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| The Physical Components of IT which can include the computer itself plus peripheral such as storage devices |
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| Terms that are associated with software |
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| OS, Apps, Enterprise Software, distributed systems and more. |
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| Cost, Security, Vulnerabilities, Legal and Compliance issues, and limitations involved in developing and deploying tech solutions. |
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| The Hardware Software Layer Cake |
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| The Flexibility of the hardware-software layer cake gives computers the |
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| Customization options that manager and business demand, Helps you make better decisions on what you buy ect... |
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| the operating system (sometimes called the “OS”) provides a |
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| a common set of controls for managing computer hardware, making it easier for users to interact with computers and for programmers to write application software |
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| items like scroll bars and menus are displayed on the hardware of the computer display. |
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| Graphical user interface (UI) |
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| designed to give programmers a common set of commands to consistently interact with the hardware. These commands make a programmer’s job easier by reducing program complexity and making it faster to write software while minimizing the possibility of errors in code. |
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| When did Mobile computing devices become the most versatile computing device |
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| When Apple provided developers with a common set of robust, easy to use standards for the IPhone applications. |
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| Smaller special purpose computing devices have there operating systems installed on |
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| nonvolatile memory, often on read-only memory (ROM) chips. Control programs stored on chips are sometimes referred to as firmware |
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| Special Purpose Software design and included inside physical products. They help make devices smarter, sharing usage info, help diagnose problems, indicating maintenance schedules, provide alerts, or enable devices to take orders from other systems. |
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| How can embedded systems make products better |
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| Embedded systems can make products and services more efficient, more reliable, and more functional, and can enable entire new businesses and create or reinforce resources for competitive advantage. |
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| Embedded systems are special-purpose computer systems designed to perform one or a few dedicated functions, and are frequently built into conventional products like thermostats, door locks, cars, air conditioners, industrial equipment, and elevators. |
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| Products or services that allow for the development and integration of software products and other complementary good. Windows, IOS, Android and the standards that allow the user to create Facebook apps are all _______ |
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| OS are designed to create a platform so that programmers can |
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| write additional apps, allowing the computer to do more useful things. |
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| application software performs the work that |
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| users and firms are directly interested in accomplishing. Think of applications as the place where the user’s or organization’s real work gets done. |
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| The more application software that is an available for a platform the more |
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| Valuable it potentially becomes |
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| Applications installed on a personal computer, typically supporting tasks performed by a single user |
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| Desktop software refers to |
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| apps installed on your computer. |
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| Applications that address the needs of multiple users throughout an org or work group |
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| Enterprise software programs keep track of |
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| inventory, record sales, manage payments to suppliers, cut employee checks and other handle functions |
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| Most firms cannot write their own software so they purchase |
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| a software package that integrates many functions of a business |
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| Enterprise resource planning (ERP) |
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| Other categories of enterprise software that managers are likely to encounter include the following: |
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customer relationship management (CRM)Systems used to support customer-related sales and marketing activities. systems used to support customer-related sales and marketing activities
supply chain management (SCM)Systems that can help a firm manage aspects of its value chain, from the flow of raw materials into the firm, through delivery of finished products and services at the point-of-consumption. systems that can help a firm manage aspects of its value chain, from the flow of raw materials into the firm through delivery of finished products and services at the point-of-consumption
business intelligence (BI) systemsSystems that use data created by other systems to provide reporting and analysis for organizational decision making., which use data created by other systems to provide reporting and analysis for organizational decision-making |
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| Software for creating, maintaining, and manipulating data. |
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| Database Management Systems |
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| any ERP systems and enterprise software programs are configured to share the same |
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| database system so that an organization’s different programs can use a common, shared set of data. his system can be hugely valuable for a company’s efficiency. |
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| Firms that don’t have common database systems with consistent formats across their enterprise often |
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| struggle to efficiently manage their value chain. |
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| Companies that have efficient, flexible information systems don’t just see value through operations efficiency and cost savings. Technology can also influence a firm’s |
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| options with respect to inter-firm partnerships, as well as merging with, acquiring, or getting acquired by other firms (M&A, or mergers and acquisitions). Firms that have systems that work smoothly internally may find it easier to partner with others. |
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| When computers in different locations can communicate with one another, this is often referred to as |
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| Distributed computing can yield enormous efficiencies in |
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| peed, error reduction, and cost savings and can create entirely new ways of doing business. |
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| A program that fulfills the requests of a client |
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| A server is used in two ways |
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| in a hardware context a server is a computer that has been configured to support requests from other computers (e.g., Dell sells servers), and (2) in a software context a server is a program that fulfills requests (e.g., the Apache open source Web server) |
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| Most of the time, server software resides on |
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| erver-class hardware, but you can also set up a PC, laptop, or other small computer to run server software, albeit less powerfully. |
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| The World Wide Web, like many other distributed computing services, is what geeks call a |
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| client-server system. Client-server refers to two pieces of software: a clientA software program that makes requests of a server program. that makes a request and a server that receives and attempts to fulfill the request. |
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| A software program that makes a request of a server program |
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| Software that houses and serves business logic for use and reuse by multiple applications. |
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| small pieces of code that are accessed via the application server, and permit the interoperable machine to machine interaction over a network |
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| Programming hooks or guidelines published by firms that tell other programs how to get a service to perform a task such as to send or receive data |
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| API's or application programming interface used to describe the same concept. |
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| referring to pieces of code, and the request/response standards so that this code be summoned by other programs to perform a task |
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| Organizations that have created a robust set of Web services around their processes and procedures are said to have a |
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| service-oriented architecture (SOA)A robust set of Web services built around an organization's processes and procedures. |
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| Organizing systems like service-oriented architecture (SOA) with separate applications in charge of client presentation, business logic, and database, makes systems more |
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| flexible. Code can be reused, and each layer can be separately maintained, upgraded, or migrated to new hardware—all with little impact on the others. And firms that invite other organizations to integrate with their systems via Web services |
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| is a set of standards for exchanging information between computer application |
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| EDI (electronic data interchange) |
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| EDI is most often used as a way to |
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| send the electronic equivalent of structured documents between different organizations. |
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| When using EDI what is coded into it so that it can be recognized by the receiving comp program. |
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| ach element in the electronic document, such as a firm name, address, or customer number, is coded |
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| he two main technologies replacing EDI are |
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| extensible markup language (XML) and JavaScript Object Notation (JSON |
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A tagging language that can be used to identify data fields made available for use by other applications. Most APIs and Web services send messages where the data exchanged is wrapped n identifying XML tags.
, |
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| extensible markup language (XML) |
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| XML as a way to export and import data in a common format that can be used regardless of the kind of |
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| computer hardware, operating system, or application program used. And if you design websites, you might encounter XML as part of the coding behind the cascading style sheets (CSS) behind the cascading style sheets (CSS) that help maintain a consistent look and feel to the various Web pages in a given website. |
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| ften thought of as easier to code than EDI, and it’s more robust because it can be extended— |
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| Connectivity between systems made our systems more |
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| productive but it has risks of infiltration and abuse also increase |
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| What Provides the standards, syntax, statements, and instructions for writing computer software. |
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| Provides the standards, syntax, statements, and instructions for writing computer software. |
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| Programmers use frameworks to use a standardized set of |
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| code and techniques that others have developed and tested, rather than requiring every developer to create his or her own code for things many others have done before them (handle database interactions, manage cookies, etc.). |
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| include Rails (for Ruby), Django (for Python), AngularJS (for JavaScript), and ASP.NET (pronounced “ay-ess-pee dot net”). |
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| Examples of popular frameworks used to develop websites |
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| An application that includes an editor (a sort of programmer’s word processor), debugger, and compiler, among other tools. |
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| integrated development environment (IDE) |
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| Step in which program code written in a language that humans can more easily understand, is then converted into a form (expressed in patterns of ones and zeros) that can be understood and executed by a microprocessor. |
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| Xcode for Apple products, Android Studio from Google, Visual Studio from Microsoft, and several open source products, such as Eclipse and NetBeans. |
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| Java was initially designed so that programmers didn’t write code with specific |
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| perating system commands (say for Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux). Instead there are special Java commands to control the user interface or interact with the display and other hardware. |
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| Java programs can run on any computer that has a |
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| Java Virtual Machine (JVM), a software layer that interprets Java code so that it can be understood by the operating system and processor of a given computer. |
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| Programming tool that executes within an application. They are interpreted within their applications, rather than compiled to run directly by a microprocessor. |
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| Microsoft offers a scripting language called |
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| VB Script (a derivative of Visual Basic) to automate functions in Office. |
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| Python is a popular language used in |
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| Web development and big data efforts |
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| a scripting language that is popularly used for analytics. |
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| Scripting languages are interpreted |
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Scripting languages are interpreted
Languages where each line of written code is converted (by a software program, called an “interpreter”) for execution at run-time. Most scripting languages are interpreted languages. Many programmers also write Java applications to be interpreted by the Java Virtual Machine. |
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| Scripting languages are interpretedwithin their applications, rather than compiled to run directly by |
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Programs are often written in a tool called an IDE, an application that includes an editor (a sort of programmer’s word processor), debugger, and compiler, among other tools.
Compiling takes code from the high-level language that humans can understand and converts them into the sets of ones and zeros in patterns representing instructions that microprocessors understand.
Popular programming languages include C++, C#, Visual Basic, and Java.
Most software is written for a platform—a combination of an operating system and microprocessor.
Java was originally designed to be platform independent. Computers running Java have a separate layer called a Java Virtual Machine that translates (interprets) Java code so that it can be executed on an operating system/processor combination. In theory, Java written using the standards of the virtual machine should be “write once, run everywhere,” as opposed to conventional applications that are written for an operating system and compiled for an OS/processor combination.
Some environments use the Java programming language, but “break” the write-once-run-anywhere promise by including proprietary code. This is the case with Java used for Android development. Google has its own standards for coding for the Android user interface and interacting with hardware that stand apart from what is available in the JVM, so an Android app won’t run on other devices.
Java is popular on mobile phones and enterprise computing, and is widely used to make websites more interactive. Java has never been a successful replacement for desktop applications, largely because user interface differences among the various operating systems are too great to be easily standardized.
Scripting languages are interpreted languages, such as Python, R, VB Script and Java Script. Many scripting languages execute within an application (like the Office programs, a Web browser, or to support the functions of a Web server). They are usually easier to program, but are limited in scope (e.g., usually not used for desktop applications) and execute more slowly than compiled languages. |
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| Sometimes also referred to as the SDLC or software development life cycle—methods to divide tasks related to software creation and deployment up into tasks targeted at building better products with stronger product management guidelines and techniques. |
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| Software development methodologies |
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| savvy manager knows enough to inquire about the development methodologies and quality programs used to support large-scale development projects, and can use these investigations as further input when evaluating whether those overseeing large-scale efforts have what it takes to get the job done. |
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| A relatively linear sequential approach to software development (and other projects). Benefits include surfacing requirements up front and creating a blueprint to follow throughout a project. Often criticized for being too rigid, slow, and demanding project forethought that’s tough to completely identify early on. |
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| equirements identification (documenting what it will take and showing use cases), design (what technologies should be used, who are the stakeholders impacted), implementation (building the product), verification (installation, testing, debugging), and maintenance (improving quality, fixing bugs). |
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| An expansion scope of the project And the plan helps provide strong documentation that can be helpful in future maintenance of the product. |
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| The most significant criticism of the waterfall approach is that it is very |
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| rigid, can take a long time to implement, and requires precise forethought on all requirements needed at the end of the project. |
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| Developing work continually and iteratively, with a goal of more frequent product rollouts and constant improvement across smaller components of the larger project. |
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| has become a dominant software development methodology. |
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| agile development approach |
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| there are several additional techniques often used in agile that target specific weaknesses |
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| including test-driven design, behavior-driven development, pair programming, extreme programming, and refactoring. You may also hear other terms used with agile, including lean software (which provides additional methods for improved efficiency while cutting waste and excess), and scrum (which is a popular way to implement agile development). |
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| An approach to organizing and managing agile projects that breaks deliverables into “sprints” delivered in one to six week increments by teams of less than ten. IT defines functions (roles) for management and development, meetings (ceremonies), and how the process is documented and tracked (artifacts). |
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| represents the “voice of the customer,” advocates for the needs of the organization, helps in setting requirements, and is ultimately held accountable for deliverables. |
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| serves the team by running meetings, keeping teams on process, and acting as a buffer to external team distractions. The scrum master may also coach the team, work with stakeholders, and partner with the product owner to manage task priority. |
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| often held to a small number of task-focused workers (three to nine is common). The team provides analysis, design, development, testing, documentation, and more. |
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| a way of documenting work and its current state): |
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Product vision
Product backlog
Sprint backlog |
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| a business case for the task and value to be delivered. |
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| a collection of user stories (product features described in natural language from the user’s perspective). These describe a feature set. “As a user I need so that .” These are defined by the product owner in conjunction with other stakeholders. |
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| the stories that are incorporated into the next sprint—e.g., what needs to be done in the next one to three weeks. |
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| Many firms implementing scrum will have a task board with Post-it notes that should move between columns “stories” (task requirements), “to do” (prioritized tasks, not yet started), “in-progress,” “testing,” and “done.” Others may include a burndown chart or some other variant showing products completed until reaching zero. The goal is to keep everyone on task to move “stories” from “to do” to “done” within a one-to-six-week timeline. |
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| a team planning meeting where stories (requirements defined from user perspective) are fleshed out, and the goal and scope of the sprint is determined. |
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| a daily stand-up team meeting (standing keeps things quick—often limited to, or “time boxed” to no more than 15 minutes), to discuss what was completed since the previous meeting, what individuals are working on, and raising things that are blocked and need help. This meeting is meant to keep people in sync and on track, and surface insights and expertise to help. |
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| team demonstrates completed work to product owner and discusses what worked and what can be improved for the next sprint. |
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| Sprint demo and review and retrospective (sometimes separated) |
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| There are also testing costs. New programs should be tested thoroughly across the various types of hardware the firm uses, and in conjunction with existing software and systems, before being deployed throughout the organization |
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| irms need to constantly engage in a host of activities to support the system, which may also include: |
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Definition
providing training and end user support;
collecting and relaying comments for system improvements;
auditing systems to ensure complianceEnsuring that an organization’s systems operate within required legal constraints, and industry and organizational obligations. (i.e., that the system operates within the firm’s legal constraints and industry obligations);
providing regular backup of critical data;
planning for redundancy and disaster recovery in case of an outage; and
vigilantly managing the moving target of computer security issues. |
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| An economic measure of the full cost of owning a product (typically computing hardware and/or software). TCO includes direct costs such as purchase price, plus indirect costs such as training, support, and maintenance. |
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| Why launching technology software has a bad track record |
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| ometimes technology itself is to blame, other times it’s a failure to test systems adequately, and sometimes it’s a breakdown of process and procedures used to set specifications and manage projects. |
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| roject postmortems often point to a combination of technical, project management, and business decision blunders. The most common factors include the following: |
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Definition
Unrealistic or unclear project goals
Poor project leadership and weak executive commitment
Inaccurate estimates of needed resources
Badly defined system requirements and allowing “feature creep” during development
Poor reporting of the project’s status
Poor communication among customers, developers, and users
Use of immature technology
Unmanaged risks
Inability to handle the project’s complexity
Sloppy development and testing practices
Poor project management
Stakeholder politics
Commercial pressures (e.g., leaving inadequate time or encouraging corner-cutting) |
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| Mechanisms for quality improvement include |
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Definition
capability maturity model integration (CMMI)
A process-improvement approach (useful for but not limited to software engineering projects) that can assist in assessing the maturity, quality, and development of certain organizational business processes, and suggest steps for their improvement. |
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| Most large-scale systems will have clear stages |
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| requirements definition, design, development, and testing phases, but consultants brought in to survey |
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The care and feeding of information systems can be complex and expensive. The total cost of ownership of systems can include software development and documentation, or the purchase price and ongoing license and support fees, plus configuration, testing, deployment, maintenance, support, training, compliance auditing, security, backup, and provisions for disaster recovery. These costs are collectively referred to as TCO, or a system’s total cost of ownership.
