IT Infrastructure and Emerging

Technologies
Chapter Five (10th ed)

Definitions of ITI

ITI is a set of firm wide services budgeted by

management and comprising both human and
technical capabilities that provide services to
employees, customers, and suppliers.

Significance of IT Infrastructure
IT infrastructure (ITI) is the foundation for
Serving customers
Working with suppliers and
Managing internal business processes
An example: If you are a bank and you want to
sell banking services (savings, checking, car
loans, home loans, brokerage accounts, etc) to all
of your customers on a global level, your choices
of ITI will make or break you.
ITI is critical component of any business
strategy
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Listing of the Services from the

Second Definition of ITI
Computing platforms
that provide computing
services
Telecommunication
services provide data,
voice, and video
connectivity
Application software
services provide access
to ERP, SCM, CRM, and
KM
Physical facilities
management services

IT management services
for planning and managing
ITI
IT standards services for
developing policies
IT education services
that provide training
IT research and
development services
for developing future
projects
Data management
services that manage
data and provide analysis
tools
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Evolution of IT Infrastructure
General-purpose mainframe and minicomputer
era: (1959 to present)
Personal computer era: (1981 to present)
Client/server era: (1983 to present)
Enterprise internet computing era: (1992 to
present)
Cloud Computing Era (2000 to present)
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Technology Drivers of
Infrastructure Evolution

Moores law and microprocessing power

Microprocessor power (MIPS) doubles every 18
months
Number of transistors on a chip doubles every 18
months
Cost of computing falls by every 18 months
Near future will continue, but heat issues and
consumer needs may slow this process
The law of mass digital storage
The number of kilobytes stored for $1 has doubled
every 15 months since 1950

Seven Key Infrastructure

Components

Computer Hardware Platforms

Operating System Platforms
Enterprise Software Applications
Data Management and Storage
Networking/Telecommunications Platforms
Internet Platforms
Consulting and System Integration Services

Estimated Size of US
Infrastructure Components (2005)
Expenditure (billions) % of total
Computer hardware

145

9%

Operating system platforms

110

7%

Enterprise and other IT soft

apps

297

19%

Database mgmt and storage

42

3%

Networking and telecom

769

50%

Internet platforms

35

2%

Consulting services

130

9%

Total

1,528

Computer Hardware Platforms

Client machines
Desktops and mobile computing devices
( PDAs or laptops )
Server market
Blade servers
Stripped down server computer with a modular
design

Major players
Microprocessors IBM, Intel, and AMD
Hardware HP, IBM, Dell, and Sun
Mainframes
Market dominated by IBM
Serve as giant servers (an alternative to
blade servers)

Computer Software Platforms

Operating systems
Client OS dominated by some form of Microsoft
Windows
Server OS dominated by UNIX and Linux
Major providers of UNIX are IBM, HP, and Sun
Enterprise applications (e.g., SCM, CRM, ERP)
Major providers are SAP and Oracle
Microsoft is trying to capture the low end of this
market
Client applications
Microsoft is the dominant provider
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Data Management and Storage

Data management software
Oracle and IBM dominate the market.
Microsoft (SQL Server) and Sybase tend to serve
smaller firms.
Open source Linux MySQL
Data storage hardware
The hard disk market is consolidating around a few
huge firms like EMC and smaller PC hard disk firms
like Seagate, Maxtor, and Western Digital

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Networking/Telecommunications
Platforms
Network operating systems
LANS are dominated by Windows Server other
players include Novell, Linux, and Unix
Enterprise networking almost entirely Linux or
UNIX
Virtually all networks use the TCP/IP
protocols
Networking hardware providers
Cisco, Lucent, Nortel, and Juniper Networks
Telecommunications services market
MCI, AT&T, and Sprint providing most trunk line
services for both phone and Internet.
Rapid growth of non-telephone Wi-Fi and WiMax services, and Internet telephony
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Internet Platforms
This area overlaps with networking,
hardware, and software platforms
Internet hardware server market
Dell, HP, and IBM
Some Web software tools
Adobe software (Dreamweaver and Flash)
WebSphere from IBM to manage a Web site
Apache server is an open source software tool
for managing stored Web pages on a server
(on 70 percent of all Web servers)
Java from Sun for interactive applications

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Consulting and System Integration

Services
Most firms today, even large firms, cannot
develop their systems without significant outside
help.
$130 billion annually spent on computer system
design, and related business services like
business process redesign in the United States
About 85% of business consulting in the United
States involves IT business consulting.
Integration services involves integrating data,
and applications in a firm.
Connecting new applications and systems to
legacy systems
IBM has transformed itself into a systems
integration firm with IBM Global Services, the
largest system integration firm.
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Contemporary Hardware Platform

Trends: Overview

Cost of IT infrastructure is rising

Cost of computing services and software
Intensity of computing & communications has increased
requiring more powerful networks and client devices
Other challenges
Integration of data across platforms
Infrastructures must withstand huge spikes in demand
and continual assaults from hackers
High customer expectations
Five trends
Integration of Computing and Telecommunications
Platforms
On-Demand (utility) Computing
Autonomic Computing
Virtualization and multicore processors
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Integration of Computing and

Telecommunications Platforms
Increasingly computing takes place over the
network.
Client level: integration of cell phones and
Smartphones
Television, video, and radio move toward
digital production.
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.
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On-Demand (Utility) Computing

