IT Infrastructure and

Emerging Technologies
 Introduction
• In the last lecture, we learn that system administrators have lots of responsibilities
like maintaining infrastructure services.
• IT infrastructure services are what allowing organization to function.
• These include; connecting to the internet, managing networks by setting up the
network hardware, connecting computers through an internal network, etc.
• In this lecture, we are going to learn about the common IT infrastructure services out
there and what you need to know to start integrating them into an organization.
• We will also try to dig deeper into each infrastructure service individually.
• We will focus more on the physical infrastructure services like servers, along with
network infrastructure services that keep your company connected to the Internet.
• In short, we will be servicing all infrastructure services needs.
Learning objectives
• Define IT infrastructure and describe its components.
• Describe the stages and drivers of IT infrastructure evolution.
• Assess contemporary hardware and software trends.
• Evaluate the challenges of managing IT infrastructure and
management solutions.
What is "IT Infrastructure"
• Computing Platforms
• Data and Voice Telecom Networks
• Application Software
• Physical Facilities
• IT Management
• IT Policies
• IT Education Services
 What is IT infrastructure?
• IT Infrastructure is the hardware, software, and non-personnel resources used to support, house,
and run IT systems, according to the Information Technology Infrastructure Library. This includes
servers, routers, clouds, software, laptops, mobile devices, and other equipment.
• An IT infrastructure is necessary for the operation and management of a company’s IT services,
both internal and external.
• Essential to any organization, a fully functioning infrastructure delivers your business’ IT
requirements to both your employees and customers.
• The infrastructure of a company includes all elements of its IT systems, such as:
• Network equipment – including routers
• Software – including operating systems
• Hardware – including servers
• Services – including backup provision
• Telecommunication – including internet cabling and telephone lines
• Data centers and other facilities which house infrastructure
• Computing platforms – including on-demand Cloud platforms
• Power equipment – including backup sources and uninterruptible power supplies
• Content systems – including CMS and document management systems
• Communication systems – including VoIP
• Information monitoring and security systems – including intrusion/attack detection software
• Any equipment used to develop, test, operate, monitor and support IT services
Defining IT Infrastructure
• Technology perspective: set of physical devices and software required
to operate enterprise
• Service perspective: set of firmwide services providing to customers,
suppliers, and employees
• Example: telecommunications services, data management services,
application software services, etc.
• The “service platform” perspective refers to analyzing the actual
services enabled by new technology tools.
• For example, a new PC might save an employee one hour per day in
wait time for information, dramatically increasing his value to the firm.
IT's Impacts on Productivity
• Easier for managers to oversee larger numbers of workers
• IT can substitute for some labor
• Hardware is getting cheaper, while labor costs are increasing
• Networks decrease transaction costs
• easier to outsource
• improved supply chain management
• Flatter Organization
IT Flattens Organizations

Why?
IT for Competitive Advantage
• Product Differentiation
• Market Niche
• Customer Intimacy
• Core Competency Enhancement
• via Internal information sharing
• Easier to Create Synergies
• via External information sharing
IT Infrastructure as services • Figure illustrate the centrality of IT
infrastructure and services to the
achievement of firm success
• Ultimately, what the firm delivers
to customers, its quality, is a direct
function of the power of its
infrastructure.
• For instance, Amazon is routinely
sited as the most popular online
shopping site and receives high
praise from customers for the
quality of its service and speed of
execution.
• There is a reason for this: Amazon
has one of the world’s largest
computing infrastructures
numbering several hundred
thousand processors to provide
these services.
Infrastructure Components

Seven Key Infrastructure Components

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 and System Integration
Services
1. Computer hardware platforms
• Client machines Desktop PCs, mobile computing devices – PDAs, laptops
• Servers PC servers, Midrange systems, mainframe systems
• Top firms: IBM, HP, Dell, Sun Microsystems
• Dominance of Intel, AMD, and IBM 32-bit processor chips at the client level
• Server market increasingly dominated by inexpensive generic processors from
the same manufacturers
• Strong server market growth for 64-bit generic processors from AMD, Intel
and IBM
• Blade servers replace box servers
• Mainframes continue as a presence working as very large servers
2. Operating system platforms
• Integrated set of programs that manage computer hardware
• Client level: 95% run Microsoft Windows (7,10, etc.)
• Continued dominance of Microsoft OS in the client (95%) and
handheld market (45%)
• Server level: 85% run Unix or Linux
• Growing dominance of Linux (UNIX) in the corporate server market
(85%)
• Windows Server remains strong in smaller enterprises and
workgroup networks
3. Enterprise software applications
• A set of integrated software and a common central database for use in
nearly all of firm’s business activities.
• Enterprise application providers: SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft (now Oracle),
and Siebel dominate this market.
4. Data Management and Storage
• Database software: DB2, Oracle, SQL Server, Sybase, MySQL
• Physical data storage: EMC Corp (large-scale systems), Seagate, Maxtor,
Western Digital.
• Storage area networks: Connect multiple storage devices on dedicated
network
• The amount of new information in the world is doubling every three years,
driving the need for more efficient data management and storage.
• Oracle and IBM continue to dominate the database software market.
• Microsoft (SQL Server) and Sybase tend to serve smaller firms.
• Open-source Linux MySQL now supported by HP and most consulting
firms as an inexpensive, powerful database used mostly in small to mid-
size firms.
5. Networking/telecommunications
• Network operating systems: Windows Server, Novell, Linux, Unix
• Network hardware providers: Cisco, Lucent, Nortel, Juniper Networks
6. Internet platforms
• Hardware, software, management services to support company Web
sites, intranets, extranets.
• Web development tools/suites:
• Microsoft (ASP, .NET)
• IBM (WebSphere) Sun (Java).
• Independent software developers: Macromedia, RealMedia
• Open-source Apache remains the dominant Web server software,
followed by Microsoft’s IIS server.
• Sun’s Java grows as the most widely used tool for interactive Web
applications.
• Microsoft and Sun settle a long-standing law suit and agree to support a
common Java.
7. Consulting and System Integration Services
• Integration services involves integrating data, and applications in a firm.
• Connecting new applications and systems to legacy systems
• System integration: Bringing together subsystems into one system
Software integration: ensuring new infrastructure works with legacy
systems.
• Implementing new infrastructure requires significant changes in
business processes and procedures, training and education, and
software integration.
• This is a task that firms struggle to achieve on their own, which drives
the need for these services.
Evolution of IT