Information systems development projects fail at a startlingly high rate. Failure reasons can stem from any combination of technical, process, and managerial decisions.
System errors that aren’t caught before deployment can slow down a business or lead to costly mistakes that could ripple throughout an organization. Studies have shown that errors not caught before deployment could be 100 times more costly to correct than if they were detected and corrected beforehand.
Firms spend 70 percent to 80 percent of their IS budgets just to keep their systems running.
IS organizations can employ project planning and software development methodologies to implement procedures and to improve the overall quality of their development practices.
IS organizations can leverage software development methodologies to improve their systems development procedures, and firms can strive to improve the overall level of procedures used in the organization through models like CMMI. However, it’s also critical to engage committed executive leadership in projects, and to frame projects using business metrics and outcomes to improve the chance of success.
A combination of managerial and technical issues conspired to undermine the rollout of HealthCare.gov. While the website was effectively unusable at launch, a systematic effort of management authority, communication, coordination, and expertise rescued the effort, allowing the site to exceed enrollment projections. |
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| The costs associated with each additional unit produced. |
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| Why is the fundamental model powering the software industry under assault |
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| Because of opensource software |
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| free alternatives Software that is free and where anyone can look at and potentially modify the code. |
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| Open source software (OSS) |
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| Replacing computing resources—either an organization’s or individual’s hardware or software—with services provided over the Internet. |
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| set of services referred to as cloud computing |
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| software out of its own IS shop so that it is run on someone else’s hardware. |
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| software as a service (SaaS) and virtualization |
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| A form of cloud computing where a firm subscribes to a third-party software and receives a service that is delivered online. |
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| software as a service (SaaS) |
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Term
A type of software that allows a single computer (or cluster of connected computers) to function as if it were several different computers, each running its own operating system and software.
This software underpins most cloud computing efforts, and can make computing more efficient, cost-effective, and scalable. |
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The software business is attractive due to near-zero marginal costs and an opportunity to establish a standard—creating the competitive advantages of network effects and switching costs.
New trends in the software industry, including open source software (OSS), cloud computing, software as a service (SaaS), and virtualization are creating challenges and opportunities across tech markets. Understanding the impact of these developments can help a manager make better technology choices and investment decisions. |
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| An acronym standing for Linux, the Apache Web server software, the MySQL database, and any of several programming languages that start with P (e.g., Perl, Python, or PHP). |
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Term
SS is not only available for free, but also makes source code available for review and modification (for the Open Source Initiatives list of the criteria that define an open source software product, see http://opensource.org/docs/osd).
While open source alternatives are threatening to conventional software firms, some of the largest technology companies now support OSS initiatives and work to coordinate standards, product improvements, and official releases.
The flagship OSS product is the Linux operating system, now available on all scales of computing devices from cell phones to supercomputers.
The LAMP stack of open source products is used to power many of the Internet’s most popular websites. Linux can be found on a large percentage of corporate servers; supports most Web servers, smartphones, tablets, and supercomputers; and is integral to TiVo and Android-based products.
The majority of people who work on open source projects are paid by commercially motivated employers. |
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| There are many reasons why firms choose open source products over commercial alternatives: |
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Cost
Reliability
Security
Scalability
Agility and Time to Market |
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| Why do they say open source software is more reliable |
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| OSS advocates also argue that by allowing “many eyes” to examine the code, the security vulnerabilities of open source products come to light more quickly and can be addressed with greater speed and reliability. High-profile hacking contests have frequently demonstrated the strength of OSS products. In one event, laptops running Windows and the Mac OS were both hacked (the latter in just two minutes), while a laptop running Linux remained uncompromised. |
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| Also known as “hardened.” Term used to describe technology products that contain particularly strong security features. |
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| Many major OSS efforts can run on everything from cheap commodity hardware to high-end supercomputing. |
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| allows a firm to grow from startup to blue chip without having to significantly rewrite their code, potentially saving big on software development costs. Not only can many forms of OSS be migrated to more powerful hardware, software like Linux has also been optimized to balance a server’s workload among a large number of machines working in tandem. |
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he most widely cited benefits of using OSS include low cost; increased reliability; improved security and auditing; system scalability; and helping a firm improve its time to market.
Free OSS has resulted in cost savings for many large companies in several industries.
OSS often has fewer bugs than its commercial counterparts due to the large number of software developers who have looked at the code.
The huge exposure to scrutiny by developers and other people helps to strengthen the security of OSS.
“Hardened” versions of OSS products often include systems that monitor the integrity of an OSS distribution, checking file size and other indicators to be sure that code has not been modified and redistributed by bad guys who have added a back door, malicious routines, or other vulnerabilities.
OSS can be easily migrated to more powerful computers as circumstances dictate, and also can balance workload by distributing work over a number of machines.
Vendors who use OSS as part of product offerings may be able to skip whole segments of the software development process, allowing new products to reach the market faster. |
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| software for running a blog or website, powering about a third of websites. |
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| a Web browser that competes with Chrome, Safari, and Internet Explorer |
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Term
WordPress—software for running a blog or website, powering about a third of websites.
Firefox—a Web browser that competes with Chrome, Safari, and Internet Explorer
LibreOffice—a competitor to Microsoft Office
Gimp—a graphic tool with features found in Photoshop
Shotcut for video editing and Audacity for audio editing
Magento—e-commerce software
TensorFlow—open source machine learning software
Alfresco—collaboration software that competes with Microsoft Sharepoint and EMC’s Documentum
Marketcetera—an enterprise trading platform for hedge fund managers that competes with FlexTrade and Portware
Zimbra—open source e-mail software that competes with Outlook server
MySQL, Ingres, and PostgreSQL—open source relational database software packages that go head-to-head with commercial products from Oracle, Microsoft, SAP, and IBM
MongoDB, HBase, and Cassandra—nonrelational distributed databases used to power massive file systems (used to power key features on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Amazon)
SugarCRM—customer relationship management software that competes with Salesforce.com and Siebel
Docker–tools for “containerization,” an evolution beyond virtualization.
Asterisk—an open source implementation for running a PBX corporate telephony system that competes with offerings from Nortel and Cisco, among others
Git—version control software, critical to managing most commercial software products.
Free BSD and Sun’s OpenSolaris—open source versions of the Unix operating system |
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| Examples of Open Source Software |
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Term
There are thousands of open source products available, covering nearly every software category. Many have a sophistication that rivals commercial software products.
Not all open source products are contenders. Less popular open source products are not likely to attract the community of users and contributors necessary to help these products improve over time (again we see network effects are a key to success—this time in determining the quality of an OSS effort).
Just about every type of commercial product has an open source equivalent. |
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| Open source is a $60 billion industry, but it has a disproportionate impact on the trillion-dollar IT market. Some 95 percent of IT organizations use open-source software in mission-critical IT projects. |
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| Commercial interest in OSS has sparked an acquisition binge. Open source firms that are valued in excess of $1 billion include now-public Hortonworks, Cloudera, and MapR (all provide big data tools built on open source Hadoop), MongoDB (an open source NoSQL database leader), and Docker (a virtualization technology known as “containers”). Red Hat, the first open-source firm to go public, has a market cap of around $30 billion. |
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| But how do vendors make money on open source? |
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| ne way is by selling support and consulting services. Red Hat brings in $3 billion a year from paying customers subscribing for access to software updates and support services, while Oracle, a firm that sells commercial ERP and database products, provides Linux for free, selling high-margin Linux support contracts for as much as $500,000. MongoDB, for example, charges firms that run its management software on more than eight servers. And others are leveraging the cloud, too. Docker will sell hosted services for firms that don’t want to run their product in-house. |
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| In the pre-Linux days, nearly every major hardware manufacturer made its own, incompatible version of the Unix operating system. These fractured, incompatible markets were each so small that they had difficulty attracting third-party vendors to write application software. Now, much to Microsoft’s dismay, all major hardware firms run Linux. That means there’s a large, unified market that attracts software developers who might otherwise write for Windows. |
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| An economic measure of the full cost of owning a product (typically computing hardware and/or software). TCO includes direct costs such as purchase price, plus indirect costs such as training, support, and maintenance. |
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| Linux OS can only be found on a tiny fraction of desktop computers. There are several reasons for this. |
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| Linux simply isn’t as easy to install and use Legal Risks and Open Source Software: A Hidden and Complex Challenge |
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Business models for firms in the open source industry are varied, and can include selling support services and add-on products, offering hosting to run and maintain customer projects “in the cloud,” licensing OSS for incorporation into commercial products, and using OSS to fuel hardware sales.
Many firms are trying to use OSS markets to drive a wedge between competitors and their customers.
Linux has been very successful on mobile devices and consumer electronics, as well as on high-end server class and above computers. But it has not been as successful on the desktop. The small user base for desktop Linux makes the platform less attractive for desktop software developers. Incompatibility with Windows applications, switching costs, and other network effects–related issues all suggest that Desktop Linux has an uphill climb in more mature markets.
OSS also has several drawbacks and challenges that limit its appeal. These include complexity of some products and a higher total cost of ownership for some products, concern about the ability of a product’s development community to provide support or product improvement, and legal and licensing concerns. |
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| When folks talk about cloud computing they’re really talking about |
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| replacing computing resources—either an organization’s or an individual’s hardware or software—with services provided over the Internet. |
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| software as a service (SaaS), where a firm subscribes to a third-party software-replacing service that is delivered online, and (2) models often referred to as utility computing |
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| analyzing the managerial implications of two separate categories of cloud computing |
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utility computing
A form of cloud computing where a firm develops its own software, and then runs it over the Internet on a service provider’s computers. |
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| which can include variants such as platform as a service (PaaS) and infrastructure as a service (IaaS). Think of SaaS as delivering end-user software to a firm over the Internet instead of on the organization’s own computing resources. |
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| so an organization can develop, test, and deploy software in the cloud. These could include programming languages, database software, product testing and deployment software, and an operating system. |
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| PaaS delivers tools (a.k.a., a platform) |
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| offers an organization a more bare-bones set of services that are an alternative to buying its own physical hardware—that is, computing, storage, and networking resources are instead allocated and made available over the Internet and are paid for based on the amount of resources used. |
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| IaaS firms get the most basic offerings but can also do the |
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| most customization, putting their own tools (operating systems, databases, programming languages) on top |
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Term
Cloud computing refers to replacing computing resources—of either an organization or individual’s hardware or software—with services provided over the Internet.
Software as a service (SaaS) refers to a third-party software-replacing service that is delivered online.
Platform as a service (PaaS) delivers tools (a.k.a., a platform) so an organization can develop, test, and deploy software in the cloud. These could include programming languages, database software, and product testing and deployment software.
Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) offers an organization an alternative to buying its own physical hardware. Computing, storage, and networking resources are instead allocated and made available over the Internet and are paid for based on the amount of resources used. IaaS offers the most customization, with firms making their own choices on what products to install, develop, and maintain (e.g., operating systems, programming languages, databases) on the infrastructure they license.
SaaS typically requires the least amount of support and maintenance; IaaS requires the most, since firms choose the tech they want to install, craft their own solution, and run it on what is largely a “blank canvas” of cloud-provided hardware.
