C5- IT Infrastructure
and Emerging
Technologies
Input – Process - Output
2
 A computer
 Takes data as input
 Processes it
 Outputs information
 CPU  Central Processing Unit
 Primary Storage
 RAM  Random Access Memory
 ROM  Read Only Memory
 Secondary Storage, Input/Output Devices,
Communications Devices
IT Infrastructure
Figure 5-1 Hardware Components of a Computer System
5-6
Two Views of IT Infrastructure
4
• Technological
– hardware/software needed to operate
• Capacity, speed
• Service
– Services provided by the IT infrastructure
• Computing platforms, telecommunications, data
management, etc.
Evolution
6
Client/Server
9
10
Enterprise Internet Computing
IT Infrastructure
Figure 5-4 A client/server network
5-18
9
Moore’s
Law
The power of microprocessors doubles every 18 months
Computing power doubles every 18 months
The price of computing falls by half every 18 months
Law of
Mass
Digital
Storage
The amount of digital information is roughly doubling
every year
Metcalf’s
Law
The value of a network grows exponentially as a
function of the number of network members
The cost of storage is falling at an exponential rate of
100 percent per year
Communication Costs and
Network Effects
10
• Declining Communications Costs and the
Internet
– Rapid decline in costs of communication and the
exponential growth in the size of the Internet
• Standards and Network Effects
– Acceptance of standards to govern specifications and
compatibility of technology
Seven Major Components of IT
Infrastructure
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–
–
–
–
–
–
Computer Hardware Platforms
Operating System Platforms
Enterprise and Other Software Applications
Data Management and Storage
Networking/Telecommunications Platforms
Internet Platforms
Consulting and System Integration Services
5-28
IT Infrastructure
5-29
Consulting and System
Integration
16
• Most firms today, even large firms, cannot
develop their systems without significant outside
help
• Must ensure new systems integrate with legacy
systems
• Consulting and systems integration is a lucrative
market
Hardware Platform Trends and
Emerging Technologies
• Integration of Computing & Telecommunications
– Increasingly, computing takes place over the network
– Client level: The integration of cell phones and PDAs
– Server level: The integration of voice telephone and
the Internet bring together two historically separate
and distinct global networks
– The network in many respects is the source of
computing power
5-38
Grid Computing
17
• Involves connecting geographically remote
computers into a single network capable of
working in parallel on business problems that
require short-term access to large computational
capacity
• Rather than purchase huge mainframes or super
computers, firms can chain together thousands
of smaller desktop clients into a single
computing grid
• Enabled by high-speed Internet
Utility Computing
 also called on-demand computing
 Peak times
 off-load to a remote and large-scale data processing
center.
 Example  CIBC out sources to HP
 28,000 e-mail;
 41,000 desktops PCs,
 4,500 ATMs, and
 10,000 POS terminals.
Autonomic Computing
 Computer systems (both hardware and software)
have become so complex that the cost of
managing them has risen
 Thirty to fifty percent of a company’s IT budget
is spent preventing or recovering from system
crashes
 Operator error is the most common cause of
crashes
 Autonomic computing is an industry-wide effort
to develop systems that configure, heal, and
protect themselves
Edge Computing
20
 A multi-tier, load-balancing scheme for Web-based
applications
 Processing load is distributed closer to the user and
handled by smaller, lower-cost servers
Five themes in Software
Platform Evolution:
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–
–
–
–
Linux and open-source software
Java
Enterprise software
Web services and Service-Oriented Architecture
Software outsourcing
Software Platform Trends and Emerging Technologies
5-48
Linux and Open Source
23
 Open-source software is free and can be modified by
users
 Developed and maintained by a worldwide network
of programmers and designers under the
management of user communities
 Linux is the most widely used open-source software
program. Linux is an operating system derived from
Unix
Java
24
 Java is an operating system-independent, processor-
independent, object-oriented programming language
 The leading interactive programming environment
for the Web
Enterprise Integration
25
 Priority of integrating legacy systems with newer
Web-based applications
 Growth of enterprise-wide applications
 Use of middleware to create an interface or bridge
 Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) software
packages connect disparate applications
Software Platform Trends and Emerging
Technologies
5-48
Web Services
27
 Web services refers to a set of loosely coupled
software components that exchange information
with each other using Web communication
standards and languages
 Foundation technology is XML (eXtensible Markup
Language), a more powerful and flexible language
than HTML
 Service-oriented architecture (collection of Web
services)
 Major vendors provide tools for building software
using Web services
Software Outsourcing
28
 Today large and small firms purchase most of their
software from outside vendors.
 Three kinds of outsourcing:



Purchase of software packages
Using application service providers (may rent)
Custom outsourcing
Sources of Software
29
 Software package
 Prewritten off-the-shelf software
 Application Service Providers (ASP):
 A business that delivers and manages applications and
computer services from remote computer centers to multiple
users using the Internet or a private network
 Software outsourcing
 Contract the development of custom software
Management Challenges
27
 Making wise infrastructure investments
 Choosing and coordinating infrastructure
components
 Dealing with infrastructure change

scalability
 Management and governance
 Model total cost of ownership (TCO)