Management Information System

Chapter Two

Lecture 3- Information Technology

Infrastructure

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Recap about Computer System (reading
assignment)

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 Management Information System

Foundations of Business Intelligence:

Databases and Information Management

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 Organizing Data in a Traditional File Environment
 Computer system
organizes data in a
hierarchy:
 Bit (0 or 1)  Bytes
(grouped bits) 
Field (grouped bytes)
 record (grouped
fields) File (related
records)  Database
(related files)

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 Organizing Data in a Traditional File Environment
 Traditional File Processing
 Includes both manual and computer based file system
 Problems with the traditional file environment (files maintained
separately by different departments)
 Each application requires a unique data file that is likely to be a subset of
the master file.
 These subsets of the master file lead to data processing inflexibility and
wasted storage resources:
– Data redundancy: presence of duplicate data in multiple files
– Data inconsistency: same attribute has different values
– Program-data dependence: when changes in program requires
changes to data accessed by program
– Lack of flexibility
– Poor security
– Lack of data sharing and availability
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 Organizing Data in a Traditional File Environment
 Traditional File Processing
 Eg. Different functions in the business (accounting, finance, HR, etc.)
maintained their own separate files and databases

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 Database Approach to Data Management
 Database
– Serves many applications by centralizing data and controlling
redundant data.
– Data are stored so as to appear to users as being stored in only one
location.
– A single database services multiple applications.
 Database management system (DBMS)
– Interfaces between applications and physical data files
– Separates logical and physical views of data
– Solves problems of traditional file environment:
• Controls redundancy
• Eliminates inconsistency
• Uncouples programs and data
• Enables organization to centrally manage data and data security

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 Database Approach to Data Management
 Example: a single common human resources database - with Multiple
Views (Benefits and Payroll View)
– Physical view: shows how the data are actually organized and stored on the
physical media.
– Physical data do not change, but a DBMS can create many different
logical views to suit different needs of users.
– Logical View: two different views in an HR database: one for reviewing
employee benefits and the other for accessing payroll records.

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Using Databases to Improve Business Performance and Decision Making
 Very large databases and systems require special capabilities and tools
– To analyze large quantities of data
– To access data from multiple systems
 Business Intelligence: tools for consolidating, analyzing, and providing
access to vast amounts of data to help users to make better business
decisions.
 Principal tools include:
1. Data warehousing
• Extracts current and historical data from multiple operational systems inside
the organization (Data marts - subset of data warehouse)
2. Online analytical processing (OLAP)
• Enables rapid, online answers to ad hoc queries
• Supports multidimensional data analysis ( viewing data using multiple
dimensions)
3. Data mining
4. Tools for accessing internal databases through the Web
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 Using Databases to Improve Business Performance and Decision Making
 Data mining:
– Provides insights into data that cannot be discovered through OLAP, by
inferring rules from patterns in data.
– Finds hidden patterns, relationships in large databases and infers rules to
predict future behavior
– E.g.: finding patterns in customer data for one-to-one marketing
campaigns or to identify profitable customers.
 Types of information obtainable from data mining:
1. Associations: occurrences linked to single event
2. Sequences: events linked over time
3. Classification: recognizes patterns that describe group to which item
belongs
4. Clustering: similar to classification when no groups have been defined;
finds groupings within data
5. Forecasting: uses series of existing values to forecast what other values will
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Using Databases to Improve Business Performance and Decision Making
• Predictive analysis
– Uses data mining techniques, historical data, and assumptions about
future conditions to predict outcomes of events
– E.g.: probability a customer will respond to an offer
• Text mining
– Extracts key elements from large unstructured data sets (e.g., stored e-
mails)
• Web mining
– Discovery and analysis of useful patterns and information from WWW
• E.g.: to understand customer behavior, evaluate effectiveness of
Web site, etc.
– Web content mining: knowledge extracted from content of Web pages
– Web structure mining: e.g.: links to and from Web page
– Web usage mining: user interaction data recorded by Web server