Cloud computing is reshaping software, hardware, and service markets and is impacting competitive dynamics across industries. |
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| refers to software that is made available by a third party online. You might also see the terms ASP (application service provider) or HSV (hosted software vendor) used to identify this type of offering, but those are now used less frequently. |
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Definition
| Software as a service (SaaS |
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| Firms using SaaS products can dramatically lower several costs associated with the care and feeding of their |
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Definition
| information systems, including software licenses, server hardware, system maintenance, and IT staff. |
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| Organizations that adopt ____ forgo the large upfront costs of buying and installing software packages. |
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| SaaS saves companies through |
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| IT services, Accounting by eliminating the variable operating expense. SaaS offerings also provide the advantage of being highly scalable cause it can handle during high workload season. No backups SaaS firm's own hardware, these firms have a tighter feedback loop in understanding how products are used (and why products may fail)—potentially accelerating their ability to enhance their offerings SaaS applications also impact distribution costs and capacity. As much as 30 percent of the price |
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| Vendors frequently sign a |
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Definition
| service level agreement (SLA) |
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| A negotiated agreement between the customer and the vendor. The SLA may specify the levels of availability, serviceability, performance, operation, or other commitment requirements. |
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Term
SaaS firms to address highly specialized markets (sometimes called vertical niches
Sometimes referred to as vertical markets. Products and services designed to target a specific industry (e.g., pharmaceutical, legal, apparel retail). |
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| For example, the Internet allows a company writing specialized legal software, or a custom package for the pharmaceutical industry, to have a national deployment footprint from day one. |
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SaaS firms may offer their clients several benefits including the following:
lower costs by eliminating or reducing software, hardware, maintenance, and staff expenses
financial risk mitigation since startup costs are so low
potentially faster deployment times compared with installed packaged software or systems developed in-house
costs that are a variable operating expense rather than a large, fixed capital expense
scalable systems that make it easier for firms to ramp up during periods of unexpectedly high system use
higher quality and service levels through instantly available upgrades, vendor scale economies, and expertise gained across its entire client base
remote access and availability—most SaaS offerings are accessed through any Web browser, and often even by phone or other mobile device
Vendors of SaaS products benefit from the following:
limiting development to a single platform, instead of having to create versions for different operating systems
tighter feedback loop with clients, helping fuel innovation and responsiveness
ability to instantly deploy bug fixes and product enhancements to all users
lower distribution costs
accessibility to anyone with an Internet connection
greatly reduced risk of software piracy
SaaS (and the other forms of cloud computing) are also thought to be better for the environment, since cloud firms more efficiently pool resources and often host their technologies in warehouses designed for cooling and energy efficiency. |
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| What are the largest concerns of SaaS |
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Definition
| The dependence with the SaaS vendor. However, the upgrades on the software could end up having to train and possibly user errors are higher. It is also reliant on a network connection. Also Saas firms only have to follow the laws from the country of origin. So Security issues can occur. SaaS is less flexible. |
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The risks associated with SaaS include the following:
dependence on a single vendor
concern about the long-term viability of partner firms
users may be forced to migrate to new versions—possibly incurring unforeseen training costs and shifts in operating procedures
reliance on a network connection—which may be slower, less stable, and less secure
data asset stored off-site—with the potential for security and legal concerns
limited configuration, customization, and system integration options compared to packaged software or alternatives developed in-house
The user interface of Web-based software is often less sophisticated and lacks the richness of most desktop alternatives.
Ease of adoption may lead to pockets of unauthorized IT being used throughout an organization. |
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Definition
| It is when a firm develops its own custom software but wants someone outside the firm to run it for them. |
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| Where cloud providers offer services that include the hardware, operating system, development tools, testing, and hosting (i.e., the platform) that its customers use to build their own applications on the provider’s infrastructure. In this scenario, the cloud firm usually manages the platform (hosting, hardware, and supporting software), while the client has control over the creation and deployment of their application. |
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Definition
| platform as a service (PaaS) |
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Term
| Where cloud providers offer services that include running the remote hardware, storage, and networking (i.e., the infrastructure), but client firms can choose software used (which may include operating systems, programming languages, databases, and other software packages). In this scenario, the cloud firm usually manages the infrastructure (keeping the hardware and networking running), while the client has control over most other things (operating systems, storage, deployed applications, and perhaps even security and networking features like firewalls and security systems) |
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Definition
| infrastructure as a service (IaaS) |
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Term
| Describes the use of cloud computing to provide excess capacity during periods of spiking demand. Cloudbursting is a scalability solution that is usually provided as an overflow service, kicking in as needed. |
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Definition
| hybrid-cloud services, including so-called cloudbursting |
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Term
| Cloudbursting is appealing because |
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Definition
| forecasting demand is difficult and can’t account for the ultra-rare, high-impact events sometimes called black swans |
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Term
| Unpredicted, but highly impactful events. Scalable computing resources can help a firm deal with spiking impact from black swan events. The phrase entered the managerial lexicon from the 2007 book of the same name by Nassim Taleb. |
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Definition
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| Firms considering cloud computing need to do a thorough |
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Definition
| financial analysis, comparing the capital and other costs of owning and operating their own systems over time against the variable costs over the same period for moving portions to the cloud. |
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It’s estimated that 80 percent of corporate tech spending goes toward data center maintenance. Cloud computing helps tackle these costs by allowing firms to run their own software on the hardware of the provider, paying only for services that are used.
Amazon, Google, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle/Sun, Rackspace, Salesforce.com, and VMware are among firms offering cloud computing services.
Cloud computing varieties include platform as a service (PaaS), where vendors provide a platform (e.g., the operating system and supporting software like database management systems, a software development environment, testing, and application service) but where client firms write their own code; and infrastructure as a service (IaaS), where cloud vendors provide and manage the underlying infrastructure (hardware, storage, and networking), while clients can create their own platform, and choose operating systems, applications, and configurations.
Some firms use cloud computing technology on hardware they own or lease as a sole customer. This is referred to as a private cloud. Other firms allocate resources between their own systems (the private cloud) and the public cloud (where resources may be shared with other clients). This is referred to as a hybrid-cloud strategy.
Amazon provides software and services, helping the CIA build and maintain its own private cloud.
Users of cloud computing run the gamut of industries, including publishing (the New York Times), finance (NASDAQ), and cosmetics and skin care (Elizabeth Arden).
Benefits and risks are similar to those discussed in SaaS efforts. Benefits include the use of the cloud for handling large batch jobs or limited-time tasks, offloading expensive computing tasks, and cloudbursting efforts that handle system overflow when an organization needs more capacity.
Most legacy systems can’t be easily migrated to the cloud, meaning most efforts will be new efforts or those launched by younger firms.
Cloud (utility) computing doesn’t work in situations where complex legacy systems have to be ported or where there may be regulatory compliance issues.
Some firms may still find TCO and pricing economics favor buying over renting—scale sometimes suggests an organization is better off keeping efforts in-house. |
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Term
| A massive network of computer servers running software to coordinate their collective use. Server farms provide the infrastructure backbone to SaaS and hardware cloud efforts, as well as many large-scale Internet services. |
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Term
| f cloud computing customers spend less on expensive infrastructure investments, they potentially have more money to reinvest in |
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Definition
| strategic efforts and innovation. |
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| Organizations will need more business-focused technologists who intimately understand a firm’s |
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Definition
| competitive environment, and can create systems that add value and differentiate the firm from its competition |
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Cloud computing’s impact across industries is proving to be broad and significant.
Clouds can lower barriers to entry in an industry, making it easier for startups to launch and smaller firms to leverage the backing of powerful technology.
Clouds may also lower the amount of capital a firm needs to launch a business, shifting power away from venture firms in those industries that had previously needed more VC money.
Clouds can shift resources out of capital spending and into profitability and innovation.
Hardware and software sales may drop as cloud use increases, while service revenues will increase.
Cloud computing can accelerate innovation and therefore changes the desired skills mix and job outlook for IS workers. Tech skills in data center operations, support, and maintenance may shrink as a smaller number of vendors consolidate these functions.
Demand continues to spike for business-savvy technologists. Tech managers will need even stronger business skills and will focus an increasing percentage of their time on strategic efforts. These latter jobs are tougher to outsource, since they involve an intimate knowledge of the firm, its industry, and its operations.
The market for expensive, high-margin, server hardware is threatened by companies moving applications to the cloud instead of investing in hardware.
Server farms require plenty of cheap land, low-cost power, and ultrafast fiber-optic connections, and benefit from mild climates.
Google, Oracle’s Sun, Microsoft, IBM, and HP have all developed rapid-deployment server farm modules that are preconfigured and packed inside shipping containers. |
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Definition
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Term
| Perhaps the most important software tool in the cloud computing toolbox is |
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Definition
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Term
| A server running virtualization software can create smaller compartments in memory that each behave as a s |
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Definition
| separate computer with its own operating system and resources. The key benefit: firms can stop buying separate servers for each application they want to run by creating virtual computers |
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Term
| A type of virtualization that allows for shared operating systems for more resource savings and faster execution. However, containers still isolate applications so they execute and move to different computing hardware, just like conventional virtualization. |
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Definition
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Term
| When a firm runs an instance of a PC’s software on another machine and simply delivers the image of what’s executing to the remote device. Using virtualization, a single server can run dozens of PCs, simplifying backup, upgrade, security, and administration. |
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Term
Virtualization software allows one computing device to function as many. The most sophisticated products also make it easy for organizations to scale computing requirements across several servers.
Virtualization software can lower a firm’s hardware needs, save energy, and boost scalability.
Data center virtualization software is at the heart of many so-called private clouds and scalable corporate data centers, as well as the sorts of public efforts described earlier.
Virtualization also works on the desktop, allowing multiple operating systems (Mac OS X, Linux, Windows) to run simultaneously on the same platform.
Virtualization software can increase data center utilization to 80 percent or more.
While virtualization is used to make public cloud computing happen, it can also be used in-house to create a firm’s own private cloud.
While traditional virtualization acts as a software representation of hardware where each virtual machine requires its own operating system, a type of virtualization known as containers performs many of the functions of virtualization without requiring a separate operating system. This saves even more power and computer space, and helps resources execute even faster.
A number of companies, including Microsoft and Dell, have entered the growing virtualization market. Container startup Docker is seeing widespread adoption across industries and leading firms. |
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Term
Over one billion smartphones are sold a year, providing a rich platform for app deployment.
Compared with packaged software, apps lower the cost of software distribution and maintenance.
Apps offer a richer user interface and integrate more tightly with a device’s operating system, enabling more functionality and services such as app-delivered alerts.
Several billion-dollar firms have leveraged smartphone apps as their only, or primary, interface with consumers.
Mobile apps do provide additional challenges for developers, especially when compared against browser-based alternatives. Among them, more challenging updates, version control, and A/B testing.
Critics of apps say they force consumers into smartphone-walled gardens and raise consumer-switching costs.
While development and distribution costs are cheaper for apps than packaged software, discovery poses a problem, and it can be increasingly difficult for high-quality firms to generate consumer awareness among the growing crowd of app offerings. |
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Term
The make, buy, or rent decision may apply on a case-by-case basis that might be evaluated by firm, division, project, or project component. Firm and industry dynamics may change in a way that causes firms to reassess earlier decisions, or to alter the direction of new initiatives.
Factors that managers should consider when making a make, buy, or rent decision include the following: competitive advantage, security, legal and compliance issues, the organization’s skill and available labor, cost, time, and vendor issues.
Factors must be evaluated over the lifetime of a project, not at a single point in time.
Managers have numerous options available when determining how to satisfy the software needs of their companies: purchase packaged software from a vendor, use OSS, use SaaS or utility computing, outsource development, or develop all or part of the effort themselves.
If a company relies on unique processes, procedures, or technologies that create vital, differentiating, competitive advantages, the functions probably aren’t a good candidate to outsource. |
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Term
Competitive Advantage—Do we rely on unique processes, procedures, or technologies that create vital, differentiating competitive advantage? If so, then these functions aren’t good candidates to outsource or replace with a packaged software offering. Amazon had originally used recommendation software provided by a third party, and Netflix and Dell both considered third-party software to manage inventory fulfillment. But in all three cases, these firms felt that mastery of these functions was too critical to competitive advantage, so each firm developed proprietary systems unique to the circumstances of each firm.
Security—Are there unacceptable risks associated with using the packaged software, OSS, cloud solution, or an outsourcing vendor? Are we convinced that the prospective solution is sufficiently secure and reliable? Can we trust the prospective vendor with our code, our data, our procedures and our way of doing business? Are there noncompete provisions for vendor staff that may be privy to our secrets? For off-site work, are there sufficient policies in place for on-site auditing? If the answers to any of these questions is no, outsourcing might not be a viable option.
Legal and Compliance—Is our firm prohibited outright from using technologies? Are there specific legal and compliance requirements related to deploying our products or services? Even a technology as innocuous as instant messaging may need to be deployed in such a way that it complies with laws requiring firms to record and reproduce the electronic equivalent of a paper trail. For example, SEC Rule 17a-4 requires broker dealers to retain client communications for a minimum of three years. HIPAA laws governing health care providers state that electronic communications must also be captured and stored. While tech has gained a seat in the board room, legal also deserves a seat in systems planning meetings.
Skill, Expertise, and Available Labor—Can we build it? The firm may have skilled technologists, but they may not be sufficiently experienced with a new technology. Even if they are skilled, managers must consider the costs of allocating staff away from existing projects for this effort.
Cost—Is this a cost-effective choice for our firm? A host of factors must be considered when evaluating the cost of an IT decision. The costs to build, host, maintain, and support an ongoing effort involve labor (software development, quality assurance, ongoing support, training, and maintenance), consulting, security, operations, licensing, energy, and real estate. Any analysis of costs should consider not only the aggregate spending required over the lifetime of the effort but also whether these factors might vary over time.
Time—Do we have time to build, test, and deploy the system?
