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
Evaluate the challenges of managing IT infrastructure and management solutions

4. Management Information Systems IT Infrastructure and Platforms
Chapter 6
IT Infrastructure and Platforms
Hong Kong’s New World Telecommunications Case
Challenge: fragmented, high-cost IT infrastructure slowed down market and customer response times
Solutions: integrated storage area network to enable the flow of information among different types and brands of computer servers
Reduce number of servers from 107 to 70
Illustrates the importance of IT infrastructure for achieving business objectives

5. 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!

6. Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
IT INFRASTRUCTURE
The Connection between the Firm, IT Infrastructure, and Business Capabilities
Figure 6-1

7. 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

8. Levels of IT Infrastructure
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
IT INFRASTRUCTURE
Levels of IT Infrastructure
Figure 6-2

9. 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)

10. Eras in IT Infrastructure Evolution
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
IT INFRASTRUCTURE
Eras in IT Infrastructure Evolution
Figure 6-3

11. 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)
Figure 6-4

12. 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

13. Moore’s Law and Microprocessor Performance
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
IT INFRASTRUCTURE
Moore’s Law and Microprocessor Performance
Figure 6-5

14. Falling Cost of Chips Management Information Systems Figure 6-6
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
IT INFRASTRUCTURE
Falling Cost of Chips
Figure 6-6

15. Examples of Nanotubes Management Information Systems Figure 6-7
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
IT INFRASTRUCTURE
Examples of Nanotubes
Figure 6-7

16. 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
Figure 6-8
Source: Authors.

17. The Cost of Storing Data Declines Exponentially,1950–2004
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
IT INFRASTRUCTURE
The Cost of Storing Data Declines Exponentially,1950–2004
Figure 6-9
Source: “Exponential Growth an Illusion?: Response to Ilkka Tuomi,” by Ray Kurzweil, KurzweilAl.net, September 23, Used with permission.

18. Exponential Declines in Internet Communications Costs
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
IT INFRASTRUCTURE
Exponential Declines in Internet Communications Costs
Figure 6-10
Source: Authors.

19. 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

20. 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

21. The IT Infrastructure Ecosystem
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
    INFRASTRUCTURE COMPONENTS
The IT Infrastructure Ecosystem
Figure 6-11

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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.

26. 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.

27. 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.

28. 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

29. 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

30. Networking/Telecommunications Platform (Continued)
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
    INFRASTRUCTURE COMPONENTS
Networking/Telecommunications Platform (Continued)
Enterprise networking almost entirely Linux or UNIX
Cisco, Lucent, Nortel, and Juniper Networks continue to dominate networking hardware.
The telecommunications services market is highly dynamic with MCI, AT&T, and Sprint providing most trunk line services for both phone and Internet.
Growth of non-telephone Wi-Fi and Wi-Max services, and Internet telephony

31. 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

32. 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.

33. Consulting and System Integration Services
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
    INFRASTRUCTURE COMPONENTS
Consulting and System Integration Services
Most firms today, even large firms, cannot develop their systems without significant outside help.
$130 billion annually spent on computer system design, and related business services like business process redesign in the United States
About 85% of business consulting in the United States involves IT business consulting.

34. Consulting and System Integration Services (Continued)
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
    INFRASTRUCTURE COMPONENTS
Consulting and System Integration Services (Continued)
Integration services involves integrating data, and applications in a firm.
Connecting new applications and systems to legacy systems
IBM has transformed itself into a systems integration firm with IBM Global Services, the largest system integration firm.

35. The Integration of Computing and Telecommunications Platforms
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
CONTEMPORARY HARDWARE PLATFORM TRENDS
The Integration of Computing and Telecommunications Platforms
Increasingly computing takes place over the network.
Client level: integration of cell phones and PDAs (Example: Palm Treo)
Television, video, and radio move toward digital production.

36. The network in many respects is the source of computing power.
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
CONTEMPORARY HARDWARE PLATFORM TRENDS
The Integration of Computing and Telecommunications Platforms (Continued)
Server level: The integration of voice telephone and the Internet bring together two historically separate and distinct global networks.
The network in many respects is the source of computing power.

37. Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
CONTEMPORARY HARDWARE PLATFORM TRENDS
Grid Computing:
Involves connecting geographically remote computers into a single network capable of working in parallel on business problems that require short-term access to large computational capacity
Rather than purchase huge mainframes or super computers, firms can chain together thousands of smaller desktop clients into a single computing grid.

38. Grid Computing (Continued)
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
CONTEMPORARY HARDWARE PLATFORM TRENDS
Grid Computing (Continued)
Most computers in the world are loafing, and at night they are sleeping.
It is estimated that from 25% - 50% of the computing power in the United States is unused.
Grid computing saves infrastructure spending, increases speed of computing, and increases the agility of firms.
Examples: Royal Dutch/Shell Group and the National Digital Mammography Archive

39. On-Demand (Utility) Computing:
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
CONTEMPORARY HARDWARE PLATFORM TRENDS
On-Demand (Utility) Computing:
Firms off-loading peak demand for computing power to remote, large-scale data processing centers
Developed by IBM, SUN, and HP
Firms pay only for the computing power they use, as with an electrical utility.

