Chapter 6: The Cloud

Future of Cloud Computing

Cloud- the elastic leasing of pooled computer resources over the Internet. A cloud symbolizes the Internet, as shown in the above picture.  Elastic- the computing resources leased can be increased or decreased dynamically, programmatically, in a short span of time and that organizations pay for just the resources they use. Pooled- many different organizations use the same physical hardware; they share that hardware through virtualization. Over the Internet- the computer industry settled on a set of standard ways of requesting and receiving services over the Internet.

Pro's to Cloud Computing

1. Small capital requirements
2. Speedy development
3. Superior flexibility and adaptability to growing or fluctuating demand
4. Known cost structure
5. Possibly best-of-breed security/disaster preparedness
6. No obsolescence
7. Industry-wide economies of scale, hence cheaper

Con's to Cloud Computing

1. Dependency of Vendor
2. Loss of control over data location
3. Little visibility into true security and disaster preparedness capabilities

Why Cloud Computing Now?

1. Processors, data communication, and data storage are so cheap that they are nearly free.
2. Virtualization technology enables the near instantaneous creation of a new virtual machine.
3. Internet-based standards enable cloud-hosting vendors to provide processing capabilities in flexible yet standardized ways.

While cloud computing sounds great and we can see that there are more benefits than negatives to using the cloud, there are some organizations where cloud computing may not make sense. These are organizations that by law or industry, they have a standard practice to have physical control over their data. In the future, the IRS, Financial institutions like banks for example might be pressured to create and maintain their own infrastructure to keep up with advanced technology and still follow protocol.

What Network Technology Supports the Cloud?

Four types of Basic Networks

Network- a collection of computers that communicate with one another over transmission lines or wirelessly. Protocol- a set of rules and data structures for organizing communications.

1. Personal area network (PAN)- devices connected around a single person, most PAN devices connect wirelessly to other devices located within 10 meters.
2. Local area network (LAN)- computers connected at a single physical site, the number of connected computers can range from two to several hundred in a single geographic location on the premises of the company that operates the LAN. An organization can place communications lines wherever it wants because all lines reside on its premises.
3. Wide area network (WAN)- computers connected between two or more separated sites, different geographic locations. The computers for a single campus can be connected via a LAN. The computers for a campus located on multiple locations must be connected via a WAN. An organization that needs to connect computers in two different states, must contract with a communications vendor licensed by the government and that already
4. The Internet and internets- Networks of networks. An internet- a network of networks. Internets connect LANs, WANs, and other internets. Additionally, "the Internet" is the collection of networks you use when you send an email or access a Web site. Finally, an intranet- private networks of networks. Soemtimes it is a private internet used exclusively within an organization.

Components of a LAN

• Small office or home office (SOHO)- a typical place where LAN is used, devices can be wired or wireless connections.
• Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)- sponsors committees that create and publish protocol and other standards.
• IEEE 802 Commmittee- committee that addresses LAN standards, LAN protocols always start with 802.
• IEEE 802.3 protocol- is used for wired LAN connections.
• Ethernet, specifies hardware characteristics, such as which wire carries which signals. Also described how messages are to be packaged and processed for wired transmission over the LAN.
• 10/100/1000 Ethernet- most PCs today support products conformed to the 802.3 specification and allow for transmission at a rate of 10, 100, or 1000 Mbps (megabits per second). Bits- express communication speeds
• IEEE 802.11 protocol- several versions exist
• IEEE 802.11ac-the most current version as of 2015, it allows speeds of up to 1.3 Gbps.
• Bluetooth- another common wireless protocol used to make PAN conncections.
• Examples: Wireless mice, keyboards, printers, headphones, smartwatches and fitness trackers.

Important Functions for Connecting to the Internet- An Internet service provider (ISP)

• It provides you with a legitimate Internet address.
• It serves as your gateway to the Internet. 
• ISP receives communication from your computer and passes them on to the Internet, and it receives communications from the Internet and passes them on to you.
• ISPs pay for the Internet. 
• They collect money from their customers and pay access fees and other charges on your behalf.

Three Common Alternatives for Connecting to the Internet

• Digital subscriber line (DSL)- operates on the same line as voice telephones, it does not interfere with voice telephone services. 
• DSL data transmission and telephone conversations can occur simultaneously. 
• Digital subscriber lines use their own protocols for data transmission.
• Cable lines- provide high-speed data transmission using cable television lines. 
• The cable company installs a fast, high-capacity optical fiber cable to a distribution center in each neighborhood it serves. 
• At the distribution center, the optical fiber cable connects to a regular cable-television cables that run to subscribers' homes or businesses.
•  Cable signals do not interfere with TV signals, and they use their own protocols.
• WAN wireless- connecting a computer, mobile device, or other communicating device via a WAN Wireless connection. 
• Examples: Amazon.com's Kindle uses Sprint wireless network to provide wireless data connections. 
• The Iphone uses a LAN-based wireless network if one is available and a WAN wireless network if not. 
• The LAN-based network is preferred because performance is considerably higher.

How Does the  Cloud Work?

As stated above, connecting your LAN to the Internet has 3 important functions. As the functions are working, there are other  processes taking place. It is important to understand the process of an Internet, then get to know how the Cloud works.