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 Using Databases to Improve Business Performance and Decision Making
 Databases and the Web
– Many companies use Web to make some internal databases available to
customers or partners
– Users access such database through the Web using their desktop PCs and Web
browser software
– Advantages of using Web for database access:
• Ease of using browser software
• Web interface requires few or no changes to database
• Inexpensive to add Web interface to system
– Typical configuration includes: web server, application server/middleware and
database server (hosting DBM)

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 Management Information System

IT Infrastructure and Emerging

Technologies
 IT infrastructure in organizations today is an outgrowth of over 50 years
of evolution in computing platforms.
 There have been five stages in the evolution:
1. General-purpose mainframe and minicomputer computing
2. Personal computers
3. Client/server networks
4. Enterprise computing
5. Cloud and mobile computing

 Each stage representing a different configuration of computing power

and infrastructure elements
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 IT Infrastructure
 Evolution of IT infrastructure
 General-purpose mainframe and minicomputer era: 1958 to present
– 1958 IBM first mainframes introduced, eventually used to support thousands
of online remote terminals
– 1965 Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) introduced: less expensive
minicomputers, allowing decentralized computing
 Personal computer era: 1981 to present
– 1981 Introduction of IBM PC: considered the beginning of the PC era
– Proliferation in 1980s introduced: Software tools—word processors,
spreadsheets, electronic presentation software, and small data management
program
– In 1990: PC operating system software were introduced
 Client/server era: 1983 to present
– Desktop clients networked to servers, with processing work split between
clients and servers
– Network may be two-tiered or multitiered (N-tiered)
– Various types of servers (network, application, Web)
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 IT Infrastructure
Eras in IT Infrastructure Evolution
 Computing configurations characterizing in IT infrastructure evolution

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 IT Infrastructure
 Evolution of IT infrastructure (cont.)
 Enterprise Internet computing era: 1992 to present
• Move toward integrating disparate networks, applications using Internet
standards and enterprise applications
• Information can flow freely across the organization and between the firm and
other organizations.
 Cloud and Mobile Computing: 2000 to present
• Cloud computing is the use of computing resources (hardware and software)
that are delivered as a service over a network
• Refers to a model of computing where firms and individuals obtain
computing power and software applications over the Internet
• Cloud computing entrusts remote services with a user's data, software and
computation.
• Allows a business the potential to reduce IT operational costs by outsourcing
hardware and software maintenance and support to the cloud provider.
• Example Software firms such as Google: Google Apps and Google’s suite
of software applications over Internet
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Eras in IT Infrastructure Evolution (cont.)

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 Management Information System

Introduction to Networking, the

Internet, and Wireless Technology

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 Data Communication

 Data communications are the exchange of data between two devices via
some form of transmission medium such as a wired cable or Wireless.

 Five components of data communication:

– Message: data/information that is to be communicated
– Sender/source: the device that sends the message
– Receiver/destination: device that receives the message
– Transmission medium: physical path that communicates the
message from sender to receiver
– Protocol: refers to a set of rules that coordinates or governs the
exchange of information

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 Transmission Modes
 Simplex communication: unidirectional
– Example: TV Broadcast, Fiber
 Half duplex communication: bi-directional, one direction at a time
– Example: Ethernet (IEEE 802.3)
 Full-duplex: bi-directional, both directions simultaneously
– Example: Telephone

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 Data Representation Techniques
 Data can be analogy or digital
– Analogy: data refers to information that is continuous
– Digital: data refers to information that has discrete states
 Example analogy clock (with second, minute and hour hands) and digital
clock
– Analogy signal: has infinitely many levels of intensity over a period of time.
– Digital signal: has only a limited number of defined values. Although each
value can be any number, it is often as simple as 1 and 0.
• Modem:
– Modulator – translate digital signals to analog form
– Demodulator – translate analog signals to digital form

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 Computer Networks
 Definitions:
– Computer Network is a system in which a number of independent
computers are linked together to share data or information.
– Two or more connected computers.
 Example: the major components of simple computer network
– Consisting: Client computers, Network Operating System(NOS) residing on
a dedicated server computer, cable (wiring) connecting the devices, network
interface cards (NICs), switches, and a router.

