Week 6: Enterprise Architectures

What is Information Architecture and What is Information Infrastructure and How Do They Differ and How Do They Relate to Each Other?

As society begins to turn more and more to technology in order to do business, information architecture and infrastructure will remain at the heart of most common companies’ operating capabilities. In its simplest form, Information Architecture identifies and determines where and how important information, such as customer records and financial statements are maintained and secured. In this way, this form of architecture focuses on the three areas of;

·         Backup and Recovery

·         Disaster Recovery

·         Information Security

In comparison, Information Infrastructure refers to the hardware, software and telecommunication equipment that, when combined, provides the underlying foundation to support the organisation’s goals. Unlike Information Architecture where the focus is on the security of the data itself, solid infrastructure relies on its performance to deliver and hold these records. Therefore, following this reasoning, the five primary characteristics of a good Information Infrastructure are;

·         Flexibility

·         Scalability

·         Reliability

·         Availability

·         Performance

 

In this way, despite their differences, both Information Architecture and Infrastructure are shown to work hand-in-hand to help companies reach their goals. Where Information Architecture provides set guidelines regarding the handling and maintenance of data, without a solid infrastructure that provides the hardware and software needed to support these plans, the business’ best intention will most likely fail. The fact is, that the future of any organisation is greatly dependent on its ability to meet its partners and customers expectations and terms at their pace, at any time of the day and in any location. This is why strong and flexible infrastructure is crucial for any business.

Describe How an Organisation Can Implement a Solid Information Architecture

In order to implement a solid information architecture, an organisation  must focus on the three primary areas of;

·         Backup and Recovery

·         Disaster Recovery

·         Information Security

 

Backup and Recovery. In order to create any solid information architecture it is important to create a suitable back-up and recovery plan in order to minimise the damage of a system crash. In this way, all important information should be regularly backed up so that an exact copy is stored away if needed. Then, in the event of a system crash or failure, the organisation will be able to recover much more efficiently and quickly get the system back up and running.

Disaster Recovery. As seen in the work of such firms as Continuity Planners Australia, Disaster Recovery is of crucial importance to every business. In order to implement solid information architecture, a disaster recovery plan must be put in place, outlining the process of recovering information and IT systems in the event of a catastrophe. In doing this, the organisation should plan ahead and ensure that the architecture facilitates the location of backup information, and supports the use of a hot or cold site in the event of the main building being destroyed.

Information Security. When large amounts of confidential and private organisational information is stored using technology, breaches of security can be catastrophic. For this reason, solid information architecture should provide for strict management of user access and the regular installation of up-to-date antivirus software and patches. One of the biggest security risks to data protection is often the use of multiple passwords and usernames, especially when it causes employees to  write them down in order to keep track of all their login details. To counter this, password management strategies such as Single Sign On (SSO) can be incorporated into the organisation’s architecture so that only one set of credentials is needed per employee.

List and Describe the Five Requirement Characteristics of Infrastructure Architecture

As seen in the image above, Infrastructure architecture is made up of 5 main characteristics;

Flexibility. Systems must be flexible enough to meet all types of business changes without having to redesign all its systems

Scalability. An effective system is able to adapt to increased demands. If an organisation grows faster than anticipated it might experience significant degradations. For this reason, trying to anticipate future demands is the key to building scalable systems.

Reliability. An organisation’s systems should function correctly and provide accurate information. If it fails to do so, the inaccurate data could result in information corruption.

Availability. The characteristic that addresses when systems can be accessed by users. All organisations should ultimately aim towards ‘High Availability’, where the system is continuously operational for a desirably long length of time.

Performance. All effective systems should be able to be measured to determine how quickly they perform a certain process or transaction. Low performance capacity can have a devastatingly negative impact on a business, and so organisations should conduct capacity planning to help determine future IT infrastructure requirements.

Describe the Business Value in Deploying a Service Oriented Architecture

Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) is a business driven approach that supports the integrating of a business as linked, repeatable tasks or services. In this way, SOA brings value to the business, encouraging innovation by ensuring that IT systems can adapt quickly, easily and economically to support rapidly changing business needs.

The fact is that in today’s business IT environment, enterprise architectures flow across operating systems, applications, system software and application infrastructure. For this reason, when applications become redundant it is not always possible to build a new architecture from scratch. It is in this way that SOA is particularly valuable. To be successful, all organisations must be able to quickly and efficiently respond to changes.  By allowing organisations to plug in new services or upgrade existing ones in a granular fashion, SOA ensures this requirement can be achieved. In doing this, it enables the business to address any new business requirements and provides the option to make the services consumable across different channels.

What is an Event?

An ‘Event’ is an electronic message indicating that something has happened. In many ways it is the eyes and ears of the business expressed in technology, detecting threats and opportunities, and alerting those who can act on the information.



What is a Service?

A service is a set of related commands that can be re-used to fulfil certain objectives such as ‘credit check’ and ‘process payment’.  In this way, it is more like a software product than a coding project, and must both appeal to a broad audience and be reusable if it is to have any kind of significant impact on company productivity.