Know these Terms:

• Hop-is the movement from one network to another.
• Packet- the message that moves across the Internet.
• Carriers- networks owned by large telecommunications providers
• Examples: Sprint, ATT&T, Verizon Business, and XO Communications
• Peering- When large carriers exchange traffic without charging each peer access fees via agreements, but carriers do charge subscription fees from end users.
• Net neutrality- the principle where all data is treated equally.
• IP address- an Internet address with a number that identifies a particular device.
• IPv4- has a 4-decimal dotted notation
• IPv6- has a longer format
• Public IP addresses- identify a particular device on the public Internet. Not as safe as Private IP addresses.
• Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)- a public agency that oversees the assignment of Public IP addresses because they must be unique and worldwide.
• Private IP addresses- identify a particular device on a private device on a private network, usually on a LAN controlled by a LAN device. Safe from attackers because they cannot attack private IP addresses, they can only send packets to Public IP addresses.
• Domain name-is a worldwide-unique name that is affiliated with  public IP address.
• When an organization/individual wants to register a domain name, it goes to a company that applies to an ICANN-approved agency to do so.
1. Several (or many) domain names can point to the same IP address.
2. The affiliation of domain names with IP addresses is dynamic. The owner of the domain name can change the affiliated IP addresses at its discretion.
• Uniform Resource Locator (URL)- is an address on the Internet, commonly consists of a protocol followed by a domain name or public IP address.,

Processing on a Web Server

• Three-tier architecture- a design of user computers and servers that consists of 3 categories, or tiers.
• User tier-consists of computers, phones, and other mobile devices that have browsers that request and process Web pages.
• Server-tier- consists of computers that run on Web servers and process application programs.
• Database-tier- consists of computers that run a DBMS that processes requests to retrieve and store data.
• Web page- a document coded in, usually html and maybe includes CSS, JavaScript, and other data.
• Web servers- programs that run on a server-tier computer and manage traffic by sending and receiving Web pages to and from clients.
• Commerce server-is an application program that runs on a server-tier computer.
• Typical functions- obtain product data from a database, manage the items in a shopping cart, and coordinate the checkout process.

Service-Orientated Architecture (SOA)

• Service-oriented architecture (SOA)- all interactions among computing devices are defined as services in a formal, standardized way.
• TCP/IP Protocol Architecture- the basic plumbing of the Internet governed by protocols that are defined according to these arrangements. The architecture is made up of 5 layers.
• Hypertext Transfer Protocol (http)- is the protocol used between browsers and Web servers
• https-are secured versions of http, indicating you can safely send sensitive information like credit card numbers.
• Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (smtp)- is used for email transmission (along with other protocols)
• File Transfer Protocol (ftp)- is used to move files over the Internet.
• Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive use ftp behind the scenes to transmit files to and from their cloud servers to your computer.

4 Standards Used Extensively for Web Services and the Cloud

How Do Organizations Use the Cloud?

• Software as a service (SaaS)- provides not only hardware infrastructure, but an operating system and application programs as well.
• Office 365, Exchange, Skype for Business, and SharePoint applications are provided as a service "in the cloud"
• Platform as a service (PaaS)- vendors provide hosted computers, an operating system, and possibly a DBMS.
• Amazon EC2 provides servers with Windows Server or Linux installed.
• Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)- the cloud hosting of a bare server computer or data storage.
• Amazon.com licenses S3 (Simple Storage Service), which provides unlimited, reliable data storage in the cloud.
• Content delivery network (CDN)- is a system of hardware and software that stores user data in many different geographical locations and makes those data available on demand.
• Benefits
• Decreased, even guaranteed, loadtime
• Reduced load on origin server
• Increased reliability
• Protection from DOS attacks
• Reduced delivery costs for mobile users
• Pay-as-you-go

How Falcon Security Use the Cloud?

• Saas products
• Faclon can use the following Gooogle Mail, Google Drive, Office 365, Salesforce.com, Microsoft CRM OnLine or others.
• Paas products
• Falcon can purchase licenses to permit replication because Amazon.com will replicate it when it increases servers.
• As of May 2015, Amazon.com offers the following DBMS products with EC2: Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS), Amazon DynamoDB, MongoDB, Amazon ElastiCache, and Amazon Redshift.

How Can Organizations Use Cloud Services Securely?

• Virtual private network (VPN)- uses the Internet to create the appearance of private, secure conncections.
• Tunnel- a virtual, private pathway over a public or shared network from the VPN client to the VPN server.
• To secure VPN communications over the public Internet, the VPN client software encrypts, or codes, messages so their contents are protected from snooping. Later when the VPN server receives the message, it strips its address off the front of the message, decrypts the coded message, and sends the plain text message to the original address inside the LAN.
• Secure private messages are delivered over the public Internet.
• Private cloud- is a cloud owned and operated by an organization for its own benefit. 
• To create a private cloud, the organization creates a private internet and designs applications using Web services standards.
• Private clouds provide security within the organizational infrastructure but do not provide secure access from outside that infrastructure. 
• Private clouds provide the advantages of elasticity, but to questionable benefit.
• Virtual private cloud (VPC)- is a subset of a public cloud that has highly restricted, secure access. 
• Using VPC an organization can store its most sensitive data on its own infrastructure and store the less sensitive data on the VPC.

2026?

Good News-the organizations can readily obtain elastic resources at very low cost, and the overall size of the cloud is getting bigger.

Bad News- According to Computerworld, Apple Web farm's building employs an operation staff of 50 people, which spread over three shifts, 24-7, means that not many more than eight people will be running that center at an one time.

New Job Opportunities

• Remote action systems- information systems (IS) that provide computer-based activity or action at a distance.
• Telediagnosis- is a remote action system that healthcare professionals use to diagnose illness for patients in rural or remote areas.
• Telesurgery- uses telecommunications to link surgeons to robotic equipment at distant locations. 
• Telelaw enforcement- an example is from  RedFlex system that uses cameras and motion-sensing equipment to issue tickets for a red light violation and speeding violation.

Chapter 5: Database Processing

What is a Database?

Most of us will consider a spreadsheet to be the same as a database, bot depending on what task and responsibilities you have, you may not want to solely use a spreadsheet. For example, as a mom I use Microsoft Excel to keep track of my finances and I also have another spreadsheet that keeps track of my son's grades. If I  want to start giving my son weekly allowances, depending on his grades, using these two separate spreadsheets will become a pain. It will be concise and easier to follow progress, if I had one database with all the information required. A spreadsheet is more beneficial for single themes, but a database is best for multiple themes.

