1. IT Infrastructure and Platforms
Chapter 6
IT Infrastructure and Platforms

2. Identify and describe the stages of IT infrastructure evolution
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
OBJECTIVES
Define IT infrastructure and describe the components and levels of IT infrastructure
Identify and describe the stages of IT infrastructure evolution
Identify and describe the technology drivers of IT infrastructure evolution

3. Assess contemporary computer hardware platform trends
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
OBJECTIVES (Continued)
Assess contemporary computer hardware platform trends
Assess contemporary software platform trends

4. Defining IT Infrastructure
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
IT INFRASTRUCTURE
Defining IT Infrastructure
Includes hardware, software, and services
A set of physical devices and software applications that are required to operate the entire enterprise
Your firm is largely dependent on its infrastructure for delivering services to customers, employees, and suppliers.
You can think of infrastructure as digital plumbing, but its much more than that!

5. Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
IT INFRASTRUCTURE
The Connection between the Firm, IT Infrastructure, and Business Capabilities

6. Levels of IT Infrastructure
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
IT INFRASTRUCTURE
Levels of IT Infrastructure
Three major levels of infrastructure:
Public
Enterprise
Business unit

7. Levels of IT Infrastructure
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
IT INFRASTRUCTURE
Levels of IT Infrastructure

8. Evolution of IT Infrastructure: 1950–2005
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
IT INFRASTRUCTURE
Evolution of IT Infrastructure: 1950–2005
Electronic accounting machine era: (1930–1950)
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)

9. Eras in IT Infrastructure Evolution
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
IT INFRASTRUCTURE
Eras in IT Infrastructure Evolution

10. A Multitiered Client/Server Network (N-tier)
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
IT INFRASTRUCTURE
A Multitiered Client/Server Network (N-tier)

11. Technology Drivers of Infrastructure Evolution
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
IT INFRASTRUCTURE
Technology Drivers of Infrastructure Evolution
Moore’s law and microprocessing power
The law of mass digital storage
Metcalfe’s law and network economics
Declining communications costs and the Internet
Standards and network effects

12. Moore’s Law and Microprocessor Performance
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
IT INFRASTRUCTURE
Moore’s Law and Microprocessor Performance

13. Falling Cost of Chips Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
IT INFRASTRUCTURE
Falling Cost of Chips

14. The Capacity of Hard Disk Drives Grows Exponentially, 1980–2004
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
IT INFRASTRUCTURE
The Capacity of Hard Disk Drives Grows Exponentially, 1980–2004
Source: Authors.

15. Exponential Declines in Internet Communications Costs
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
IT INFRASTRUCTURE
Exponential Declines in Internet Communications Costs
Source: Authors.

16. Seven Key Infrastructure Components
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
    INFRASTRUCTURE COMPONENTS
Seven Key Infrastructure Components
Computer Hardware Platforms
Operating System Platforms
Enterprise Software Applications
Data Management and Storage

17. Seven Key Infrastructure Components (Continued)
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
    INFRASTRUCTURE COMPONENTS
Seven Key Infrastructure Components (Continued)
Networking/Telecommunications Platforms
Internet Platforms
Consulting and System Integration Services

18. The IT Infrastructure Ecosystem
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
    INFRASTRUCTURE COMPONENTS
The IT Infrastructure Ecosystem

19. Computer Hardware Platforms
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
    INFRASTRUCTURE COMPONENTS
Computer Hardware Platforms
$110 billion annually spent in the United States
Dominance of Intel, AMD, and IBM 32-bit processor chips at the client level
Server market increasingly dominated by inexpensive generic processors from the same manufacturers

20. Computer Hardware Platforms (Continued)
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
    INFRASTRUCTURE COMPONENTS
Computer Hardware Platforms (Continued)
Strong server market growth for 64 bit generic processors from AMD, Intel and IBM
Blade servers replace box servers
Mainframes continue as a presence working as very large servers

21. Operating System Platforms
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
    INFRASTRUCTURE COMPONENTS
Operating System Platforms
$100 billion annually spent in the United States
Continued dominance of Microsoft OS in the client (95%) and handheld market (45%)
Growing dominance of Linux (UNIX) in the corporate server market (85%)
Windows 2002 and 2003 Server remains strong in smaller enterprises and workgroup networks

22. Enterprise Software Applications
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
    INFRASTRUCTURE COMPONENTS
Enterprise Software Applications
$165 billion annually spent in the United States for basic enterprise software infrastructure
SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft (now Oracle), and Siebel dominate this market.
Middleware firms like BEA and JD Edwards serve smaller firms, and work also in the Web services space.

23. Enterprise Software Applications (Continued)
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
    INFRASTRUCTURE COMPONENTS
Enterprise Software Applications (Continued)
The enterprise market is consolidating around a few huge firms that have gained significant market share such as SAP and Oracle.
Microsoft is expanding into smaller firm enterprise systems where it can build on its Windows server-installed base.

24. Data Management and Storage
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
    INFRASTRUCTURE COMPONENTS
Data Management and Storage
$70 billion annually spent in the United States.
Oracle and IBM continue to dominate the database software market.
Microsoft (SQL Server) and Sybase tend to serve smaller firms.
Open source Linux MySQL now supported by HP and most consulting firms as an inexpensive, powerful database used mostly in small to mid-size firms.

