MBA 508: Management

Information System

Lecture 4
MBA 508: Management
Information System

 ComputerHardware and Software

Fundamentals
OBJECTIVES

 What computer processing and storage capability

does our organization need to handle its information
and business transactions?

 What arrangement of computers and computer

processing would best benefit our organization?
 What kinds of software and software tools do we
need to run our business? What criteria should we
use to select our software technology?
OBJECTIVES

 Ofwhat new software technologies should we

be aware? How would they benefit our
organization?

 Howshould we acquire and manage the firm’s

hardware and software assets?
MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES

 The centralization versus decentralization

debate

 The application backlog

Hardware Components of a
Computer System
The Computer System

Bit

 Binary digit
 Represents smallest unit of data in the form of either 0 or 1

Byte
 String of bits, usually eight
 Stores one number or character
Bits and Bytes

0 or 1 One bit
Characters are
represented by one
byte for each letter.
0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 One byte for character A
The CPU and Primary Storage

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

 Manipulates symbols, numbers, and letters

 Controls other parts of the computer system

The CPU and Primary Storage

Primary Storage

 Temporarily stores program instructions

 Data being used by the instructions

The CPU and Primary Storage
Computer Hardware

 Central Processing Unit (CPU)

– Arithmetic and logic Unit (ALU)
– Control Unit
 CPU’s use semiconductor chips called
microprocessors.
 Computer’s microprocessors help determine a
computers processing power and are based on the
number of bits that can be processed at one time
and cycle speed, measured in megahertz.
Metric Units

 The principal metric prefixes.

Primary Storage

Stores

 Software program being executed

 Operating system programs

 Data being used by program

Primary Storage

 RAM: Directly accesses any randomly chosen

location in the same amount of time

 ROM: Semiconductor memory chips with

program instructions, cannot be written to
 Computer Processing

Microprocessors and Processing Power

 Integrated circuit technology

 Integrates the computer’s memory, logic, and

control on a single chip
 Computer Processing

Parallel Processing

 Problem broken down into smaller parts

 Multiple instructions processed simultaneously

with multiple processors
Sequential and Parallel Processing
 Secondary Storage Technology

 Magnetic disk: Floppy disk, Hard disk

 Optical disks: CD-ROM, DVDs

 Magnetic tape: Inexpensive, older secondary-storage

medium

 New storage alternatives: Storage Area Networks

(SANs)
A Storage Area Network (SAN)
Input Devices

“Human begins interact with computer systems largely

through input and output devices.”
 Mouse
 Keyboard
 Touch screen
 Source data automation
– Optical and magnetic ink character recognition
– Pen-based Input
– Digital scanners
– Audio input
– Sensors
– Radio-Frequency identification (RFID) (Bangkok airport)
Output Devices

 Cathode ray tube (CRT) Terminals

 Video display terminals (VTD)
 Printers
 Audio output
 Batch and On-Line Input and Processing

Batch processing

 Transactions accumulated and stored until processing

On-line processing

 Transactions are entered directly into computer and

processed immediately
A Comparison of Batch and On-line Processing
 Interactive Multimedia

 Integrates two or more types of media into a computer-

based application

 Used in interactive Web pages with graphics, sound,

animation, video

 BMP,JPEG, MP3, MPEG etc

 Classifying Computers

 Mainframes: Largest computer, massive

memory, rapid processing power

 Midrange computers: Less powerful, less

expensive, and smaller than a mainframe

 Server: Provides software and other resources

to computers over a network
 Classifying Computers

 Minicomputers: Middle-range computer, used

in universities, factories, or research
laboratories

 Server Farm: Large group of servers

maintained by a commercial vendor, available
for electronic commerce and other activities
 Classifying Computers

 Personal Computer (PC): Small desktop or

portable computer

 Workstation: Desktop computer with powerful

graphics and mathematical capabilities

 Supercomputer: Highly sophisticated and

powerful, performs complex computations
 Computer Networks and Client/Server Computing

• Distributed processing: Distribution of

processing work among multiple computers
• Centralized processing: Accomplished
by one large central computer
• Client/server computing: Splits
processing between “clients” and “servers”
on network
Client/Server Computing
Types of Client/Server Computing
 Network Computers and Peer-to-Peer Computing

• Network computer (NC): Simplified desktop

computer, does not store data permanently
• Peer-to-peer computing: Distributed processing that
links computers through Internet or private
networks
• Grid computing: Applies computational resources
of many networked computers to solve a large,
complex problem
 The Major Types of Software

