Topic 02

IT INFRASTRUCTURE

BMIT5103 Course
Information Technology for Managers

Dr. Huy Nguyen

BMIT5103 John von Neumann Institute - Vietnam National University

Information Ho Chi Minh
Technology City
for Managers
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STUDY GUIDE
TOPIC 02
“IT Infrastructure”
• Learning outcomes:
1. Explain the significance of data management;
2. Discuss the data life cycle process;
3. Explain network computing;
4. Relate to the discovery, communication, and collaboration capabilities
of Internet applications.

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STUDY GUIDE
TOPIC 02
“IT Infrastructure”
• Introduction:
- Foundation of an organisation to build its specific information systems;
- How to design and manage an organisation’s IT infrastructure to provide
needed technology services for the work accomplishing with information
systems;
- Data management and network computing for collaboration;
- File management, data life cycle process, and document management;
- Databases, database management systems, data warehousing, data
marts, and web-based data management systems;
- Network computing infrastructures and three categories of Internet
applications (i.e., discovery, communication, and collaboration);
- Managerial issues on data management and network computing.

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AGENDA

• Data Management

• Network Computing for Collaboration

• Managerial Issues

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AGENDA

• Data Management

• Network Computing for Collaboration

• Managerial Issues

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DATA MANAGEMENT

• Traditional File Management

• Data Life Cycle Process

• Issues on Data Management

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DATA MANAGEMENT

• Data management:
- Provide the infrastructure to transform raw data into corporate
information of the highest quality;
- Maintain data more efficiently and effectively to enhance their value:
• Identify and acquire quality sources for data;
• Ensure sufficient storage space;
• Identify and dispose of, or archive obsolete data.
- Some difficulties in organisational data management:
• Organisations need to archive historical data for reference and trend analysis
purposes;
• Data may exist in various formats, databases, servers and computing
systems in organisations;
• Organisations do not depend only on internal data for making organisational
decisions but also external data;
• Data may be captured more than once resulting in redundancy and often
out-of-date.

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DATA MANAGEMENT
TRADITIONAL FILE MANAGEMENT
• Data hierarchy:

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DATA MANAGEMENT
TRADITIONAL FILE MANAGEMENT
• File organisation:
- Sequential file organisation: The records must be retrieved in the same
physical sequence in which they are stored (such as in the operation of a
tape or video recorder);
- Direct or random file organisation: The records can be retrieved in any
sequence, without regard to how they are being stored physically in the
storage medium.
• Access methods:
- Indexed sequential access method ISAM:
• Use an index of key fields to locate individual records;
• Records are stored on disks according to their key sequence;
- Direct access file method:
• Use the key field to locate the physical address of a record;
• Apply a mathematical formula to store and retrieve the record;
• Most appropriate when individual records must be retrieved for immediate
processing, there are few records that need to be accessed at one time, and
when there is no particular sequence in retrieving the required records.
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DATA MANAGEMENT
TRADITIONAL FILE MANAGEMENT

• Problems with traditional file environment:

- Data redundancy: Presence of duplicate data in multiple data files;
- Data inconsistency: Presence of different values for same attributes
when data redundancy occurs;
- Data and program dependence: Close relationships between the data
stored in files and the programs;
- Lack of data sharing: Virtually impossible for information to be shared
or accessed in a timely manner across different functional areas of the
organisation;
- Inflexibility: Unable to deliver ad hoc reports or respond to
unanticipated information requirements in a timely manner;
- Poor data security: Difficult to enforce data security because new
applications may be added and more people may have access to data.

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DATA MANAGEMENT
DATA LIFE CYCLE PROCESS
• Data: Raw materials for data processing;
• Information: Data are processed to be meaningful to the person
who receives it;
• Knowledge: Data or information are organised and processed to
convey understanding, experience, accumulated learning, and
expertise while being applied to a current problem or activity.

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DATA MANAGEMENT
DATA LIFE CYCLE PROCESS
• Data sources:
- Internal data: About personnel, products, services, and processes;
- External data: Sourced from databases worldwide, government reports,
environmental scanning, sensors, telecommunication channels, web
servers, secondary storage media, and many others;
- Personal (end user) data: Created from ideas, suggestions, concepts
and opinions.
• Data collection:
- Manual data collection method: Involve surveys, observations,
interviews, and contributions from experts;
- Electronic data collection method: Use variety of hardware and
software for data storage, communication, transmission, and
presentation;
- Data flow manager (DFM): Improve data collection from multiple
external sources.

