Topic 5

Information Systems Infrastructure

Management: Hardware, Software, and
Networks
 Learning Objectives
 Discuss hardware and software
management
 Discuss networks and
telecommunications management
 Discuss management challenges
associated with managing information
systems infrastructure
 Review emerging technologies and trends
2
Hardware and Software
Management
 Introduction: Hardware and Software
 Hardware is the equipment, the machinery, the
tangible components of IT.
 Software is the instructions that tell the hardware
what to do.
 Although managers and business professionals
do not need to be an expert, the basic
understanding of the role of hardware and
software will assist them in making good
technology decisions thus enhancing business
performance and organizational productivity.
4
Major Computer System Categories
*But the line between different types of computers is blurring.
The difference is the extent (or the continuum) but not
dichotomy (not yes or no), what do you think?

5
Major Categories of Computer Software

6
 Trends in Hardware and Software
 The trend of hardware is towards easy to
purchase, and easy to maintain and easy to
connect via telecommunications links through
organizations (i.e., the shift from central
computing via main frame computer to networked
computing in the format of peer-to-peer, client-
server, parallel computing/distributed
computing/grid computing, and web
computing/cloud computing).
 The trend of software development is towards
easy-to-use and multipurpose network-enabled
application packages for productivity and
collaboration (i.e., Gmail and other web based
email systems and applications). 7
 Non-Tech Firms are Joining the Software
Revolution (Strategy +Business 2016)
 Pizza Hut restaurants are deploying a robotic waiter to take
orders, accept digital payments, have a small talk with
customers, provide food recommendation, but never expects
a tip!
 Auto firms are developing self-driving cars-Cars driven by
software!
 Samsung refrigerators can send you pictures from their interior
cameras when you are out shopping.
 Retailers are using technologies (e.g., mobile technologies,
location application, predictive analytics) to deliver customized
recommendations and messaging to customers while they are in
the store.
 Post companies & couriers are becoming tech-savvy players. For
example, UPS’s i-parcel application allows international shippers
to manage all the costs related to the location and order, choose
from a variety of local payment options, and track delivery. 8
Networks and Telecommunication
Management
 (Source: O’Brien & Marakas 2011, p. 224)

Business Value of Telecommunications

Networks

10
 (Source: O’Brien & Marakas 2011, p. 221)

Trends in Telecommunications

11
A corporate telecommunications system
(Source: Laudon & Laudon 2012, p. 277)

12
 Major Types of Telecommunications Networks
 Wide Area Networks (WAN): Cover a large
geographic area.
 Local Area Networks (LAN): Connect computers &
other information processing devices within a limited
physical area.
 Metropolitan area network (MAN), which spans a
metropolitan area, usually a city and its major suburbs .
Its geographic scope falls between WAN and LAN.
 Virtual Private Networks
 Client/Server Networks
 Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Networks
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LAN, MAN, WAN (Hagg et al. 2005)

14
 (Source: Laudon & Traver 2012, p. 306)

Wireless Internet Connection

15
 Virtual Private Network (VPN)
 Virtual private network (VPN) - a private WAN that
uses the Internet as a low-cost WAN backbone to
transport data between two or more geographically
separate sites and more for confidential intra-company
data
 Advantages that a VPN has over a dedicated-line WAN:
 The cost of implementation
 No need to lay cable or lease dedicated lines between
the remote sites needing to connect
 Additional Internet connection would be required
 Businesses can network remote offices into one large
WAN and provide access to the Internet
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Intranet, Extranet, and VPN Technologies

17
 (Laudon & Laudon 2005; Hagg et al. 2006)

Client/server & P2P Networks

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Management Challenges
 The Application Backlog
 Advances in computer software have not kept pace with the
breathtaking productivity gains in hardware, and developing
software has become a major preoccupation for
organizations.
 Despite the availability of various programming languages
and tools, many businesses continue to face a backlog of 2-3
years in developing IS they need or they may not be able to
develop them at all.
 What should organizations do?
 Set your priorities-focusing on projects for strategic needs
and with highest values projects; Set realistic expectations
for when to undertake new projects; Encourage ideas
from business users but have a process to examine them;
and Use outsourcing services. 20
 Centralization or Decentralization
 Centralized computing: Organization has more control since
all processing is accomplished by one large central computer
or/and from headquarter
 Distributed computing: Departments, divisions and end users
have more power since it distributes computing capabilities
among computers in different locations/functions. It leads to
management problems of standards/control.
 Which is the best? How much to centralise or distribute?
 Answers vary for different needs of various organizations.
 Should choose the computing model compatible with
organizational goals.
 Access the costs, benefits and risks. For example networked
computers and centralised computing could increase
management’s control, what happen if there is a failure in
the network which is controlled by Telecom firms? 21
 Selecting appropriate technologies for
enterprise networking
 Managing bandwidth-we have more and more reliance
on Network and Internet
 Different standards for linkage with different networks-
hopefully the cloud computing could be the answer
 Networks that meet today’s requirements may lack the
connectivity for domestic or global expansion in the
future-need to incorporate IS/IT into business planning.
 Although telecom transition costs are decreasing, total
network capacity (bandwidth) requirements (i.e., more
people use and more data-intensive cost) growing very
fast, which will lead to massive increase in network
costs.
 Balancing between network reliability and availability
against mushrooming network costs 22
 (Laudon & Laudon 2005; 2012)