Vendor Issues—Is the vendor reputable and in a sound financial position? Can the vendor guarantee the service levels and reliability we need? What provisions are in place in case the vendor fails or is acquired? Is the vendor certified via the Carnegie Mellon Software Institute or other standards organizations in a way that conveys quality, trust, and reliability? |
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Term
| A firm's information systems can influence the likelihood of partnering with other firms, and its attractiveness as a merger or acquisition target. |
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Term
| Java is not optimized to take advantage of interface elements specific to the Mac or Windows operating systems. As a result: |
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Definition
| Java is unsuitable for desktop applications. |
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Term
| With the advent of cloud computing and SaaS, smaller firms no longer have access to the kinds of sophisticated computing power they had access to in the past. |
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Definition
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Term
| The scalability of a software product is defined as the: |
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Definition
| ability to be easily expanded to manage workload increases. |
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Term
| Linux is one of the most used operating systems in desktop computers, but can be found only in a tiny fraction of mobile phones, and consumer electronics. |
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Definition
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Term
| Which of the following refers to a variant of utility computing where vendors provide the operating system and supporting software like database management systems but where client firms write their own code? |
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Definition
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| Vendors frequently sign _____ with their customers to ensure a guaranteed uptime and define their ability to meet demand spikes. |
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Definition
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Term
| Desktop applications are typically designed for a single user. |
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Definition
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Term
| Which of the following technologies is being used to replace the older EDI for specifying data standards? |
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Definition
| Extensible markup language |
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Term
| Which of the following is one of the benefits enjoyed by SaaS vendors? |
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Definition
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Term
| Software (often on firmware) designed to make physical products and devices "smarter" by doing things like sharing usage information, helping diagnose problems, indicating maintenance schedules, providing alerts, or enabling devices to take orders from other systems is referred to as ___________. |
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Definition
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Term
| Systems that use data created by other systems to provide reporting and analysis for organizational decision making are called _____ systems. |
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Term
| Which of the following was considered a contributor to vulnerabilities in the OpenSSL security product, known as the Heartbleed bug: |
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Definition
| Few developers were working on the project, so the ideal that "given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow" wasn't met with OpenSSL. |
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Term
| _____ is a set of standards for exchanging messages containing formatted data between computer applications. |
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Term
| Expedia used APIs to increase the distribution of travel products that it sells, relying on partners to plug into its technology and inventory |
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Term
| Products and services designed to target a specific industry are known as _____. |
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Definition
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Term
| Cloud computing refers to: |
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Definition
| replacing computing resources with services provided over the Internet. |
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Term
| Which of the following is one of the characteristics of using software as a service model? |
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Definition
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| _____ refers to applications installed on a personal computer, typically to support tasks performed by a single user. |
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Term
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Definition
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| Organizations that have created a robust set of Web services and APIs around their processes and procedures are often said to have a service-independent architecture. |
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Term
| IP addresses can oftentimes be used to identify a user's geographic location. |
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Definition
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Term
| The address one types into a Web browser is also known as a: |
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Definition
| uniform resource locator. |
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Term
| The Internet has no center and no one owns it. |
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Definition
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Term
| Peering usually takes place at neutral sites called _____. |
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Definition
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Term
| ____ repeatedly sends a cluster of three packets starting at the first router connected to a computer, then the next, and so on, building out the path that packets take to their destination. |
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Definition
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Term
| A potential roadblock to transition of DSL to FTTH is the: |
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Definition
| high costs of building entirely new networks. |
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Term
| Which of the following statements holds true for the term "html"? |
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Definition
| t refers to the language used to create and format web pages |
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Term
| When considering overall network speed, a system's speed is determined by its fastest component. |
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Definition
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| The exploit referred to as __________ allowed hackers to leverage vulnerability in DNS software to redirect users to sites they did not request. |
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Definition
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Term
| Benefits that can be quantified, especially in money. |
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Definition
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Term
| Subjective benefits that cannot be measured in monetary terms. See also tangible benefits. |
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Definition
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Term
| What is a feasibility study? |
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Definition
| An analysis and evaluation of a proposed project to determine if it (1) is technically feasible, (2) is feasible within the estimated cost, and (3) will be profitable. Feasibility studies are almost always conducted where large sums are at stake. Also called feasibility analysis. See also cost benefit analysis. |
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Term
| What is a cost-benefit Analysis |
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Definition
| Process of quantifying costs and benefits of a decision, program, or project (over a certain period), and those of its alternatives (within the same period), in order to have a single scale of comparison for unbiased evaluation. Unlike the present value (PV) method of investment appraisal, CBA estimates the net present value (NPV) of the decision by discounting the investment and returns. Though employed mainly in financial analysis, a CBA is not limited to monetary considerations only. It often includes those environmental and social costs and benefits that can be reasonably quantified. See also feasibility study. |
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Term
| The body of knowledge concerned with principles, techniques, and tools used in planning, control, monitoring, and review of projects. |
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Definition
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Term
| What is the Critical Path Method |
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Definition
| Network analysis technique used in complex project plans with a large number of activities. CPM diagrams (1) all activities, (2) time required for their completion, (3) and how each activity is related to the previous and next activity. A sequence of activities is called a 'path,' and the longest-path in the diagram is the critical path. It is 'critical' because all activities on it must be completed in the designated time, otherwise the whole project will be delayed. Also called critical path analysis or critical path methodology. |
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| Visual presentation of a project's activities and milestones, their dependence on other activities for completion, and the project's critical path. |
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Definition
| Pert Chart (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) |
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Term
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Definition
A PERT chart is a graphic representation of a project’s schedule, showing the sequence of tasks, which tasks can be performed simultaneously, and the critical path of tasks that must be completed on time in order for the project to meet its completion deadline.
The chart can be constructed with a variety of attributes, such as the earliest and latest start dates for each task, earliest and latest finish dates for each task, and slack time between tasks. A PERT chart can document an entire project or a key phase of a project. The chart allows a team to avoid unrealistic timetables and schedule expectations, to help identify and shorten tasks that are bottlenecks, and to focus attention on most critical tasks. |
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Term
| PERT CHART When to use it |
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Definition
| Because it is primarily a project-management tools, a PERT chart is most useful for planning and tracking entire projects or for scheduling and tracking the implementation phase of a planning or improvement effort. |
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Term
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Definition
Identify all tasks or project components. Make sure the team includes people with firsthand knowledge of the project so that during the brainstorming session all component tasks needed to complete the project are captured. Document the tasks on small note cards.
Identify the first task that must be completed. Place the appropriate card at the extreme left of the working surface.
Identify any other tasks that can be started simultaneously with task #1. Align these tasks either above or below task #1 on the working surface.
Identify the next task that must be completed. Select a task that must wait to begin until task #1(or a task that starts simultaneously with task #1) is completed. Place the appropriate card to the right of the card showing the preceding task.
Identify any other tasks that can be started simultaneously with task #2. Align these tasks either above or below task #2 on the working surface.
Continue this process until all component tasks are sequenced.
Identify task durations. Using the knowledge of team members, reach a consensus on the most likely amount of time each task will require for completion. Duration time is usually considered to be elapsed time for the task, rather than actual number of hours/days spent doing the work. Document this duration time on the appropriate task cards.
Construct the PERT chart. Number each task, draw connecting arrows, and add task characteristics such as duration, anticipated start date, and anticipated end date.
Determine the critical path. The project’s critical path includes those tasks that must be started or completed on time to avoid delays to the total project. Critical paths are typically displayed in red.
Note: Most commercially available project management software will routinely generate a PERT chart. |
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Term
| Type of bar-chart that shows both the scheduled and completed work over a period. A time-scale is given on the chart's horizontal axis and each activity is shown as a separate horizontal rectangle (bar) whose length is proportional to the time required (or taken) for the activity's completion. In project planning, these charts show start and finish dates, critical and non-critical activities, slack time, and predecessor-successor relationships. Also called chronogram, it was invented in 1917 by the US engineer and a scientific-management pioneer, Henry L. Gantt (1861-1919). |
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Definition
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|
Term
| What is a multi-computer system? |
|
Definition
| Microcomputers, mainframes, together with their peripherals. |
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Term
| Computer system components are: |
|
Definition
| Central Processors, memory hierarchy, input and output devices. |
|
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Term
|
Definition
| The central processor carries out the instructions of a program, translated into a simple form. |
|
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Term
|
Definition
| Included in a computer system form a hierarchy. They range from the fast electronic units, such as the main memory, to the slower secondary storage devices such as magnetic disks. |
|
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Term
| The increases in the number of transistors on chips correspond to the increase in the microprocessor speed and memory capacity, and thus the growth of the processing power. |
|
Definition
|
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Term
| Downsizing In information systems, transferring some or all of the organization’s computing from centralized processing on too |
|
Definition
| on mainframes or minicomputers to systems built around networked microcomputers (often in a client/server configuration). |
|
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Term
| Computer software falls into two classes: |
|
Definition
| systems software and applications software. |
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Term
| What kind of software manages the resources of the computer systems and simplifies programming |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| What is the principal system software and what does it do |
|
Definition
| the operating system manages all the resources of a computer system and provides an interface through which the system's user can deploy these resources. |
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Term
| What are the programs that directly assist end-users in doing their work? They are purchased as ready-to-use packages. |
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Definition
| Applications software directly assists end users in doing their work. |
|
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Term
| organized collections of interrelated data used by applications software. |
|
Definition
|
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Term
|
Definition
| Databases are managed by systems software known as database management systems (DBMS) and shared by multiple applications. |
|
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Term
| Professional information systems personnel include |
|
Definition
| development and maintenance managers, systems analysts, programmers, and operators, often with highly specialized skills. |
|
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Term
| End users are the people who |
|
Definition
| use information systems or their information outputs, that is, the majority of people in today's organizations. |
|
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Term
| The hallmark of the present stage in organizational computing is the involvement of |
|
Definition
| end users in the development of information systems |
|
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Term
| What is an important contributor to information systems in an organization |
|
Definition
| End-user computing, or control of their information systems by end users and the development of systems by end users, |
|
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Term
| the policies and methods to be followed in using, operating, and maintaining an information system. Specifications for the use, operation, and maintenance of information systems, collected in help facilities, user manuals, operator manuals, and similar documents, frequently delivered in an electronic form. |
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Definition
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Term
| Non-continuous (non-real time) processing of data, instructions, or materials. In data transmission, batch processing is used for very large files or where a fast response time is not critical. The files to be transmitted are gathered over a period and then send together as a batch. |
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Definition
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Term
| A method of using a terminal remote from a company mainframe or an interface to the Internet like an e-commerce website for taking product orders and dealing with payments. offers considerable savings and greater overall efficiency for most business sales operations, although system down time can be costly in terms of lost sales. |
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Definition
|
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Term
| any application developed and distributed among more than one layer. It logically separates the different application-specific, operational layers. The number of layers varies by business and application requirements, but three-tier is the most commonly used architecture. Any application that depends on or uses a middleware application is known as |
|
Definition
| A multi-tier application is also known as a multitiered application or n-tier application. |
|
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Term
| used to divide an enterprise application into two or more components that may be separately developed and executed. include the following: Presentation tier: Provides basic user interface and application access services Application processing tier: Possesses the core business or application logic Data access tier: Provides the mechanism used to access and process data Data tier: Holds and manages data that is at rest This division allows each component/tier to be separately developed, tested, executed and reused. |
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Definition
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Term
| a self-managing computing model named after, and patterned on, the human body's autonomic nervous system. |
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Definition
|
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Term
| system would control the functioning of computer applications and systems without input from the user, in the same way that the autonomic nervous system regulates body systems without conscious input from the individual |
|
Definition
| An autonomic computing system |
|
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Term
| The goal of autonomic computing is to |
|
Definition
| create systems that run themselves, capable of high-level functioning while keeping the system's complexity invisible to the user. |
|
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Term
| Autonomic computing is one of the building blocks of pervasive computing, an anticipated future computing model in which tiny - even invisible - computers will be all around us, communicating through increasingly interconnected networks. |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| According to IBM, there are eight crucial elements in an autonomic computing system: |
|
Definition
| it must maintain comprehensive and specific knowledge about all its components; it must have the ability to self-configure to suit varying and possibly unpredictable conditions; it must constantly monitor itself for optimal functioning; it must be self-healing and able to find alternate ways to function when it encounters problems; it must be able to detect threats and protect itself from them; it must be able to adapt to environmental conditions; it must be based on open standards rather than proprietary technologies; and it must anticipate demand while remaining transparent to the user. |
|
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Term
| What is an operating system? |
|
Definition
| An operating system (sometimes abbreviated as "OS") is the program that, after being initially loaded into the computer by a boot program, manages all the other programs in a computer. |
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Term
| An operating system performs these services for applications: |
|
Definition
• In a multitasking operating system where multiple programs can be running at the same time, the operating system determines which applications should run in what order and how much time should be allowed for each application before giving another application a turn.
• It manages the sharing of internal memory among multiple applications.
• It handles input and output to and from attached hardware devices, such as hard disks, printers, and dial-up ports.
• It sends messages to each application or interactive user (or to a system operator) about the status of operation and any errors that may have occurred.
• It can offload the management of what are called batch jobs (for example, printing) so that the initiating application is freed from this work.
• On computers that can provide parallel processing, an operating system can manage how to divide the program so that it runs on more than one processor at a time.
All major computer platforms (hardware and software) require and sometimes include an operating system. Linux, Windows, VMS, OS/400, AIX, and z/OS are all examples of operating systems. |
|
|
Term
| IT infrastructure refers to the |
|
Definition
| the composite hardware, software, network resources and services required for the existence, operation and management of an enterprise IT environment. |
|
|
Term
| IT Infrastructure allows an organization to deliver IT |
|
Definition
| solutions and services to its employees, partners and/or customers and is usually internal to an organization and deployed within owned facilities. |
|
|
Term
| IT infrastructure consists of all components that somehow |
|
Definition
| somehow play a role in overall IT and IT-enabled operations. It can be used for internal business operations or developing customer IT or business solutions. |
|
|
Term
| Typically, a standard IT infrastructure consists of the following components: |
|
Definition
• Hardware: Servers, computers, data centers, switches, hubs and routers, etc.
• Software: Enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), productivity applications and more.
• Network: Network enablement, Internet connectivity, firewall and security.
