Exam 1 Review June 20, 2012

Intro to IT Management

Technologies & business functions Supply Chain Management (SCM) Systems – Refer to a category of IS that support the activities related to business supply chain. Typical activities supported: – Procurement / purchase of supplies – Tracking orders from suppliers – Taking/Handling customers orders – Invoicing – Tracking customers orders SCM systems are typically part of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems 3

Technologies & business functions Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems – Refer to a category of IS that support the activities related to managing and nurturing a company’s interactions with customers, clients, and sales prospects. – Help increase organizational effort by multiple departments like marketing, sales, support division, and customer service to improve customer relations – Goals are to help : (1) find, attract, and win new clients – (2) nurture and maintain existing customers – (3) entice former customers back into the fold Typical activities supported: – Managing Sales teams – Tracing potential customers – Running MKT campaigns – Analyzing sales SCM systems are typically part of ERP systems 4

IT, IS, MIS  Information technology (IT) refers to  a field concerned with the use of technology in managing and processing information  Computer-based tools used to capture, store, protect, process, retrieve, and transmit information  IT is a main part of Business Intelligence  Business Intelligence is a broad array of applications and technologies used to gather, provide access to, and analyze data and information to support decision making  Information technology is an important enabler of business success and innovation 5

IT, IS, MIS (cont.)  Management information systems (MIS) :  Is a business function and academic discipline  Deals with the application of information systems and information technology to solve business problems  MIS is a business function, similar to Accounting, Finance, Operations, and Human Resources 6

IT, IS, MIS (cont.)  Information Systems – systems designed for use by organizations in order to transform raw data into information that can help workers do their job and managers make decisions.  An information system has the following key components:  People  Technology  Procedures 7 Technology Hardware Software Databases Networks

8 All IS are IPO systems The output of one system can be an input for another system I P O Rate = $10/hour Hours = 45 Mrs. Johnson’s weekly salary is $450. WS = numeric variable WS = 10 * 45

9 Information system vs. Information Technology Information System Information Technologies HardwareSoftware Databases Network Information

IT Infrastructure: Hardware

11 The Core Computer Components  Four subsystems in a computer system: 1. Input subsystem3. Output subsystem 2. Processing subsystem4. I/O (Storage) subsystem Input Process Output Input/Output (storage)

12 I/O or Secondary Storage devices  Secondary compared to the main primary memory called RAM  Nonvolatile 1 storage of digital data - Could be Magnetic, Optical,  Magnetic storage (i.e. data stored on magnetically coated surface)  Examples: Magnetic tape, Hard disk, floppy disk  Sequential access (e.g. tape) or direct access (e.g. HDD)  HDDs are electromechanical devices with spinning disks and movable disks –Use standards/interfaces like Parallel ATA (PATA) or IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) Serial ATA (SATA) 2 SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) –SCSI provides disk fault-tolerance by using RAID – Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks; that is multiple disks set together to provide continued service in case one disk fails. –Disk speed: Transfer rate in MBps (Megabytes per second) or GBps Average Read Time (in milliseconds or ms) Platter rotation speed in RPM (5400/7200/10,000/15,000)  State Solid Disks (SSD)  use microchips which retain data in non-volatile memory chips  No moving parts | Have lower access time and latency  Can replace your existing HDD if same interface 1. Means that the stored data wouldn’t disappear (or be deleted) in case of power shortage 2. In SATA and PATA, ATA stands for Advanced Technology Attachment 256GB Crucial m4 2.5-inch SATA 6GB/s RPM = Revolution Per Minute = # complete turns in 1 minute

13 Processing subsystem  Motherboard: chipset that all components connect to Motherboard  CPU Socket types  Pin Grid Array (PGA) (CPU must have pins to fit in the socket holes)  Land Grid Array (LGA) with locks  Zero Insertion Force (ZIP)  Note: CPU socket must of the same type as motherboard’s

