Informatics – Class 3 2- 1 . IT Infrastructure and Support Systems

and Support
2.3 Supply Chain and Logistics Support
2.4 IT Infrastructures, Cloud

Computing, and Services

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types of information systems and how they process data.
Understand the

types of information systems used to support business operations and decision makers.
Describe how IT supports supply chains and business processes.
Understand the attributes, benefits, and risks of service-based and cloud computing infrastructures.

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information systems that collect and process data, distribute reports, and

support decision making and business processes.
Starting with transactions that take place at an interface (e.g., withdrawing cash from an ATM), a transaction processing system (TPS) processes the data as follows:
verifies available funds
subtracts withdrawn amount updating the data in the database
( оr adds deposit amount)
Data are extracted from the database and organized into reports using management information systems (MIS).
Decision making procedure is supported by decision support systems (DSS).

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of ISs and applications support managers, workers, work flows, business

processes, and transactions with supply chain partners.

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and processes)
Database: stores data in such a way that it

can be accessed, searched, retrieved, and/or updated
Information: data that’s been processed, organized, or put into context with the event.
Knowledge: data or information that have been processed to convey understanding, experience, accumulated learning, and expertise as they apply to a current problem or activity.

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categories based on type of support: management or operations
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TPS—e.g., sales orders, payroll, accounting, financial, marketing, purchasing, inventory control
Transactions

are either:
Internal transactions: occur or originate from within the organization; e.g., payroll, purchases, budget transfers & payments.
External transactions: originate from outside the organization; e.g., from customers, suppliers, regulators, distributors, and financing institutions.

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time cards
Employee pay and deductions
Finance and accounting
Financial statements
Accounts receivable /

Accounts payable
Sales
Invoices and billings
Sales returns
Production
Production reports
Quality control reports
Inventory management
Material usage
Inventory levels

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is done in one of two modes:
Batch processing: The TPS

collects all transactions for a day or other time period; and later processes the “batch” of transactions at once.
Online transaction processing (OLTP) or real-time processing: The TPS processes each transaction as it occurs, which is real-time processing.
OLTP requires that a network link the input device or Web site to the TPS.

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are referred to as management information systems (MIS).

3 types of reports
Periodic:

created or run according to a pre-set schedule.
Exception: generated only when something is outside the norm.
Ad hoc: generated on an as needed basis.

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or buy products or what new products to develop &

introduce into existing markets.

3 characteristics of DSSs:
easy-to-use interactive interface
models that enable sensitivity analysis, what if analysis, goal seeking, and risk analysis
Data are exatracted from internal databases, external sources, and added by the decision maker who may have insights relevant to the decision situation

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Management support system Decision Support Systems (DSS)

components of a supply chain.
A company’s competitive advantage—low cost, reliability,

quality, or speed to market—depends on how well the supply chain is managed.

chain operations.
Logistics has been described as having the right

thing, at the right place, at the right time.
RFID (radio frequency identification) tags can be attached to or embedded in packages or physical objects.
RFID readers scan and input identifying information from the tags via radio waves.

Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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has thousands of suppliers and constantly looks for new ones

worldwide, they invested in a new global sourcing strategy.
Benefits:
reduced cost of goods to keep prices down
increased speed to market
improved product quality

Sourcing: identifying sellers (sources) that can provide Wal-Mart with products or services to sell in stores and online.
Global sourcing: purchase of goods or services from sellers located anywhere in the world.

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infrastructure determines the workload that its ISs, apps, and mobile

devices can handle and their speed.
IT infrastructure: collection of hardware, software, processes, networks, and users.
IT infrastructure allows (and limits) the ability to store, protect, and manage data so that it can be made accessible, searchable, retrievable, shareable, and actionable.

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are turning to cloud computing.
Cloud: term used to refer

to the Internet.
Cloud computing has greatly expanded the options for enterprise IT infrastructures.

Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Figure 2.10 Evolution to Cloud Computing

2012 on IT, with 1/3 spent on IT infrastructure. Using

cloud computing can significantly reduce costs and energy consumption.

U.S. Department of Defense (DoD):
implemented a private cloud to service many military agencies at reduced cost.
did not adopt (public) cloud computing because of the sensitive nature of their data.
U.S. Navy has drafted guidelines for ordering cloud services, but standards and policies for cloud computing have not yet been established.

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model in which software is available to users as needed.

Other terms for SaaS:
on-demand computing
utility computing
hosted services
Basic idea: instead of buying and installing expensive packaged enterprise applications, users access software apps over a network

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exported to the cloud?
Which set of standards to follow for

cloud computing?
How to resolve issues of privacy and security as things move out to the cloud?
How will departments or business units get new IT resources? Should they help themselves, or should IT remain a gatekeeper?

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infrastructure so the arrangement is less customized to a specific

company’s requirements.
It’s more difficult to get to the root of performance problems, like the unplanned outages that occurred with Google's Gmail & Workday's human resources apps.
The tradeoff is cost vs. control

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a DSS http://plannerslab.com
Supply Chain and Logistics Institute http://SCL.gatech.edu/
Salesforce.com

cloud demos http://salesforce.com
U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency http://disa.mil
Supply Chain, Europe’s strategic supply chain management resource. http://supplychainstandard.com

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!
Questions ?
Copyright 2012 John Wiley

& Sons, Inc.