• Meatware: Human users, such as network administrators (NA), developers, designers and generic end users with access to any IT appliance or service are also part of an IT infrastructure, specifically with the advent of user-centric IT service development. |
|
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Term
| Software that facilitates exchange of data between two application programs within the same environment, or across different hardware and network environments. |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Three basic types of middleware are |
|
Definition
| communication middleware, (2) database middleware, and (3) system middleware. |
|
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Term
| Any application people use to "produce" information. Virtually any program used to create or modify a document, image, audio or video clip is |
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Definition
|
|
Term
| business application suites such as Microsoft Office, which include word processing, spreadsheet and presentation programs, are typically called |
|
Definition
| productivity software. Contrast with "utility program," such as a file manager, which is used to organize files and folders on the computer. |
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Term
| a lightweight XML-based messaging protocol used to encode the information in a Web service request and response messages before sending them over a network. Typically independent of any operating system or protocol and may be transported using a variety of internet protocols including SMTP, MIME and HTTP |
|
Definition
SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol)6
Short for Simple Object Access Protocol |
|
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Term
| describes a standardized way of integrating Web-based applications using the XML, SOAP, WSDL and UDDI open standards over an Internet protocol backbone. |
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Definition
|
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Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
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Term
|
Definition
| describing the services available |
|
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Term
|
Definition
| listing what services are available. Used primarily as a means for businesses to communicate with each other and with clients, Web services allow organizations to communicate data without intimate knowledge of each other's IT systems behind the firewall. |
|
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Term
| Unlike traditional client/server models, such as a Web server/Web page system, Web services do not provide the user with a ______instead |
|
Definition
| a GUI. Web services instead share business logic, data and processes through a programmatic interface across a network. Developers can then add the Web service to a GUI (such as a Web page or an executable program) to offer specific functionality to users. |
|
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Term
| IBM brand of products that implement and extend Sun's Java Two Enterprise Edition (J2EE) platform. The Java-based application and transaction infrastructure delivers high-volume transaction processing for e-business and provides enhanced capabilities for transaction management, as well as security, performance, availability, connectivity, and scalability. |
|
Definition
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|
Term
| The term architecture can refer to either hardware or software, or to a combination of hardware and software. The architecture of a system always defines its broad outlines, and may define precise mechanisms as well. An open architecture allows the system to be connected easily to devices and programs made by other manufacturers. Open architectures use off-the-shelf components and conform to approved standards. A system with a closed architecture, on the other hand, is one whose design is proprietary, making it difficult to connect the system to other systems |
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Definition
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|
Term
| professional services designed to facilitate the use of technology by enterprises and end users. |
|
Definition
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|
Term
| What kind of services provide specialized technology-oriented solutions by combining the processes and functions of software, hardware, networks, telecommunications and electronics. |
|
Definition
| Technology services are also known as information technology services (ITS). |
|
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Term
| Technology services include: |
|
Definition
Software development, integration and maintenance
• Hardware
• Networking integration, management and maintenance
• Information security (IS)
• IT management consultants
• Mobile services
• Web applications |
|
|
Term
| a vendor that provides individual users - or an entire enterprise - with software applications over a network, usually a local area network (LAN) or an LAN with Internet access. |
|
Definition
| Application Service Providers |
|
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Term
| advantages and disadvantages of ASP |
|
Definition
a service level agreement (SLA) that guarantees software usability and reliability, lower IT costs and the ability to redeploy IT staff to projects other than software updating and maintenance.
The disadvantages of ASPs include the inability to customize software applications (except for the largest clients). In addition, ASP changes may adversely change the service provided to a business’s clients. Finally, a business may have difficulty integrating ASP software with non-ASP software. Also, ASP control over corporate data and the corporate image may compromise corporate control and security. |
|
|
Term
| an enterprise-level model of technology and computing in which resources are provided on an as-needed and when-needed basis |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| The major advantage of ODC |
|
Definition
| low initial cost, as computational resources are essentially rented when they are required |
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Term
|
Definition
Definition- What is the problem
Data Collection – What is going on
Cause Analysis – Why is the problem happening
Solution Planning implementation –
Evaluation of effects- see if it worked
Standardization- can we use it
Evaluation of the process positives and negatives |
|
|
Term
| The Porters five forces framework are |
|
Definition
the intensity of rivalry among existing competitors, (2)
the threat of new entrants, (3)
the threat of substitute goods or services, (4)
the bargaining power of buyers, and (5) the bargaining power of suppliers |
|
|
Term
The scale of technology investment required to run a business can act as a barrier to entry by discouraging new, smaller competitors.
T or F |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Startup firms can struggle to gain lower prices from rivals, but FreshDirect seems to have found several ways to gain lower supplier prices. FreshDirect buys direct from suppliers, eliminating any markup from a middleman. In addition to this, the firm employs other methods to get lower prices from suppliers. Which of the following is not a way FreshDirect helps suppliers in exchange for supplier agreement to offer it better pricing terms? |
|
Definition
| FreshDirect shares warehouse space with farmers and livestock producers |
|
|
Term
| The _____ problem exists when rivals watch a pioneer's efforts, learn from their successes and missteps, and then enter the market quickly with a comparable or superior product at a lower cost. |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Metcalfe's Law is used to explain the concept of switching costs. |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Market entry is the same as building a sustainable business. |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| A strong brand can be an exceptionally powerful resource for competitive advantage by lowering ________, proxying _____ and inspiring _____. |
|
Definition
| search costs; quality; trust |
|
|
Term
| The paths through which products or services get to customers are known as _____. |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| In _____, the light inside fiber is split into different signal-carrying wavelengths in a way similar to how a prism splits light into different colors. |
|
Definition
| dense wave division multiplexing |
|
|
Term
| Which of the following is one of Porter's five forces? |
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Definition
|
|
Term
| Firms that build an imitation-resistant value chain develop a way of doing business that others struggle to replicate. |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Most Profitable media company |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| A catalyst for social change |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Contributing to the rapid shift in global business power |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Who has more internet users than any other country, more smartphone payments |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Firms that build an imitation-resistant value chain develop a way of doing business that others struggle to replicate. |
|
|
Term
| A vision where low-cost sensors, processors, and communication are embedded into wide array of products and our environment |
|
Definition
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|
Term
Turned high-powered computing into a utility available to even the smallest businesses, and nonprofits.
New technologies have:
Fueled globalization
Redefined concepts of software and computing
Crushed costs
Fueled data-driven decision-making
Raised privacy and security concerns |
|
Definition
| Cloud computing and software have become a valuable service. |
|
|
Term
| Which managerial disciplines have been impacted by technology. |
|
Definition
| All modern managerial disciplines have been impacted by technology. |
|
|
Term
| The rapid changes of the tech industry to finance lead to |
|
Definition
the continual development of new businesses and rapid changes in the industry landscape.
Suited to IPO markets
Continuously involved in mergers and acquisitions (M&A)
Technology has the power to make certain pieces of capital obsolete. |
|
|
Term
| The roles of finance in tech include |
|
Definition
Lending to tech firms
Evaluating the role of technology in firms in an investment portfolio |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
The reliability of any audit is tied to the reliability of the underlying technology.
Increased regulation has strengthened the link between accounting and technology.
Sarbanes-Oxley Act: Raises the executive and board responsibilities and ties criminal penalties to certain accounting and financial violations.
Major accounting firms have spawned tech-focused consulting practices. |
|
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Term
|
Definition
Firms use online channels to track and monitor consumer activities.
Firms are shifting spending from traditional media to the Web because of its ability to:
Track customers
Analyze campaign results
Modify tactics
Firms are using apps to develop location-based messages and services and for cashless payment.
Firms are using social media to:
Generate sales
Improve their reputations
Better serve customers
Firms use online channels to track and monitor consumer activities.
Firms are shifting spending from traditional media to the Web because of its ability to:
Track customers
Analyze campaign results
Modify tactics
Firms are using apps to develop location-based messages and services and for cashless payment.
Firms are using social media to:
Generate sales
Improve their reputations
Better serve customers |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Knowledge management systems are transforming into social media technologies.
Helps in organizing and leveraging teams of experts.
Technology is used for employee training, screening, and evaluation.
Recruiting has moved online.
Grounded in information systems that search databases for specific skill sets.
Job seekers write résumés with key words as the first cut can be made by a database search program.
Professional social networks have put added pressure on employee satisfaction and retention.
Some students with their thoughtful blog posts, compelling LinkedIn presence, and Twitter activities set themselves apart from their counterparts. |
|
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Term
|
Definition
Activity has increased in the areas of intellectual property, patents, piracy, and privacy.
Firms need legal teams with the skills to:
Determine whether a firm can legally do what it plans.
Help them protect proprietary methods and content.
Help enforce claims in the home country and abroad. |
|
|
Term
| Information Systems Careers |
|
Definition
Programmers
Experts in user-interface design, process design, and strategy
Consulting and field engineering
Chief information officer
Chief technology officer
C-level specialties in emerging areas
Chief information security officer (CISO)
Chief privacy officer (CPO) |
|
|
Term
| The Danger of Relying on Technology |
|
Definition
Firms strive for sustainable competitive advantage.
sustainable competitive advantage: Financial performance that consistently outperforms industry averages.
Difficult to achieve due to the rapid emergence of new products and new competitors.
Competitors cut costs, cut prices, and increase features in order to achieve comparative advantage. |
|
|
Term
| Michael Porter’s concepts are useful for firms attempting to achieve comparative advantage: |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Porter states that firms defining themselves according to operational effectiveness suffer |
|
Definition
| aggressive, margin-eroding competition. |
|
|
Term
| operational effectiveness |
|
Definition
| Performing the same tasks better than rivals. |
|
|
Term
| The Danger of Relying on Technology for operational effectiveness |
|
Definition
| The danger lies in similarity and failure to innovate. When offerings are roughly the same, they are more commodity |
|
|
Term
| A basic good that can be interchanged with nearly identical offerings by others. |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| fast follower problem exists when competitors: |
|
Definition
Watch a pioneer’s efforts.
Learn from their successes and missteps.
Enter the market quickly with a comparable or superior product at a lower cost before the first mover can dominate.
Because technology can be matched quickly, firms that pioneer in technology are especially susceptible to this problem. |
|
|
Term
Performing different activities than rivals, or the same activities in a different way.
Technology should create and enable novel business approaches that are defensibly different and can be difficult for others to copy. |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Provides innovations such as:
Worker shifts are highly efficient
Firm buys and prepares its own goods
Higher inventory turns: Number of times inventory is sold or used during a given period.
Use of artificial intelligence and climate-controlled rooms
In exchange, they receive more favorable supplier terms with stores:
Sharing data to improve supplier sales and operations
Paying in days rather than in weeks |
|
|
Term
| resource-based view of competitive advantage |
|
Definition
| The strategic thinking approach suggesting that if a firm is to maintain sustainable competitive advantage, it must control an exploitable resource, or set of resources, that have four critical characteristics. |
|
|
Term
| four critical characteristics if the resource-based view of competitive advantage |
|
Definition
Valuable
Rare
Imperfectly imitable
Nonsubstitutable |
|
|
Term
| major sources of competitive advantage |
|
Definition
[recognize an organization’s opportunities and vulnerabilities.
brainstorm winning strategies.
Firms with an effective strategic position can create assets that reinforce one another.
This creates advantages that are difficult for rivals to successfully challenge. |
|
|
Term
| A way of doing business that competitors struggle to replicate and that involves technology in a key enabling role. |
|
Definition
| imitation-resistant value chain |
|
|
Term
| Set of activities through which a product or service is created and delivered to customers. |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Potential danger: Adopting software |
|
Definition
| that changes a unique process into a generic one. |
|
|
Term
| : Advantages related to size |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Businesses benefit from economies of scale |
|
Definition
| Costs can be spread across increasing units of production or in serving multiple customers. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
switching costs: Costs incurred by consumers when switching from one product to another.
Firms that seem dominant but that do not have high switching costs can be rapidly outshined by strong rivals.
Sources:
Learning costs
Information and data
Financial commitment
Contractual commitments
Search costs
Loyalty programs |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
products or services that are nearly identically offered from multiple vendors (e.g., gold, wheat).
Consumers who buy commodities focus highly on price since they have so many similar choices. |
|
|
Term
When the value of a product or service increases as its number of users expands.
Sometimes referred to as network externalities or Metcalfe’s Law. |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Switching costs play a role in determining the strength of |
|
Definition
determining the strength of network effects.
Strong asset for firms that can control and leverage a leading standard. |
|
|
Term
The path through which products or services get to customers. This can be critical to a firm’s success.
Through networked technology, users can be recruited to create |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Third parties that promote a product or service in exchange for a cut of any sales. |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Commonly known as patent trolls, these firms make money by acquiring and asserting patents, rather than bringing products and services to market. |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Protection can be granted in the form of a patent for those innovations deemed to be useful, novel, and nonobvious.
Patents provide firms a degree of protection from copycats.
Cut off paths to exploit an innovation.
Considered to be unfairly stacked against startups. |
|
|
Term
| Barriers To Entry, Technology, and Timing |
|
Definition
Barriers to entry for many tech-centric businesses are low.
Market entry does not necessarily result in building a sustainable business.
Timing and technology alone will not yield sustainable competitive advantage.
Both can be enablers for competitive advantage.
Moving first pays off when the time lead is used to create critical resources that are valuable, rare, tough to imitate, and lack substitutes. |
|
|
Term
| The Five Forces of Industry Competitive Advantage |
|
Definition
The internet can increase buyer power by increasing price transparency in markets where commodity products are sold.
The more differentiated and valuable an offering, the more the Internet shifts bargaining power to sellers.
price transparency: Degree to which complete information is available.
information asymmetry: Decision situation where one party has more or better information than its counterparty. |
|
|
Term
| Degree to which complete information is available |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Decision situation where one party has more or better information than its counterparty. |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Physical components of information technology, which includes the computer and its peripherals
Storage devices
Input devices
Output devices |
|
|
Term
| Make it easier for users to interact with computers and for programmers to write application software |
|
Definition
User interface: Mechanism through which users interact with a computing device.
Firmware: Software stored on nonvolatile memory chips.
Embedded Systems: Special-purpose software designed and included inside physical products. |
|
|
Term
| : Products and services that allow for the development and integration of software products and other complementary goods |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| : Applications installed on a personal computer, typically supporting tasks performed by a single user |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Software that Performs the work that users and firms are directly interested in accomplishing |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
package that integrates the many functions of a business:
Sales and Inventory
Manufacturing and Purchasing
Human Resources
Order Tracking and Decision Support |
|
Definition
| Enterprise resource planning (ERP): Software |
|
|
Term
| Systems used to support customer-related sales and marketing activities. |
|
Definition
| CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) |
|
|
Term
| Systems that can help a firm manage aspects of its value chain through delivery of finished products and services at the point of consumption. |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Systems that use data created by other systems to provide reporting and analysis for organizational decision making. |
|
Definition
| BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE (BI) SYSTEMS |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Software for creating, maintaining, and manipulating data
Stores and retrieves the data created and used by enterprise applications.
Firms with common database systems and standards benefit from increased organizational insight and decision-making capabilities. |
|
|
Term
| PACKAGED ENTERPRISE SYSTEM |
|
Definition
Enterprise systems can save millions of dollars and turbocharge organizations.