14 Processing subsystem (cont.)  Two major components in processing subsys. –CPU (Central Processing Unit) or Processor(s) –Primary Storage: Random Access Memory (RAM) holds running programs and the data they use Read Only Memory (ROM) contains critical programs such as those that boot Busses that transfer data CPU Primary Storage Other components on the Motherboard

15 Central Processing Unit  Clock: generate time that synchronize other components  ICU: Fetches instructions from RAM  ALU: Execute instructions (arithmetic & logic operations)  Registers: Store control information, data, intermediate results Processor Clock Instruction Control Unit Arithmetic Logic Unit Registers

16 Front Side Bus and Northbridge CPU Northbridge (Memory Controller) Southbridge (Memory Controller) RAM AGP Video Card PCI bus Real Time Clock USB Other devices Front Side Bus  FSB: bi-directional data bus carrying data b/w CPU and Northbridge  FSB speed is measured in Hz; e.g. 800 MHz FSB (or in GB Transfer/s in newer Intel – 4.8 GT/s = 4.8x2 = 9.6 GB/s ) Quad Core Intel® Xeon® W GHz, 8M L3, 4.8GT/s Cache MemoryClock CPU speed/Clock rate Cache Memory Quick Path Interconnect QPI/FSB speed AMD Phenom II X GHz, Socket AM3, 6MB Cache, 2GHz (4GT/s) FSB

17 Grid Computing  Connecting geographically remote computers to create a “virtual supercomputer”  Takes advantage of fact that most computers use about 25% of their CPU in average.  Advantages: Cost savings Speed Reliability (because if one fails, the still system functions)

IT Infrastructure: Software

Relationship of software to hardware

Operating System (OS) Software platform on which other programs run Provide a connection between application programs and the computer hardware Major tasks – Starting the computer – Managing files – Managing Programs and Memory (RAM) – Ensuring security – Providing a user interface – Control input and output devices Application program Operating system Hardware 20

OS: Multiprogramming ￭ Ability of the OS to allow running multiple program “at the same time” 21

￭ A technique that “extends” primary memory (RAM) by using secondary storage devices ￭ Needed when there is not enough RAM to hold multiple programs in memory ￭ There need to be enough free disk space for virtual memory to work. OS: Virtual Memory 22

23 Organizations and IS Degree of repetitiveness Non-repetitive Repetitive Type of Information System used DSS TPS EIS Task structure level Unstructured Structured Semi-structured

24 Administrative Information Systems Transaction Processing Systems (TPS) – Basic business system that serves the operational level (analysts) in an organization Office Automation Systems (OAS) – Systems designed to help office workers in doing their job. Decision Support Systems (DSS) – Systems designed to support middle managers and business professionals during the decision-making process Executive Information Systems (EIS) or Executive Support Systems (ESS) – Specialized DSS that help senior level executives make decisions. GDSS: computer-based systems that facilitate solving of unstructured problems by set of decision makers

25 DSS structure Systems designed to help middle managers make decisions Major components – Data management subsystem Internal and external data sources – Analysis subsystem Typically mathematical in nature – User interface How the people interact with the DSS Data visualization is the key – Text – Graphs – Charts User Interface Analysis - Sensitivity Analysis -> What-if Analysis -> Goal-seeking Analysis -Data-driven tools -> Data mining -> OLAP* Data Management - Transactional Data - Data warehouse - Business partners data - Economic data * OLAP: OnLine Analytical Processing

26 Expert Systems Components Knowledge base: database of the expertise, often in IF THEN rules. Inference engine: derives recommendations from knowledge base and problem-specific data User interface: controls the dialog between the user and the system Explanation system: Explain the how and why of recommendations Knowledge base Domain Expert Knowledge Engineer Expertise Explanation System Inference Engine User Interface User System Engineer Encoded expertise IF family is albatross AND color is white THEN bird is laysan albatross. IF family is albatross AND color is dark THEN bird is black footed albatross Example of rules - Knowledge engineer codify the human expert’s expertise into the systems’ knowledge base. - System engineer is the IT professional who develop the user interface, the inference engine, and the explanation system.