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 Use of Computer Networks
 Business Applications  Mobile Users
– Resource sharing – Notebook computers
– Data sharing • Business travelers, students
– Notices – PDAs – Personal Digital
– Intranet applications Assistants
– Video-Conferencing • Health workers, Courier
– E-commerce (electronic Services
commerce) – Mobile phones
– Voice Communication, etc. • Internet, SMS, MMS
 Home Applications – Wireless handsets
– Access to remote information • Security agencies, site
– Personal communication engineers, utilities
– Entertainment
– E-Commerce
– Education

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 Types of Computer Network
 Four categories of networks based on its size and geographical coverage
 Personal Area Network(PAN): example: Bluetooth technology
 Local Area Network (LAN): it is confined to a limited geographic area
– A LAN can range from simple (two computers connected by a cable)
to complex (hundreds of connected computers and peripherals
throughout a major corporation).
 Metropolitan Area Network (MAN): a network with a size between a
LAN and a WAN.
– It normally covers the area inside a town or a city.
 Wide Area Network (WAN): provides long-distance transmission of data,
image, audio, and video information over large geographic areas that may
comprise a country, a continent, or even the whole world.
– Eg.: Internet

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LAN

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26
 Network Topology
 Network topology: the geometric representation of the relationship of all the
links and nodes to one another.
– Refers to the way in which a network is laid out physically.
 Basic types network topologies: star, bus, and ring topology
– Bus Topology: is multipoint connection, one long cable acts as a backbone
to link all the devices in a network
– Star topology: each device has a dedicated point-to-point link only to a
central controller, usually called a hub.
– Ring topology: each device has a dedicated point-to-point connection with
only the two devices on either side of it.

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 Network Models by Capability
 Client/Server Model: microcomputer users, or clients, share services of a
centralized computer called a server.
– Clients linked through network controlled by network server computer
– Server sets rules of communication for network and provides every
client with an address so others can find it on the network
– Has largely replaced centralized mainframe computing
• Internet: largest implementation of client/server network

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 Network Models by Capability
 Peer-to-Peer Model: computers on the network communicate with each
others as equals and each computer is responsible for making its own
resources available to other computers on the network.
– Network Operating System (NOS) is not required.

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 Network Reference Models
 A network is a combination of hardware and software that sends
data from one location to another.
– Software package uses the services of another software package.
– At the lowest layer, a signal, or a set of signals, is sent from the
source computer to the destination computer.
– We use the concept of layers in our daily life.
– Example: the task of sending an e-mail from one point in the
world to another can be broken into several tasks, each
performed by a separate software package.

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 Layered Tasks
 Example: consider two friends who communicate through postal mail
 The process of sending a letter to a friend would be complex if there
were no services available from the post office.

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 TCP/IP Reference Model
 Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
• It was originally proposed in 1974 by US Department of Defense Advanced
Research Project Agency (DARPA) network, and it is now the basis for the
Internet
• Then, developed by Universities
• The work of engineer volunteers
• Accepted by users
– TCP/IP is a suite of protocols
Application
– TCP/IP suite uses a layered model.

•TCP/IP reference model has four layered: Transport

Internet

Network
Interface 32
TCP/IP Reference Model
 When computer A sends a message
to computer B:
– The data created by computer A in an
application layer is transferred to down
layer in sequence.
– In this process it is split into packets,
and information is added at each stage,
ultimately translating the packets into a
form that can be transferred over the
network interface.
– After traveling over the network
interface, the packets are reassembled
at the recipient computer, from the
network interface layer up, ultimately
for use by the application layer.

