Management Information Systems

IT Infrastructure and
Emerging Technologies

The content is based on slides provided by the textbook publisher without specific citations, copyrighted by
Kenneth C. Laudon and Jane P. Laudon (2022). Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm,
17th Edition. Pearson Education ISBN 978-0-13 697127-6
Learning Objectives
5.1 What is IT infrastructure, and what are the stages and drivers
of IT infrastructure evolution?
5.2 What are the components of IT infrastructure?
5.3 What are the current trends in computer hardware platforms?
5.4 What are the current computer software platforms and trends?
5.5 What are the challenges of managing IT infrastructure and
management solutions?
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
Grab Leverages Information Technology
to Enhance Its Services
• Problem
– providing customers with timely service and drivers with enough
fares
– matching demand with resources in an unpredictable sector
• Solutions
– Managed cloud infrastructure
– On-demand, scalable services
• Illustrates use of cloud computing to improve effectiveness and control
costs
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
Figure 5.2
Stages in IT
Infrastructure
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
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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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
Figure 5.7 Exponential Declines in Internet
Communications Costs ($/MBPS)

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What Are the Components of I T
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
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
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)
Enterprise Software Applications

• In 2020, firms are expected to spend over $500 billion on

software for enterprise applications
• Largest providers: SAP and Oracle
• Middleware providers: IBM, Oracle
Data Management and Storage
• Database software providers
– IBM (DB2)
– Oracle
– Microsoft (SQL Server)
– SAP Sybase (Adaptive Server Enterprise),
– MySQL (Oracle)
– Apache Hadoop
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
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
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
What Are the Current Trends in
Computer Hardware Platforms? (1 of 5)
• The mobile digital platform
– Smartphones
– 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
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); also enables multiple physical
resources (such as storage devices) to appear as a single logical
resource (such as in software-defined storage (SDS))
– Reduces hardware and power expenditures
– Facilitates hardware centralization
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
Figure 5.9 Cloud Computing Platform

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Figure 5.10 Amazon Web Services

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What Are the Current Trends in
Computer Hardware Platforms? (4 of 5)

• Edge computing
– Servers at the edge of the network, near the source of
the data
– Reduces latency and network traffic
What Are the Current Trends in
Computer Hardware Platforms? (5 of 5)
• Green computing (Green IT)
– Practices and technologies for manufacturing, using,
disposing of computing and networking hardware
– Reducing power consumption, a high priority
– Green data centers
• High-performance, power-saving processors
– Multicore processors
– Power-efficient microprocessors
What Are the Current Computer Software
Platforms and Trends? (1 of 3)
• 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
What Are the Current Computer Software
Platforms and Trends? (2 of 3)
• Web services and service-oriented architecture
– Web services
– XML: Extensible Markup Language
– 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
Figure 5.11 How Dollar Rent A Car
Uses Web Services

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What Are the Current Computer Software
Platforms and Trends? (3 of 3)
• 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
Figure 5.12 Changing Sources of
Firm Software

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Dealing with Platform and Infrastructure
Change
• As firms shrink or grow, IT needs 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
Management and Governance
• Governance
• Who controls IT infrastructure?
• How should IT department be organized?
– Centralized
§ Central IT department makes decisions
– Decentralized
§ Business unit IT departments make own decisions
• How are costs allocated between divisions, departments?
Making Wise Infrastructure Investments
• Under-investment and over-investment can hamper firm
performance
• Rent-versus-buy
• Cloud computing
– Security requirements
– Impact on business processes and workflow
• Outsourcing
Total Cost of Ownership (T CO) 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
• TC O can be reduced
– Use of cloud services, greater centralization and
standardization of hardware and software resources
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
Figure 5.13 Competitive Forces Model
for I T Infrastructure

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Discussion Questions?
• Determine the total cost of ownership associated with the technology
in your workplace or classroom, even if that’s your own home. Use
your hourly wage or salary as a basis to figure the costs outside of
hardware and software.
• Describe the five technology drivers of the infrastructure evolution.
Which do you think has been the most influential in helping us achieve
the level of technology we enjoy today?
• Discuss how cloud computing can provide value to a business.
• Discuss the business value of open-source software.