MIS Part 2: IT Infrastructure

Ch4: IT Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies

Ch5: Foundations of databases and information management

Ch6. Telecommunications and wireless NWs

1
 Ch4:IT Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies

After reading this chapter, you will be able to

answer the following questions:
1. What is IT infrastructure and its components?
2. What are the current trends in computer
hardware and software platforms?
3. What are the challenges of managing IT
infrastructure and management solutions?
4. What are emerging technologies and their Mgt
implications?
2
 4.1. IT Infrastructure

• It is the shared technology resources that provide the platform for the
firm’s specific IS applications.
• Service quality is directly related to its IT infrastructure.
• Past practices:
- many firms use client/server architecture, which has issues like
– shortage of support, programming, and management tools, that costs huge money
– shortage of staff who understands the technology and programs in such an
environment,
• Current Practices:
– Moving towards cloud computing and avoid the above technical hassles.
– The IT staff spent less time on routine maintenance and more time on developing
innovative products for specialty industries.
– The infrastructure is scalable and can expand computing capacity if the company
grows or has peaking workloads or reduce computing resources and expenses if the
company shrinks.

https://hostingchecker.com/ 3
 4.2. IT Infrastructure Components

These components constitute investments that must be coordinated

with one another to provide the firm with a coherent infrastructure.
4
IT infrastructure includes hardware, software, and services:
1. Computing platforms: Includes mainframes, midrange computers, desktop
and laptop computers, and mobile handheld devices—anything that
connect employees, customers, and suppliers into a coherent digital
environment.
- Quality of these computing devices affects quality of service delivery
2. Telecommunications services: Data, voice, and video connectivity between
employees, customers, and suppliers
- Capacity (band width of data, service fee affects users’ interest)
3. Data Management: Store, manage and analyze data.
• The leading database software providers are IBM (DB2), Oracle, Microsoft (SQL Server), and
Sybase (Adaptive Server Enterprise),
• The physical data storage market is dominated by EMC Corporation for large scale systems,
and a small number of PC hard disk manufacturers led by Seagate, Maxtor, and Western
Digital.
– Same idea

4. Application Software: Data management: Application software: Includes

enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management, supply
chain management, and knowledge management systems
• See next page
5
 5. Enterprise applications (ERP)
• Include SAP and Oracle that are used to link a
firm's existing application systems. As can be
seen, such systems have many modules.
– How many firms have ERP systems??

6
6. Physical facilities management: Develop and manage
the physical installations for computing,
telecommunications, and data management.
7. IT management: Planning and developing the
infrastructure, coordinate IT services among business
units, managing accounting for IT expenditures, and
provide project management.

Mgt of IT physical elements

Are there any companies that provide
these services in Ethiopia?

Managed IT Services (Org can outsource)

7
8. IT standards: Policies that determine which
information technology will be used, when, and how.

9. IT education: Employee training in system use and

management training for IT investments.

10. IT research and development: Research future IT

projects and investments that can help the firm
differentiate itself from competitors.

8
11. IT Consulting companies
• Today, even a large firm does not have the staff, the
skills, the budget, or the necessary experience to
deploy, maintain, integrate its entire IT infrastructure.
• To integrate a firm's legacy systems with new
technology and infrastructure, providing expertise in
implementing new infrastructure along with relevant
changes in business processes, training, and software
integration
– These roles are usually filled by consulting and system
integrating firms
• But who are the consulting and system integrating
companies in Ethiopia? 9
 Discussion Questions
• Why Ethiopia’s IT infrastructure hasn’t developed
to the required level? Responses from students
– Next slide

10
1. Lack of top management concern in many organization.
- Managers have developed outsourcing mentality. They outsource and do not
want to worry about it,
- They do not have trust on local capacity
- Top management lack of know how about IT
2. Underdeveloped financial industry, particularly in attracting
foreign IT R& D companies. Had the financial industry has
librated, giant IT companies would have come to Ethiopia.
3. Being not member of World trade Organization
4. ICT education is not based at lower grade levels
5. Lack of colonization
6. National working language being not English
7. Lack of private sector development
8. Monopolization of telecom sector 11
 4.3. SWs
A. sources of Software(s):
Advantage and disadvantages
• In-house development
• Software packages external procurement: turn-
key solutions
• Customized applications
• Cloud-based software services
• Outsourcing custom SW development
• Open source 12
 B. Trends in Software
B1. Open-source SW
– Produced by community of programmers.
– It is free and modifiable by end users (source code is
available for modification).
– Examples: Open ERP (odoo), Joomla CMS, JBooS BPM etc
» Google by using words like Source forge
Assignment (points)
1. List if any, open source software(s) customized by your
organization?
2. What are some of the cons and pros of open source
software customization?
3. How do open source systems sustain, given they are free?
B2. Cloud based SaaS 13
 SaaS
• SaaS (Software as a Service)
– It allows companies to use sw without purchasing
them, which reduces the expenditure of the company
drastically,
• SWs to analyze research data (5 days)
– since they are already installed on the cloud servers
they can be quickly deployed and therefore saves
time.

