1. IT Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies
Chapter 5
IT Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies

2. Define IT infrastructure and describe its components.
Management Information Systems
Chapter 5 IT Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Define IT infrastructure and describe its components.
Identify and describe the stages of IT infrastructure evolution.
Identify and describe the technology drivers of IT infrastructure evolution.
Assess contemporary computer hardware platform trends.
Assess contemporary software platform trends.
Evaluate the challenges of managing IT infrastructure and management solutions.

3. Management Information Systems
Chapter 5 IT Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies
DreamWorks Animation Turns to Technology for Production Support
Problem: Gaining an edge in an intensely competitive market, working with technology-intensive processes.
Solutions: Deploy custom-built E-motion software to render more realistic animations and increase quality of films.
HP processors, Linux, and high-speed network facilitate rapid production schedule, increasing productivity.
Demonstrates IT’s role in strengthening a firm’s product and productivity beyond what human talent can accomplish.
Illustrates digital technology’s role in gaining an advantage in a fiercely competitive market.

4. Defining IT infrastructure Evolution of IT infrastructure: 1950-2007
Management Information Systems
Chapter 5 IT Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies
IT Infrastructure
Defining IT infrastructure
Evolution of IT infrastructure:
Electronic accounting machine era:
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

5. Technology drivers of infrastructure evolution
Management Information Systems
Chapter 5 IT Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies
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

6. Moore’s Law and Microprocessor Performance
Management Information Systems
Chapter 5 IT Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies
IT Infrastructure
Moore’s Law and Microprocessor Performance
Packing more transistors into a tiny microprocessor has exponentially increased processing power.
Source: 2004 Intel Corporation; updated by the authors.
Figure 5-4

7. The Capacity of Hard Disk Drives Grows Exponentially 1980-2007
Management Information Systems
Chapter 5 IT Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies
IT Infrastructure
The Capacity of Hard Disk Drives Grows Exponentially
From 1980 to 1990, hard disk drive capacities for PCs grew at the rate of 25 percent annual compound growth, but after 1990, growth accelerated to more than 65 percent each year.
Figure 5-7

8. Computer hardware platforms Computer software platforms
Management Information Systems
Chapter 5 IT Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies
Infrastructure Components
Computer hardware platforms
Computer software platforms
Enterprise software applications
Data management and storage
Networking/telecommunications platforms
Internet platforms
Consulting and system integration services

9. The integration of computing and telecommunications platforms
Management Information Systems
Chapter 5 IT Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies
Hardware Platform Trends and Emerging Technologies
The integration of computing and telecommunications platforms
Grid computing
On-demand computing (utility computing)
Autonomic computing and edge computing
Virtualization and multicore processors

10. The rise of Linux and open-source software Java is everywhere
Management Information Systems
Chapter 5 IT Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies
Software Platform Trends and Emerging Technologies
The rise of Linux and open-source software
Java is everywhere
Software for enterprise integration
Web services and service-oriented architecture (SOA)
Ajax, mashups, Web 2.0, and Web-based software applications

11. Is It Time for Open-Source?
Management Information Systems
Chapter 5 IT Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies
Software Platform Trends and Emerging Technologies
Is It Time for Open-Source?
Read the Interactive Session: Technology, and then discuss the following questions:
What problems do Linux and other open-source software address? How does open-source software help solve these problems?
What issues and challenges do open-source software present? What can be done to address these issues?
What are the business as well as the technology issues that should be addressed when deciding whether to use open-source software?

12. Software outsourcing Changing sources of software
Management Information Systems
Chapter 5 IT Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies
Software Platform Trends and Emerging Technologies
Software outsourcing
Changing sources of software
Software packages and enterprise software
Application service providers

13. Application Service Providers: Two Tales
Management Information Systems
Chapter 5 IT Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies
Software Platform Trends and Emerging Technologies
Application Service Providers: Two Tales
Read the Interactive Session: Technology, and then discuss the following questions:
Compare Thermos’s experience with an application software provider with the experience of ResortCom.
Why do you think Thermos had an easier time with a hosted software service than ResortCom? What management, organization, and technology factors account for this difference?
If your company was considering using an application service provider, what management, organization, and technology factors should be addressed when making your decision?

14. Dealing with infrastructure change Management and governance
Management Information Systems
Chapter 5 IT Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies
Management Issues
Dealing with infrastructure change
Management and governance
Making wise infrastructure investments
Competitive forces model for IT infrastructure investment
Total cost of ownership of technology assets

15. Competitive Forces Model for IT Infrastructure
Management Information Systems
Chapter 5 IT Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies
Management Issues
Competitive Forces Model for IT Infrastructure
There are six factors you can use to answer the question, “How much should our firm spend on IT infrastructure?”
Figure 5-15