Info Tech
Seminar 1 –
1. Digital Firm vs. Traditional Firm a. Greater flexibility in organization management i. Time-shifting – Open 24/7 ii. Space shifting – No longer confined to shopfront b. Manage business relationships, processes, assets digitally 2. Why do companies invest in IT? c. 6 strategic business objectives iii. Operational excellence – IT increases efficiency and productivity iv. New products, services & business models – New business models require the use of IT v. Customer & supplier intimacy – SCM & CRM (Refer to Seminar 10 on Enterprise Systems) vi. Improved decision making – More accurate data captured = Better information vii. Competitive advantage – Give themselves a competitive advantage in terms of better performance e.g. responding to customers & suppliers in real time (JIT) viii. Survival – IT necessary for businesses due to industry-level changes e.g. introduction of ATMs by Citibank
Seminar 2 – Hardware & Software
Hardware 1. Define IT infrastructure. a. Set of physical devices and software (hardware & software) along with the human resources required to operate the entire enterprise 2. Identify the 7 components of IT infrastructure. i. Computer hardware platforms ii. Operating system platforms iii. Enterprise software applications iv. Data management and storage v. Networking/telecommunications platforms vi. Internet platforms vii. Consulting system integration services 3. Identify and describe the 5 eras of IT infrastructure evolution b. General-purpose mainframe & minicomputer era: 1959-present i. 1958: centralized computing * 1 mainframe hook up to thousands of online remote terminals ii. 1965: decentralized computing * introduction of less expensive DEC minicomputers a.
1. Digital Firm vs. Traditional Firm a. Greater flexibility in organization management i. Time-shifting – Open 24/7 ii. Space shifting – No longer confined to shopfront b. Manage business relationships, processes, assets digitally 2. Why do companies invest in IT? c. 6 strategic business objectives iii. Operational excellence – IT increases efficiency and productivity iv. New products, services & business models – New business models require the use of IT v. Customer & supplier intimacy – SCM & CRM (Refer to Seminar 10 on Enterprise Systems) vi. Improved decision making – More accurate data captured = Better information vii. Competitive advantage – Give themselves a competitive advantage in terms of better performance e.g. responding to customers & suppliers in real time (JIT) viii. Survival – IT necessary for businesses due to industry-level changes e.g. introduction of ATMs by Citibank
Seminar 2 – Hardware & Software
Hardware 1. Define IT infrastructure. a. Set of physical devices and software (hardware & software) along with the human resources required to operate the entire enterprise 2. Identify the 7 components of IT infrastructure. i. Computer hardware platforms ii. Operating system platforms iii. Enterprise software applications iv. Data management and storage v. Networking/telecommunications platforms vi. Internet platforms vii. Consulting system integration services 3. Identify and describe the 5 eras of IT infrastructure evolution b. General-purpose mainframe & minicomputer era: 1959-present i. 1958: centralized computing * 1 mainframe hook up to thousands of online remote terminals ii. 1965: decentralized computing * introduction of less expensive DEC minicomputers a.