Packaged enterprise systems can streamline processes, make data more usable, and ease the linking of systems with software across the firm and with key business partners.
Firms that have systems that work smoothly internally may find it easier to partner with others.
Efficient and integrated enterprise systems may also make firms more attractive acquisition targets or make it easier for a firm to acquire other firms and realize the benefit from acquisition. |
|
|
Term
Software that houses business logic for use by multiple applications.
Used by more advanced distributed environments. |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Small pieces of code that are accessed via the application server that permit interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network. |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Programming hooks, or guidelines, published by firms that tell other programs how to get a service to perform a task such as send or receive data. |
|
Definition
| APPLICATION PROGRAMMING INTERFACE (API) |
|
|
Term
| Set of Web services built around an organization’s processes and procedures. |
|
Definition
| SERVICE-ORIENTED ARCHITECTURE (SOA) |
|
|
Term
| Chunks of code that are accessed via the application server are sometimes referred to as |
|
Definition
Web services. API (or Application Programming Interface) used to describe the same concept.
For managerial purposes you can think of Web services and APIs as doing pretty much the same thing - Pieces of code that can be summoned by other programs to perform a task. |
|
|
Term
| Set of standards for exchanging messages containing formatted data between computer applications |
|
Definition
| EDI (ELECTRONIC DATA INTERCHANGE) |
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Tagging language that can be used to identify data fields made available for use by other applications
New generation of more-flexible technologies |
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Definition
| EXTENSIBLE MARKUP LANGUAGE (XML) |
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Programming languages designed to provide true platform independence for application developers.
Most professional programmers use an integrated development environment (IDE) to write their code, includes a text editor, debugger, and other useful programming tools. |
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Definition
| C - VISUAL BASIC - JAVA - SQL |
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Programming tool that executes within an application.
Commands are interpreted within their applications, rather than compiled to run directly by a microprocessor.
Interpreted: Languages where each line of written code is converted for execution at run-time. |
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All of the costs associated with any form of capital, including a software system
In the case of a software system:
Design
Development
Testing
Implementation
Documentation
Training
Maintenance |
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| A general term used to describe the massive amount of data available to today's managers. are often unstructured and are too big and costly to easily work through use of conventional databases, but new tools are making these massive datasets available for analysis and insight. |
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| Research has found that companies ranked in the top third of their industry in the use of data-driven decision making were on average 5 percent more productive and 6 percent more profitable than competitors |
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Definition
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| Increasingly standardized corporate data, and access to rich, third-party datasets—all leveraged by cheap/fast computing and easier-to-use software—are collectively enabling a new age of |
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Definition
| data-driven, fact-based decision-making |
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| A term combining aspects of reporting, data exploration and ad hoc queries, and sophisticated data modeling and analysis. |
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| business intelligence (BI) |
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| A term describing the extensive use of data, statistical and quantitative analysis, explanatory and predictive models, and fact-based management to drive decisions and actions. |
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| A type of artificial intelligence that leverages massive amounts of data so that computers can improve the accuracy of actions and predictions on their own without additional programming. |
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| What is machine learning are improving |
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| with machine learning insights making voice assistants and image recognition more accurate and fraud-fighting more comprehensive, and improving the reliability of self-driving cars. |
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| enter of competitive advantage in many of the firms that we’ve studied, including Amazon, Netflix and Zara. |
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| Anyone can acquire technology—but data is oftentimes considered a |
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Definition
| defensible source of competitive advantage. |
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Term
| he data a firm can leverage is a true strategic asset when it’s |
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Definition
| rare, valuable, imperfectly imitable, and lacking in substitutes |
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| Advantages based on formulas, algorithms, and data that others can also acquire will be |
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Definition
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The amount of data being created doubles every two years.
In many organizations, available data is not exploited to advantage. However new tools supporting big data, business intelligence, analytics, and machine learning are helping managers make sense of this data torrent.
Data is oftentimes considered a defensible source of competitive advantage; however, advantages based on capabilities and data that others can acquire will be short-lived. |
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Definition
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| refers simply to raw facts and figures |
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| Data presented in a context so that it can answer a question or support decision making. |
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| . And it’s when this information can be combined with a manager’s knowledge |
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| their insight from experience and expertise—that stronger decisions can be made. |
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| single table or a collection of related tables. is simply a list (or more likely, several related lists) of data. |
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Definition
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| Databases are created, maintained, and manipulated using programs called |
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Definition
database management systems
Sometimes referred to as database software |
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| DBMS product include the single-user, desktop versions of |
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Definition
| nclude the single-user, desktop versions of Microsoft Access or Filemaker Pro, Web-based offerings like Intuit QuickBase, and industrial strength products from Oracle, IBM (DB2), Microsoft (SQL Server), the popular open-source product MySQL (also stewarded by Oracle), and others |
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| world’s largest database software vendor |
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Definition
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| A language used to create and manipulate databases. |
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Definition
| Structured query language (SQL) |
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| Job title focused on directing, performing, or overseeing activities associated with a database or set of databases. These may include (but not necessarily be limited to): database design, creation, implementation, maintenance, backup and recovery, policy setting and enforcement, and security. |
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Definition
| database administrator (DBA) |
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| It’s quite common for nontech employees to work on development teams with |
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Definition
| technical staff, defining business problems, outlining processes, setting requirements, and determining the kinds of data the firm will need to leverage |
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| A list of data, arranged in columns (fields) and rows (records). |
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| defines the data that a table can hold. |
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Definition
A column or field
A column in a database table. Columns represent each category of data contained in a record (e.g., first name, last name, ID number, date of birth). |
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| A row in a database table. Records represent a single instance of whatever the table keeps track of (e.g., student, faculty, course title |
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| the field or fields used to relate tables in a database |
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| The most common standard for expressing databases, whereby tables (files) are related based on common keys. |
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Definition
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| all SQL databases are relational databases. |
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Definition
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Term
Data includes raw facts that must be turned into information in order to be useful and valuable.
Databases are created, maintained, and manipulated using programs called database management systems (DBMS), sometimes referred to as database software.
Relational database management systems (RDBMS) are the most common database standard by far, and SQL (or structured query language) is the most popular standard for relational database systems.
In relational database systems, several data fields make up a data record, multiple data records make up a table or data file, and one or more tables or data files make up a database. Files that are related to one another are linked based on a common field (or fields) known as a key. If the value of a key is unique to a record in a table, and that value can never occur in that field while referring to another record in that table, then it is a primary key. If a key can occur many times over multiple records in a table but relates back to a primary key in another table, then it is a foreign key. |
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| Systems that record a transaction (some form of business-related exchange), such as a cash register sale, ATM withdrawal, or product return. |
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| transaction processing systems (TPS) |
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| Systems that provide rewards and usage incentives, typically in exchange for a method that provides a more detailed tracking and recording of customer activity. In addition to enhancing data collection, it can represent a significant switching cost. |
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Definition
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| CRM, or customer relationship management systems, are often used to empower employees to |
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Definition
| track and record data at nearly every point of customer contact. |
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| Enterprise software includes not just CRM systems but also categories that touch every aspect of the |
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| value chain, including supply chain management (SCM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. |
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| Sometimes firms supplement operational data with additional input from |
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Definition
| surveys and focus groups. Oftentimes, direct surveys can tell you what your cash register can’t. |
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| Data bought from sources available to all might not yield |
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| competitive advantage on its own, but it can provide key operational insight for increased efficiency and cost savings |
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| Firms that collect and resell data. |
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Key Takeaways
For organizations that sell directly to their customers, transaction processing systems (TPS) represent a source of potentially useful data.
Grocers and retailers can link you to cash transactions if they can convince you to use a loyalty card which, in turn, requires you to give up information about yourself in exchange for some kind of financial incentive such as points or discounts.
Enterprise software (CRM, SCM, and ERP) is a source for customer, supply chain, and enterprise data.
Survey data can be used to supplement a firm’s operational data.
Data obtained from outside sources, when combined with a firm’s internal data assets, can give the firm a competitive edge.
Data aggregators are part of a multibillion-dollar industry that provides genuinely helpful data to a wide variety of organizations.
Data that can be purchased from aggregators may not in and of itself yield sustainable competitive advantage since others may have access to this data, too. However, when combined with a firm’s proprietary data or integrated with a firm’s proprietary procedures or other assets, third-party data can be a key tool for enhancing organizational performance.
Data aggregators can also be quite controversial. Among other things, they represent a big target for identity thieves, are a method for spreading potentially incorrect data, and raise privacy concerns.
Firms that mismanage their customer data assets risk lawsuits, brand damage, lower sales and fleeing customers, and can prompt more restrictive legislation.
Further raising privacy issues and identity theft concerns, recent studies have shown that in many cases it is possible to pinpoint users through allegedly anonymous data, and to guess Social Security numbers from public data.
New methods for tracking and gathering user information are raising privacy issues, which possibly will be addressed through legislation that restricts data use. |
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Definition
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A major factor limiting business intelligence initiatives is getting data into a form where it can be used (i.e., analyzed and turned into information).
Legacy systems often limit data utilization because they were not designed to share data, aren’t compatible with newer technologies, and aren’t aligned with the firm’s current business needs.
Most transactional databases aren’t set up to be simultaneously accessed for reporting and analysis. In order to run analytics the data must first be ported to a data warehouse or data mart. |
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Definition
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Term
| Two terms you’ll hear for these kinds of repositories are |
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Definition
| data warehouse and data mart |
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Term
| is a set of databases designed to support decision-making in an organization. |
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Definition
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Term
| A database or databases focused on addressing the concerns of a specific problem (e.g., increasing customer retention, improving product quality) or business unit (e.g., marketing, engineering). |
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| Marts and warehouses may contain huge volumes of data. For example, a firm may not need to keep large amounts of historical point-of-sale or transaction data in its operational systems, but it might want past data in its data mart so that managers can hunt for patterns and trends that occur over time. |
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| What data do we need in order to compete on analytics? What data do we need to meet our current and future goals? |
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Definition
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| Can we obtain all the data we’ll need? From where? Can we get it through our internal systems or from third-party data aggregators, suppliers, or sales partners? Do we need to set up new collection efforts, surveys, or systems to obtain the data we need? |
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Definition
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| How much data do we need? |
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Definition
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| can this data be trusted; is it accurate, clean, complete, and reasonably free of errors? How can our data be made more accurate and valuable for analysis? Will we need to “scrub,” calculate, and consolidate data so that it can be used? |
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| Where will the data systems be housed? What are the hardware and networking requirements for that effort? |
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Definition
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| What rules and processes are needed to manage this data, from creation through retirement? Are there operational (backup, disaster recovery), legal or privacy concerns? How should the company handle access and security ? |
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Definition
| volume, velocity, and variety |
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Term
| There are four primary advantages to Hadoop a big data company. Who organizes data, although these advantages may also apply to competing big data technologies: |
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Definition
Flexibility: Hadoop can absorb any type of data, structured or not, from any type of source (geeks would say such a system is schema-less). But this disparate data can still be aggregated and analyzed.
Scalability: Hadoop systems can start on a single PC, but thousands of machines can eventually be combined to work together for storage and analysis.
Cost effectiveness: Since the system is open source and can be started with low-end hardware, the technology is cheap by data-warehousing standards. Many vendors also offer Hadoop as a cloud service, allowing firms to avoid hardware costs altogether.
Fault tolerance: One of the servers running your Hadoop cluster just crashed? No big deal. Hadoop is designed in such a way so that there will be no single point of failure. The system will continue to work, relying on the remaining hardware. |
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Term
Data warehouses and data marts are repositories for large amounts of transactional data awaiting analytics and reporting.
Large data warehouses are complex, can cost millions, and take years to build.
The open source Hadoop effort provides a collection of technologies for manipulating massive amounts of unstructured data. The system is flexible, scalable, cost-effective, and fault-tolerant. Hadoop grew from large Internet firms but is now being used across industries. |
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Definition
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Term
| The idea behind query and reporting tools is to present users with a subset of |
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Definition
| requested data, selected, sorted, ordered, calculated, and compared, as needed. Managers use these tools to see and explore what’s happening inside their organizations. |
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Term
| Reports that provide regular summaries of information in a predetermined format. |
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Definition
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Term
| Tools that put users in control so that they can create custom reports on an as-needed basis by selecting fields, ranges, summary conditions, and other parameters. |
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| A heads-up display of critical indicators that allow managers to get a graphical glance at key performance metrics. |
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Definition
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| subcategory of reporting tools is referred to as |
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Definition
| online analytical processing (OLAP) |
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Term
| A method of querying and reporting that takes data from standard relational databases, calculates and summarizes the data, and then stores the data in a special database called a data cube. |
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Definition
| online analytical processing (OLAP) |
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Term
| A special database used to store data in OLAP reporting. |
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Definition
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Term
| th the data stored in a special database called a data cubeA special database used to store data in OLAP reporting.. This extra setup step makes OLAP fast (sometimes one thousand times faster than performing comparable queries against conventional relational databases). |
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Definition
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Term
| th the data stored in a special database called a data cubeA special database used to store data in OLAP reporting.. This extra setup step makes OLAP fast (sometimes one thousand times faster than performing comparable queries against conventional relational databases). |
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Definition
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| A manager using an OLAP tool can quickly explore and compare data across multiple factors such as |
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Definition
| ime, geography, product lines, and so on. In fact, OLAP users often talk about how they can “slice and dice” their data, “drilling down” inside the data to uncover new insights. |
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Term
| Providing customers with a unified experience across customer channels, which may include online, mobile, catalog, phone, and retail. Pricing, recommendations, and incentives should reflect a data-driven, accurate, single view of the customer. |
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Definition
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Term
| The process of using computers to identify hidden patterns in, and to build models from, large datasets. |
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Definition
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| Some of the key areas where businesses are leveraging data mining include the following: |
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Definition
Customer segmentation
Marketing and promotion targeting
Market basket analysis
Collaborative filtering
Customer churn
Fraud detection
Financial modeling
Hiring and promotion |
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Term
| figuring out which customers are likely to be the most valuable to a firm. |
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Definition
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Term
| identifying which customers will respond to which offers at which price at what time. |
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Definition
| Marketing and promotion targeting |
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Term
| determining which products customers buy together, and how an organization can use this information to cross-sell more products or services. |
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| personalizing an individual customer’s experience based on the trends and preferences identified across similar customers. |
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| determining which customers are likely to leave, and what tactics can help the firm avoid unwanted defections. |
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| uncovering patterns consistent with criminal activity. |
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| building trading systems to capitalize on historical trends. |
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| identifying characteristics consistent with employee success in the firm’s various roles. |
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Definition
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| For data mining to work, two critical conditions need to be present: |
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Definition
| the organization must have clean, consistent data, and (2) the events in that data should reflect current and future trends. |
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| Data mining presents a host of other perils, as well. It’s possible to over-engineer |
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Definition
| a model, building it with so many variables that the solution arrived at might only work on the subset of data you’ve used to create it. |
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Term
Canned and ad hoc reports, digital dashboards, and OLAP are all used to transform data into information.