• Give an example

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 Exercise
• Form a group with three or four of your
classmates. Choose server or mobile operating
systems to evaluate. You might research and
compare the capabilities and costs of Linux versus
the most recent version of the Windows
operating system or Unix.
• Alternatively, you could compare the capabilities
of the Android mobile operating system with the
most recent version of the iPhone operating
system (iOS).
15
 4.4. hardware infrastructure trends
A. Towards mobile digital platform:
– Cell phones, smart phones (iPhone, Android, and
Blackberry) are capable of data transmission, web
surfing, e-mail, and IM duties.
– They are shifting business operations from PC into
mobile based transactions and operations.
B. Towards cloud services:

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 Cloud Computing
10 years back, companies were storing everything in-
house i.e on their own servers. But over the years with
internet speed becoming better, people discovered
a new way to store everything, the “Cloud” way!
What is Cloud? let’s first understand why it came into
the picture!
Before “Cloud”, companies were storing everything
offline i.e hosting websites on their on-premise
servers, and adding more servers whenever required.
In doing this, there are some problems:
Let’s discuss them using an example
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• You own a company which runs a very successful website
and let’s imagine the “cloud concept” was not introduced
at this time. Therefore your website was hosted on the
on-premise servers. Seems normal, right?
• One fine day, you added a new feature to your website
which became a hit over night. Now, your traffic
increased multi-folds and the inevitable happened, your
website crashed!
• That hurts, isn’t it? Well you obviously couldn’t have
foreseen this, and even if you did, there was no way you
could have spent and bought the required servers, in
such a short time. Why? b/c servers are not cheap guys,
they are VERY expensive
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• Let’s say you can afford these many servers, but are you
sure about experiencing this much traffic everyday?
After you bought the servers and the next day your
traffic dropped, what will you do with these servers
now? They will be idle most of the time, and hence they
become a bad investment on your part.
• Now with this example, let’s summarize the problems
with such private model:
– Server setup is expensive.
– Every machine is bound to fail
– Your servers will be idle most of the time.
– Frequent, maintenance these many servers becomes a
tedious task. 19
• To handle these problems we had to come up
with a new model of infrastructure. Hence, we
came up with Cloud. With cloud computing, all
these problems were solved! How?
– Put your data on Cloud Servers and you are set! No
more buying expensive servers.
– Scalability! Your server capacity will scale up or scale
down according to the traffic, that too automatically.
– Your cloud provider will manage your servers, hence
no worries about the underlying infrastructure.

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Cloud computing: is model of computing where
firms and individuals obtain:
- computing capacity,
- data storage, and
- software applications over the Internet,
rather than purchasing their own hardware and
software.
Data are stored on powerful servers in massive data
centers and can be accessed by anyone with an
Internet connection and standard web browser.

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There are basically 3 categories of cloud computing:
• SaaS (Software as a Service)
– It allows companies to use sw without purchasing them, which
reduces the expenditure of the company drastically, since they are
already installed on the cloud servers they can be quickly deployed
and therefore saves time.
• PaaS (Platform as a Service)
– It allows developers to build applications, collaborate on projects
without having to purchase or maintain infrastructure.
• SEE NEXT SLIDE
• IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)
– It allows companies to rent servers, storage space, etc. from a cloud
provider
– Asst: Compare and contrast the most popular providers of Saas,
PaaS, IaaS (see next slide) 22
23
 Common Cloud Storage service providers
Compare and
contrast pricing
and service offers

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 4.5. Challenges of Managing IT infrastructures

1. Dealing with many platform and technology change;

• Manage increasing variety of equipments, software, OS, network & security
threats.
• Monitoring /Measurement Systems often at infancy.
2. how scalable the infrastructure is? Scalability refers to the ability of a computer,
product, or system to expand to serve a large number of users without breaking
down.
3. Policies and procedure for mobile computing: Firms will require new policies and
procedures for managing these platforms. They will need to inventory all of their
mobile devices in business use and develop policies and tools for tracking,
updating, and securing them and for controlling the data and applications that
run on them.
4. Policies and procedure for cloud computing: Firms using cloud computing will need
to fashion new contractual arrangements with remote vendors to make sure that
the hw and sw for critical applications are always available when needed and that
they meet corporate standards for information security.
5. Corporate security and confidentiality (Data security, Network security, Data
locality, Data integrity, Data segregation, Data access, Data confidentiality issue,
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Data breaches, Availability, and Backup )
2. Management and governance: Involves who will
control and manage the firm’s IT infrastructure.
• Will the IT infrastructure be centrally controlled and
managed or divided among departments and
divisions?
– Centralized vs decentralized?
• How will infrastructure costs be allocated among
business units?
– Profit centered
– Cost centered
– Service centered 26
3. Making wise infrastructure investments
IT infrastructure is a major investment for the firm. If too much is
spent on infrastructure, it lies idle and constitutes a drag on firm
financial performance. If too little is spent, important business
services cannot be delivered and the firm’s competitors (who
spent just the right amount) will outperform the under investing
firm.
• How much should the firm spend on infrastructure?
• Amount to spend on IT is complex question that needs analysis
from different perspectives:
– Rent vs. buy,
– cloud computing,
– outsourcing
• Total cost of ownership (TCO) model:
– Analyzes direct and indirect costs, hardware, software
– Installation, training, support, maintenance, infrastructure, downtime,
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space, and energy costs
4. Coordinating infrastructure components:
Firms create IT infrastructures by choosing
combinations of vendors, people, and
technology services and fitting them together so
they function as a coherent whole

