Page 80 - DMGT505_MANAGEMENT_INFORMATION_SYSTEM

Unit 5: Business Hardware Software and IT Infrastructure

Self Assessment Notes

Fill in the blanks:
1. ............................... is a complex entity, which explains over 50% of the IT budget of a typical
organization, and the percentage is growing at a rate of 11% every year.

2. IT infrastructure, as a ............................... element, is more widely recognized than before
and many justifications are used to describe its importance.

5.2 Evolution of IT Infrastructure

IT infrastructure is a complex entity, as it contains both technological and human components,
and combinations of both. Lewis and Byrd (2003) attempt to evaluate these elements with an
instrument which measures the degree of implementation of activities within companies on a
1-6 scale. The dimensions describing the activities are Chief Information Officer, IT planning, IT
security, Technology Integration, Advisory Committee, Enterprise Model, and Data
Administration. All these dimensions are processes or functions necessary for the proper
maintenance and development of IT infrastructure.

Example: The Chief information Office dimension includes activities such as “CIO is
responsible for corporate-wide information systems and technology policy” and “CIO is involved
in the corporate business planning process”. The instrument is one of the first endeavors to
assess the readiness of IT infrastructure within firms, and it also guides practitioners in establishing
necessary processes related to IT infrastructure.

The IT infrastructure in organizations today is an outgrowth of over 50 years of evolution in
computing platforms. We have identified five stages in this evolution, each representing a
different configuration of computing power and infrastructure elements (see Figure 5.1). The
five eras are automated special-purpose machines, general-purpose mainframe and
minicomputer computing, personal computers, client/server networks, and enterprise and
Internet computing.
These eras do not necessarily end for all organizations at the same time, and the technologies
that characterize one era may also be used in another time period for other purposes.

Example: Some companies still run traditional mainframe or minicomputer systems.
Mainframe computers today are used as massive servers supporting large Websites and corporate
enterprise applications.

5.2.1 Electronic Accounting Machine (Era 1930–1950)

The first era of business computing used specialized machines that could sort computer cards
into bins, accumulate totals, and print reports (DaCruz, 2004). Although the electronic accounting
machine was an efficient processor of accounting tasks, the machines were large and cumbersome.
Software programs were hardwired into circuit boards, and they could be changed by altering
the wired connections on a patch board. There were no programmers, and a human machine
operator was the operating system, controlling all system resources.

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