OLAP reporting leverages data cubes, which take data from standard relational databases, calculating and summarizing data for superfast reporting access. OLAP tools can present results through multidimensional graphs, or via spreadsheet-style cross-tab reports.
Modern datasets can be so large that it might be impossible for humans to spot underlying trends without the use of data mining tools.
Businesses are using data mining to address issues in several key areas including customer segmentation, marketing and promotion targeting, collaborative filtering, and so on.
Models influenced by bad data, missing or incomplete historical data, and over-engineering are prone to yield bad results.
One way to test to see if you’re looking at a random occurrence in your data is to divide your data, building your model with one portion of the data, and using another portion to verify your results.
Analytics may not always provide the total solution for a problem. Sometimes a pattern is uncovered, but determining the best choice for a response is less clear.
A competent business analytics team should possess three critical skills: information technology, statistics, and business knowledge. |
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Definition
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Term
| Computer software that can mimic or improve upon functions that would otherwise require human intelligence |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| reate computer programs that are able to mimic or improve upon functions that would otherwise require human intelligence. |
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Term
| s a type of AI often broadly defined as software with the ability to learn or improve without being explicitly programmed |
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Definition
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Term
| subcategory of machine learning. typically refers to the layers of interconnections and analysis that are examined to arrive at results. has more analytical complexity. |
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Definition
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| algorithms are trained by providing explicit examples of results sought, like defective vs. error-free, or stock price), |
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| where data are not explicitly labeled and don’t have a predetermined result. |
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Definition
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Term
| Clustering customers into previously unknown groupings machine be one example), and semi-supervised learning (where data used to build models that determine an end result may contain data that has outputs explicitly labeled as well as unlabeled, |
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Definition
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Term
| Some of the more popular categories of software used in AI include: |
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Definition
Neural networks
Expert systems
Genetic algorithms |
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Term
| A statistical techniques used in AI, and particularly in machine learning. Neural networks hunt down and expose patterns, building multilayered relationships that humans can’t detect on their own. |
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Definition
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Term
| Neural networks identify patterns by |
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Definition
| testing multilayered relationships that humans can’t detect on their own. Many refer to the multilayered interconnections among data as mimicking the neurons of the brain |
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Term
| Neural networks are often referred to as a “ |
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Definition
| black box,” meaning that the weights and relationships of data that identify patterns approximate a mathematical function, but are difficult to break out as you would in a traditional mathematical formula |
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Term
| AI systems that leverage rules or examples to perform a task in a way that mimics applied human expertise |
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Definition
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Term
| model-building techniques where computers examine many potential solutions to a problem, iteratively modifying (mutating) various mathematical models, and comparing the mutated models to search for a best alternative function. |
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Definition
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Term
| Many computer scientists would say that neural networks approximate functions, while genetic algorithms |
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Definition
| refine functions to optimize solutions. |
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Term
| AI starts with what are sometimes referred to as “ |
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Definition
| naked algorithms that need to be trained. |
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Term
| Where can you get naked algorithms for AI |
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Definition
| in the public domain or accessible from cloud provider services (e.g., Google TensorFlow) or through vendor APIs and inside software development kits (e.g., Apple Core ML). |
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| many of the challenges mentioned in the prior section also apply to machine learning. Issues that managers, as well as concerned citizens, might want to be aware of include: |
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Definition
Data quality, inconsistent data, or the inability to integrate data sources into a single dataset capable of input into machine learning systems can all stifle efforts.
Not enough data. A firm might want to get into machine learning, but may lack underlying databases to begin this effort. It might, for example, be impossible to use machine learning to develop a system to predict failure when there are very few cases of failure that occur, and hence not enough examples to learn from. This also applies to the inability to predict rare “black swan” events since, by definition, they are either exceedingly rare or have never previously occurred.
Technical staff may require training in developing and maintaining such systems, and such skills are rare. In situations where AI makes a recommendation, but a human makes the final call, managers using such systems may need coaching on when to accept and when to question results (see the Tesco “milk loaf” example in the prior section).
AI systems also involve a discipline known as “change management” that goes hand-in-hand with many IS projects. Change management seeks to identify how workflows and processes are to be altered, and how to manage the worker and organizational transition from one system to another. This can be key because many users of corporate AI will see their jobs significantly altered. They might have to do more, take on more responsibility, or remove instinct from some decisions and rely on recommendations made by a machine.
Some types of machine learning may be legally prohibited because of the data used or the inability to identify how a model works and whether or not it might be discriminatory. For example, while gender and religion could be used to predict some risks, they are unacceptable to regulators in some applications and jurisdictions. Redlining laws in the lending industry prevent geography from being used in calculating credit worthiness, since geography is often tightly correlated with race. In other industries, regulators won’t accept the “black box” solutions offered by neural networks. And some areas such as the EU may have higher privacy protection that prohibits the gathering or use of certain data or techniques.
The negative unintended consequences of data misuse might also lead to regulation that limits techniques currently used. Some believe this helps give China an edge in some systems, since the government keeps a vast database of faces that can help train facial-recognition algorithms, and privacy is less of a concern than in the West. Jaywalkers in Shanghai can already be fined (or shamed) from facial recognition that identifies scofflaw citizens. In another example, The Chinese financial firm Ping An uses app-based video interviews to spot shifty behavior worthy of further screening. Prospective borrowers answer a series of questions related to income and ability to replay a loan, while machine learning systems monitor and identify some fifty distinct facial expressions related to truthfulness. The camera and the cloud are becoming a sort of real-time lie detector.
Many workers are startled to find that in the United States, just about anything done on organizational networks or using a firm’s computer hardware can be monitored. While examining worker communications can help ensure employees don’t break the law or commit crimes against the firm, and can offer help on how to do one’s job better, the acceleration of these practices will undoubtedly raise additional privacy issues and have the potential to alienate workers, especially in a tight labor market.
And as we think of how data relates to competitive advantage, firms that gain an early lead and benefit from scale may be in a position to collect more data than competitors, fueling a virtuous cycle where early winners generate more data, have stronger predictive capabilities, and can have an edge in entering new markets, offering new services, attracting customers, and cutting prices. Good for the winners and possibly good for consumers in the short run, but this may also fuel the kind of winner-take-all / winner-take-most dominance we see when network effects are present, something that might stifle innovation if it discourages competition and feeds near-monopolies. Indeed, many have referred to data as “the new oil,” in that it is has the ability to create cash-gushing opportunities. |
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Term
Artificial intelligence refers to software that can mimic or improve upon functions that would otherwise require human intelligence.
Machine learning is a type of AI often broadly defined as software with the ability to learn or improve without being explicitly programmed.
Deep learning is a subcategory of machine learning. The “deep” in deep learning refers to the layers of interconnections and analysis that are examined to arrive at results.
Neural networks are a category of AI used to identify patterns by testing multilayered relationships that humans can’t detect on their own. Neural network techniques are often used in machine learning and are popular in data mining.
Expert systems are AI systems that leverage rules or examples to perform a task in a way that mimics applied human expertise.
Genetic algorithms are model-building techniques where computers examine many potential solutions to a problem, iteratively modifying (mutating) various mathematical models, and comparing the mutated models to search for a best alternative function.
The explosion of machine learning is due to several factors, including open source tools; cloud computing for low-cost, high-volume data crunching; tools accessible via API or as part of software development kits; and new chips specifically designed for the simultaneous pattern hunting and relationship testing used in neural networks and other types of AI. AI can now be found in all sorts of consumer products—it is enabling the first generation of autonomous vehicles; it’s influencing soft-skill disciplines like human resources; it improves the efficiency of modern, complex operations; it’s is a key component in many customer service initiatives; and it’s even being used in medical diagnosis and research.
Incorporating AI and machine learning remains challenging. Organizations require technical skills and must reeducate the workforce impacted by AI decision-making tools. Firms need a clean, deep, and accurate dataset. Predictions require a tight relationship between historical data and new data used for prediction. Legal issues may prohibit the use of machine learning and “black box” algorithms in industries requiring exposure of the decision-making process. Varying international laws may allow techniques in one region of the globe that are prohibited in others.
AI and machine learning have exposed the possibility of unintended consequences, including the possibility of introducing unintended bias, discrimination, and violations of privacy. |
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| The ratio of a company’s annual sales to its inventory. |
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Walmart demonstrates how a physical product retailer can create and leverage a data asset to achieve world-class value chain efficiencies.
Walmart uses data mining in numerous ways, from demand forecasting to predicting the number of cashiers needed at a store at a particular time.
To help suppliers become more efficient, and as a result lower prices, Walmart shares data with them.
Despite its success, Walmart is a mature business that needs to find huge markets or dramatic cost savings in order to boost profits and continue to move its stock price higher. The firm’s success also makes it a high-impact target for criticism and activism. And the firm’s data assets could not predict impactful industry trends such as the rise of Target and other upscale discounters. |
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Definition
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Term
| All SQL databases are relational databases. |
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Definition
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Term
| Skittish and untrusting managers should realize that the first findings of analytics always reveal an optimal course of action. |
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Definition
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Term
| Inventory turnover ratio is: |
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Definition
| the ratio of a company's annual sales to its inventory |
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Term
| refers to a heads-up display of critical indicators that allow managers to get a graphical glance at key performance metrics. |
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Definition
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Term
| is an AI system that examines data and hunts down and exposes patterns, in order to build models to exploit findings. |
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Definition
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Term
| is by far the most popular language for creating and manipulating databases. |
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Definition
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Term
| n database systems, a table is also known as a |
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Definition
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| In data warehousing projects, it is not uncommon for spending on consulting and services to cost five times or more than the cost of the technology itself. |
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Definition
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Term
| Data becomes _____ when it is presented in a context so that it can answer a question or support decision making. |
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Definition
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Term
| In database systems, a row is also known as a _____. |
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Information security is everyone’s business and needs to be made a top organizational priority.
Firms suffering a security breach can experience direct financial loss, exposed proprietary information, fines, legal payouts, court costs, damaged reputations, plummeting stock prices, and more.
Information security isn’t just a technology problem; a host of personnel, operational, and procedural factors can create and amplify a firm’s vulnerability. |
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Definition
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Term
| Cybercriminals who infiltrate systems and collect data for illegal resale. |
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Definition
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Term
| Criminals who purchase assets from data harvesters to be used for illegal financial gain. Actions may include using stolen credit card numbers to purchase goods, creating fake accounts via identity fraud, and more. |
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Definition
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| Hordes of surreptitiously infiltrated computers, linked and controlled remotely, also known as zombie networks. |
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| An attack where a firm’s computer systems are flooded with thousands of seemingly legitimate requests, the sheer volume of which will slow or shut down the site’s use. DDoS attacks are often performed via botnets. |
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| distributed denial of service (DDoS) |
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| Ransomware allow, criminals to move beyond extortion to take data assets hostage. Ransomware will lock and encrypt infected computers, rendering them unusable and irrecoverable unless instructions are followed |
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| A protester seeking to make a political point by leveraging technology tools, often through system infiltration, defacement, or damage. |
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| A term that, depending on the context, may be applied to either 1) someone who breaks into computer systems, or 2) to a particularly clever programmer. |
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| A term that may, depending on the context, refer to either 1) breaking into a computer system, or 2) a particularly clever solution. |
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Computer security threats have moved beyond the curious teen with a PC and are now sourced from a number of motivations, including theft, leveraging compromised computing assets, extortion, espionage, warfare, terrorism, national security, pranks, protest, and revenge.
Threats can come from both within the firm as well as from the outside.
Cybercriminals operate in an increasingly sophisticated ecosystem where data harvesters and tool peddlers leverage robust online markets to sell to cash-out fraudsters and other crooks.
Technical and legal complexity make pursuit and prosecution difficult.
Government surveillance efforts can put citizens and corporations at risk if poorly executed and ineffectively managed.
Many law enforcement agencies are underfunded, underresourced, and underskilled to deal with the growing hacker threat. |
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A Sampling of Methods Employed in Social Engineering
Impersonating senior management, a current or new end user needing help with access to systems, investigators, or staff (fake uniforms, badges)
Identifying a key individual by name or title as a supposed friend or acquaintance
Making claims with confidence and authority (“Of course I belong at this White House dinner.”)
Baiting someone to add, deny, or clarify information that can help an attacker
Using harassment, guilt, or intimidation
Using an attractive individual to charm others into gaining information, favors, or access
Setting off a series of false alarms that cause the victim to disable alarm systems
Answering bogus surveys (e.g., “Win a free trip to Hawaii—just answer three questions about your network.”) |
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| A con executed using technology, typically targeted at acquiring sensitive information or tricking someone into installing malicious software. |
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| Term used in security to refer to forging or disguising the origin or identity. E-mail transmissions and packets that have been altered to seem as if they came from another source are referred to as being “spoofed.” |
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| Attacks that are so new that they haven’t been clearly identified, and so they haven’t made it into security screening systems. |
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| Technologies that measure and analyze human body characteristics for identification or authentication. These might include fingerprint readers, retina scanners, voice and face recognition, and more. |
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| When identity is proven by presenting more than one item for proof of credentials. Multiple factors often include a password and some other identifier such as a unique code sent via e-mail or mobile phone text, a biometric reading (e.g., fingerprint or iris scan), a swipe or tap card, or other form of identification. |
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| multi-factor authentication |
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| Technology that identifies users via unique characteristics in speech. |
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| Methods of infection are as follows: |
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Viruses. Programs that infect other software or files. They require an executable (a running program) to spread, attaching to other executables. Viruses can spread via operating systems, programs, or the boot sector or auto-run feature of media such as DVDs or USB drives. Some applications have executable languages (macros) that can also host viruses that run and spread when a file is open.
