Management Information Systems - Chapter 5

Mainframe

A mainframe is a large-capacity, high-performance computer that can process large amounts of data very rapidly.

Legacy Systems

Legacy systems are generally older transaction-processing systems created for older computers that continue in use to avoid the high cost of replacing or redesigning them.

Data Center

A data center is a facility housing computer systems and associated components such as telecommunications, storage, security systems, and backup power supplies.

Multicore Processor

A multicore processor is an integrated circuit to which two or more processor cores have been attached for enhanced performance, reduced power consumption, and more efficient simultaneous processing of multiple tasks. This technology enables two or more processing engines with reduced power requirements and heat dissipation to perform tasks faster than a resource-hungry chip with a single processing core.

Private Cloud

A private cloud is operated solely for an organization. It might be managed by the organization or a third party and hosted either internally or externally. Like public clouds, private clouds can allocate storage, computing power, or other resources seamlessly to provide computing resources on an as-needed basis. Companies that want flexible IT resources and a cloud service model while retaining control over their own IT infrastructure are gravitating toward these private clouds.

Public Cloud

A public cloud is owned and maintained by a cloud service provider, such as Amazon Web Services, and made available to the general public or industry group. Public cloud services are often used for websites with public information and product descriptions, one-time large computing projects, new application development and testing, and consumer services such as online storage of data, music, and photos.

Supercomputer

A supercomputer is a specially designed and more sophisticated computer that is used for tasks requiring extremely rapid and complex calculations with thousands of variables, millions of measurements, and thousands of equations. Supercomputers traditionally have been used in engineering analysis of structures, scientific exploration and simulations, and military work such as classified weapons research. Some private business firms also use supercomputers.

Web Hosting Service

A web hosting service maintains a large web server, or a series of servers, and provides fee-paying subscribers with space to maintain their websites. The subscribing companies may create their own web pages or have the hosting service, or a web design firm, create them. Some services offer colocation, in which the firm actually purchases and owns the server computer housing its website but locates the server in the physical facility of the hosting service.

C

C is a powerful and efficient language developed in the early 1970s that combines machine portability with tight control and efficient use of computer resources. It is used primarily by professional programmers to create operating systems and application software, especially for PCs.

C++

C++ is a newer version of C that has all the capabilities of C plus additional features for working with software objects. Unlike traditional programs, which separate data from the actions to be taken on the data, a software object combines data and procedures.

Centralized Processing

Centralized processing, in which all processing is accomplished by one large central computer, is much less common.

Client/Server Computing

Client/server computing splits processing between clients and servers. Both are on the network, but each machine is assigned functions it is best suited to perform. The client is the user point of entry for the required function and is normally a desktop or laptop computer. The user generally interacts directly only with the client portion of the application. The server provides the client with services. Servers store and process shared data and perform such functions as printer management and backup storage and network activities such as security, remote access, and user authentication.

Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is a model of computing in which computer processing, storage, software, and other services are provided as a shared pool of virtualized resources over a network, primarily the Internet. These clouds of computing resources can be accessed on an as-needed basis from any connected device and location.

Computer Hardware

Computer hardware consists of technology for computer processing, data storage, input, and output. This component includes large mainframes, servers, desktop and laptop computers, and mobile devices for accessing corporate data and the Internet. It also includes equipment for gathering and inputting data, physical media for storing the data, and devices for delivering the processed information as output.

Computer Software

Computer software includes both system software and application software. System software manages the resources and activities of the computer. Application software applies the computer to a specific task for an end user, such as processing an order or generating a mailing list. Today, most system and application software is no longer custom programmed but rather is purchased from outside vendors.

Graphical User Interface (GUI)

Contemporary PC operating systems and many types of contemporary application software use a graphical user interface, often called a GUI, which makes extensive use of icons, buttons, bars, and boxes to perform tasks.

Storage Networking

Contemporary computer data storage technology can divide and replicate data among multiple linked physical drives or storage devices. Storage area networks (SANs) connect multiple storage devices on a separate high-speed network dedicated to storage. The SAN creates a large central pool of storage that multiple servers can rapidly access and share.

Capacity Planning

From an IT perspective, capacity planning is the process of predicting when a computer hardware system becomes saturated. It considers factors such as the maximum number of users that the system can accommodate at one time, the impact of existing and future software applications, and performance measures, such as minimum response time for processing business transactions. Capacity planning ensures that the firm has enough computing power for its current and future needs.

Green Computing

Green computing or green IT refers to practices and technologies for designing, manufacturing, using, and disposing of computers, servers, and associated devices such as monitors, printers, storage devices, and networking and communications systems to minimize impact on the environment.