Issues in Implementing New

Telecommunication Technologies
 Distance: Are future telecommunication needs primarily
local or long distance?
 Services: range of services needed? Include email? EDI?
wireless? voice mail? videoconferencing? graphics
transmission? need integration of different services?
 Point of access: number of locations needed for services
and capabilities?
 Utilisation: anticipated frequency and volume of
communications?
 Security and reliability of the proposed new
telecommunications systems 23
 Issues in Implementing New
Telecommunication Technologies (2)
 Scalability of the proposed new telecommunications
systems: not only for current demand but also to
enable scalability to meet future demand.
 Connectivity: How easy or difficult (i.e. required time,
money and effort) is it to connect disparate
components of network or networks?
 Flexibility/Adaptability: can the proposed
systems/technology be adapted to the changes in the
market place?
 Purchase & Maintain its own Or Rent from external
suppliers: what are Benefits? Risks? Benefits vs Risks?
24
 Issues in Implementing New
Telecommunication Technologies (3)
 Cost: What is the cost of proposed
telecommunication technology? What are some
variable costs? How about fixed cost? Any hidden
cost? What is total cost of ownership (TCO)?-
direct and indirect costs? Hardware, software
account for only about 20% of TCO! Other costs
include: installation, training, support,
maintenance, infrastructure, downtime, space and
energy. TCO can be reduced through use of cloud
services, greater centralization and standardization
of hardware and software resources. 25
An Example Components of TCO (Laudon & Laudon 2012)

26
 Some Questions of Managing IS/IT
Infrastructure (see details in Reading 5.1)
 IS/IT infrastructure is fundamental to the effective
deliveries of required IS/IT capabilities for the
business and critical to the organizational performance
(especially in today’s networked/digital economy). To
successfully manage IS/IT infrastructure,
organizations need to look at their management
practices and ask themselves a few questions:
 Demand management? Contingency plan? Infrastructure
capabilities? Support for globalization efforts? Investment
management? Implementing new technologies (e.g., cloud
computing)? Structure of IT Infrastructure? Legal issues?
27
Emerging Technologies & Trends
 Global ICT Industry Trends
(see details in Reading 5.3)

 The trends of global ICT industry (including hardware &

infrastructure firms, software & Internet firms, IT service
providers, and Telecom operators as per the classification by
Acker, Grӧne & Schrӧder 2012) can be summarised as the
increasing attention and efforts on building the business
ecosystems (also called digital ecosystems) to survive the
tough competition, stay ahead of the game, and generate
sustainable growth.
 Top ICT firms (measured by the firm’s financial
performance, portfolio strength, Go-to-market footprint, and
growth potential) include: Microsoft, Orcale, IBM, Hewlett-
Packard, Cisco Systems, Apple, SAP, Xerox, Accenture, and
CSC. 29
Portfolio Expansion of Top Global ICT Firms-Reading 5.3 30
(Meeker 2017) 31
(Meeker 2017) 32
 Emerging Trend: Moving towards more web-
based/Internet or Cloud based ….
 Google along with others are moving computer to the web and away
from desktop
 Google Has a web-capable platform
 Web-applications live on the internet and are independent of an
operating systems (i.e., Windows operating systems) the same way
desktop applications are.
 When PC allows you to perform tasks which can previously only be
done by a mainframe, the web allow you to self-select applications and
put them together for your use
 Web computing provide you an operating environment but not an
operating system
 It move from client/server to client/web
 Cloud computing is becoming more popular (e.g., Amazon Drive,
Microsoft’s Azure, and Alibaba’s Aliyun)
 IT applications will be easier, faster and cheaper to use
 For example, you don’t have to install/download anything for using
various Google services except an Internet browser (e.g., IE). 33
Cloud Adoption reaches new heights (Meeker 2017) 34
(Meeker 2017) 35
(Meeker 2017)
DAUs: Daily Active Users MAUS: Monthly Active Users NPS: Net Promoter Score 36
 Emerging Technologies
 Web Services ,Service Oriented Architecture, Grid
Computing, Cloud Computing (Reading 5.2 provide good information),
Virtualization, Semantic Web, Web Science enable
businesses to:
 Have better inter-operability and integration of its various
applications from different vendors in different languages,
formats, platforms.
 Better utilize and streamline their IT resources, especially
existing ones-don’t want so many servers and machines…..
 Look at delivering computing as a service rather than a
product
 Thus improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their IT
investments
 According to IDC, 11% of IT Budget will shift away
from in-house IT delivery to cloud-based solutions by
2016. Is your organization feeling this? 37
 Emerging Technologies (cont.)
 Social Computing, Mobile Computing, The
Internet of Things, and Big Data and Data
Analytics are some other popular emerging
technologies.
 However the adoption and diffusion of these
technologies/ methodologies/approaches are
still in the non-mature stage. A lot have to be
done (e.g., network reliability and availability,
privacy & security, standards &
standardization, open interface, sustainability
issues).

38
(Bughin, Chui & Manyika 2015) 39
What is blockchain?
• Refer to Reading 5.4 for more information
• Visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WG7D47tGb0
And/or: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xGLc-zz9cA 40
Interested in self-driving car?
• Refer to Reading 5.5 for more information
• Visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsaES--OTzM for A
Ride in the Google’s Self-Driving Car. 41