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