Enterprise Computing
• Mainframes
• Minicomputers
• PCs (microcomputers)
• PCs + Networks
Why the Evolution?
• Moore's Law
• Declining Communication Costs
• Costs of Storage
• Standards
Contemporary Hardware Platform
• Emerging Mobile Digital Platform
• Smartphones evolving to become handheld computers
• Transmission of data, surfing Web, e-mail and IM,
display digital content
• Low-cost light weight subnotebooks called netbooks
• Tablet computers
• Digital e-book readers
• Business computing will gradually move towards mobile
devices
Contemporary Hardware Platform
• Grid Computing
• Connecting geographically remote computers into a single network to
create a virtual supercomputer
• Combines computational power of all computers in the grid
• Reason: most computer use CPU for 25% of the time for a certain work
• Special software programs control and allocate resources
• Benefits:
• Cost savings
• Speed of computing
• Agility
• Reduced power consumption
Contemporary Hardware Platform
• Virtualization
• Process of presenting computing resources, that are accessed without
restriction of geographic location or physical configuration
• Enables Single physical resource appears to users are multiple logical resources
• Enables Multiple physical resources appear as a single logical resource
• Benefit
• Computing processing storage handled using computer resources at remote locations
• Increase equipment utilization
• Conserving data center space
• Conserving energy usage
• Run legacy systems on old OS on the same server
• Centralization of hardware administration
Contemporary Hardware Platform
• Cloud Computing
• Computer processing, storage, software and other services are obtained as a pool of
virtualized resources over networks
• Main characteristics:
• ON-demand self –service
• Ubiquitous network access
• Location independent resource pooling
• Rapid elasticity
• Measured service
• Available as three services: Cloud infrastructure, cloud platform and cloud software
• Types: Public cloud and private cloud
Contemporary Hardware Platform
• Green Computing
• Practises and technologies for designing, manufacturing, and using devices to minimize impact
on environment
• Reducing power consumption
• Metrics:
• Power Usage Effectiveness
• Data Center Infrastructure efficiency
• Average Data Efficiency

• Autonomic Computing
• The more computer systems become complex, more difficult to manage
• Effort to develop systems themselves, optimize and heal themselves, also protect from
intruders
• E.g. firewalls and virus protection
Contemporary Software Platform
• Linux and Open Source Software
• OSS: software produced by a community of several hundred thousands of programmers
around the world
• Free, modifiable, and free to be redistributed
• Linux: operating systems based on Unix
• Applications embedded in smart phones, netbooks, consumer electronics
• IBM, HP, Dell, Oracle produce Linux-compatible version o their products
• Used in Web servers, high performance computing
Contemporary Hardware Platform
• Service Oriented Architecture
• Web Service: set of loosely coupled software components that exchange information with each
other using standard web communications standards and languages
• XML: more powerful than HTML
• Perform presentation, communication and storage of data
• Provides standard format for data exchange
• SOA: set of self contained services that communicate with one another to create a working
software application
• IBM’s Websphere e-business software platform
• Microsoft's .Net platform
Contemporary Hardware Platform
• How Dollar rent a Car uses Web services
Contemporary Hardware Platform
• Software Outsourcing and Cloud Services
• Software package: prewritten, commercially available , e.g. SAP
• Outsourcing: enables firms to contract custom software development to outside firms, usually
off shore
• Low-level maintenance, data entry, call center, and now new program development
• Cloud-based: software and data hosted on powerful servers and accessed through Internet and
Web browser
• MS Word, Adobe Illustrator
• Enterprise software, other business function also available as a service
• Software as a Service (SaaS)
• Subscription or per transaction
Management Issues of IT infrastructure
• Platform and Infrastructure issues
• Scalability: ability of a computer, product, or system to expand to serve large number of users
• New policies, procedures or legal contracts required if changing kind of infrastructure
• Response time and availability of mission critical systems

• Management and Governance

• Who controls the IT infrastructure?
• How will infrastructure costs be allocated among business units?
• Making Wise Investments
• How much should be spent?
• Cloud computing low-cost and flexible but issue of security and work flow
Management Issues of IT infrastructure
• Competitive Forces Model