Question

1. What is IT infrastructure?

2. What are the stages of IT infrastructure evolution?  

3.  What are the drivers of IT infrastructure evolution?  

4. What are the seven major IT infrastructure components? What are the major vendors in each component?

5. Describe and assess one of the current trends in computer hardware platforms.

6. Describe and assess one of the current trends in computer software platforms.

7. What are the challenges of managing IT infrastructure and management solutions?

Answer 1

1)

IT infrastructure is the shared technology resources that provide the platform for the firm’s specific information system applications. IT infrastructure includes hardware, software, and services that are shared across the entire firm. Major IT infrastructure components include computer hardware platforms, operating system platforms, enterprise software platforms, networking and telecommunications platforms, database management software, Internet platforms, and consulting services and systems integrators.

2)

The five stages of IT infrastructure evolution are as follows: the mainframe era, the personal computer era, the client/server era, the enterprise computing era, and the cloud and mobile computing era. Moore’s Law deals with the exponential increase in processing power and decline in the cost of computer technology, stating that every 18 months the power of microprocessors doubles and the price of computing halves. The Law of Mass Digital Storage deals with the exponential decrease in t he cost of storing data, stating that the number of kilobytes of data that can be stored on magnetic media for $1 roughly doubles every 15 months. Metcalfe’s Law shows that a network’s value to participants grows exponentially as the network takes on more members. Also driving exploding computer use is the rapid decline in costs of communication and growing agreement in the technology industry to use computing and communications standards.

3)

Moore's Law and Microprocessing Power:

The Law of Mass Digital Storage

Metcalf's Law and Network Economics

Declining Communications Costs and the Internet

Standards and Network Effects

4)        

Computer hardware platforms

Operating system platforms

Enterprise and other software applications

Data management and storage

Networking and telecommunications platforms

Internet platforms

Consulting and system integration services

5)

    current trends in computer hardware platfor

Increasingly, computing is taking place on a mobile digital platform. Grid computing involves connecting geographically remote computers into a single network to create a computational grid that combines the computing power of all the computers on the network. Virtualization organizes computing resources so that their use is not restricted by physical configuration or geographical location. In cloud computing, firms and individuals obtain computing power and software as services over a network, including the Internet, rather than purchasing and installing the hardware and software on their own computers. A multicore processor is a microprocessor to which two or more processing cores have been attached for enhanced performance. Green computing includes practices and technologies for producing, using, and disposing of information technology hardware to minimize the negative impact on the environment. In autonomic computing, computer systems have capabilities for automatically configuring and repairing themselves. Power-saving processors dramatically reduce power consumption in mobile digital devices.

6)

current trends in software platforms
Open source software is produced and maintained by a global community of programmers and is often downloadable for free. Linux is a powerful, resilient open-source operating system that can run on multiple hardware platforms and is used widely to run Web servers. Java is an operating-system- and hardware-independent programming language that is the leading interactive programming environment for the Web. Web services are loosely coupled software components based on open Web standards that work with any application software and operating system. They can be used as components of Web-based applications linking the systems of two different organizations or to link disparate systems of a single company. Companies are purchasing their new software applications from outside sources, including software packages, by outsourcing custom application development to an external vendor (which may be offshore), or by renting online software services (software as a service [SaaS]). Mashups combine two different software services to create new software applications and services. Apps are small pieces of software that run on the Internet, on a computer, or on a mobile device and are generally delivered over the Internet.

7)

the challenges of managing IT infrastructure

Major challenges include dealing with platform and infrastructure change, handling infrastructure management and governance, and making wise infrastructure investments. Solution guidelines include using a competitive forces model to determine how much to spend on IT infrastructure and where to make strategic infrastructure investments, and establishing the total cost of ownership (TCO) of information technology assets. The TCO of technology resources includes not only the original cost of computer hardware and software but also costs for hardware and software upgrades, maintenance, technical support, and training.