Chapter 5

portability

refers to the ability of an application to operate on different devices or software platforms, such as different operating systems

moore's law

refers to the computer chip performance per dollar doubling every 18 months

sustainable MIS disposal

refers to the safe disposal of MIS assets at the end of their life cycle

availability

refers to the time frames when the system is operational

cloud computing

refers to the use of resources and applications hosted remotely on the internet

accessibility

refers to the varying levels that define what a user can access, view, or perform when operating a system

platform as a service (PaaS)

supports the deployment of entire systems including hardware, networking, and applications using a pay-per-use revenue model

recovery

the ability to get a system up and running in the event of a system crash or failure that includes restoring the information backup

usability

the degree to which a system is easy to learn and efficient and satisfying to use

software

the set of instructions the hardware executes to carry out specific tasks

administrator access

unrestricted access to the entire system

data center

a facility use to house management information systems and associated components, such as telecommunications and storage systems

fault tolerance

a general concept that a system has the ability to respond to unexpected failures or system crashes as the backup system immediately anad automatically takes over with no loss of service

enterprise architect

a person grounded in technology, fluent in business, and able to provide the important bridge between MIS and the business

hot site

a separate and fully equipped facility where the company can move immediately after a disaster and resume business

cold site

a separate facility that does not have any computer equipment but is a place where employees can move after a disaster

warm site

a separate facility with computer equipment that requires installation and configuration

infrastructure as a service (IaaS)

a service that delivers hardware networking capabilities, including the use of servers, networking, and storage over the cloud using a pay-per-use revenue model

failover

a specific type of fault tolerance, occurs when a redundant storage server offers an exact replica of the real0time data, and if the primary server crashes the users are automatically directed to the secondary server or backup server

backup

an exact copy of a system's information

emergency notification service

an infrastructure built for notifying people in the event of an emergency

scalability

describes how well a system can scale up or adapt to the increased demands of growth

sustainable, or green, MIS

describes the production, management, use, and disposal of technology in a way that minimizes damage to the environment

business continuity planning (BCP)

details how a company recovers and restores critical business operations and systems after a disaster or extended disruption

capacity planning

determines future environmental infrastructure requirements to ensure high-quality system performance

reliability (or accuracy)

ensures a system is functioning correctly and providing accurate information

sustainable MIS infrastructure

identifies ways that a company can grow in terms of computing resources while simultaneously becoming less dependent on hardware and energy consumption

information MIS infrastructure

identifies where and how important information, such as customer records, is maintained and secured

agile MIS infrastructure

includes the hardware, software, and telecommunications equipment that, when combined, provides the underlying foundation to support the organization's goals

MIS infrastructure

includes the plans for how a firm will build, deploy, use, and share its data, processes, and MIS assets

dynamic scaling

means that the MIS infrastructure can be automatically scaled up or down based on needed requirements

performance

measures how quickly a system performs a process or transaction

high availability

occurs when a system is continuously operational at all times

failback

occurs when the primary machine recovers and resumes operations, taking over from the secondary server

utility computing

offers a pay-per-use revenue model similar to a metered service such as gas or electricity

virtualization

produces graphical displays of patterns and complex relationships in large amounts of data

ewaste

refers to discarded, obsolete, or broken electronic devices

maintainability

refers to how quickly a system can transform to support environmental changes

client

a computer designed to request information from a server

grid computing

a collection of computers, often geographically dispersed, that are coordinated to solve a common problem

network

a communications system created by linking 2 or more devices and establishing a standard methodology in which they can communicate

server

a computer dedicated to providing information in reponse to requests

disaster recovery costs curve

charts (1) the cost to the company of the unavailability of information and technology and (2) the cost to the company of recovering from a disaster over time

corporate social responsibility

companies' acknowledged responsibility to society

hardware

consists of the physical devices associated with a computer system

software as a service (SaaS)

delivers applications over the cloud using a pay-per-use revenue model

smart grid

delivers electricity using 2-way digital technology