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 4.6. Managed IT Services
Remote Infrastructure Monitoring & Management

Managed Services : Outsourcing of IT ‘Infrastructure

Management’ comprising:

1. 24X7 Monitoring Services:

- Heart of ‘Managed Services’ operations
- Supported from a central Network Operations Centre (NOC)
- Usually housed ‘offsite’ and remotely
- Hence Remote Infrastructure Monitoring (RIM)

2. Supported by backend Managed Services Engineers:

- Can be located separately or at NOC

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Remote Management - Effectiveness

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 Discussion Questions

1. Why is selecting computer hw and sw for the organization

an important management decision? What mgt, org, and
technology issues should be considered when selecting
computer hw & Sw?
2. Should organizations use software service providers for all
their software needs? Why or why not? What
management, organization, and technology factors should
be considered when making this decision?
3.What are the advantages and disadvantages of cloud
computing?
4. What are the current computer software platforms and
trends?
5. What are the current hardware platforms and trends? 31
 Small Case Analysis: the case is modified
AAU relies on IS to operate over 7 campuses. Demand for
additional servers and storage technology is growing
by 20 percent each year. AAU is setting up a separate
server for every application, and its servers and other
computers were running a number of different
operating systems, including several versions of Unix
and Windows. AAU had to manage technologies from
many different vendors, including HP, Sun
Microsystems, Microsoft, and IBM. Assess the impact
of this situation on business performance. What
factors and management decisions must be considered
when developing a solution to this problem?
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 Application of RFID
• By embedding RFID chips into products, it is possible to track
products and people (consumers). This might raise concern
of tracking consumers.
– How would you feel if your university used RFID tags embedded in
student IDs to replace the magnetic swipe strip? On a campus, RFID
tags might be used to control building access, manage computer
access, or even automatically track class attendance.
– Enter “RFID” into an Internet search engine and summarize the
search results. Of the top 20 results, how many were positive,
negative, or neutral?
– Enter “RFID” and “privacy” into an Internet search engine, select a
page expressing privacy concerns, and summarize them in a brief
essay. Do you find these concerns compelling?
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 SaaS Implementation

• What factors should companies take into consideration

when making the decision between developing their own
applications, purchasing them from a vendor, or taking the
SaaS route, as discussed here? Make a list of factors and
discuss their importance to this decision.
• By implementing systems based on SaaS, companies are
relinquishing control over ownership of the technology and
are putting access to valuable data in the hands of a third
party. What are the dangers of taking this approach? How
could companies guard against them? Break into small
groups to discuss these issues and provide some
suggestions and recommendations.
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 Exercises
1. What ERP system does your university or place of employment
use? Find out which one they use and see how it compares to
other ERP systems.
2. If you were running a small business with limited funds for
information technology, would you consider using cloud
computing? Find some web-based resources that support your
decision.
3. Go to www.sourceforge.net and review their most downloaded
software applications. Report back on the variety of applications
you find. Then pick one that interests you and report back on
what it does, the kind of technical support offered, and the user
reviews.
4. Review this article (
http://www.zdnet.com/six-open-source-security-myths-debunke
d-and-eight-real-challenges-to-consider-7000014225
)on the security risks of open-source software. Write a short 35
5. Which websites in Ethiopia use cloud computing
services?
6. What are the advantages and disadvantages of
allowing employees to use their personal
smartphones for work?
7. What management, organization, and technology
factors should be addressed when deciding
whether to allow employees to use their personal
smartphones for work?

36
8. Explain how using a competitive forces model and
calculating the TCO of technology assets help firms make
good infrastructure investments.

The competitive forces model can be used to determine how

much to spend on IT infrastructure and where to make
strategic infrastructure investments. What is the market
demand for the organization’s services? What is the
organization’s business strategy? What is the organization’s
information technology (IT) strategy, infrastructure, and
costs? Has the organization performed an IT assessment?
What technology services do competitors offer to their
customers, suppliers, and employees? How much does the
organization’s competitors spend on IT infrastructure? 37
4.7. Emerging Technologies and Mgt Implications

Write a paper on these topics

• AI in business & Mgt (next slide)
• Blockchain in business and Mgt
• IoT and its implication in business & Mgt
• Data Science in business & Mgt
• Cloud computing (in Ethiopian case)
etc

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39
 CH5 m ent
n a ge
n M a
r m atio
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es a nd I
a ba s
D at