25. Data Management and Storage (Continued)
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
    INFRASTRUCTURE COMPONENTS
Data Management and Storage (Continued)
$35 billion annually spent in the United States for physical hard disk storage
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

26. Networking/Telecommunications Platforms
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
    INFRASTRUCTURE COMPONENTS
Networking/Telecommunications Platforms
$150 billion annually spent on networking and telecommunications hardware
$700 billion annually spent on telecommunications services, e.g. phone and Internet connectivity
Local area networking still dominated by
Microsoft Server (about 75%) but strong growth
of Linux challenges this dominance

27. Internet hardware server market concentrated in Dell, HP, and IBM
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
    INFRASTRUCTURE COMPONENTS
Internet Platforms
$32 billion annually spent on Internet infrastructure in the United States
Internet hardware server market concentrated in Dell, HP, and IBM
Prices falling rapidly by up to 50% in a single year for low-power servers

28. Internet Platforms (Continued)
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
    INFRASTRUCTURE COMPONENTS
Internet Platforms (Continued)
Open-source Apache remains the dominant Web server software, followed by Microsoft’s IIS server.
Sun’s Java grows as the most widely used tool for interactive Web applications.
Microsoft and Sun settle a long-standing law suit and agree to support a common Java.

29. The four major themes in contemporary software platform evolution:
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
CONTEMPORARY SOFTWARE PLATFORM TRENDS
The four major themes in contemporary software platform evolution:
Linux and open-source software
Java
Web services and service-oriented architecture
Software outsourcing

30. The Rise of Linux and Open-Source Software
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
CONTEMPORARY SOFTWARE PLATFORM TRENDS
The Rise of Linux and Open-Source Software
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

31. Java is embedded in PDAs, cell phones, and browsers.
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
CONTEMPORARY SOFTWARE PLATFORM TRENDS
Java Is Everywhere
Java:
An operating system—Independent, processor-independent, object-oriented programming language
Applications written in Java can run on any hardware for which a Java virtual machine has been defined.
Java is embedded in PDAs, cell phones, and browsers.
Java is a leading interactive programming environment for the Web.

32. Software for Enterprise Integration:
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
CONTEMPORARY SOFTWARE PLATFORM TRENDS
Software for Enterprise Integration:
One of the most important software trends of the last decade is the growth of “enterprise in a box” or the purchase of enterprise-wide software systems by firms.
Rather than build all their own software on a custom basis, large firms increasingly purchase enterprise applications prewritten by specialized software firms like SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, and others.

33. Software for Enterprise Integration: (Continued)
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
CONTEMPORARY SOFTWARE PLATFORM TRENDS
Software for Enterprise Integration: (Continued)
The goal is to achieve an integrated firm-wide information environment, reduce cost, increase reliability, and to adopt business best practices which are captured by the software.
Enterprise software firms achieve economies of scale by selling the same software to hundreds of firms.
Today's enterprise systems are capable of integrating older legacy applications with newer
Web-based applications.

34. Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
CONTEMPORARY SOFTWARE PLATFORM TRENDS
Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) Software Versus Traditional Integration
EAI software (a) creates a common platform through which all applications can freely communicate with each other. EAI requires much less programming than traditional point-to-point integration (b).

35. Web Services and Service-Oriented Architecture
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
CONTEMPORARY SOFTWARE PLATFORM TRENDS
Web Services and Service-Oriented Architecture
Web Services:
An alternative to enterprise systems is to use new Web-based standards to create a communication platform allowing older applications to communicate with newer applications.
Web services refers to a set of loosely coupled software components that exchange information with each other using Web communication standards and languages.

36. Web Services and Service-Oriented Architecture (Continued)
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
CONTEMPORARY SOFTWARE PLATFORM TRENDS
Web Services and Service-Oriented Architecture (Continued)
Web services permit computer programs to communicate with one another and share information without rewriting applications, or disturbing older legacy systems.

37. How Dollar Rent a Car Uses Web Services
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
CONTEMPORARY SOFTWARE PLATFORM TRENDS
How Dollar Rent a Car Uses Web Services

38. Three kinds of outsourcing: Purchase of software packages
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
CONTEMPORARY SOFTWARE PLATFORM TRENDS
Software Outsourcing
Today large and small firms purchase most of their software from outside vendors.
Three kinds of outsourcing:
Purchase of software packages
Using application service providers
Custom outsourcing

39. Purchase of Software Packages and Enterprise Software
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
CONTEMPORARY SOFTWARE PLATFORM TRENDS
Purchase of Software Packages and Enterprise Software
Enterprise software packages: prewritten off-the-shelf software
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

40. Purchase of Software Packages and Enterprise Software (Continued)
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
CONTEMPORARY SOFTWARE PLATFORM TRENDS
Purchase of Software Packages and Enterprise Software (Continued)
Application Service Providers:
Rather than purchase hardware and software, firms can go onto the Internet and find providers who offer the same functionality over the entertainment, and charge on a per-user or license basis.
Example: Salesforce.com provides customer relationship management and sales force management services to firms

41. Software Outsourcing of Custom Applications
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
CONTEMPORARY SOFTWARE PLATFORM TRENDS
Software Outsourcing of Custom Applications
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?