• Software program: Series of statements or

instructions to the computer

• System software: Generalized programs,

manages computer’s resources

• Application software: Programs written to

perform functions specified by end users
The Major Types of Software
 System Software and PC Operating Systems

Operating system

• System software

• Manages and controls computer

 System Software and PC Operating Systems

Functions of the operating system

• Allocates and assigns system resources

• Schedules use of computer resources

• Monitors computer system activities

• Provides locations in primary memory for data and

programs

• Controls the input and output devices

 System Software and PC Operating Systems

Multiprogramming

• Executes two or more programs concurrently

using the same computer

• CPU executes only one program but services

the input/output needs of others
 System Software and PC Operating Systems

Multitasking

• Multiprogramming capability of single-user operating

systems

Virtual Storage

• Handles programs more efficiently by dividing the

programs into small fixed or variable length
 System Software and PC Operating Systems

Time Sharing

• Sharing of computer resources by many users

simultaneously

Multiprocessing

• Executing two or more instructions simultaneously in

a single computer using multiple central processing
units
 System Software and PC Operating Systems

Language translation and utility

software

• Translates high-level language programs into

machine language
 PC Operating Systems and Graphical User Interfaces

• GUIs in contemporary PC operating systems

• Windows XP

• Microsoft’s Windows 98 and Me

• Windows 2000
 PC Operating Systems and Graphical User Interfaces

• Windows .NET server

• UNIX
• Linux: open-source software
• OS2
• Mac OS
• DOS
 Application Software and Programming Languages

• Programming languages: evolved from

machine language to high-level languages for
business and scientific work

• Important programming languages for

business today: COBOL, C, C++, and Visual
Basic
 Fourth-Generation Languages

• Fourth-generation language: Can help

end users develop software with little or no
assistance from IS specialists
• Natural languages: Close to human
language
• Query languages: Provide immediate on-
line answers to requests
 Object-Oriented Programming

Object-oriented programming
• Approach to software development that
combines data and procedures into a single
object

Visual programming
• Construction of software programs by
selecting and arranging programming objects
 Java

• Programming language

• Delivers the software functionality needed for

a particular task

• Runs on any computer and operating system

 Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and XML

• Hypertext Markup Language (HTML):

Page description language, creates Web
pages and other hypermedia documents

• XML (eXtensible Markup Language):

Describes the structure of a document,
supports links to multiple documents, allowing
data to be manipulated by the computer
 Application Software Packages and Productivity Software

• PC software tools: Word Processing

Software, Spreadsheets, Data Management
Software, Presentation Graphics

• Other productivity software: e-mail,

groupware, Web browsers
Word Processing Software
 Software for Enterprise Integration

Enterprise software

• Set of integrated modules for major business

functions

• Allows data to be used by multiple functions

and business processes
 Software for Enterprise Integration

Middleware

• Allows two disparate applications to communicate to

exchange data

Web server

• Manages requests for Web pages on the computer

where they are stored
 Software for Enterprise Integration

Enterprise application integration

software

• Ties together multiple applications to support

enterprise integration
 Hardware Technology Requirements for
Electronic Commerce and Digital Firm

• Capacity planning: Process of predicting the computing power

• Predicting when a computer hardware systems become
saturated
• Maximum number of user
• Future Software applications (VISTA)
• Performance Measurement

• Scalability: Ability of a computer, product, or system

to expand and to serve without breaking down
Managing hardware and software
assets

 Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

– Acquiring and installing Computers and software
– Ongoing Administration cost
– Up gradation Cost
– Maintenance Cost
– Technical support cost
– Training Cost
– Utility and real estate cost

 Using standard and centralized hardware and

software resources can reduce TCO
 Rent or build Decision
Managing hardware and software
assets

 On line Storage Service Providers (SSP) (IBM

Managed Storage Services (MSS))
 Application Service Providers (ASP)
– SAP (Corio Inc. )
 Management Service Providers (Totality, Seven
Space)
– Combination of applications
– Networks
– Storage
– Security
– Web site
– System Performance Monitoring
Managing hardware and software
assets

 BusinessContinuity Service Providers

(Comdisco)
– Disaster Recovery and continuous Web
Availability.
 Internet Service Providers (ISP)
– Internet Connectivity
– Security
– Web site management.
– Web based System management.
MBA 508: Management Information
System

Many Thanks for

Attending
&
Not Sleeping!
(The End)