What Emerging Technologies can Companies use to Increase Performance and Utilise their Infrastructure More Effectively? In order to keep business systems up and running, today’s organisations must continuously monitor the emergence of new technologies that can be used to increase performance and utilise their infrastructure more effectively. Two of these technologies are;

·         Virtualisation

·         Grid Computing

Virtualisation is a framework for dividing the resources of a computer into multiple execution environments. It is a way of increasing physical resources to maximise the investment in hardware and consolidate and reduce hardware infrastructure.

 
Grid Computing is an aggregation of geographically dispersed computing, storage and network resources, coordinated to deliver improved performance, higher quality of service, better utilisation and easier access to data. In this way, it enables the virtualisation of distributed computing and data resources such as processing, network bandwidth and storage capacity to create a single system image where users and applications are granted seamless access to vast IT capabilities.

Week 5: Ethics and Security

Explain the Ethical Issues Surrounding Information Technology

As the internet and information software has become more advanced, the ethical issues surrounding information technology have become more and more pronounced in the world of eBusiness.

The five main technology-related ethical issues faced by businesses and individuals today include;

·         Intellectual Property:- The collection of rights that protect creative and intellectual effort

·         Copyright:- The exclusive right to do, or omit to do, certain acts with intangible property such as music, video games and other propriety  documents

·         Pirated Software:- The unauthorised duplication, distribution, or sale of copyrighted software

·         Counterfeit Software:- Software that is manufactured to look like the real thing and sold as such

As seen in the following video, the issues of pirated and counterfeited software especially, has become a prominent ethical concept stemming from advances in the technology that is now available to individuals.

Describe a Situation Involving Technology That is Ethical but Illegal

Within the area of information ethics there are very few hard and fast rules for always determining what is or is not ethical. The fact is that knowing the law, will not always help you in making the ‘right’ choice because what might be ethical is not always legal.

Take for example, a situation in which someone is in a position to save someone’s life, but the only way to do so is by sharing confidential information. What would be the right thing to do?

Alternately, another scenario could involve the action of backing up software. Under the Copyright Act (1968), it is technically illegal to copy, use and distribute software, but think of a business such as a doctor’s surgery running on a database program like BlueChip. From an ethical perspective it is the surgery’s duty to maintain, and care for all their patients’ records. Is it ok then if, as long as they are not sharing these records with any other party, they make a copy of the software to back-up all the information it holds in the event of a crash?

Describe and Explain One of the Computer Use Policies That a Company Might Employ

When it comes to the treatment and access of corporate information, it is important that managers of an organisation create a corporate culture amongst their staff based on ethical principles. This can be achieved through the development of written policies known as ‘computer use policies’ or ‘e-Policies’. These policies set the company’s policies and procedures that address the ethical use of computers and internet usage within the work environment.

 The most important of these policies is that known as the Ethical Computer Use Policy (ECUP). As the basis of all other policies the organisation might establish, an ECUP ensures that users know how to behave at work and that the organisation has a published standard by which to deal with user infractions. For example, this type of policy is widely used amongst business and educational facilities, where, after an appropriate number of warnings, the continuous breach of its conditions may result in the termination of an employee, or suspension of a student.

In this way, the enforcement of an ECUP is most effective when it is done on the basis of informed consent. Under this concept, a conscientious effort must be made on behalf of the organisation to inform all users of the conditions of the policy, and by agreeing to use the system on this basis, it is understood that the user consents to abide by these rules

What Are The 5 Main Technology Security Risks?

When they hear the term ‘Technology Security Risk’, the first thought that passes through many people’s minds are Spam and Software Viruses. Although it is true that these two concepts do pose a significant threat to internet and technological security, they are not the only ones in existence. Instead, the vast amount of security risks that can impact the use of technology in business can be divided into 5 main types;

·         Human Error

·         Natural Disaster

·         Technical Failures

·         Deliberate Acts

·         Management Failure

 As can be seen below, within these 5 risks, there are many threats to a business’ information technology besides the most recognized of Spam and Software Viruses.

Outline One Way to Reduce Each Risk

What is a Disaster Recovery Plan, What Strategies Might a Firm Employ?

As seen by the recent disasters such as the September 11 Terrorist Attacks, Victorian Bushfires and Queensland Floods, all organisations should have a comprehensive data recovery plan in place to prepare for unexpected occurrences.  As a detailed process for recovering information and regaining access to IT systems after a disaster has taken place, this type of plan outlines such things as;

       ·         Communications Plan

      ·         Alternative Sites

      ·         Business Continuity

      ·         Location of Backup Data

In this way, Disaster Recovery Plans help a business to plan ahead

and develop executable strategies to deal with contingencies. By
doing this, the company ensures business continuity by making all
employees aware of exactly what happens in the event of a disaster. Some of these strategies include;

·       Storing back-up date and information in an off-site facility

·       Establishing a Hot Site (a fully equipped facility where the company can move immediately after a disaster and resume business)

·       Establishing a Cold Site (a separate facility that does not have any computer equipment , but where employees can move after a disaster)

·       Ensuring all recovery procedures are well documented and accessible to all organisation members        

·       Conducting regular recovery testing

Week 4: eBusiness

Why Has The Web Grown So Dramatically?