Variation of Cloud Computing
Firms off-loading peak demand for
computing power to remote, large-scale
data processing centers
Developed by IBM, SUN, and HP
Firms pay only for the computing power
they use, as with an electrical utility.
Excellent for firms with spiked demand
curves caused by seasonal variations in
consumer demand, e.g. holiday shopping
Saves firms from purchasing excessive
levels of infrastructure

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Autonomic Computing
Autonomic computing is an industry-wide effort
to develop systems that can:
Configure, optimize, and tune themselves
Heal themselves when broken
Protect themselves from outside intruders and selfdestruction
Why is there a need for this?
Computer systems (both hardware and software)
have become so complex that the cost of managing
them has risen.
Thirty to fifty percent of a companys IT budget is
spent preventing or recovering from system
crashes.
Operator error is the most common cause of
crashes.
Example: Windows XP and Max X OS
automatically download patches and updates.
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Virtualization and Multicore

Processors
Both of these techniques are designed to
reduce power consumption
Virtualization is the process of presenting a set of
computing resources so that they can be access in
multiple ways without regard to physical
configuration or geographical location
Virtual version of hardware platform, OS, Storage etc
Eg. Windows OS on MacOSX as a Virtual Machine
(Platform Virtualization)
Eg. Separating logical desktop from physical machine
during NSU Advicing (Desktop Virtualization)
Eg. Mounting a disk image on to a virtual drive
(Storage Virtualization)
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Multicore processors
As the clockspeed of cpus increased, the
amount of heat generated and electricity
consumed increased.
Solution is to use two or more slower
processors to generate the same computing
power but reduce heat and power consumption

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Software Platform Trends:

Overview
Linux and the open-source software
movement
Java
Software for enterprise integration
Enterprise wide systems
Linkage to older systems and applications
AJAX, Mashups and Web-based software
applications
Software outsourcing

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The Open-Source Software

Movement

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
Major examples include Linux, Firefox (browser), and Apache
(Web server software that resides on the server and delivers
Web content to your browser)
Linux is the most widely used open-source software program.
Linux is an operating system derived from Unix.
IBM, HP, Intel, Dell, and Sun have adopted and support Linux. Linux is
a major alternative to Windows server and even client operating
systems
Linux runs on all major hardware platforms mainframes, servers, and
clients
Major threat to Microsoft
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Java
A programming language that is independent of
the operating system and hardware processor.
Applications written in Java can run on any
hardware for which a Java virtual machine has
been defined.
Anytime an object moves or input is required from
a user a Java applet has been employed
Applets are small Java programs that are
downloaded from the server. Users do not need to
have complex software on their machines.
Java is embedded in PDAs, cell phones, music
players, automobiles, set-top cable TV systems,
and browsers.
Java is the leading interactive programming
environment for the Web.
Dispute with Microsoft
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AJAX
Ajax (asynchronous JavaScript and XML) is a group of
inter-related Web development tools for creating
interactive Web applications . Ajax enables increased
responsiveness and interactivity of Web pages by
exchanging small amounts of data with the server
"behind the scenes" so entire Web pages do not have
to be reloaded each time there is a need to fetch data
from the server. JavaScript is the language in which
AJAX function calls are usually made. [1
Ajax is one form of a set of related techniques called
rich Internet applications (RIA). Adobes Flash is
another member of RIA.

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Web-Based Applications
The Google model
Google delivers a number of applications including a
word processor, spreadsheet, email, instant
messaging, and a calendar in a suite called Google
Apps.
Users pay a subscription fee that provides unlimited
usage for a specified time.
All of the apps and data are stored on Google servers.
Google uses Ajax and other RIA tools to do this.
Enterprise software firms like SAP and Oracle are also
delivering software in this same manner
The Google model is a direct threat to Microsofts
business model

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Web Based Applications

Zoho ReaderOffice
YouOS-WebOS
Gmail-Webmail

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Mashups
A mashup is a Web application that combines
data and/or functionality from more than one
source. The term is derived from the hip hop
practice of building a new song by combining
parts of other songs.
Example mashups
Typical mashups combine mapping and satellite
image software with local content (see
http://housingmaps.com or http://zillow.com ).
Enables real estate listings to be displayed on
Google maps.
Celebrities linked to maps and YouTube
http://www.mibazaar.com/top100celebrities/
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Software Outsourcing: Packages

Prewritten off-the-shelf software built by a
software company
Eliminates the need for the company to
write their own
Available for all standard business
applications within and across industries
Includes all the transaction processing
systems mentioned in earlier chapters
Also includes the large enterprise
applications

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Software Outsourcing: Application

Service Providers
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 is not
installed on the firms systems.
Rather than purchase hardware and software,
firms can go onto the Internet and find providers
who offer the same functionality over the
Internet, and charge on a per-user or license
basis.
Example: Salesforce.com provides customer
relationship management and sales force
management services to firms

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Software Outsourcing: Custom

Software
A firm contracts custom software
development or maintenance of existing
legacy programs to outside firms, often in
low-wage countries.
Example: Dow Chemical hired IBM for $1.1
billion to create an integrated
communication system for 50,000 Dow
employees in 63 countries.
Why would Dow not build this system itself?

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Management Issues
ITI management must be guided by the firms
need to provide computer-based services to
customers, employees, and suppliers. To this
wisely the firm must deal with:
How do we make wise infrastructure
investments?
How do we allocate control and management
of III (centralize or decentralized control)
How do we prepare for infrastructure change
(scalability)?

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