MIS: Ch.11

Fixed cost

Costs that do not vary with the quantity of output produced

Hardware clouds

a cloud computing model in which a service provider makes computing resources such as hardware and storage, along with infrastructure management, available to a customer on an as-needed basis. the provider typically charges for specific resource usage rather than a flat rate.

Utility computing

a form of cloud computing where a firm develops its own software, and then runs it over the internet on a service provider's computers.

Software as a Service (SaaS)

a form of cloud computing where a firm subscribes to a third-party software and receives a service that is delivered online.

Server farm

a massive network of computer servers running software to coordinate their collective use. provide the infrastructure backbone to SaaS and hardware cloud efforts, as well as many large-scale internet services.

Service level agreement (SLA)

a negotiated agreement between the customer and a vendor. The SLA may specify the levels of availability, serviceability, performance, operation, or other commitment requirements.

Structured Query Language (SQL)

a standard method for organizing and accessing data. SQL is by far the most common database standard in use today, and is supported by many commercial and open source products.

Total cost of ownership (TCO)

all of the costs associated with the design, development, testing, implementation, documentation, training and maintenance of a software system

Scalability

allows a firm to scale from start-up to blue chip without having to significantly rewrite their code, potentially saving big on software development costs.

Linux

am open source software operating system.

LAMP (Linux Apache MySQL Perl/Python/PHP)

an acronym that stands for the Linux operating system, the Apache Web server software, the MySQL database, and any of several programming languages that start with the letter "P"—Perl, Python, and PHP.

Cloudbursting

describes the use of cloud computing to provide excess capacity during periods of spiking demand. a scalability of solution that is usually provided as an overflow service, kicking in as needed.

Open source software (OSS)

free alternatives where anyone can look at and potentially modify a program's code

Cloud computing

replacing computing resources--either an organization's or individual's hardware or software--with services provided over the internet.

Micro transactions

small payments, typically paid for products or services purchased online. Gaming firms, news, music, and other media efforts have all experimented with it.

Marginal cost (variable cost)

the cost of producing one more unit of a product

Black swans

unpredicted, but highly impactful events. scalable computing resources can help a firm deal with spiking impact from Black Swan events.