Mgt 20600: IT Management & Applications Software Tuesday February 14, 2006

Reminders  Reading  Fundamentals text, Chapter Two, Software section  Homework –Homework Two due Friday, 2/24 by 5pm  Next week’s class session: Application Software

 Computers connected to a server in a network and have no hard drives  Thin-client sales grew 46% from 2004 to 2005  Advantages –Support telecommuting –Better security –Easier administration  Faster and easier backups  Efficient disaster recovery –Less expensive  Can cut costs up to 70%  Thin client model has 35% to 40% lower TCO overall –Centralized data Thin Clients

Thin Client Outlook THIN OUTLOOK Projected growth in worldwide unit shipments of thin-client devices between last year and : 1.6 million 2009: 5.3 million COMPOUND ANNUAL GROWTH RATE: 17.3% Source: IDC, Framingham, Mass.

Thin Client Computing What is the most compelling business value case for thin client computing? (16%)Better security (5%)Ease of use (32%)Reduced cost of ownership (38%)Ease of management (9%)None of the above

Personal Computers  Demise of the Desktop? –Laptop to Desktop ratio in corporations  1 in 5 in 1999  1 in 3 in 2005  1 in 2 in next few years  Why? –Mobility!  Outside and inside of workplace –Changes in work habits  Used on the road, in the home, into meetings  Facilitate collaboration as well as access –Wireless connectivity improvements –Battery life improvements –Price/Performance gap between laptops and desktops has narrowed considerably –Availability of workstation-class laptops for computing intensive tasks like software development and computer-aided design –Laptop reliability has improved  Laptop concerns –Security!

PC Virtualization  PC hardware moved into data center as part of PC blades –Fit into a chassis that can be centrally managed –Several users can share a single blade –Simplifies PC management  Thin client on desktop that functions as an extended keyboard, monitor, and mouse

Servers  Midrange computers in data center that provide applications, web services, and storage to client devices  Defining features –Use faster, multi-core processors than pc’s  64 bit processors –Often run Unix or Linux as their operating systems –Often deployed in server farms or blades for easy management and flexibility –Less costly than mainframes –Ability to load balance

Mainframes  Large, very fast computers that support the enterprise –Many legacy systems run on mainframes –Known for reliability and scalability –Can replace many midrange servers and can cut IT staff costs as a result

What a Mainframe Looks Like

AARP Mainframe Example  Members –35 million members –76 million baby-boomers preparing for retirement  Central customer database –Can be accessed by  Members  Trading partners –Insurance providers –Retirement communities  Technology –Mainframe used for customer database  Centralized –Member information can be maintained and secured independently of the numerous IT applications that use it  Reliable  Scalable –Will support increasing numbers of transactions as membership grows  Continuously updated –Makes it easier to market products and services to its members  Application-independent –Common interface to the database for suppliers –Standard method for integrating applications with the database

What a SuperComputer Looks Like Terabyte: A thousand billion bytes or a thousand gigabytes Gigaflop: One billion floating point operations per second

Corporate Supercomputing  Ping Inc., golf club maker –Uses supercomputer to run simulations of golf club designs –Has drastically reduced development time  Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. –Uses supercomputing for tire simulations –Reduces amount of money spent on building physical tire prototypes, from 40% to 15% of the research and development budget  Supercomputing also supports –Digital animation –Bioinformatics –RFID chips and the huge databases they create

Overview of Software  Computer programs: sequences of instructions  Two Types –Systems software: coordinates the activities of hardware and programs –Application software: helps users solve particular problems

Supporting Individual, Group, and Organizational Goals  Sphere of influence: the scope of problems and opportunities addressed by a particular software application –Personal –Workgroup –Enterprise

Software: Operating System  When selecting an operating system, you must consider the current and future requirements for application software to meet the needs of the organization. In addition, your choice of a particular operating system must be consistent with your choice of hardware.

Systems Software: Operating Systems  Operating system (OS): set of programs that control the hardware and act as an interface with applications  Common hardware functions –Get input (e.g., keyboard) –Retrieve data from disks and store data on disks –Display information on a monitor or printer

Operating Systems

 User interface –Allows individuals to access and command the computer system –Command-based user interface: uses text commands –Graphical user interface (GUI): uses icons and menus to send commands to the computer system –Bringing Vista to life Bringing Vista to lifeBringing Vista to life

Operating Systems  Hardware independence –Application program interface (API): allows applications to make use of the operating system  Memory management –Control how memory is accessed and maximize available memory and storage

 Processing tasks –Multitasking: more than one program running at the same time –Time-sharing: more than one person using a computer system at the same time –Scalability: ability to handle an increasing number of concurrent users smoothly  Networking capability: features that aid users in connecting to a computer network Operating Systems

 Access to system resources –Protection against unauthorized access –Logons and passwords  File management –Ensures that files in secondary storage are  Available when needed  Protected from access by unauthorized users

Current Operating Systems

Linux: Personal Operating System  Novell’s Linux Desktop 10 –Designed to go head-to-head against Windows –Includes  Desktop operating system –Desktop search feature –Desktop note-taking technology  OpenOffice.org office productivity suite  Mozilla Firefox  Instant-messaging client  Open-source collaboration client  F-Spot personal photo management application  Technical support –Working with software vendors to develop more applications for Linux  HP delivers Linux laptop HP delivers Linux laptop HP delivers Linux laptop

Linux: Workgroup and Enterprise Operating System  Open source operating systems (Linux) –Increasing comfort level with this alternative –Dominates as server operating system –Why?  Lower total cost of ownership  Lower capital investment  Greater reliability and uptime compared to commercial alternatives  Greater flexibility and control  Faster, cheaper application development

Linux Example  Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) –China’s biggest bank –$640 billion in total assets –100 million individuals as customers –8.1 million corporate accounts  Linux deployment –Plans to deploy Linux on servers across its network of 20,000 national branches –Will use Turbolinux Inc.’s Turbolinux 7 DataServer operating system –Will support front-end banking operations –390,000 employees will be using terminals to access applications hosted on Linux servers on a daily basis  Why Linux? –Chosen because existing applications (developed in-house) run on Unix –Easier to migrate applications to Linux than Windows –Need better software performance –Need better vendor support –Lower operating costs