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 TCP/IP Layers - What does each layer do?
 Network Interface layer: it is at the bottom of
the reference model that is responsible for placing
packets on and receiving them from the
network medium
Application  It is the combination of data link and physical
layers
 It deals with pure hardware issues (wires, satellite
Transport links, network interface cards, etc.)
 Ethernet exists at the network access layer –

Internet – its hardware operates at the physical layer

– its medium access control method operates at
the data link layer.
Network
Interface
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 TCP/IP Layers - What does each layer do?
 Internet layer: is responsible for the routing and
delivery of data across networks.
• It allows communication across networks of the
same and different types and carries out translations
Application to deal with dissimilar data addressing schemes.
• IP (Internet Protocol) and ARP (Address Resolution
Protocol) are both to be found at the Internet layer.
Transport • IP has the task of delivering distinguished protocol
datagrams (packets) from the source host to the
destination host solely based on their addresses.
Internet  IP is used “best effort service”, i.e. no guarantee of
packet delivery

Network
access
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 TCP/IP Layers - What does each layer do?
 Transport layer: is responsible for providing the
application layer with communication and packet
services.
 Enables multiple applications to communicate over
the network at the same time on a single device
Application
 The two protocols found at the transport layer are:
– TCP (Transmission Control Protocol): reliable,
connection-oriented protocol that provides error
Transport checking and flow control through a virtual link that it
establishes and finally terminates.
• Examples include FTP and TELNET
Internet – UDP (User Datagram Protocol): unreliable,
connectionless protocol that not error check or offer
any flow control.
Network • Examples include DNS
access
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 TCP/IP Layers: what does each layer do?
 Application layer: enables client application
programs to access the other layers and defines the
protocols that applications use to exchange data.
• It gives an application access to the communication
environment.
Application • Where users actually communicate to the computer.
– Example: Internet Explorer (IE).
• Typical application layer protocols:
Transport
– Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
– File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
– E-mail (SMTP,POP,IMAP)
Internet
– Domain Name System (DNS)
Domain Name System (DNS)
Network • Thousands of servers, installed in many different
access locations, provide the services we use over the Internet.
• Each of these servers is assigned a unique IP address 37
 Physical transmission media
 The physical path between transmitter and receiver in a data transmission
system.
 Can be classified as guided or unguided.
 Guided media: wired transmission media
– Twisted wire: shielded twisted-pair (STP) & unshielded twisted-pair (UTP)
– Coaxial cable: has a central core conductor of solid (usually copper)
– Fiber optics and optical networks
 Unguided media: wireless transmission media
– Microwave: waves that propagate in the sky mode, can travel long
distances, such as for AM radio
– Satellites: Repeater in the sky with high bandwidth
– Cellular telephones: sometimes called mobile telephone, is a type of
short wave analog or digital telecommunication

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 What is the Internet?
 Internet is a wide area network, which is the network of networks
 Internet is the largest computer network in the world.
 It connects a large number of computers, of all connected together

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 Internet Network Architecture
• Internet backbone connects to regional networks, which in turn provide access to
Internet service providers, large firms, and government institutions.
• Network access points (NAPs) and metropolitan area exchanges (MAEs) are hubs
where the backbone intersects regional and local networks and where backbone
owners connect with one another.

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 Internet Services: What can you do on the Internet?
 There are many Internet services and if you're connected to the Internet
you can get
 Internet services
– E-mail
– Chatting and instant messaging
– Newsgroups: users from any where on the Internet to participate a
discussion groups
– Telnet: a program used to log into a remote computer directly
– File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
– World Wide Web (WWW)
– VoIP: Voice Over IP
– Virtual private network (VPN)

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 Client/Server computing on the Internet
 Client computers running Web browser and other software can access an
array of services on servers over the Internet.
 These services may all run on a single server or on multiple specialized
servers.

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 How Voice Over IP Works
 VoIP phone call digitizes and breaks up a voice message into data packets that
may travel along different routes before being reassembled at the final
destination.
 Gateway: processor nearest the call’s destination
 Arranges the packets in the proper order and directs them to the telephone
number of the receiver or the IP address of the receiving computer.

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 A Virtual Private Network Using the Internet
 VPN is a private network of computers linked using a secure ―tunnel‖
connection over the Internet.
– A, B, C, and D represent different computers
 It protects data transmitted over the public Internet by encoding the data and
―wrapping‖ them within the IP.
 By adding a wrapper around a network message to hide its content, business firms
can create a private connection that travels through the public Internet.