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• After reading this chapter, you need to be able to
answer questions like:
– How are databases different from file-based legacy
systems?
- What is the purpose of a database?
- What are the contents of a database?
- What is the user’s role in the development of
databases?
- Ethics and databases
- Give examples of online db based business models
- Understand the concept and application of data mining
- Managers’ toolkit (information policy issues)
41
• The essential message of this chapter is the
statement that “How businesses store, organize,
and manage their data has a tremendous impact
on organizational effectiveness.”
– How data of condominium registrants is kept?
– How keep this file? Who verifies and validate its
accuracy?
• Data have now become central and even vital to
an organization’s survival.
42
 Example use of DBs
How could db help to address the following issues:
1. The problem of owning more than 2
condominium houses, lands etc.
2. Retrieving (identifying) how many people will
retire next year from:
(a)your organization
(b) in Ethiopia,
(c) how many of them will be male, female etc

43
 5.1. Managing data resources
You might be surprised to learn that many businesses don’t
have timely, accurate, or relevant information because the
data in their IS have been poorly organized and
maintained.
- Data is the future fuel. Example? That’s why data mgt is so
essential.
- datarade.ai (best Example about a company selling datasets)
• Data management is a systematic way of organizing and
managing valuable data resources.
• There are different approaches like:
1. Manual (paper based data Mgt)
2. File based computer approach
3. Database based approach 44
The Banker Database - interactive banking reports & global finance rankings ::

Oromia International Bank Reports, how this website sell our data

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A. File based data management
Characteristics ???

46
 Problems of File based data management
In most organizations, systems tended to grow independently without
a company-wide plan. Accounting, finance, manufacturing, human
resources, and sales and marketing all developed their own systems
and data files.
• Data redundancy: duplicate data in multiple files, leading to
• data inconsistency, different values used for the same attribute
Poor organization and management
• Lack of data sharing
• Poor Security: Because there is little control or management of data,
access to and dissemination of information may be out of control.
Management may have no way of knowing who is accessing or even
making changes to the organization’s data.

• Advantage: risk distribution as the result of distributed storage place

47
 B. Database based data management
• DB is a self-describing collection of integrated data resources.
• It cuts many of the problems of traditional file based data
organization.
• Database is a collection of data organized to serve many
applications efficiently by centralizing the data and controlling
redundant data.
• Rather than storing data in separate files for each application,
data is stored so as to appear to users as being stored in only
one location.
• A single database services multiple applications. For example,
instead of a corporation storing employee data in separate IS
and separate files for personnel, payroll, and benefits, the
corporation could create a single common human resources
database. 48
 Advantage of databases
– Data integration(it is possible to combine master files of
different departments)
–Data sharing
–Reporting flexibility (reports can be easily generated)
• Minimal data redundancy and inconsistencies
• Program-data independence
• Central management of data
• Cross-functional analysis
• Consider the advantages of using ERP and core banking systems

49
 Disadvantages of DB
• It is risky-putting all organizational data in one
place
• DBMS are expensive (oracle costs 10Mn USD)
– 39 min USD (ministry of finance of Ethiopia)
• DBA (database administrators are expensive)

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Components of Database Systems

51
 DBMS Vs Databases
is software that permits an organization to
centralize data, manage them efficiently, and
provide access to the stored data by application
programs.
• The DBMS acts as an interface between
application programs and the physical data files.
• is responsible for creating, processing (reading,
inserting, modifying, or deleting data), and
administering DBs.
• Databases are self-describing collections of integrated
records 52
 5.2. User’s Role in the Development of DB
• users create the requirements for data that
needs to go into the database.
• Users ensure the db contains the data required
by users and the r/ps among database elements
are correct, it’s essential users are involved and
review the data models before they are
developed into the db.
• Developers then convert those requirements into
data models.
53
 5.3. Ethics and dbs
• An employee named Chris backed up his
company’s db and decided to take it home to
restore on his home computer. After navigating
through the db, he discovered some interesting
info which he shared with an employee from
other company. Later on, he’s been fired!
– Chris restored his company’s db on his personal
computer
– Was this illegal? Unethical? Neither?
• What is the management implication of this issue?
• Research on managements awareness about possibility of
such issues mainly in small businesses. 54
 5.4. Online databases
• What they are?
– is a database accessible from a local network or the Internet, as opposed to one that
is stored locally on an individual computer or its attached storage (such as a CD).
– are hosted on websites, made available as software as a service products accessible
via a web browser.
• Give an example of online DBs
www.2merkato.com, www.ethiojobs.net, www.qefira.com
Questions
- What is the size of these DBs?
- What is the cost to use these DBs?
- What is the profile of these DBs?
- What are the services they provide?
- Which DB is useful to search for a supplier, to select a supplier, to find for
prospective customers, to find jobs, to find electronic products etc?