The purpose of a database is to keep track of multiple things. Here is the basic information to understand what a database is.

• Database is a self-describing collection of integrated records.
• Byte: a character data
• Column/Fields: a group of bytes
• Rows/Records: the collection group of columns/fields
• Key/Primary Key: a column or group of columns that identifies a unique row in a table.
• Foreign Keys: keys of a different region (foreign) table than the one in which they reside.
• Relational  Databases: databases that carry their data in the form of tables and that represent relationships using foreign keys.
• Table/File: a group of similar rows/records
• Metadata: describes the structure of the data, always a part of a database, and it depends on software product that is processing the database.

Databases that we currently use

Therefore, a collection of tables + relationships among the rows in those tables + special data "metadata"= Database.

What is a Database Management System (DBMS)?

DBMS- is a program used to create, process, and administer a database.

5 Popular DBMS

1. DB2-IBM
2. Access-Microsoft
3. SQL Server-Microsoft
4. Oracle Database-Oracle Corporation
5. MySQL-Open Source, Free license for most products.

3 Functions why Database developers use DBMS

• Creating the Database and its structures
• Processing the Database
• Structured Query Language (SQL)- is an international standard language for processing a database.
• They can be issued directly to the DBMS by an application program.
• They can be used to create database and database structures.
• Administering the Database
• Database administration- involves a wide variety of activities.
• Used for its security function, variety of permissions to use database.
• Used for backing up database data.
• Used for adding structures to improve the performance of database application.
• Used for removing data that are no longer wanted or needed, and similar tasks.

How Do Database Applications Make Databases More Useful?

Database application- is a collection of forms, reports, queries, and application programs that serves as an intermediary between users and database data. According to the textbook, Using MIS, "Database applications came into prominence in the 1990's and were based on technology available at that time. Current database applications are based on newer technology that employs browsers, the Web, and related standards" (pg 173). We are able to create, modify, transfer, and share data, that is exciting!

Traditional Database

• Mostly shared among many users.
• Most cases a network not the Internet is used to transmit traffic back and forth between the users' computers and the DBMS server computer.
• Most run within a corporate network protected from threats common on the Internet.
• Single-user database like MS Access, are an exception.
• MS Access the application, the DBMS, and the database all reside on the user's computer.
• Programs are written in object-oriented languages.
• C++
• VisualBasic
• COBOL (earlier versions)
• Thick-client Applications that do need to be installed on user's computers.
• All of the application logic is contained in a program users' computers and the server does nothing except run the DBMS and serve up data.
• Some application code is placed on both the user's computers and the database server computer.

Database in Browser-based Applications

• Nearly always shared among many users.
• Thin-client applications that do not need to be preinstalled on the users' computer.
• All of the code for generating and processing the application elements is shared between the users' computer and the servers.
• JavaScript-standard language for user-side processing.
• C# and Java- used for server-side code
• JavaScript-will be used on the server with an open source product named Node.js.
• Forms, reports, and queries are displayed and processed using html and, most recently, using html5, css3, and JavaScript.
• Can support traditional queries
• Graphical Queries- query criteria are created when the user clicks on a graphic.
• Security requirements are more stringent, since they are open source and are more vulnerable to Internet threats.

Multi-user Processing

• Most traditional and Browser-based applications involve multiple users processing the same database.
• Lost-update problem- when multiple users attempt to purchased a similar item on a Web site, each person uses their own browser, and someone will be disappointed to know that the item was already purchased because someone did not checked out, while the other person did check out.

How Are Data Models Used for Database Development?

According the textbook Using MIS, Database developers know that users need a database to perform their tasks, but do not what specifically to include in the database, since every user has unique needs depending on the business environment. Developers create data models before they start designing the database. Developers also use entity-relationship data models to describe the content of a data model by the things (entities) that will be stored in the database and the relationships among those entities (pg 178). It is crucial for your job and the business that you work with to all the database developer to create something that in the data model contradicts your business structure and most important its strategy.

Terms to know

• Data model- describes the data and relationships that will be stored in the database.
• Entity-Relationship (E-R) data model- a tool for constructing data models.
• Entity-Relationship (E-R) diagram- database designers use these diagrams to make E-R data models easier to present to others.
• Unified Modeling Language (UML)- a second, but less popular tool for data modeling.
• Entity- some thing that the users want to track, they are always singular.
• Have relationships to each other.
• Lines are used to represent a relationship between two entities.
• Angled lines that are shorthand for the multiple lines between two entities are called crow's feet.
• Crow's-foot diagram- shows the maximum number of entities that can be involved a relationship.
• Commonly called "Maximum cardinality" Examples: 1:N, N:M, 1:1
• Constraints on minimum requirements are called "Minimum cardinalities"
• 1:N "one-to-many relationships"- 1 department can have many advisers, but an adviser has at most one department.
• Example: San Jose State Business department has more than 2 advisers, but each adviser has at least the business department as employment.
• N:M "many-to-many relationships"- 1 adviser can have many students and one student can have many advisers.
• Example: As an undergrad student and enrolled in the EOP program, I had two advisers that I could go to, and each of the advisers had many students to support as well.
• Attributes- describe the characteristics of the entity.
• Identifier- an attribute (or group of attributes) whose value is associated with one and only one entity instance.

How Is a Data Model Transformed into a Database Design?

According to the textbook Using MIS, "a database design is the process of converting a data model into tables, relationships, and data constraints. The database design team transforms entities into tables and expresses relationships by defining foreign keys" (pg 181). The best design will depend on the user's processing requirements. 

Normalization-  is the process of converting a poorly structured table into two or more well-structured tables to eliminate data integrity problems, which occurs from duplicating data. This process is very slow and a database developer and user thinking about a database design must take the slower process into consideration. 