Worms. Programs that take advantage of security vulnerability to automatically spread, but unlike viruses, worms do not require an executable. Some worms scan for and install themselves on vulnerable systems with stunning speed (in an extreme example, the SQL Slammer worm infected 90 percent of vulnerable software worldwide within just ten minutes).
Trojans. Exploits that, like the mythical Trojan horse, try to sneak in by masquerading as something they’re not. The payload is released when the user is duped into downloading and installing the malware cargo, oftentimes via phishing exploits. |
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While the terms above cover methods for infection, the terms below address the goal of the malware:
Botnets or zombie networks. Hordes of surreptitiously infected computers linked and controlled remotely by a central command. Botnets are used in crimes where controlling many difficult-to-identify PCs is useful, such as when perpetrating click fraud, sending spam, executing “dictionary” password cracking attempts, or launching denial-of-service attacks. Yahoo! advertisements once inadvertently distributed botnet software that may have enlisted and infected as many as 2 million computers to mine bitcoins (a technique demanding significant collection computing assets to be efficiently used, and that can grant access to new units of the cryptocurrency). Other botnets have been used to try and decipher CAPTCHAsAn acronym for Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart. CAPTCHAs are those scrambled character images that many sites require to submit some sort of entry (account setup, ticket buying) and are meant to be a Turing Test—a test to distinguish if a task is being performed by a computer or a human. (those scrambled character images meant to thwart things like automated account setup or ticket buying).
Malicious adware. Programs installed without full user consent or knowledge that later serve unwanted advertisements.
Spyware. Software that surreptitiously monitors user actions or network traffic, or scans for files.
Keylogger. Type of spyware that records user keystrokes. Keyloggers can be either software based or hardware based, such as a recording “dongle” that is plugged in between a keyboard and a PC.
Screen capture. Variant of the keylogger approach. This category of software records the pixels that appear on a user’s screen for later playback in hopes of identifying proprietary information.
Card skimmer. A software program that secretly captures data from a swipe card’s magnetic strip.
RAM scraping or storage scanning software. Malicious code that scans computing memory (RAM, hard drives, or other storage) for sensitive data, often looking for patterns such as credit card or Social Security numbers.
Ransomware. Malware that encrypts a user’s files (perhaps threatening to delete them), with demands that a user pay to regain control of their data and/or device.
Blended threats. Attacks combining multiple malware or hacking exploits. |
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| Combing through trash to identify valuable assets. |
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| Gaining compromising information through observation (as in looking over someone’s shoulder). |
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| Scrambling data using a code or formula, known as a cipher, such that it is hidden from those who do not have the unlocking key. |
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| An attack that exhausts all possible password combinations in order to break into an account. The larger and more complicated a password or key, the longer a brute-force attack will take. |
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| A two-key system used for securing electronic transmissions. One key distributed publicly is used to encrypt (lock) data, but it cannot unlock data. Unlocking can only be performed with the private key. The private key also cannot be reverse engineered from the public key. By distributing public keys, but keeping the private key, Internet services can ensure transmissions to their site are secure. |
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| A trusted third party that provides authentication services in public key encryption schemes. |
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Key Takeaways
An organization’s information assets are vulnerable to attack from several points of weakness, including users and administrators, its hardware and software, its networking systems, and various physical threats.
Social engineering attempts to trick or con individuals into providing information, while phishing techniques are cons conducted through technology.
While dangerous, a number of tools and techniques can be used to identify phishing scams, limiting their likelihood of success.
Social media sites may assist hackers in crafting phishing or social engineering threats, provide information to password crackers, and act as conduits for unwanted dissemination of proprietary information.
Most users employ inefficient and insecure password systems; however, techniques were offered to improve one’s individual password regime.
Viruses, worms, and Trojans are types of infecting malware. Other types of malware might spy on users, enlist the use of computing assets for committing crimes, steal assets, destroy property, serve unwanted ads, and more.
Examples of attacks and scams launched through advertising on legitimate Web pages highlight the need for end-user caution, as well as for firms to ensure the integrity of their participating online partners.
SQL injection and related techniques show the perils of poor programming. Software developers must design for security from the start—considering potential security weaknesses, and methods that improve end-user security (e.g., in areas such as installation and configuration).
Encryption can render a firm’s data assets unreadable, even if copied or stolen. While potentially complex to administer and resource intensive, encryption is a critical tool for securing an organization’s electronic assets. |
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Here’s a brief list of major issues to consider:
Surf smart. Think before you click—question links, enclosures, download requests, and the integrity of websites that you visit. Avoid suspicious e-mail attachments and Internet downloads. Be on guard for phishing and other attempts to con you into letting in malware. Verify anything that looks suspicious before acting. Avoid using public machines (libraries, coffee shops) when accessing sites that contain your financial data or other confidential information.
Stay vigilant. Social engineering con artists and rogue insiders are out there. An appropriate level of questioning applies not only to computer use, but also to personal interactions, be it in person, on the phone, or electronically.
Stay updated. Turn on software update features for your operating system and any application you use (browsers, applications, plug-ins, and applets), and manually check for updates when needed. Malware toolkits specifically scan for older, vulnerable systems, so working with updated programs that address prior concerns lowers your vulnerable attack surface.
Stay armed. Install a full suite of security software. Many vendors offer a combination of products that provide antivirus software that blocks infection, personal firewalls that repel unwanted intrusion, malware scanners that seek out bad code that might already be nesting on your PC, antiphishing software that identifies if you’re visiting questionable websites, and more. Such tools are increasingly being built into operating systems, browsers, and are deployed at the ISP or service provider (e-mail firm, social network) level. But every consumer should make it a priority to understand the state of the art for personal protection. In the way that you regularly balance your investment portfolio to account for economic shifts, or take your car in for an oil change to keep it in top running condition, make it a priority to periodically scan the major trade press or end-user computing sites for reviews and commentary on the latest tools and techniques for protecting yourself (and your firm).
Be settings smart. Don’t turn on risky settings like unrestricted folder sharing that may act as an invitation for hackers to drop off malware payloads. Secure home networks with password protection and a firewall. Encrypt hard drives—especially on laptops or other devices that might be lost or stolen. Register mobile devices for location identification or remote wiping. Don’t click the “Remember me” or “Save password” settings on public machines, or any device that might be shared or accessed by others. Similarly, if your machine might be used by others, turn off browser settings that auto-fill fields with prior entries—otherwise you make it easy for someone to use that machine to track your entries and impersonate you. And when using public hotspots, be sure to turn on your VPN software to encrypt transmission and hide from network eavesdroppers.
Be password savvy. Change the default password on any new products that you install. Update your passwords regularly. Using guidelines outlined earlier, choose passwords that are tough to guess but easy for you (and only you) to remember. Generate your passwords so that you’re not using the same access codes for your most secure sites. Never save passwords in nonsecured files, e-mail, or written down in easily accessed locations. Consider a secure password management tool such as 1Password or LastPass and be sure to use the software and manage the master password effectively.
Be disposal smart. Shred personal documents. Wipe hard drives with an industrial strength software tool before recycling, donating, or throwing away—remember in many cases “deleted” files can still be recovered. Destroy media such as CDs and DVDs that may contain sensitive information. Erase USB drives when they are no longer needed.
Back up. The most likely threat to your data doesn’t come from hackers; it comes from hardware failure. Yet most users still don’t regularly back up their systems. This is another do-it-now priority. Cheap, plug-in hard drives work with most modern operating systems to provide continual backups, allowing for quick rollback to earlier versions if you’ve accidentally ruined some vital work. And services like Carbonite or Mozy provide regular backup over the Internet for a monthly fee that’s likely less than what you spent on your last lunch (a fire, theft, or similar event could also result in the loss of any backups stored on-site, but Internet backup services can provide off-site storage and access if disaster strikes).
Check with your administrator. All organizations that help you connect to the Internet—your ISP, firm, or school—should have security pages. Many provide free security software tools. Use them as resources. Remember—it’s in their interest to keep you safe, too! |
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| Companies should approach information security as a part of their “collective corporate responsibility…regardless of whether regulation requires them to do so.” |
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| A system that acts as a control for network traffic, blocking unauthorized traffic while permitting acceptable use. |
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| A system that monitors network use for potential hacking attempts. Such a system may take preventative action to block, isolate, or identify attempted infiltration, and raise further alarms to warn security personnel. |
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| Intrusion detection systems |
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| A seemingly tempting, but bogus target meant to draw hacking attempts. By monitoring infiltration attempts against a honeypot, organizations may gain insight into the identity of hackers and their techniques, and they can share this with partners and law enforcement. |
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| Programs that deny the entry or exit of specific IP addresses, products, Internet domains, and other communication restrictions. |
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| Highly restrictive programs that permit communication only with approved entities and/or in an approved manner. |
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Lock down partners. Insist that partner firms be compliant, and audit them to ensure this is the case.
Lock down systems. Audit for SQL injection and other application exploits
Access controls can also compartmentalize data access on a need-to-know basis. Such tools can not only enforce access privileges, they can help create and monitor audit trails to help verify
Audit trails are used for deterring, identifying, and investigating these cases. Recording, monitoring, and auditing access allows firms to hunt for patterns of abuse.
Logs can detail who, when, and from where assets are accessed. Giveaways of nefarious activity may include access from unfamiliar IP addresses, from nonstandard times, accesses that occur at higher than usual volumes, and so on.
Automated alerts can put an account on hold or call in a response team for further observation of the anomaly.
Single-sign-on tools can help firms offer employees one very strong password that works across applications, is changed frequently (
Have failure and recovery plans. |
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End users can engage in several steps to improve the information security of themselves and their organizations. These include surfing smart, staying vigilant, updating software and products, using a comprehensive security suite, managing settings and passwords responsibly, backing up, properly disposing of sensitive assets, and seeking education.
Frameworks such as ISO27k can provide a road map to help organizations plan and implement an effective security regime.
Many organizations are bound by security compliance commitments and will face fines and retribution if they fail to meet these commitments.
The use of frameworks and being compliant is not equal to security. Security is a continued process that must be constantly addressed and deeply ingrained in an organization’s culture.
Security is about trade-offs—economic and intangible. Firms need to understand their assets and risks in order to best allocate resources and address needs.
Information security is not simply a technical fix. Education, audit, and enforcement regarding firm policies are critical. The security team is broadly skilled and constantly working to identify and incorporate new technologies and methods into their organizations. Involvement and commitment is essential from the boardroom to frontline workers |
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| Updates that plug existing holes in a software are called: |
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| can be either software-based or deployed via hardware, such as a recording "dongle" that is plugged in between a keyboard and a PC. |
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| Because of Moore's Law, widely-used encryption programs currently employed by banks and ecommerce sites are now easily penetrated by brute-force attacks that can be employed by hackers using just a handful of simple desktop computers. |
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| Challenge questions offered by Web sites to automate password distribution and resets are formidable in protecting the privacy of email accounts. |
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| Which of the following types of infiltration techniques does one open up to by posting sensitive personal information and details about one's workplace on social networking sites? |
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| A bank customer receives a message, ostensibly from the bank's Web site, asking her to provide her login information. Assuming the message is intended to defraud the customer, what type of infiltration technique is being used here? |
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| Quiz Submissions - Unit 6: Quiz Michael Gonzalez (username: gonzm346) Attempt 1 Written: Apr 17, 2020 12:31 PM - Apr 17, 2020 1:03 PM Submission View Your assessment has been submitted successfully. Question 1 1 / 1 point Updates that plug existing holes in a software are called: patches. compliance. maculations. keys. dongles. Question 2 1 / 1 point _____ can be either software-based or deployed via hardware, such as a recording "dongle" that is plugged in between a keyboard and a PC. Shadow-keyboards Bootloggers KitRoots Keyloggers Adwares Question 3 0 / 1 point One of the major problems with the Heartbleed bug in OpenSSL software is that: Correct Answer the software was embedded in many hardware products that could not be easily patched with automatic software updates. any password typed into a CAPTCHA could be monitored by a Van Eck device. social engineers could exploit the bug through SQL injection. all social media profile data was exposed, giving hackers access to the potential answers many firms ask as part of password security questions. Incorrect Response it eliminated the ability to expose a URL's desitination by hoving the cursor over an address. Question 4 1 / 1 point Because of Moore's Law, widely-used encryption programs currently employed by banks and ecommerce sites are now easily penetrated by brute-force attacks that can be employed by hackers using just a handful of simple desktop computers. 1) True 2) False Question 5 1 / 1 point Challenge questions offered by Web sites to automate password distribution and resets are formidable in protecting the privacy of email accounts. 1) True 2) False Question 6 0 / 1 point Which of the following types of infiltration techniques does one open up to by posting sensitive personal information and details about one's workplace on social networking sites? Correct Answer Phishing Incorrect Response Social engineering Password theft Virus infections Physical threats Question 7 0 / 1 point A bank customer receives a message, ostensibly from the bank's Web site, asking her to provide her login information. Assuming the message is intended to defraud the customer, what type of infiltration technique is being used here? Spyware Malware Social engineering Correct Answer Phishing Virus infections Question 8 0 / 1 point The virtual shutdown of websites by way of overloading them with seemingly legitimate requests sent simultaneously from thousands of machines is termed as _____ attacks. Answer: Incorrect Response(distributed denial of service (DDoS)) Question 9 0 / 1 point Hardware failure is the least likely of threats to one's data. 1) True Correct Answer 2) False Question 10 0 / 1 point The use of public wireless connections can increase a user's vulnerability to monitoring and compromise. ____________ software can be used to encrypt transmissions over public networks, making it more difficult for a user's PC to be penetrated. DDos Rootkit Keylogging 4 / 10 - 40 % |
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