Housemaid with employers online? (20 birr/ head), 100,000 on platform

55
 Businesses that apply concept of online
databases (Ethiopian)
• www.ethiojobs.net
• www.2merkato.com
• www.qefira.com
• www.mekina.net
• E- commerce sites

56
 Dbs and managerial issues
• How can the use of online databases enhance the
operation of procurement or purchasing in your
organization
• Can the adoption of online db decreases mischief
and embezzlements while evaluating bid
documents?
• What do u think is the benefits of creating db for
wholesalers and or retailers in the areas of
chemicals, food items, clothes etc?
– Use of bid management system
– Document how bids are collected and evaluated in your
organization 57
 5.5. Managing Data Resources
In order to make sure that the data for your business remain accurate,
reliable, and readily available to those who need it, your business
need policies and procedures for data mgt.

1. Establishing an information policy:

- It specifies the organization’s rules for sharing, disseminating, acquiring,
standardizing, classifying, and inventorying information.
- It lays out specific procedures and accountabilities, identifying which users
and organizational units can share information, where information can be
distributed, and who is responsible for updating and maintaining the
information.
• Who are the primary users of the database?
• Who are authorized people to access the DB?
• What are the Information requirements for database design including
kind of reports?
• How current is the database? 58
2. Establishing quality of information/ data:
• What would happen if a customer’s telephone
number or account balance were incorrect?
• Data that are inaccurate, untimely, or inconsistent
with other sources of information lead to
incorrect decisions and financial losses.
• Inaccurate lists of condo registrants
• Inaccurate data in criminal justice and national
security databases might even subject you to
unnecessarily surveillance or detention
– Need for data quality audit
– Data clearing 59
Why are information policy, data administration, and data quality assurance essential for
managing the firm’s data resources?
Developing a db environment requires policies and procedures for managing
organizational data as well as a good data model and database technology.
A formal information policy governs the maintenance, distribution, and use of
information in the organization. In large corporations, a formal data
administration function is responsible for information policy, as well as for data
planning, data dictionary development, and monitoring data usage in the firm.

• Data that are inaccurate, incomplete, or inconsistent create serious operational

and financial problems for businesses because they may create inaccuracies in
product pricing, customer accounts, and inventory data, and lead to inaccurate
decisions about the actions that should be taken by the firm.
• Firms must take special steps to make sure they have a high level of data
quality. These include using enterprise-wide data standards, databases
designed to minimize inconsistent and redundant data, data quality audits, and
data cleansing software.

60
 5.6. Data mining
• Is the extraction of hidden knowledge from large
databases,
• is a powerful technology with great potential to
help companies focus on the most important
pattern
• Data mining tools predict future trends and
behaviors, allowing businesses to make
proactive, knowledge-driven decisions.
– Example of its application in business and mgt

61
 5.7. Electronic data management practices
Small research
Review your organizations policies and procedures
(from AWARNESS perspective) regarding how
they keep their data safe.
– For example, what if an accountant takes Peachtree
data of an organization and give it to other
competitors, government office like ERCA?
– As related to this, the use of personal e-mails for
corporate communication
– Information confidentiality vs office assistant
personnel 62
 Mgt Decision Making Problem
Your industrial supply company wants to create a data base
where management can obtain a single corporate-wide
view of critical sales information to identify best-selling
products in specific geographic areas, key customers, and
sales trends.
Your sales and product information are stored in several
different systems: a divisional sales system running on a
Unix server and a corporate sales system running on an
IBM mainframe. You would like to create a single
standard format that consolidates these data from both
systems. The following format has been proposed.

63
The following are sample files from the two systems that would supply
the data for the data base:

1. What business problems are created by not having these data in a single standard format?
2. How easy would it be to create a database with a single standard format that could store
the data from both systems? Identify the problems that would have to be addressed.
3. Should the problems be solved by database specialists or general business managers?
Explain.
4. Who should have the authority to finalize a single company-wide format for this 64
information in the data warehouse?
 Questions
1. Explain why data quality audits and data cleansing are
essential.
2. Describe the roles of information policy and data
administration in information management.
3. It has been said that there is no bad data, just bad
management. Discuss the implications of this
statement.
4. What are the consequences of an organization not
having an information policy?
5. Identify different business directory lists in Ethiopia, if
any.
1. What is the advantage of having such directories? 65
 Practical
Ethiopian Cases

66
IFMIS platform architecture

Integrated Financial management

Information Systems
• It is a computer based system that automate and
store financial information in large organizations
like govts, multinational corporations and large
nonprofits.
• The goal is to increase access to information
• MoFEC is implementing it in Ethiopia to improve
public expenditure management processes,
enhance greater accountability and transparency
across:
– Federal ministries
– Agencies
– Regions, city administrations, zones and wordas
Where to implement ?
72
• WordaNet: videoconferencing, emailing,
voice-over- IP (VoIP), and access to the
Internet. The system offered Broadband on
Demand (BoD)
• TeleCourt, the system connected courts in
Addis Ababa and in the regional capitals with
those offices where Woredanet’s Plasma TV
• SchoolNet:
• Revenue Authority:
73
 g ie s
n o lo
Te c h
CH 6 l e ss
Wire
a n d
o n s
icati
mun
co m
Tele

74
After learning this chapter, you will be able to
answer the following questions:
1. What is NWing and why it is required?
2. What are the main telecom transmission medias
3. What are the different types of networks?
4. What are some example of telecom business
models?
????
????