40. On-Demand (Utility) Computing: (Continued)
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
CONTEMPORARY HARDWARE PLATFORM TRENDS
On-Demand (Utility) Computing: (Continued)
Excellent for firms with spiked demand curves caused by seasonal variations in consumer demand, e.g. holiday shopping
Example: Harry and David use IBM’s On-Demand computing
Saves firms from purchasing excessive levels of infrastructure

41. Operator error is the most common cause of crashes.
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
CONTEMPORARY HARDWARE PLATFORM TRENDS
Autonomic Computing:
Computer systems (both hardware and software) have become so complex that the cost of managing them has risen.
Thirty to fifty percent of a company’s IT budget is spent preventing or recovering from system crashes.
Operator error is the most common cause of crashes.

42. Configure, optimize, and tune themselves Heal themselves when broken
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
CONTEMPORARY HARDWARE PLATFORM TRENDS
Autonomic computing is an industry-wide effort to develop systems that can:
Configure, optimize, and tune themselves
Heal themselves when broken
Protect themselves from outside intruders and self-destruction
Example: Windows XP and Max X OS automatically download patches and updates.

43. Lowers cost of hardware
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
CONTEMPORARY HARDWARE PLATFORM TRENDS
Edge Computing:
Edge computing is a multitier, load-balancing scheme for Web-based applications.
Processing load is distributed closer to the user and handled by lower-cost servers.
Lowers cost of hardware

44. Edge Computing: (Continued)
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
CONTEMPORARY HARDWARE PLATFORM TRENDS
Edge Computing: (Continued)
Increases service levels
Provides firm greater flexibility in responding to service requests
Seasonal spikes in demand can be off-loaded to other edge servers.

45. Edge Computing Platform
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
CONTEMPORARY HARDWARE PLATFORM TRENDS
Edge Computing Platform
Figure 6-12

46. 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

47. 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

48. The Rise of Linux and Open-Source Software (Continued)
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
CONTEMPORARY SOFTWARE PLATFORM TRENDS
The Rise of Linux and Open-Source Software (Continued)
Linux is the most widely used open-source software program. Linux is an operating system derived from Unix.
Mozilla Firefox browser and Thunderbird mail clients are the most widely used open-source applications. Others include MySQL.
IBM, HP, Intel, Dell, and Sun have adopted and support Linux. Linux is a major alternative to Windows server and even client operating systems.

49. 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.

50. 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.

51. 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.

52. Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
CONTEMPORARY SOFTWARE PLATFORM TRENDS
Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) Software Versus Traditional Integration
Figure 6-13
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).

53. 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.

54. 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.
Web services are based on XML, and standards like SOAP, WSDL, and UDDI to create this communication environment.

55. Service-Oriented Architecture
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
CONTEMPORARY SOFTWARE PLATFORM TRENDS
Service-Oriented Architecture
SOA refers to the use of Web services in a firm to achieve integration among disparate applications and platforms.
A firm might have applications (payroll) running on older AS400 IBM machines, IBM mainframes (customer data and inventory) and newer applications running on client/server networks.

56. Service-Oriented Architecture (Continued)
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
CONTEMPORARY SOFTWARE PLATFORM TRENDS
Service-Oriented Architecture (Continued)
In SOA, these applications are integrated so that information stored on various systems can be brought together and fed into newer applications running on more contemporary equipment.
SOA is generally less expensive than rebuilding all the older applications and adopting a new enterprise wide system.

57. 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
Figure 6-14

58. 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

59. 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

60. 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

61. 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?

62. Changing Sources of Firm Software
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
CONTEMPORARY SOFTWARE PLATFORM TRENDS
Changing Sources of Firm Software
Figure 6-15
Sources: BEA National Income and Product Accounts, Forrester Research, December 2003; eMarketer Inc., “IT Spending 2004,” and author estimates.

63. Management Opportunities:
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
MANAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES, CHALLENGES, AND SOLUTIONS
Management Opportunities:
Because of changes in hardware and software platforms, firms face significant new opportunities to obtain hardware and software capabilities
that are more reliable, less costly, and more flexible than in the past.

64. Management Challenges:
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
MANAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES, CHALLENGES, AND SOLUTIONS
Management Challenges:
Making wise infrastructure investments
Choosing and coordinating infrastructure components
Dealing with infrastructure change
Management and governance

65. Consider your strategic situation
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
MANAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES, CHALLENGES, AND SOLUTIONS
Solution Guidelines:
Consider your strategic situation
Start out small, develop one module at a time
Consider the total cost of ownership
Figure 6-16, “Competitive Forces Model for IT infrastructure” illustrates six strategic factors you should consider when making infrastructure decisions

66. Competitive Forces Model for IT Infrastructure
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
MANAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES, CHALLENGES, AND SOLUTIONS
Competitive Forces Model for IT Infrastructure
Figure 6-16

67. Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
MANAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES, CHALLENGES, AND SOLUTIONS
Starting out small:
Experiment with new technologies on a smaller scale before taking up a large-scale infrastructure project.

68. Total cost of ownership of technology assets:
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
MANAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES, CHALLENGES, AND SOLUTIONS
Total cost of ownership of technology assets:
When calculating the costs of systems, be sure to include all the costs:
Hardware acquisition
Software acquisition
Installation
Training
Support
Maintenance
Infrastructure requirements
Downtime
Space and energy