• Normal Form- database with tables that have a single topic or theme.
• Normalizing the table- transforming a table into a normal form to remove duplicated data and other problems.
• Non-normalized- tables that have a format that could cause data integrity problems.
• Representing Relationships
• The database designer creates a table for each entity.
• The resulting tables are normalized so that each table has a single theme.
• Represent the relationship
• 1:N- "relational model" a foreign key is added to one of the two tables.
• N:M- foreign keys cannot be added, so a third table must be created
• Wrong data model = Wrong database design 
• User's Role in the Development of Databases
• Reviewing the data is crucial! 
• Easier to change the database structure during the data modeling stage.
• Only the user knows what data the database should contain.
• Only the user knows how the records in that database should be related to one another.
• "Entities must contain all of the data you and your employees need to do your jobs, and relationships must accurately reflect your view of the business" (pg 185-186).

How Can Falcon Security Benefit from a Database System?

In the textbook Using MIS, "Falcon Security wants to be able to find videos by querying their characteristics. The Director of IT, Toshio and the Operations Manager, Cam have two database architectures to choose from" (pg 187).

1. Store the video footage on a file server and keep metadata about each video in a relational database that it can query. The metadata will include the address of the video footage on the file server.

2. Utilize one of the new NoSQL DBMS products.

 For example, MongoDB- is an open source document-oriented DBMS--to store the video footage in the same database as the metadata. Instead of choosing the second alternative, both decide to use Access to store the metadata, since both are skilled and have more knowledge than using MongoDB. Finally Toshio creates an E-R diagram, then both create the database and related applications.

2026?

Traditional relational DBMS products devote considerable code and processing power to support ACID (Atomic, Consistent, Isolated, Durable) transactions. 

Three New Categories of DBMS

1. NoSQL DBMS- NotRelational DBMS, supports very high transaction rates processing relatively simple data structures, replicated on many servers in the cloud without ACID transactions.
2. NewSQL DBMS- Process very high levels of transactions, may or may not support the relational model, provides ACID support.
3. In-Memory DBMS- Process databases in main memory, usually is able to support or extend the relational model.

Chapter 4: Hardware, Software, and Mobile Systems

Computer Hardware

As defined in Using MIS textbook, "computer hardware consist of the electronic components and related gadgetry that input, process, output, and store data according to instructions encoded in computer programs or software" (pg 117).

Components

• Central processing unit (CPU) "the computer's brain"
• Dual-processor (2 processors)
• Quad-processor (4 processors)
• 16 or more CPUs exist in high-end computers
• Speed is expressed in cycles "hertz"

CPU's vary in speed, function, and cost depending on what type of work is required to accomplished. The following are also hardware components.

• Main memory
• also known as Random Access Memory (RAM)
• Storage hardware
• Magnetic disks (hard disks)
• Solid-state storage (SSD)
• USB flash drives
• Optical disks (CDs and DVDs)

  
  

  
  

Remember these bulky things?

Most people have used or currently own computer hardware, but do not define their devices as computer hardware. Interestingly, I remember how much computers have changed, from when I was in elementary school. I went to Washington Elementary School in San Jose, California and I vividly remember the big and bulky Macintosh computers. As a child, I never expected computers to have transformed to how we see them now. Personally this is how I recall Personal computers (PCs). 

Today PCs have become more modern looking and we do not see change in just the outside, it is also internal components that either are new or improved to make the computer run faster, store more data, etc. Nowadays, trends with people who use computers have transitioned from PCs to tablets, laptops, and "smart" phones.  To keep up with increasing processing requests from many remote computers and users, hardware requires a server, clients, and server farms. According to the Using MIS textbook, "Servers can send Web pages, emails, files, or data to PCs. Next, PCs, tablets, and smartphones that access servers are clients. Finally, a collection of typically thousands of servers are known as server farm" (pg 117-118). As technology rapidly accelerates, we will be seeing more cloud computing.

Computers also represent data using binary digits "bits". Bits  are either a 0 or a 1.While bits are used for computer data, bytes are grouped into 8-bit chunks measure character data and noncharacter data. For example, data can be numbers, characters, currency amounts, photos, recordings, and much more. Other components expressed as bytes are the size of the main memory (RAM) and disk. These can either be 1kilobyte (KB), 1 megabyte (MB), 1 Gigabyte (GB), 1 Terabyte (TB), 1 Petabyte (PB), 1 Exabyte (EB), or 1 Zettabyte (ZB). Depending on the nature of your work or tasks that must be performed, you will need to use specific hardware with a specific computer data size. Even more important to your work and nature of assignment, is knowing the difference between with volatile (cache and main memory) and nonvolatile (magnetic and optical disks).  Volatile are contents that are lost when power is off, and nonvolatile content survive when the power is off. Can you recall a time when your boss or professor mentioned the importance of saving documents and file every five seconds? If not, you will do yourself and your company an absolute good to start doing it. Technology has advanced many things, but we cannot control natural disasters or other events that can occur that will jeopardize our job and/or the firm.

How Can New Hardware Affect Competitive Strategies?

• Internet of Things (IoT)
• Smart devices like "smart" phones
• Augmented Reality (AR)
• Virtual Reality (VR)
• Impact of IoT
• Smart devices will "need microprocessors, memory, wireless network connections, a power source, new software, new protocols, more bandwidth, tighter security, and they will consume more energy" (Using MIS textbook pg 122).
• General Electric (GE) Industrial Internet
• Smart devices in hospitals, power grids, railroads, and manufacturing plants
• Microsoft's Redmond, WA, Campus 
• 125 Smart Buildings spread over 500 acres 
• 500 million data transactions every day from 30,000 devices



