Chapter 6
IT Infrastructure and
Platforms
6.1
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
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
6.2
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
OBJECTIVES (Continued)
• Assess contemporary computer hardware
platform trends
• Assess contemporary software platform trends
6.3
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
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!
6.4
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
IT INFRASTRUCTURE
The Connection between the Firm, IT Infrastructure, and
Business Capabilities
6.5
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
IT INFRASTRUCTURE
Levels of IT Infrastructure
Three major levels of infrastructure:
• Public
• Enterprise
• Business unit
6.6
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
IT INFRASTRUCTURE
Levels of IT Infrastructure
6.7
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
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)
6.8
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
IT INFRASTRUCTURE
Eras in IT Infrastructure Evolution
6.9
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
IT INFRASTRUCTURE
A Multitiered Client/Server Network (N-tier)
6.10
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
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
6.11
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
IT INFRASTRUCTURE
Moore’s Law and Microprocessor Performance
6.12
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
IT INFRASTRUCTURE
Falling Cost of Chips
6.13
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
IT INFRASTRUCTURE
The Capacity of Hard Disk Drives Grows Exponentially,
1980–2004
Source: Authors.
6.14
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
IT INFRASTRUCTURE
Exponential Declines in Internet Communications Costs
Source: Authors.
6.15
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
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
6.16
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
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
6.17
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
INFRASTRUCTURE COMPONENTS
The IT Infrastructure Ecosystem
6.18
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
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
6.19
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
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
6.20
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
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
6.21
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
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.
6.22
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
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.
6.23
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
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 midsize firms.
6.24
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
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
6.25
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
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
6.26
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
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
6.27
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
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.
6.28
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
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
6.29
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
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
6.30
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
CONTEMPORARY SOFTWARE PLATFORM TRENDS
Java Is Everywhere
Java:
• An operating system—Independent, processorindependent, 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.
6.31
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
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.
6.32
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
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.
6.33
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
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).
6.34
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
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.
6.35
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
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.
6.36
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
Management Information Systems
Chapter 6 IT Infrastructure and Platforms
CONTEMPORARY SOFTWARE PLATFORM TRENDS
How Dollar Rent a Car Uses Web Services
6.37
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
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
6.38
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
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
6.39
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
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
6.40
© 2006 by Prentice Hall
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?
6.41
© 2006 by Prentice Hall