75
76
• Telecommunications technology serves as the
foundation for electronic commerce and the
digital economy
• How many SMS, phone calls, e-mails, and IM
messages did U made today? What do U feel if
you forget your phone at home? What do you
feel if there is no internet for a day? Week? Etc?
• How much you (organizations) depend on
telecommn?

77
• If you run or work in a business, you can’t do without
networks. You need to communicate rapidly with your
customers, suppliers, and employees.
• Until about 1990, businesses used the postal system or
telephone system with voice or fax for communication.
• Today, however, you and your employees use computers and
e-mail, the Internet, cell phones, and mobile computers
connected to wireless networks for this purpose. Networking
and the Internet are now nearly synonymous with doing
business.
– All of these communications make use of a telecommunication
system
• Telecommunications (defn)
– it is the exchange of information in any form (voice, data, text,
images, audio, video) over networks 78
Why Networking is needed?
1. Resourse sharing:
– File/ database server (store and manage files)
– Mail server (to manage e-mails)
– Network servers (to manage NW traffic & activity)
– Web server (store, manage websites & web pages)
– Application server (store & manage SWs)
– Print server (Manage printers & print jobs)
– Antivirus server (manage such SW and clean clients)

2. Collaboration and team work (Ch2, 2.4)

• Examples of telecommunications networks are:
a. computer networks
b. the Internet networks
c. the telephone network 79
 A. Computer Networks

If you had to connect the computers for two or more

employees together in the same office, you would
need a computer network. In its simplest form, a
network consists of two or more connected
computers (clients and server).

What bu/s or mgt problems can be

solved by simple office computer NW?
80
B. Telephone Network

81
C. Internet Network

82
Telecommunication Trends:
• These network types are slowly merging into a single
digital network using shared Internet technology and
equipment, called ISDN (integrated Service Digital NW)
• ISDN refers to the provision of telephone, video and data
communication services within a single network.
• Examples of new products and services being delivered
include:
– Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP);
– Mobile phones for E-mail, data and WWW access;
– Web and satellite based TV
– Web based delivery of live news, sports, concerts and of other
audiovisual services.
– YacineTV app 83
 VoIP

• Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) enables Internet technology to

be used for telephone voice transmission over the Internet or
private networks. VoIP offers the advantage of avoiding tolls
charged by local and long-distance telephone networks. VoIP
provides businesses an opportunity to reduce costs because they no
longer have to maintain separate networks or provide support
services and personnel for each different type of network. It gives
organizations flexibility because phones can be added or moved to
different offices without rewiring or reconfiguring networks. 84
 6.2. Types of Networks
• Depending on one’s perspective, we can classify networks
in different ways
• Based on transmission media:
• Wired (UTP, coaxial cables, fiber-optic cables) and
• Wireless (mobile phones, satellite, GPS, Wi-Fi….)
• Based on network size:
• LAN and
• WAN
• MAN

• Based on management method: Peer-to-peer and Client/Server

• Based on topology (connectivity): Bus, Star, Ring
• Based on ownership
• private and or
• public
85
 Local Area Network (LAN)

• If you work in a business that uses networking, you are probably

connecting to other employees and groups via a LAN.
• LAN is designed to connect personal computers and other digital
devices within a half-mile or 500-meter radius.
• LANs typically connect a few computers in a small office, all the
computers in one building, or all the computers in several
buildings in close proximity.
• The following figure could serve as a model for a small LAN that
might be used in an office. One computer is a dedicated network
file server, providing users with access to shared computing
resources in the network, including software and data files.
The server determines who gets access to what and in which
sequence.

86
- Possible application areas?????
- Report sharing ….
87
 Wide Area Network (WAN)

• A network that uses long-range telecommunication

links to connect 2 or more LANs/computers housed
in different places far apart.
• Towns, states, countries
• Examples:
• Nws that connect bank branches with head office
• Network of big university Campus
• Internet

- Give an example of application areas?

88
89
 Based on ownership: Virtual Private Networks (VPN)
and public networks
VPN
• A secure network that uses the Internet as its backbone but
relies on firewalls, encryption and other security
technologies.
– It is a kind of a pipe traveling through the Internet
• It is a private network that uses a public network (usually the
Internet) to connect remote sites or users together.
• Instead of using a dedicated, real-world connection such as
leased line, a VPN uses "virtual" connections routed through
the Internet from the company's private network to the
remote site or employee.
– Used to exchange data safely among people at different locations
90
Do not access your bank
account from public
networks (WIFI)

91
• VPN are secure, encrypted, private networks that
have been configured within a public network to
take advantage of the economies of scale and
management facilities of large networks, such as
the Internet.
• VPNs are low-cost alternatives to private WANs.
• VPNs give businesses a more efficient network
infrastructure for combining voice and data
networks

92
 6.3. Telecommunication Media
Networks use different types of physical transmission
media, including:
A. Twisted wire: Pairs of copper wires used mostly for
telephone line but also sometimes for data.
• Although an older physical transmission medium, the
twisted wires used in today’s LANs, such as CAT5, can
obtain speeds up to 1 Gbps. Twisted-pair cabling is
limited to a maximum recommended run of 100 meters.
• It is the oldest medium.