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DATA MANAGEMENT
DATA LIFE CYCLE PROCESS
• Data storage:
- Database is an organised collection of related data files in order to
integrate, relate and be able to access all the data, and increase data
security and data integrity;
- Database approach to data management:

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DATA MANAGEMENT
DATA LIFE CYCLE PROCESS

• Benefits of database approach to data management:

- Centralised databases save the expenses associated with multiple
computers;
- Easier for database administrators to work on a database in one
location;
- Files are more consistent with each other because file changes can be
made in a supervised and orderly manner;
- Files are inaccessible except via the centralised host computer, hence
protecting data from unauthorised access or modification;
- Recovery from disasters can be more easily accomplished at a central
location.

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DATA MANAGEMENT
DATA LIFE CYCLE PROCESS

• Limits of database approach to data management:

- Centralised databases are vulnerable to a single point of failure in that
should the host computer fail to function properly and users will not be
able to access the database;
- Although the database is centralized, the user may be accessing from
dispersed locations as well as performing data manipulations from
remote distances and slowing down access speed thereby incurring
transmission delays;
- A distributed database has portions or complete copies of a database in
more than one location.

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DATA MANAGEMENT
DATA LIFE CYCLE PROCESS
• Types of distributed database:
- Partitioned database: Portions of the entire database are subdivided and
distributed to various locations in accordance to the user’s local needs;
- Duplicate or replicated database: Complete copies of the entire
database in many locations.

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DATA MANAGEMENT
DATA LIFE CYCLE PROCESS

• Database Management System (DBMS):

- Group of programs providing access to a database from many different
users;
- Facilitate the centralisation of data and perform data management more
efficiently;
- View of the database data:
• Logical view: Depict which format of data stored in the database can be
meaningful to the user; logical view allows users to view database
information according to business needs;
• Physical view: Depict how the data is physically organised in the database,
or the actual physical arrangement and location of data; database specialists
use the physical view to make efficient use of the storage and processing
resources.

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DATA MANAGEMENT
DATA LIFE CYCLE PROCESS

• Compositions of DBMS:
- Data or database model: Define conceptual blueprint of the data
structure;
- Data definition language (DDL): Provide the link between logical and
physical views of the database and allow DBMS users to define the
physical characteristics of each record, the fields within a record, and
each field’s logical name, data type, and character length;
- Data manipulation language (DML): Contain commands that permit
DBMS users to manipulate the data in the database; users can retrieve
data, sort, and display as well as delete database contents to satisfy
information requests or develop applications;
- Data dictionary: Provide a repository of metadata for each data
element, and store the definitions of data elements and data
characteristics such as physical representation and location, ownership,
and security clearance.

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DATA MANAGEMENT
DATA LIFE CYCLE PROCESS
• Common database models:
Hierarchical database model (in data) Network database model

Relational database model (in description)

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DATA MANAGEMENT
DATA LIFE CYCLE PROCESS

• Data warehouse:
- Repository of subject-oriented historical data organised to be accessible
in a form readily acceptable for analytical processing activities;
- Serve to aid organisational productivity and enable better decision
making by users through the provision of strategic information;
- Database collecting, storing and cleaning internal business data from
existing corporate databases in the organisation as well as from external
data sources in order to remove inconsistencies and subsequently be
integrated to create a new information database being more suitable for
business analysis;
- Ability to relate data in new, innovative ways but can be extremely
difficult to establish owing to high costs.

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DATA MANAGEMENT
DATA LIFE CYCLE PROCESS
• Data warehouse:

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DATA MANAGEMENT
DATA LIFE CYCLE PROCESS
• Major characteristics of data warehouse:
- Organisation: Data are organised by subjects, and contain information relevant
for decision support only;
- Consistency: Data in different operational databases may be encoded
differently;
- Time variant: Data are kept for many years so they can be used for trends,
forecasting, and comparisons over time;
- Nonvolatile: Once entered into the warehouse, data are not updated;
- Relational: Typically the data warehouse uses a relational structure;
- Client/server: Data warehouse uses the client/server architecture mainly to
provide the end user an easy access to its data;
- Web-based: Data warehouses are designed to provide an efficient computing
environment for web-based applications;
- Integration: Data from various sources are integrated by web services;
- Real time: Although most applications of data warehousing are not in real time,
it is possible to arrange for real-time capabilities.
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DATA MANAGEMENT
DATA LIFE CYCLE PROCESS

• Data mart:
- May be a subset or a smaller version of a data warehouse to be of use
to small and medium-sized businesses and to departments within larger
companies;
- Contain a subset of the data for a single aspect of a company’s
business;
- Provide targeted business information to users who want to access
detailed data for decision making;
- Significantly shorter lead time for implementation, provide local control,
have faster response time and are easier to navigate than warehouses.

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DATA MANAGEMENT
DATA LIFE CYCLE PROCESS
• Web-based data management systems:

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DATA MANAGEMENT
DATA LIFE CYCLE PROCESS
• Data analysis:
- Provide strategic information for decision makers to enhance
productivity and make better decisions, leading to greater competitive
advantage;
- Generally referred to as analytical processing or business intelligence.
• Business intelligence:
- Broad category of applications and techniques for gathering, storing,
analysing and providing access to data to help enterprise users make
better business and strategic decisions;
- Major applications include the activities of query and reporting, online
analytical processing (OLAP), decision support system (DSS), data
mining, forecasting and statistical analysis.