Mercedes-Benz F 015 self-driving car

• Self-Driving Cars "Driverless Cars"
• Will make things easier
• Running errands, traveling, sharing one self-driving car to conduct multiple things, save on fuel and car insurance.
• Although some believe that it will also avoid traffic tickets, parking tickets, and DUI citations, I personally would still not encourage this behavior. I have children and even if I drove a self-driving car, my job is still to be alert and set a good example. 
• Will make Things Safer
• According to the textbook, "currently, 90% of motor vehicle crashes are caused by human error, they are the leading cause of death for people ages 3-33, and spending time driving may be the most dangerous thing you can do all day" (pg 125).
• Although it states that it will reduce accidents, drunk drivers, fewer road-rage incidents, and fewer auto-pedestrian accidents, I personally will still be skeptical because just like our current technological devices can be hacked, so can our self-driving vehicle.
• Will Disrupt Businesses
• Self-driving cars = Fewer cars on the road 
•  Fewer cars sold
•  Fewer Auto Loans
• Fewer Automobile Insurance Policies underwritten
• Fewer Auto Parts sold due to fewer accidents
• Fewer Paring Lots
• Fewer Airplane or Train rides



The world's first 3D-printed cleat plate, the Nike Vapor Laser Talon

• 3D Printing 
• Nike
• Used 3D printing to improve shoe design 
• Able to create the optimal geometric shapes for optimal traction
• Able to design and produce lighter, stronger cleats 
• Able to create these shoes much faster than before
• "In 2014, Nike filed a patent for a new type of 3D printer that can print objects on fabric that will not distort when stretched" (pg 126).
• 3D printers can print in
• Plastics
• Metals
• Ceramics
• Foods
• ChefJet Pro, print sugary structures in different flavors
• Biological Materials
• "Researchers at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, print 3D biological structures with blood vessels that could deliver nutrients and remove waste" (pg 126).
• Professor Behrokh Khoshnevis of the University of Southern California built a large-scale 3D printer that can print an entire house in 24 hours (pg 126).

What Do Business Professionals Need to Know About Software?

All you need to know are the following basic categories of software, two important software constraints and the two types of application programs that exist.

Every computer has an Operating System (OS)-is a program that controls that computer's resources.

The basic categories of computer software are operating system and application programs. Both client and server computers need an operating system,but they can be different ones and both client and servers can also process application programs.

OS Software Constraint

A particular version of an operating system (OS) is written for a particular type of hardware.

• Microsoft Windows- a particular version of operating system exist for this type of hardware.
• Linux- many versions exist for many different instruction sets.

Two Types of Existing Application Programs

Native applications "thick-client application"- are programs that are written to use a particular operating system (OS). 

• Microsoft Access- which can only run on Microsoft Windows
• Microsoft Word- which can come in multiple versions like Windows and Macintosh

Web application "thin-client application"- is designed to run within a computer browser. These run within browser and can run on any type of computer.

•  Firefox, Chrome, Opera, or Edge (formerly Internet Explorer)

What Are the Major OS?

Nonmobile client OS are used on PCs. The most popular ones that we know are Microsoft Windows (Windows 8 "modern-style applications"), Apple Mac OS (Mac OS "X El Capitan"), Unix, and Linux.

Mobile Client OS have 5 principal mobile OS. The most popular one on phones in Europe and Far East, but less in North America is Symbian. BlackBerry OS was one of the most successful early mobile OS, until it lost market share to iOS, Android, and Windows 10. iOS is used on the iPhones, iPods, and iPads. Android is a mobile OS licensed by Google.Windows 10 (mobile) is a version of Windows for mobile devices, users can get it for smartphone usage or to use on Surface Pro devices.

Three Most Popular Server OS

Windows Server- a version of Windows that has been specially designed and configured for server use.

Unix- can also be used on servers, but will soon be replaced by Linux

Linux- is frequently used on servers by organizations that do not want to build a relationship with Microsoft. For example, neither IBM nor its customers have to pay for a license fee to Microsoft.

Virtualization

Virtualization- is the process by which one physical computer hosts many different virtual (not literal) computers within it. A host operating system "virtual machines (vm)" runs one or more operating systems as applications which makes possible for vm's to operate exactly the same as it would in a stand-alone, nonvirtual environment. There are three types of virtualizations, PC, server, and desktop. PC virtualization- a personal computer (PC) such as  desktop, or laptops, hosts several different operating systems. Server Virtualization- a server computer hosts one or more other server computers. Desktop Virtualization- a server hosts many versions of desktop OS. Each desktop has a complete user environment and appears to the user to be just another PC. The desktop can be accessed from any computer to which the user has access. This type of virtualization is still in the introductory phase, but in the future it might be in the growth phase of the life cycle model as more people will be educated and adopt it. 

License vs. Site License

Although individuals buy computer programs, the consumer is actually buying the license to use that program. Businesses negotiate a site license because they have a high bargaining power as buyers, so they pay a flat fee and the site license authorizes the company to install the product (OS or application) on all of that company's computers or on all of the computers at a specific site, 

Software Sources and Types of Applications 

Application software- performs a service or function. General service/function: MS Excel or MS Word. Specific service/function: QuickBooks for accounting functions. Firmware- is a computer software that is installed into devices such as printers, print servers, and various types of communication devices.

1. Horizontal-market application- software provides capabilities common across all organizations and industries. For example, MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, Adobe's Acrobat, Photoshop, PageMaker, and Jasc Corporation's Paint Shop Pro. Everyone buys them, but uses them for different purposes, the textbook compared them to an auto Sedan. These are off-the-shelf software.
2. Vertical-market application- software serves the needs of a specific industry. For examples services for dental offices, auto mechanics, and parts warehouses are going to b specific to their industry, These services can be altered or customized, the textbook compared them to construction vehicles. These are off-the-shelf with alterations software. 
3. One-of-a-kind application- software is developed for a specific, unique need. For example, the U.S Department of Defense develops because it has specific and unique needs compared to other industries. These are risky, expensive because it has to keep up with technology and must be customized, therefore it is the last resort that a firm will turn to, unless the value outweighs the cost. The textbook compared them to a military tank. These are custom-developed software. 

Is Open Source Software a Viable Alternative?