93
 B. Coaxial Cable

•Can transmit a larger volume

of data than twisted wire.
•Used today for longer (more
than 100 meters) runs in large
buildings.
•Coaxial has speeds up to 1
Gbps.

94
 C. Fiber Optic cable
• Fiber-optic cable consists of thousands of tiny
clear glass fibers along which data is sent as
pulses of light.
• Although primarily used as high-speed
network backbone (the part of a network that
handles major traffic), fiber optic is also being
installed in homes and businesses.
• Telecommunications carriers use fiber optic to
build purely optical networks to provide high-
capacity transmission for multimedia, and other
data-intensive information services. 95
• Fiber-optic cable is considerably faster, lighter,
and more durable than wire media, and is well
suited to systems requiring transfers of large
volumes of data. However, fiber-optic cable is
more expensive than other physical transmission
media and harder to install

96
 6.4. Wireless Networks
• Microwave and Communication Satellite
– Ethiosat is based on NSS-12 satellite that enable communications
services for telecommunications providers, broadcasters,
corporations, and governments in Europe, Africa, the Middle East,
India and other parts of Asia
• Cellular Networks (mobile NW)
• Bluetooth
• NFC
• RFID
• GPS
• Wi-Fi etc

– Management Implications? 97
Microwave and Communication Satellite

Consider
application areas

98
 Business use of Satellites
• High-Resolution Satellite Imagery Available On

LandViewer (eos.com)
• Insurance And Finance: How EOS Satellite Mo
nitoring Can
Help
For security Purpose
• Security Defence
& Military: Satellite-Based Monitoring With E
OS 99
100
 Cellular Networks
• Cellular systems use radio waves and a variety of
different protocols to communicate with radio antennas
(towers) placed within adjacent geographic areas called
cells. Communications transmitted from a cell phone to a
local cell pass from antenna to antenna—cell to cell—
until they reach their final destination.

101
 GPS
• The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a space-
based navigation system that provides location
and time information.
• It provides critical capabilities to military, civil,
and commercial users around the world.
• US created the system, maintains it, and makes it
freely accessible to anyone with a GPS receiver.

Consider potential application areas

102
 Disadvantages of GPS

• Invasions of privacy
• Limitation on the freedom of movement,
government and individuals can monitor the
movement of other people.

103
 Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) Wi-fi

"Wi-Fi Certified" (a registered

trademark) by the Wi-Fi Alliance
are interoperable with each other,
even if they are from
different manufacturers.
A user with a "Wi-Fi Certified"
product can use any brand of
access point with any other brand
of client hardware that also is
certified

Consider
application
areas

104
 What are some of the issues related to wi-fi?

• Enormous pressure within companies to provide

Wi-Fi in all areas of the company.

• Cost might exceed the benefit to be gained by

providing Wi-Fi such as in a manufacturing plant
that would require numerous additional access
points than usual.

• Security of information available via the Wi-Fi

system.
105
 Bluetooth
• Bluetooth is a standard developed by a group of
electronics manufacturers that allows any sort of
electronic equipment -- from computers and cell phones
to keyboards and headphones -- to make its own
connections, without wires, cables or any direct action
from a user.
• Bluetooth enables a variety of devices, including cell
phones, smart phones, wireless keyboards and mice, PCs,
and printers, to interact wirelessly with each other within
a small 30-foot (10-meter) area. In addition to the links
shown, Bluetooth can be used to network similar devices
to send data from one PC to another, for example.
Application in Business?? 106
107
What other business uses can you envision for such technology? (hint
remember in health sector, finance)

Imagine how this technology is affecting payment industry

108
 RFID
• RFID “radio-frequency identification” and refers to a
technology whereby digital data encoded in RFID tags or
smart labels are captured by a reader via radio waves.
• Radio frequency identification (RFID) systems provide a
powerful technology for tracking the movement of goods
by using tiny tags with embedded data about an item and
its location.
• (RFID) systems provide a microchip that contains data
about an item and its location. The tags transmit radio
signals over a short distance to special RFID readers. The
RFID readers then pass the data over a network to a
computer for processing.
109
110
 Cell phones vs Satellite phones
• Nearly anyone with a cell phone has experienced signal
loss or areas where weak reception makes using cell
phone a trying ordeal.
• For people who need instantaneous access to mobile
communication in remote areas --- like deserts, jungles or
the middle of the ocean --- cell phones just aren't
sufficient.
• For these people, satellite phones offer the ability to
communicate regardless of the user's geographic location.
• They provide similar functionality to terrestrial mobile
telephones; voice, short messaging service and low-
bandwidth internet access are supported through most
systems. 111
Comparison

