hardware Trends Cont.
• Multicore processors:
– Integrated circuit with two or more processors
– Enhanced performance, reduced power
consumption, and more efficient simultaneous
processing of multiple tasks

• Nanotechnology
– Creating computer chips and other devices
thousands of times smaller through
manipulating individual atoms, molecules 16
 Hardware Trends Cont.
• Autonomic computing:
– Development of systems that can configure
themselves, heal themselves and protect
themselves from outside intruders
e.g., self-updating antivirus software

• Grid Computing:
– Connects geographically remote computers
into a single network to combine processing
power and create virtual supercomputer 17
Software

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 Software Trends
• Open-Source Software
– Produced by community of programmers : They
can fix bugs, improve functions, or adapt the software to suit
(Linux, Apache web server,
their own needs
Mozilla firefox browser, LibreOffice)
• Cloud Computing (Google Apps, Office
365)
• Software for Web
– Java Virtual machine
– Web browsers
– HTML and HTML5 19
– Ruby and Python
 Software Trends Cont.
• Software Outsourcing
– Software packages and Enterprise software
• Web Services
– 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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 Software Trends Cont.
• Software as a Service – SaaS
(Salesforce.com, Microsoft Office 365)

• Mashups (Faceforce)

• Widgets (Apple Dashboard, Yahoo!

Weather)

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 Managing Hardware and
Software Cont.
• Capacity planning
– Process of predicting when hardware system
becomes saturated
– Ensuring firm has enough computing power
for current and future needs
– Factors include:
• Maximum number of users
• Impact of current, future software
• Performance measures
• Scalability: ability of system to expand to serve
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large number of users without breaking down
 Managing Hardware and
Software
• Making wise infrastructure investment
– Amount to spend on IT
• Rent vs Buy, cloud computing
• Outsourcing

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 Managing Hardware and
Software Cont.
• Using cloud services
– Small businesses “rent” infrastructure from
another firm to avoid expenses of maintaining
hardware and software on their own.
• Off-loading peak demand to remote data centers
• Managing mobile platforms
– Balancing gains in productivity from using
mobile devices with expenses of equipping
employees with these devices
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 Managing Hardware and
Software Cont.
• Using technology service providers
– Outsourcing
• Using external provider to:
– Run networks.
– Host, manage Web site(s).
– Develop software (offshore software outsourcing).
– Manage IT infrastructures.
– Requires Service Level Agreements (SLAs)

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Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
• Used to analyze direct and indirect costs to help
determine the actual cost of owning a specific
technology
– Direct costs: hardware, software purchase costs
– Indirect costs: ongoing administration costs, upgrades,
maintenance, technical support, training, utility, and real
estate costs
– Hidden costs: support staff, downtime, additional network
management

• TCO can be reduced through increased

centralization, standardization of hardware and
software resources
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 Management Issues
• Management and governance
– Who controls IT infrastructure
– Centralized/decentralized
– How are costs allocated between divisions,
departments?
• Evaluation of hardware, software, IS
services

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Management Issues Cont.
“How much should our firm spend on IT
infrastructure?”

Competitive forces model for IT infrastructure investment

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 Trends
• The top strategic technologies…
1. Artificial Intelligence
2. Augmented Reality
3. Virtual Reality
4. Internet of Things
5. Autonomous Things
6. Smart Spaces
7. Block Chain
8. Context Awareness Computing
9. Digital Twin
10. Green Computing
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Thank You!

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