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 World Wide Web
 HTML (Hypertext Markup Language):
– Formats documents for display on Web
 Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP):
– Communications standard used for transferring Web pages
 Uniform resource locators (URLs): addresses of Web pages
– www.astu.edu.et
– IP address: 213.55.101.26
 Web servers: software for locating and managing Web pages
 Search engines: a service that acts as an intermediary between you, the
user or client, and a set of databases containing URLs.
– Today, major source of Internet advertising revenue via search engine
marketing, using complex algorithms and page ranking techniques to
locate results
– Example: Google, Bing, Yahoo, and etc.,
– Google is the most popular search engine, handling 72%
 Google is a powerful, user-friendly 45
 Search Engine: How Google Works?
 Google search engine is continuously crawling the Web, indexing the content of
each page, calculating its popularity, and storing the pages so that it can respond
quickly to user requests to see a page.
 The entire process takes about one-half second.

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 Wireless Revolution
 Wireless computer networks and Internet access: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and
WiMax
 Bluetooth (802.15): useful for personal networking (PANs) and in business to
transmit data from handheld devices to other transmitters
– Links up to 8 devices to interact wirelessly with each other within a small area
about 10-m coverage.

 Bluetooth: enables a
variety of devices,
including:
 Cell Phones
 PDAs
 Wireless
Keyboards, Mice,
PCs, and Printers.

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 Wireless Revolution
 Wi-Fi (802.11): used for wireless LAN and wireless Internet access
– Set of standards: 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n
– Use access points: device with radio receiver/transmitter for connecting
wireless devices to a wired LAN
– Hotspots: access points in public place to provide maximum wireless
coverage for a specific area
• Mobile laptop computers equipped with network interface cards link to the
wired LAN by communicating with the access point.
• Access point transmits network signals from the wired network to the client
adapters, which convert them into data that the mobile device can understand.
• Client adapter then transmits the data from the mobile device back to the access
point, which forwards the data to the wired network.

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 Wireless Revolution
 WiMax (802.16)
– Stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access
– Require WiMax antennas
– WiMAX is a standards-based wireless technology that provides high-
throughput broadband connections over long distances and mobile
environment.
– WiMAX can be used for: broadband connections, mobile broadband
wireless service and enterprise connectivity.

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 Radio frequency identification (RFID)
 Use tiny tags with embedded microchips containing data about an item
and location, and antenna
 Tags transmit radio signals over short distances to special RFID readers,
which send data over network to computer for processing
– Active RFID: ranged hundreds of feet tags, have batteries, data can be
rewritten, and more expensive.
– Passive RFID: range is shorter, powered by radio frequency energy, also
smaller, and less expensive.
 Commonly used:
– Automated toll-collection.
– Tracking goods in a supply chain: inventory control and supply chain
management.
 Requires companies to have a special hardware and software.
 Reduction in cost of tags making RFID viable for many firms.

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 How RFID Works?
 RFID uses low-powered radio transmitters to read data stored in a tag
at distances ranging from 1 inch to 100 feet.
 Reader captures the data from the tag and sends them over a network to
a host computer for processing.

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 Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs)
 Networks of hundreds or thousands of interconnected wireless devices
embedded into physical environment to provide measurements of many points
over large spaces
– Devices have built-in processing, storage, and radio frequency sensors
and antennas
– Require low-power, long-lasting batteries and ability to endure in the
field without maintenance
 Used to monitor building security, detect hazardous substances in air, monitor
environmental changes, traffic, or military activity.
 Wireless sensors are linked into an interconnected network that routes the data
to a computer for analysis.

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 Internet of Things (IoT)
 IoT: enabling new forms of communication between people and things,
and between things themselves
 IoT: would add a new dimension to the world of information and
communication just as Internet once did.
• EVERYTHING WILL be connected
– Everything on Internet
– Everybody on Internet
 The main enabling technologies in IoT are: RFID systems, sensor
networks, and intelligence in smart objects, etc.
 Technology:
– Blend and interconnect individual smart devices
– Enable access to information about the real world
– Interact and influence the real world

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 Smart City Scenario
 The cars receive live information from the road authority about the
state of the roads, including traffic jams, accidents and weather.
 The car transmits information to the road authority regarding speed,
distance travelled, use of windscreen wipers and etc.

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 THANK YOU!!

Q&A?
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