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DATA MANAGEMENT
DATA LIFE CYCLE PROCESS
• Business intelligence:

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DATA MANAGEMENT
DATA LIFE CYCLE PROCESS
• Business intelligence categories:

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DATA MANAGEMENT
DATA LIFE CYCLE PROCESS
• Results and solutions through data life cycle process:
- Generate information and knowledge which may be presented to users
when needed;
- Visualize information to make it more attractive and understandable to
users;
- Derive knowledge to provide solutions such as supply chain
management, customer relationship management, electronic commerce,
or new business strategy to organisational problems.

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DATA MANAGEMENT
ISSUES ON DATA MANAGEMENT

• Data quality:
- Relevant: Data must be relevant to the purpose for which they are to be
used;
- Accuracy: Data should be accurate otherwise serious and damaging
consequences will occur with the use of incorrect information;
- Completeness: Data must be complete for the purpose for which they
are to be used;
- Timeliness: Information produced from data that are available at the
right time will significantly impact the outcome of a business decision;
- Accessibility: Data must be accessible to authorised users who will
need them to produce purposeful information.

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DATA MANAGEMENT
ISSUES ON DATA MANAGEMENT

• Document management:
- Respond to the questions:
• Is the document the current version?
• How frequently is the document updated?
• How secure is the document?
• How can the organisation reduce paper usage?
- Provide the greater control over document life cycle from the initial
creation to the final archiving, including the production, storage, and
distribution of documents and gain greater efficiency in the reuse of
information.

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AGENDA

• Data Management

• Network Computing for Collaboration

• Managerial Issues

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AGENDA

• Data Management

• Network Computing for Collaboration

• Managerial Issues

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NETWORK COMPUTING FOR COLLABORATION

• Network Computing

• Categories of Internet Applications

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NETWORK COMPUTING FOR COLLABORATION
NETWORK COMPUTING

• Network computing:
- Distributed computing through communications system that allows users
to send and receive messages and share common resources in many
locations;
- Connect computers and other electronic devices via telecommunications
networks;
- Types of network:
• Local Area Network (LAN);
• Wireless LAN (WLAN);
• Metropolitan Area Network (MAN);
• Wide Area Network (WAN).

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NETWORK COMPUTING FOR COLLABORATION
NETWORK COMPUTING
LAN WLAN

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NETWORK COMPUTING FOR COLLABORATION
NETWORK COMPUTING

• Network topologies:

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NETWORK COMPUTING FOR COLLABORATION
NETWORK COMPUTING
• Media types:
- Twisted pair wire cable;
- Coxial cable;
- Fiber optic cable;
- Microware transmission;
- Cellular transmission;
- Infrared transmission.
• Network computing infrastructures:
- Internet;
- Web;
- Value-added network (VAN);
- Intranet;
- Extranet.

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NETWORK COMPUTING FOR COLLABORATION
NETWORK COMPUTING
• Internet:

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NETWORK COMPUTING FOR COLLABORATION
NETWORK COMPUTING
• Web: System of universally accepted standards for storing, formatting and
displaying information via a client/server architecture;
• Value-added network (VAN): Private, data-only WAN managed by neutral
third parties that provide telecommunication and computing services to
multiple organisations;
• Intranet: Network that uses Internet technologies to serve the internal
informational needs of a company;
• Extranet: Network that uses Internet technologies to connect parts of the
intranets of business partners.

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NETWORK COMPUTING FOR COLLABORATION
NETWORK COMPUTING
Convergence of intranet, extranet and Internet

Virtual Private Network (VPN)

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NETWORK COMPUTING FOR COLLABORATION
CATEGORIES OF INTERNET APPLICATIONS

• Discovery:
- Browsing and searching data sources on the web that can be static
(unchanged) or dynamic (changing constantly);
- Major problem is the amount of information on the Internet and intranet
that is growing rapidly;
- Search engines:
• Locate specific sites or information on the Internet;
• Search the Internet based on key words or terms;
• Keep an index (database) of the words they find, and where they find them;
• Allow users to search for words or combinations of words found in that index.
- Intelligent agents:
• Search through large amounts of data to locate only important information;
• Act on that information on behalf of the user;
• Types of portal: commercial, publishing, personal, affinity, mobile, voice,
corporate.

