Tech Guide 3

• cloud computing: a type of computing that delivers convenient, on-demand, pay-as-you-go access for multiple customers to a shared pool of configurable computing resources that can be rapidly and easily accessed over the internet
• stages of modern IT structure:

  • stand-alone mainframes
  • mainframe and dumb terminals
  • standalone personal computers
  • local area networks
  • enterprise computing
  • cloud computing and mobile computing
• on-premise computing: business owns their IT infrastructure and maintain it in their data centres
• grid computing: pools various hardware and software components to create a single IT environment with shared resources
• grid computing allows:

  • organizations to use their computing resources more efficiently
  • the failure of one computer to not impact the application from executing
  • easy scale up - increased computing resources
  • easy scale down
• utility computing: a service provider makes computing resources and infrastructure management available to a customer as needed
• server farms: large data centres that provide services to other computers on the internet
• server virtualization: uses software-based partitions to create multiple virtual servers on a single physical server
• public clouds: shared, easily accessible, multicustomer IT infrastructures that are available non-exclusively to any entity in the general public
• private clouds: IT infrastructures that can be accessed only by a single entity or by an exclusive group of related entities that share the same purpose and requirements
• hybrid clouds: composed of public and private clouds that remain unique entities, but are nevertheless tightly integrated
• infrastructure-as-a-service: a model with which cloud computing providers offer remotely accessible servers, networks, and storage capacity
• platform-as-a-service: model where customers rent servers, operating systems, storage, a database, software development technologies, and network capacity over the internet
• software-as-a-service: model where cloud computing vendors provide software that is specific to their customer's requirements
• benefits of cloud computing:

  • positive impact on employees
  • save money
  • improve organizational flexibility and competitiveness
• risks of cloud computing:

  • legacy IT systems - cannot be put on the cloud because they must first be untangled and simplified
  • reliability
  • privacy
  • security
  • regulatory and legal environment
  • criminal use
• web services: applications delivered over the internet that MIS professionals can select and combine through almost any device
• benefits of web services:

  • the organization can use the existing internet infrastructure without having to implement any new technologies
  • organizational personnel can access remote or local data without having to understand the complexities of the process
  • the organization can create new applications quickly and easily
• service oriented architecture: an IT architecture that makes it possible to construct business applications using web services
• extensible markup language: a computer language that makes it easier to exchange data among a variety of applications and to validate and interpret these data
• hypertext markup language: a page-description language for specifying how text, graphics, video, and sounds are placed on a web page document
• challenges of modern IT that can be solved by cloud computing:

  • expensive
  • not used to full capacity
  • expensive to maintain
  • difficulty capturing, storing, managing, and analyzing data
  • inhibit organization's ability to respond quickly
• essential characteristics of cloud computing:

  • provides on-demand self-service
  • characteristics of grid computing
  • characteristics of utility computing
  • uses broad network access
  • pools computing resources
  • occurs on virtualized servers
• four types of clouds:

  • public clouds - non-exclusively shared to the public
  • private clouds - accessible by a single entity
  • hybrid clouds - public and private that remain unique but are bound together
  • vertical clouds
• three types of cloud services:

  1. infrastructure-as-a-service model - offers remotely accessible servers, networks, and storage capacity
  2. platform-as-a-service model - customers rent servers
  3. software-as-a-service delivery model - cloud computing vendors provide software specific to their customers needs