Since its first introduction as a tool of the US Defence Force in the mid-1960s, the web has dramatically grown with the number of estimated users in 2011 being just under 7 billion (InternetWorldStats). The reasons for this extraordinary growth are mostly summed up in 5 reasons;

·      The microcomputer revolution made it possible for an average person to own a computer

·      Advancements in networking hardware, software and media made it possible for business PCs to be connected to larger networks inexpensively

·      Browser Software like Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator gave computer users an easy-to-use graphical interface to find, download and design web pages

·      The speed, convenience and low cost of email have made it an indispensible tool for business and personal communications

·      Basic web pages are easy to create and extremely flexible

What is Web 2.0, how does it differ from 1.0?

Web 2.0 refers to the set of economic, social and technological trends that collectively form the basis for the next generation of the internet. Sometimes referred to as the Live Web, allows users to collaborate and build their own content. Compared to Web 1.0 it is much more interactive, and is characterised by user participation, openness and network effects. In this way, it moves beyond the idea of linking text towards the concept of linking people as embodied in websites like Facebook.

How Could A Web 2.0 Technology Be Used In Business?

When Web 2.0 is used effectively in business it can provide an organisation with the means to gain an early mover advantage in their industry. By incorporating this technology into their operations and decision-making a company can greatly improve the communication and sharing of information that occurs within the organisation.

Just some examples of how Web 2.0 can be used in business to improve effectiveness and efficiency include;

      ·         CEOs using Blogs to enhance communication with employees and members of the public

      ·         Setting up an RSS Feed to provide managers with statistics in real time

      ·         Using RSS Feeds to inform customers of product updates and news

      ·         Creating ‘Buzz’ around the company or its products through viral marketing on social
         networking sites like Facebook and Youtube.




What Is eBusiness, How Does It Differ From eCommerce?

        Throughout the business community the word ‘commerce’ refers to the buying and selling of goods and services. It therefore stands to reason that the phrase ‘eCommerce’ means the buying and selling of goods and services on the internet.

Similarly, the term eBusiness also relates to the conducting of business online, but where e-commerce only refers to online-transactions, eBusiness is a broader term that encompasses such online activities as buying and selling, serving customers and collaborating with business partners.




What Is Pure And Partial eCommerce?
  

Within the industry of eCommerce there exists two types of

transactions which are known as pure and partial eCommerce.

Pure eCommerce is the term used to describe a business

situation in which all business transactions are done wholly

on the internet. An example of this is ITunes in which the

product sold is of a digital nature in the form of music

downloads and the customer pays for the good via online

payment.

        In comparison, Partial eCommerce is much more common. WhilePartial eCommerce business may conduct its buying and selling online, there is still a whole ‘bricks and mortar’ business

        behind it, carrying out tasks such as service delivery, product manufacturing, and product logistics. Some examples of such companies that operate on a partial eCommerce system are Dell

        Inc and HartleyHealey Family Law Specialists who as well as the more traditional legal duties also provide online advice and services to prospective client.

List And Describe The Various eBusiness Models

In simple terms an eBusiness Model is used to describe an approach of conducting electronic business via the internet. Within this eBusiness framework there exists four main models used to describe the various relationships that can occur between businesses and consumers. As seen in the table below, these models are known as;

·         Business-to-Business

·         Business-to-Consumer

·         Consumer-to-Business

·         Consumer-to-Consumer

List and describe the major B2B models

Within the Business-to-Business model there are 4 main types;

·         Sell-Side Business-to-Business is when one seller sells to many companies, and often occurs in the form of a ‘Forward Auction’ in which sellers use the website as a channel to many buyers and the highest bidder wins

·         Buy-Side Business-to-Business involves a single buyer selecting the seller they wish to purchase from. This type of business-to-business activity occurs in the form of a ‘Reverse Auction’ where it is the sellers who bid for the buyer’s business and it is the one with the lowest bid who wins.

·         Electronic Exchange involves the setting up of a site where buyers and sellers from a specific industry or business sector can come together and exchange goods, services and money. Including such examples as  eBay or the Apple Apps Store, these sites make their profit from the exchanges themselves or by displaying ads of related products.

·         Collaborative Commerce is based on ‘Groupware’ software which allows companies to log into a system to meet and hold meetings as well as share such things as goods and services, project updates and inventory levels. In this way, the aim of collaborative commerce is to provide companies with easier and more efficient channels of communication to converse within and across organisations.

Outline 2 Opportunities And 2 Challenges Faced By Companies Doing Business Online?


With its ability to connect more than 1 billion people worldwide, the internet certainly holds many opportunities for businesses. For this reason, many companies have now turned to doing business online, but just like any other commercial decision with its many benefits also come some challenges.