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NETWORK COMPUTING FOR COLLABORATION
CATEGORIES OF INTERNET APPLICATIONS
• Corporate portal framework:

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NETWORK COMPUTING FOR COLLABORATION
CATEGORIES OF INTERNET APPLICATIONS

• Communication:
- Sending and receiving symbols with messages attached to them;
- Factors determining the information technologies for communication:
• Participants: Senders and recipients of information;
• Nature of sources and destinations: Sources and destinations of
information may be human or machine;
• Media: Communication generally involves at least one IT-supported media
such as text, voice, graphics, pictures, video, and animation;
• Place (location): Both sender(s) and receiver(s) can be in the same room
(face-to-face) or at different locations;
• Time: In synchronous (real-time) communication, messages can be sent and
received almost instantaneously.

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NETWORK COMPUTING FOR COLLABORATION
CATEGORIES OF INTERNET APPLICATIONS

• Framework for IT communication support:

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NETWORK COMPUTING FOR COLLABORATION
CATEGORIES OF INTERNET APPLICATIONS

• Collaboration:
- Mutual efforts by a group of individuals who perform activities in order to
accomplish certain tasks or attain a common goal;
- Factors determining the information technologies for collaboration:
• Group work: Refer to work done together by at least two people;
• Virtual collaboration: Use of digital technologies that enable individuals or
organisations to collaboratively plan, design, develop, manage, and research
products, services, and innovative applications;
• Collaboration-enabling tools:
• Workflow technologies: Movement of information through the
sequence of steps that make up an organisation’s work procedures or
business processes;
• Groupware: Support groups of people who share a common task or
goal and who collaborate on its accomplishment; e.g: electronic
meeting, eletronic teleconferencing, video teleconferencing, web
conferencing, real-time collaboration (RTC)...
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AGENDA

• Data Management

• Network Computing for Collaboration

• Managerial Issues

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AGENDA

• Data Management

• Network Computing for Collaboration

• Managerial Issues

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MANAGERIAL ISSUES

• Quality, accuracy and completeness of the data sourced and

collected;
• Amount of data stored in an organisation increases exponentially
over time;
• Legacy data problem;
• Ethics, security and privacy of accessing to vast amounts of
information are brought together into a single location;
• Security, integrity, and confidentiality of data being transmitted;
• Cyberslacking;
• Increasing challenges in controlling access to and managing the
increasing content of the material on an intranet;
• Advancements in network computing technologies have created
tools that improve the productivity and quality of life in general, but
they can also intrude on work, social and personal time.
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SUMMARY
TOPIC 02
“IT Infrastructure”

• As a major organisational resource, data have to be managed and organized like any
other company asset. It must be available when required and must be current to
support ad hoc business decisions;
• Data are organized in a hierarchy that begins with bits and proceeds to databases;
• The manner in which records are organized in a storage medium determines the
manner in which individual records can be accessed. Two common methods of file
access are the indexed sequential access method (ISAM) and the direct access file
method;
• In order for data to be of use to organisations, they must be transformed into
information. A data life cycle process converts data into useful information;
• The data life cycle begins with the acquisition of data from data sources classified as
internal, external and personal;
• A database is an organized collection of related data files It minimizes the problems a
traditional file organisation creates. Data in the database are integrated and related in
order that a data base management system is able to access all the data;

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SUMMARY (cont.)
TOPIC 02
“IT Infrastructure”
• The structure of the relationships in most databases follows one of the three logical
database models: hierarchical, network, and relational. The records represented in
the models are actually linked or related logically to one another. These links dictate
the way users can access data with application programs;
• A data warehouse is a repository of subject-oriented historical data that are
organized to be accessible in a form readily acceptable for analytical processing
activities. A data mart is a subset of a data warehouse;
• The quality of data is extremely important since quality determines the usefulness of
data as well as the quality of the decision based on the data. Data is considered to
have integrity when it is whole, complete and unimpaired (unchanged) while in data
storage or transmitted;
• Document management is the automated control of electronic documents, page
images, spreadsheets, and so forth, throughout their entire life cycle within an
organisation;
• There are three common types of networks - LAN, MAN and WAN. Wireless
technology in each of these networks has provided considerable improvement and
enhancement in the way organisations and individuals conduct their daily activities;
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SUMMARY (cont.)
TOPIC 02
“IT Infrastructure”

• The topology or architecture of a network refers to its physical layout and

connectivity. Devices connected to a network are called nodes. Common topologies
are bus, star and ring;
• The major network computing infrastructures include the Internet, the web, value
added networks, intranets and extranets;
• The discovery capability of Internet-supported commercial application can facilitate
education, government services, entertainment, and commerce. It involves browsing
and searching data sources on the web;
• Several factors determine the information technologies that could be used to provide
communication support to a specific organisation or a group of users. They are
participants, nature of sources and destinations, media, place or location, and time;
• Electronic collaboration between individuals and groups and between organisations
is increasing rapidly with improved communication technologies;
• The support provided by information technology has prompted an increase in group
work, especially the support provided to groups whose members may be
geographically located in different locations. This is a part of virtual collaboration.
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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION !

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