According to the textbook the father of the open source movement was Richard Matthew Stallman, who in 1983 developed the set of tools GNU (GNU Not Unix) for creating a free Unix-like OS. Later he also contributed to the GNU general public license (GPL) agreement. This became one of the standard license agreement for open source software. Unable to attract enough developing talent, in 1991 Linus Torvalds used some of Stallman's tools and his version became Linux, the high-quality and very popular OS. Open source- means that the source code of the program is open to the public. Source code- is computer code as written and understandable by humans. Source code is later compiled to machine code that is processed by a computer. Machine code- generally not understood and cannot be modified by humans. Closed source- the source is highly protected and only available to trusted employees and carefully vetted contractors. Opposite to open source, this one is described as protected like a vault on the textbook. 

Open source is viable depending on who needs it and/or for what purpose. For example, many programmers volunteer their time to work on open source projects because they find it fun, rewarding, they can exhibit their skills to gain bragging rights or potentially gain employment, and they can also volunteer their service because they might want to establish a business selling services to support open source products.

The Differences Between Native and Web Applications

 

Depending on the firm business strategy, either a native application or web application can meet the company's goal. Native Applications- developed using serious, heavy-duty, professional programming language (Swift). All languages are object-oriented meaning that they can be used to create difficult, complex applications and can result in high-performance code that will be easier to alter when requirement change. Object-oriented languages can be used only by professional programmers who have devote years to learning them, perhaps these could be developers with a computer science degree. These offer more control from a developer perspective, but generally will be a high cost compared to developing Web applications. Web Applications- the browser handles the idiosyncrasies of the OS and underlying hardware. However, some web applications do not run flawlessly in some browsers. Though this type of application is written by web professional developers who might have degrees in computer science, information systems, or graphic design, any entry-level person can learn this technical skill. Web Applications will run on any OS and device, and generally these are much more affordable to develop than Native Applications.

Why Are Mobile Systems Increasingly Important?

Mobile systems- are information systems that support users in motion. Mobile systems can be accessed from any place, and from device to device. The major elements in a mobile system are users in motion, mobile devices, wireless connectivity, and a cloud-based resource. Mobile device- is a small, lightweight, power-conserving, computing device that is capable of wireless connectivity. Examples of mobile devices that most of us have are, smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and small, light laptops. On the other hands mobile devices are not desktop computers, Xboxes, and large, heavy, power-hungry laptops.

According to research from the February 2015 comScore Report, states that "182 million in the US owned smartphones, which account for 74.9 % of the mobile phone market" (Using MIS textbook pg 141). Another study from Nielsen's measures of mobile device use, "the younger the age group, the greater the percentage of people with mobile devices" (pg 141). Therefore as the size of the mobile e-commerce "m-commerce" grows, more firms will focus on selling their products or services directly via mobile devices. For businesses to seize an opportunity, they will have to evaluate all five components of an information system, hardware, software, data, procedures, and people to find the best one that can be their strategy to differentiate their company product/service from others, For example, mobile systems offer the potential of just-in-time data. This can help salespeople research current data to sale their product, but to also stay updated on current trends whether they are local, international, or global,

What Are the Challenges of the Personal Mobile Devices at Work?

Advantages                                                                       Disadvantages

Cost savings                                                                       Data loss or damage

Greater employee satisfaction                                            Loss of control

Reduced need for training                                                  Compatibility problems

Higher productivity                                                            Risk of infection

Reduced support costs                                                        Greater support costs

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy- is a statement concerning employee's permissions and responsibilities when they use their own device for organizational business. There are six common BYOD Policies. The first one is to ignore mobile use, as if users do not exist. This does not provide functionality to the employee and does not provide control for the company. The Second step provides a little more functionality by the organization offering access to Internet and the organization has a bit more control by keeping track of employees time and mobile usage. Third, more functionality and more control than step 2, by organizational services on Public Internet. Fourth, a strategic approach more than a policy. Employees are offered limited systems, but if they break anything they will be liable for any damages. The fifth one has even more functionality and more organizational control. Employees turn over their mobile devices to their employers, IS department. Mobile Device Management Software (MDMS)- numerous vendors licensed products that assist the fifth process. The last step is the most controlling one, since an organization can declare that it owns any mobile device that employees connect to its network.

  

2026?

People are ALWAYS 

• On
• Connected
• Communicating
• Working
• Playing

More people will continue to use mobile devices, or might transitioned to virtual reality (VR), or augmented reality (AR). In addition, we will be exposed to even newer things like "smart" homes, where we will be able to access every room from our mobile device or cloud computing.Finally we will see future job evolve as technology continues to evolve. Job opportunities will become in high demand for IoT architects,marketing technologist, BigData architects, and DevOps managers.

Chapter 3: Strategy and Information Systems

Organizational Strategy Determines Information Systems (IS)

Imagine how difficult and costly it would be if you started a company that tailored to everyone's taste, lifestyle, culture, and wallet. How productive will it be? Will a company even survive? An organizational strategy determines its information systems to have a core competency above others in the market. If a company tried to fulfill every need, it will confuse customers and it will be way too costly to attract, maintain, and retain these relationships. The competitive strategy determines the structure, features, and functions of every information system. An industry structure determines the competitive strategy, the competitive strategy will determine the value chain, from the value chain it will lead to business processes and finally to information systems. Walmart as an example is a low cost structure, its competitive strategy is to provide the lowest prices to its consumers, value chains are more products, less quality, but at affordable prices, the profit margin is high because they sell a lot of products, its business processes have become efficient through a supply chain and other relationships between start to finish, and finally its information systems helps them maintain accurate inventory to meet customer demand. 