Grid Computing

Grid computing involves connecting geographically remote computers into a single network and combining the computational power of all computers on the grid. Grid computing takes advantage of the fact that most computers in the United States use their central processing units on average only 25 percent of the time, leaving 75 percent of their capacity available for other tasks. By using the combined power of thousands of PCs and other computers networked together, the grid can solve complicated problems at supercomputer speeds at far lower cost.

HTML5

HTML5 made it possible to embed images, audio, video, and other elements directly into a document without processor-intensive add-ons. HTML5 also makes it easier for web pages to function across different display devices, including mobile devices as well as desktops. Web pages will execute more quickly, and web-based mobile apps will work like web pages.

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is a page description language for specifying how text, graphics, video, and sound are placed on a web page and for creating dynamic links to other web pages and objects. Using these links, a user need only point at a highlighted keyword or graphic, click it, and immediately be transported to another document.

Workstation

If you're doing advanced design or engineering work requiring powerful graphics or computational capabilities, you might use a workstation, which fits on a desktop but has more powerful mathematical and graphics-processing capabilities than a PC.

Personal Computer (PC)

If you're working alone or with a few other people in a small business, you'll probably be using a desktop or laptop personal computer (PC).

Server

If your business has a number of networked computers or maintains a website, it will need a server. Server computers are specifically optimized to support a computer network, enabling users to share files, software, peripheral devices (such as printers), or other network resources. Servers provide the hardware platform for electronic commerce. By adding special software, they can be customized to deliver web pages, process purchase and sale transactions, or exchange data with systems inside the company. You will sometimes find many servers linked to provide all the processing needs for large companies.

Data Management Technology

In addition to physical media for storing the firm's data, businesses need specialized software to organize the data and make them available to business users. Data management software organizes, manages, and processes business data concerned with inventory, customers, and vendors.

Input Devices

Input devices gather data and convert them into electronic form for use by the computer.

Java

Java is an operating system-independent, processor-independent, object-oriented programming language created by Sun Microsystems that has become the leading interactive programming environment for the web. The Java platform has migrated into mobile phones, smartphones, automobiles, music players, game machines, and finally, into set-top cable television systems serving interactive content and pay-per-view services. Java software is designed to run on any computer or computing device, regardless of the specific microprocessor or operating system the device uses. For each of the computing environments in which Java is used, a Java Virtual Machine interprets Java programming code for that machine. In this manner, the code is written once and can be used on any machine for which there exists a Java Virtual Machine.

Hybrid Cloud

Large firms are most likely to adopt a hybrid cloud computing model, in which they use their own infrastructure for their most essential core activities and adopt public cloud computing for less-critical systems or for additional processing capacity during peak business periods.

Networking and Telecommunications Technology

Networking and telecommunications technology provides data, voice, and video connectivity to employees, customers, and suppliers. It includes technology for running a company's internal networks, services from telecommunications/telephone services companies, and technology for running websites and linking to other computer systems through the Internet.

The Mobile Digital Platform

New mobile digital computing platforms have emerged as alternatives to PCs and larger computers.

Output Devices

Output devices display data after they have been processed.

Nanotechnology and Quantum Computing

Over the years, microprocessor manufacturers have been able to increase processing power exponentially while shrinking chip size by finding ways to pack more transistors into less space. They are now turning to nanotechnology to shrink the size of transistors to the width of several atoms. Nanotechnology uses individual atoms and molecules to create computer chips and other devices that are thousands of times smaller than current technologies permit. Another new way of enhancing computer processing power is to use quantum computing. Quantum computing uses the principles of quantum physics to represent data and perform operations on these data. A quantum computer would gain enormous processing power through the ability to be in many states at once, allowing it to perform multiple operations simultaneously and solve some scientific and business problems millions of times faster than can be done today.

Open Source Software

Provides all computer users with free access to its program code, so they can modify the code to fix errors or to make improvements. Open source software is not owned by any company or individual. A global network of programmers and users manages and modifies the software, usually without being paid to do so.

Python

Python (praised for its clarity) is being used for building cloud computing applications.

Ruby

Ruby is an object-oriented programming language known for speed and ease of use in building web applications.

Scalability

Scalability refers to the ability of a computer, product, or system to expand to serve a large number of users without breaking down. Electronic commerce and electronic business both call for scalable IT infrastructures that have the capacity to grow with the business as the size of a website and number of visitors increase. Organizations must make sure they have sufficient computer processing, storage, and network resources to handle surging volumes of digital transactions and to make such data immediately available online.

Magnetic Tape

Some companies still use magnetic tape, an older storage technology that is used for secondary storage of large quantities of data that are needed rapidly but not instantly. Tape stores data sequentially and is slow compared to the speed of other secondary storage media.

Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA)

The collection of web services that are used to build a firm's software systems constitutes what is known as a service-oriented architecture. A service-oriented architecture (SOA) is set of self-contained services that communicate with each other to create a working software application. Software developers reuse these services in other combinations to assemble other applications as needed.

Magnetic Disks

The most widely used secondary storage medium today is the magnetic disk. Some PCs have hard drives, and large mainframe or mid-range computer systems have multiple hard disk drives because they require immense disk storage capacity in the gigabyte and terabyte range. In lightweight PCs, such as the MacBook Air, smartphones, and tablets, hard drives have been replaced by solid state drives (SSDs). SSDs use an array of semiconductors organized as an internal disk drive, whereas portable USB flash drives use similar technology for external storage.

Consumerization of IT and BYOD

The popularity, ease of use, and rich array of useful applications for smartphones and tablet computers have created a groundswell of interest in allowing employees to use their personal mobile devices in the workplace, a phenomenon popularly called bring your own device (BYOD). BYOD is one aspect of the consumerization of IT, in which new information technology that first emerges in the consumer market spreads into business organizations. Consumerization of IT includes not only mobile personal devices but also business uses of software services that originated in the consumer marketplace as well, such as Google and Yahoo search, Gmail, Google Apps, Dropbox (see Chapter 2), and even Facebook and Twitter.

Operating System (OS)

The system software that manages and controls the computer's activities is called the operating system.

Distributed Processing

The use of multiple computers linked by a communications network for processing is called distributed processing.

Optical Discs

These discs use laser technology to store large quantities of data, including sound and images, in a highly compact form. They are available for both PCs and large computers. CD-ROM (compact disc read-only memory) for PCs is a 4.75-inch compact disc that can store up to 660 megabytes. CD-ROM is read-only storage, but CD-RW (CD-ReWritable) discs are rewritable. Digital video discs (DVDs) are optical discs the same size as CD-ROMs but of even higher capacity, storing a minimum of 4.7 gigabytes of data. DVDs are now the favored technology for storing video and large quantities of text, graphics, and audio data.

Extensible Markup Language (XML)

This language was developed in 1996 by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C, the international body that oversees the development of the web) as a more powerful and flexible markup language than HTML for web pages. Whereas HTML is limited to describing how data should be presented in the form of web pages, XML can perform presentation, communication, and storage of data. In XML, a number is not simply a number; the XML tag specifies whether the number represents a price, a date, or a zip code. By tagging selected elements of the content of documents for their meanings, XML makes it possible for computers to manipulate and interpret their data automatically and perform operations on the data without human intervention. XML provides a standard format for data exchange, enabling web services to pass data from one process to another.

Service Level Agreement (SLA)

To manage their relationship with an outsourcer or technology service provider, firms will need a contract that includes a service level agreement (SLA). The SLA is a formal contract between customers and their service providers that defines the specific responsibilities of the service provider and the level of service the customer expects. SLAs typically specify the nature and level of services provided, criteria for performance measurement, support options, provisions for security and disaster recovery, hardware and software ownership and upgrades, customer support, billing, and conditions for terminating the agreement.

IT Infrastructure Components

Today's IT infrastructure is composed of five major components: computer hardware, computer software, data management technology, networking and telecommunications technology, and technology services. These components must be coordinated with each other.

Technology Services

Today, many businesses supplement their in-house information systems staff with external technology consultants to provide expertise that is not available internally. When businesses need to make major system changes or implement an entirely new IT infrastructure, they typically turn to external consultants to help them with systems integration.

Virtualization

Virtualization is the process of presenting a set of computing resources (such as computing power or data storage) so that they can all be accessed in ways that are not restricted by physical configuration or geographic location.

Visual Basic

Visual Basic is a widely used visual programming tool and environment for creating applications that run on Microsoft Windows operating systems. A visual programming language allows users to manipulate graphic or iconic elements to create programs.

Web Services

Web services refer to a set of loosely coupled software components that exchange information with each other using universal web communication standards and languages. They can exchange information between two systems regardless of the operating systems or programming languages on which the systems are based. They can be used to build open-standard, web-based applications linking systems of different organizations, and they can be used to create applications that link disparate systems within a single company. Different applications can use them to communicate with each other in a standard way without time-consuming custom coding.

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

When you calculate how much your hardware and software cost, their purchase price is only the beginning. You must also consider ongoing administration costs for hardware and software upgrades, maintenance, technical support, training, and even utility and real estate costs for running and housing the technology. The total cost of ownership (TCO) model can be used to analyze these direct and indirect costs to help determine the actual cost of owning a specific technology.