112
 6.5. Telecommunication related business ideas/
models
• Call center agents: Telecommunication network
operators receive several thousands of calls daily
from customers who have questions and
complaints. But because most companies are
trying to cut down on their running costs, they
now hire freelance call center agents instead of
in-house support staff

113
• Recharge card sales: Since people have to make calls
every day, there is huge demand for airtime, which
is commonly sold in the form of recharge cards.
• Mobile marketing: Many businesses have realized
the effectiveness of the internet as a tool for
creating brand awareness and attracting customers
and are adopting various internet marketing
strategies.
• However, a more streamlined form of internet
marketing is mobile marketing, which is targeted at
internet users who surf the web using mobile
devices, such as smart phones and tablets.
114
• Blogging: to share relevant and valuable
information relating to the telecommunications
industry with people who need it.
• For example, you can share information on how
to make the best use of mobile phones, how to
set up internet connections, how to use cloud
computing, latest technologies and trends in the
telecommunications industry, and so on.

115
• Internet service: Another smart way to make money
from the telecommunications market is to start
offering internet services to people. You can either
start a cyber cafe or set up a wireless hotspot where
people will pay you to access the internet.
• Develop Video Games for Smart Phones: One
fantastic smart phone business idea an entrepreneur
can launch is to develop video games for smart phones
• Develop Ring Tunes for Smart Phones: Lastly another
smart phone related business idea an entrepreneur
can launch is to develop unique ring tunes for smart
phones.
116
Other Ideas
• Mobile Forensic: Mobile phones data recovery for personal or legal
purpose will be a growing market in the upcoming years.
• Mobile SEO, Mobile Advertizing
• City guide applications
• Mobile education application
• Local traffic application: may be based on crowd sourced
information app or based on automatically sourced information
from opt-in taxi drivers using their mobile phone positioning and
motion information.
• Mobile money (banking)
• Video marketing: Text and display ads will reach only a selective
audience in Africa, but video marketing delivered over the mobile
phone will reach 7 times more.
• Offering native video format integrated into app is huge market to
117
explore.
• Mobile content Producer: All medias are hungry of
content. The new mobile media need more than any
other medias good content producers. It could be
small video, cartoons, text, comics, stories, new
summary, photos, etc.
• Mobile job portal
• Item store App: example, spare parts.
• Greeting cards app: Greetings cards websites were
very popular on the web, and still are among the most
visited websites in the world.
• Now is the time for mobile native greetings card
services integrated with popular social networks. 118
 Questions
Discuss the role of telecom in:
- Education sector
- Banking sector
- Manufacturing sector
- Telecom sector
- Service sector
- Transportation sector
- Monetizing the telecom infrastructure: new
business models (SMS based like lottery based,
donation or fund raising, health consulting etc 119
 John R. W. and Karen K., (1999),"Telecommunications issues: the information systems managers’ viewpoint", Industrial Management & Data
Systems, Vol. 99 Iss 2 pp. 81 – 88

• Application of telecommunication
– Use of telecommunications to provide accurate and
timely information about the location of shipments
– Banks use core banking to integrate branch offices

120
• Challenge of Managers
– It is difficult to train managers to think innovatively
about the uses of the technology.
– there is little information in the literature about
managerial training in the innovative uses of
telecommunications
– Operating a network without having clear idea of
how that network is being used
– The problem was compounded by the fact that a fully
integrated, nonproprietary network management
system is not yet a reality.

121
 Research showed that
Majority of IS managers expressed a desire for
additional training on:
• Strategic planning of telecommunications;
• Use of telecommunications for a competitive
advantage; and
• Managing innovation and technology.

122
Key telecommunication training needs

123
 MGT Decision Making (1)
• Your company supplies ceramic floor tiles to Home
Depot, Home furnish, and other home improvement
stores. You have been asked to start using RFID tags on
each case of tiles you ship to help your customers
improve the management of your products and those
of other suppliers in their warehouses.
• Use the Web to identify the cost of hardware,
software, and networking components for an RFID
system for your company.
– What factors should be considered?
– What are the key decisions that have to be made in
determining whether your firm should adopt this
technology? 124
1. Explore potential applications/ uses of RFID
in your organization?

125
 Some application areas of IS
• Library management
• Pharmacy management
• School and student management
• Spare part management
• Service (product) review
• Fuel location etc

126
 Telecommunication related jobs/ tasks
1. Satellite earth station operations
- monitor and test the overall daily operation, quality, and other issues
- Perform maintenance
- Prepare monthly report on outages and other issues
- Maintain inventory of equipment
2. WAN operation
- Install and configure WAN
- Monitor daily operations and prepare reports
- Conduct an ongoing analysis of equipment capacity and users needs
3. LAN operation
- Monitor LAN activities
- Coordinate facilities and establish ad-hoc LAN, if needed
4. Voice and messaging Operation
5. Audio/ visual conference Services
6. Radio and video surveillance operation 127