Michael Porter's Five Forces Model

According to Michael Porter, the five competitive forces correlated to an industry's profit margin are:

• Bargaining Power of Customers
• Bargaining Power of Suppliers
• Threat of Substitutions
• Threat of New Entrants
• Rivalry 

As each of these competitive forces increases, the less profitability and sustainability a company will have. These five forces also vary in respect to competitors if they are weak, medium, or stronger than them. In the Walmart example, brick-and-mortar companies and small businesses were driven out of business as more Walmart's began to open in strategic locations and were able to pass affordable prices to their consumers, to fit their competitive strategy "every day low prices". Walmart has low entry barriers of rivalry, since Walmart has a wide variety of products. Essentially a family with a low to moderate income can shop for groceries, clothes, and electronics. It is convenient and affordable to meet the mass market consumers that do not pay attention to high quality products because they know that they are getting a lot for their money. For example, customers can go to a Dollartown or Dollartree but they will not find a variety of products like clothing, sizes, colors, food, electronics, and must have to make multiple stops in order to get all their necessities. Walmart has high bargaining power over its suppliers because it develops a relationship with them to meet sustainability and for each supplier to meet a certain quality standard. 

Michael Porter's Four Competitive Strategies

According to Porter, a firm engages in one of four strategies. Either a company will be the lowest cost leader industry-wide, the lowest cost leader focused by industry segment, or a company will adopt a differentiation strategy industry-wide or focused by an industry segment to offer higher quality of products/services. For example, Walmart is the lowest cost leader focused on an industry segment. It does not target the entire retail industry because some customers perceive value as top quality and will pay $500 for jeans, compared to others. Walmart focuses on customers who are price sensitive, represent mass market which make up 69% of the market, and mostly are families living below or at poverty level. Walmart is known for not providing excellent customer service, but Walmart does not invest in increasing their marketing or sales support because Walmart is globally recognized, and if they did added more support and sales representatives then it will have to incur costs that will not benefit the customers. 

Competitive Strategy Determines Value Chain Structure

As previously mentioned, Walmart must provide every function at the lowest possible cost. What exactly is value? Value is not just providing the lowest prices possible, it is also adding some type of benefit to the consumer like, Walmart being an all-one-stop shop, groceries, clothing, and buying a video game. The value is also the amount of money that a customer is willing to pay for a resource, product, or service. If someone valued customer service, chances are we all know what between Walmart and Target, most consumers will chose Target. 

Lets determine how a competitive strategy determines a value chain. A value chain is a network of value-creating activities, it consists of five primary activities and four support activities. The five primary activities are Inbound Logistics, Operations/Manufacturing, Outbound Logistics, Sales and Marketing, Customer Service. The four support activities are, Procurement (manage supplier relationships), Technology (investigate new designs), Human Resources (hire and support employees), and the Firm Infrastructure (manage company resources).While it is more challenging to determine the exact cost of supporting activities, it is essential to note that they are extremely valuable and do contribute to a company's profit margin and every value creation activity shares a linkage with another activity. 

Business Processes Generate Value

First of all a business process is a network of activities that generate value by transforming inputs into output. The cost depends on the cost of inputs plus the cost of the activities, and profit margin is the value of the outputs minus the cost. Each activity in a business process is a function that receives inputs and procedures outputs. A repository is a collection of something, like database being repository of data. Instead of Walmart, lets shift to another company, Tesla. Tesla inbound logistics for their all-electric vehicles will start with selecting a vendor/supplier to then manufacture the raw materials, especially their lithium-ion batteries. Next, the raw materials go to the finish product and when their vehicle is ready, a Model S for example will be shipped to a Tesla retail store to display and create brand image. Business processes generate value as each function is being completed, more efficiently. Depending on the company strategy, their value chart will be determine by the value perceived from customers, customer surplus, customer demand, sales, and capital structure and incurred costs. Tesla right now is able to increase their utility costs because they customize their all-electric Model S to meet different styles, functions, and battery range performance. Model S are geared towards business professionals, car enthusiasts, and people that value high quality and innovative products. Currently their profit margin is low, since they have high demand of customer orders but cannot keep up with demand because they have a lot of orders in transit. Therefore, their cost structure is high. For Tesla to gain positive cash flow and pofit margin, it will have to ensure that value added will exceed the costs of providing the services. Perhaps 10 years from now, Tesla will be the number one company in Forbes 500, since they currently do rate as number one in innovation but clearly Tesla is still in the embryonic/growth stage. 

Information Systems Provide Competitive Advantage via Products and Services

Firms can either create new products, enhance existing products/services to have a competitive advantage, and by differentiating their products/services from existing and potential competitors. It is critical for a company's survival to have a core competency that is difficult to copy to gain or maintain its market share. By any of these product implementations, a firm can lock in customers and buyers, lock in suppliers, raise barriers to market entry, establish alliances, and reduce costs. A firm can make it difficult for a customer to switch to another product by establishing switching costs. Amazon is able to use innovative and efficient information systems when I am looking for a product, and even when I am not looking for a product by sending me reminders or things based on my prior searches that I will like. Amazon has my information saved, addresses where I have shipped gifts to, and makes it easier to use. I also have their student Prime membership, so now I am able to qualify for more of Amazon Prime products like their Prime Video. Amazon continues to innovate from using information systems to keep up with trends and the increased of digital devices usage. Amazon differentiates from other E-commerce businesses because they offer their own Prime memberships ,different benefits like shipping options, and is still developing new products/services to keep its company competitive advantage. 

In 2026

New models might be an extension of existing ones. As technology continues to advance, so will the process and information systems tools and resources to meet high demand. More likely Tesla and other companies who are entering the autonomous driving vehicle market, will be facing more competition since they will become popular. Imagine being able to shop for groceries, if you have kids being able to pick and drop off them off on time while working remotely. Anything will be possible, and though it will not save consumers money on car maintenance, it will greatly reduce our time invested in traffic jams, or reduce car accidents. 

Something else as exciting as autonomous cars, will be growth and demand for augmented reality or virtual reality products. We will be able to travel through a unique way and of course eliminate the cost of traveling, fear of airplanes, and travel anywhere that has infrastructure where these will be used. 

