PURCHASE OF I.

T INFRASTRUCTURE
TECHNOLOGIES AND SERVICES

PRESENTED BY; GROUP CHARLES

 INTRODUCTION.
• I.T infrastructure technologies are hardware, software and networking components
that form the core of an organization’s I.T systems and hence carrying out roles
such as data input, data management, data processing and data storage.

• Purchase of I.T infrastructure technologies and resources is therefore the buying of

Information Technologies by an organization in order to improve on their
information systems and electronic services.

• As an organization grows, increasing clients lead to increased workload which will

have to require investment in IT infrastructure technologies.

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 I.T INFRATRUCTRE TECHNOLOGIES AND SERVICES.

These I.T Infrastructure technologies and services include;

HARDWARE SOFTWARE NETWORKING

o System Units o Operating Systems o Routers
o Monitors o Database Management Bridges
o Printers Systems Servers
o Scanners o Software suites Switches
o Barcode readers o Auto-response bots Hubs
o Cameras o Firewalls
o Multi-function machines

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 FACTORS CONSIDERED WHILE PURCHASING I.T
INFRUSTRUCTURE TECHNOLOGIES.

1. Business Needs 8. Availability

2. Cost and budget 9. Security
3. Organization goals 10.Support and maintenance
4. Compatibility 11.Vendor reputation
5. Efficiency 12.Terms, conditions and legality
6. Quantity needed
7. User friendliness

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 BUSINESS NEEDS
• An organization should always purchase I.T Infrastructure
technology based on the requirements needed by the organization to
improve on its services.

• The business needs are always assessed by evaluating the problems

that limit its service delivery quality.

• For example, when an organization assesses a problem of slow and

manual data search where employees have to search throughout
hundreds of files, it will have to purchase Database Management
Systems to ease lookup of data which in this case, is softcopy.

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 COST AND BUDGET.

• Before purchase of I.T infrastructure technologies, an organisation

should compare its budget with the cost of the I.T infrastructure
technology proposed.

• The organization should be sure that the effects of the introduced I.T
infrastructure technology are worth the money spent on its purchase.

• For example, an organization spending 2 million shillings on setting

up biometric security technologies in its financial department by
providing access of sensitive information to authorized personnel
only to prevent fraud is worth the cost.

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 ORGANISATION GOALS.

• While considering I.T infrastructure technologies to purchase,

organization goals should be considered so that the organization
purchases technologies in line with their goals. These goals are
always set by strategic levels of management.

• For example, if the Director of an organization sets up a goal of

expanding market, the organization can consider investing in SMS
marketing where an automatic system sends SMS messages to client
phones advertising the organization's products and services. This
gives the organisation a tactical advantage over its competitors.

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 COMPATIBILITY.

• An organisation must make sure that the proposed I.T infrastructure

technologies are compatible with their existing technologies before
purchase to prevent bottlenecks in their information systems

• For example, an organisation with computers that have Windows

Operating System should not purchase Office suites such as iWork
since it’s only applicable with Mac OS, but instead purchase
Microsoft Office since its compatible with their computers.

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 EFFICIENCY

• An organisation should closely investigate and assess the conditions

of I.T infrastructure technology before approving Purchase to make
sure the technologies proposed are in their best working conditions
excluding all glitches and malfunctions.

• For example, before an organisation purchases computers, they

should inspect if they have enough hard disk storage, reliable RAM
and in good working conditions.

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 QUANTITY REQUIRED

• An organization should carry out surveys and research within itself

on employees’ workload and immediately assess the quantity of I.T
infrastructure technologies required for smooth running of
organisation activities.

• For example, a supermarket should research about the number of

clients that checkout at the cashier’s so that the suitable number of
bar code readers can be purchased to prevent crowding at the
cashier’s.

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 USER FRIENDLINESS

• Organisations should always consider this factor so that more money

and time is not spent on training employees on how to interact with
the purchased I.T infrastructure technologies.

• For example, an organisation looking forward to purchasing an

operating system is advised to purchase a user-friendly OS such as
Windows rather than a non user-friendly OS like Disk Operating
System because windows operating system is easier to use compared
to disk operating system,

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 AVAILABILITY OF CONSUMABLES

• While purchasing I.T infrastructure technologies, an organisation

must ensure that the consumables of the technologies to be
purchased have a consistent availability on market so that the
organization won’t have difficulties in replacing them.

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 SECURITY

• An organization, while purchasing I.T infrastructure technologies,

should consider technologies that they trust with their data, and with
no backdoor access.

• For example, when a bank purchases a database management system

to manage clients’ bank accounts, a very secure and highly explicit
database management system must be used to prevent access from
hackers and malware.

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 SUPPORT AND MAINTENANCE

• While purchasing I.T infrastructure technologies, organisations

should consider buying from vendors who offer cheap or free
servicing of these technologies.

• They could provide more support and maintenance by providing user

manual instructions and product warranties.

• For example, an organisation which is purchasing routers should

consider vendors who sell routers that have a period warranty so the
malfunctions can be addresses with little or no cost.

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 VENDOR REPUTATION

• This is how well rated a vendor’s products are and organisations

should always buy their I.T infrastructure technologies from vendors
with good reputation to prevent fraud and purchase of malfunctioned
machines.

• For example, an organisation purchasing a hp laser printer should

buy it from an hp outlet if there is any, rather than buying from
generic stores to avoid fraud and malfunctions.

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 TERMS, CONDITIONS AND LEGALITY

• When an organisation is about to purchase I.T infrastructure

technologies, they should read through its terms and conditions,
legal certificates and licenses and when they appear to be clear,
genuine and legal, they can be purchased.

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 CONCLUSION

In conclusion, organizations should be very careful when choosing I.T

Infrastructure technologies so as to chose the best options, minimize
losses and maximize profits, and manage resources adequately.

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