Chapter 2: Collaboration Information Systems

Cooperation vs. Collaboration

While both can be challenging to do, they are different and most people will say that they are skilled at cooperating and collaborating. Let me share a personal example of cooperating and collaborating with others. I will not state the name of the company or exact job title for confidential reasons. I worked at company XYZ as a customer service representative. My co-workers and I were responsible of helping as many customers as possible because it meant meeting some type of sales revenue. There were five different departments under this building. There were different personalities, responsibilities but all shared some type of goal. Our department was at the forefront of the building, so we got the happy and unhappy customers. However, customers always assumed that they had spoken to one of us on the phone. All departments were never on the same page, but that was due to management and lack of collaboration, which I will further explain. Someone from another department will come up to us at the front desk and request a document, meanwhile we  had customers payments to collect and receipt them. To help customers in a timely manner and meet our sales revenue, we cooperated with other staff. When we cooperated with one another, and with other departments it did not mean that we were all on the same page or satisfied, it just meant we got the job done faster than doing it alone.  Quality was lacking, and eventually there were high turnovers, followed by lack of productivity, morale, and especially motivation. 

Could I have done the job of the five different departments without cooperation? After all we shared a common information system, but the truth was that sometimes cooperating with others can potentially work in cases where you want something done fast, and quality may not be of value to customers or staff.

Today you might find yourself having to collaborate more than just cooperate with others, and though it is challenging, collaborating is a skill that everyone should have. In a collaboration team, each person has an essential task just like cooperating, but the difference is you gain more critical feedback and different perspectives that can turn your effective work into more efficient by working together. While it may be challenging to collaborate, people are open to ideas, critical constructive feedback, and are able to not just give feedback but to receive it as well. Take my previous example, as the company was experiencing a high turnover, a supervisor decided that there had to be a meeting where all departments had to be present. Before this meeting is highly encouraged for staff to fill out surveys about their satisfaction or unhappiness in the workplace with different day-to-day tasks to how well did we get along with others. After collecting surveys and data, the report was summarized and across all the departments, some topics were the same. Majority of staff was frustrated about lack of communication and felt that others did not value their work because no one understood their contribution to the workplace, unless they mostly worked together. To foster a healthier environment and get to know more about other departments, the supervisor asked for volunteers from each department to take charge and recommend strategies. I decided to represent my team in our "collaborative communication group". My responsibility was to ask my department for feedback and report to everyone recommendations by our next meeting. I took lead on communicating with the rest of my team. We all had similar recommendations, to have one person from each department sit in a department meeting and shadow to be familiar with different roles. In a collaborative group, we still had a common goal and worked together, but the difference was being able to give, receive, and most importantly practice the constructive feedback to improve our problem and provide higher quality work.

Three Criteria for Successful Collaboration

• Successful outcome
• Example "Did we do it within the time and budget allowed?"
• Growth in team capability
• Example "Did the team get better?"
• Meaningful and satisfying experience
• Example "Is this task important to us?"

Four Primary Purposes of Collaboration

I have given you an example of a cooperation team and a collaboration team and three criteria for successful collaboration, but you have to know why it is essential to collaborate instead of just cooperating with others. There are four primary purposes of collaboration, become informed, make decisions, solve problems, and manage projects. Have you ever heard the saying, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder?" Well, that is information that is being perceived, and different people will have different interpretations of the same task. For example to have a successful outcome, everyone needs to be on the same page. There should be an agenda, notes drafted, a summary emailed to everyone so anyone that could not attend, has the same information as those who did. Once informed then staff can make decisions accordingly. These can be operational, managerial, or strategic decisions. The decision process can be structured or unstructured depending on team goal and business industry company's goal as well. As making decisions become more unstructured and strategic, there is a higher increase in the need for collaborating with others. When decisions are finally  made, teams can solve the problem and manage projects.

Collaboration Information System

The five components of an information system (IS) are hardware, software, data, procedures, and people. Collaborating with others using data, could be project data or project metadata base. There are different collaboration tools that are required to meet each team purpose of becoming informed, making decisions, solving problems, and managing projects. These will all depend on the team and business needs. They can be either done in a synchronous communication way like making a phone call or sharing whiteboards. They can also be asynchronous communication like emailing or using surveys. When I was in my collaborative team, I used Google Doc and Google Calendar for everyone to see, input ideas, and meet deadlines. Our asynchronous way to communicate was when each of the leaders from the departments conducted surveys.

Use Collaboration Tools instead of emailing

Technology is advancing and using collaboration information systems eventually will move away from emailing someone to having virtual meetings, screen-sharing applications, performing webinars, videoconferencing, or discussion forums. Emailing teams is not effective because it may not be structured and sometimes information can be misread depending on how emails are written. More and more content applications will become the norm, as they are accessible and easier for teams to be on the same page. Documents can be shared through Google applications or Microsoft SharePoint for more control instead of emailing with attachments. For example, Google Drive is free and you can select who you want to share your document with, if any one can edit or comment on it. It tracks changes and automatically saves changes to determine who was the last person who updated that document. When you send an email and have to update it, it is hard to determine who made the changes and what changes were done, unless that person resending it tells you. Collaboration tools can also be used to manage tasks, especially for project management. Tasks can be delegated just like in person, but sharing them through a collaboration tool allows every team member to see progress from others, instead of relying on assumptions of who will be doing what and when they will be doing it. Depending on your team, a collaboration tool might be selected depending if it requires minimal, good or comprehensive support.

The future of Face-to-Face meetings

By 2026, collaboration will no rarely be done face-to-face. Students will be taking classes and attending conferences via virtual reality, or all online. International and global companies will greatly reduce cost and employees time through video conferencing. Top talent does not have to be lost by outsourcing everything, it can be shared and valued by meeting virtually and collaborating different ideas from no matter what destination. Imagine how many people you can network with? Most important is how much impact you can have by sharing valuable feedback and innovative ideas to solving perhaps world hunger.