Chapter 14 : Enterprise Computing

What is enterprise computing?

Enterprise computing involves the use of computers in networks,such as LANs and WANs, or a series of interconnected networks that encompass a variety of different operating systems,protocols, and network architectures

Types of enterprises:

• Retai
• Manufacturing
• Service
• Wholesale
• Government
• Educational
• Transportation.

In an enterprise , users typically fall into one of four categories

Executive Management

Middle Management

Operational Management

Non management Employees

-Enterprise information is the information is the information gathered in the ongoing operations of an enterprise-sized organization

• Business intelligence 
• Business process management
• Business process automation

-Managers coordinate resources by performing four activities :

1. Planning
2. Organizing
3. Leading
4. Controlling

Information System in the Enterprise

An information system  is a set of hardware,software,data,people, and procedures that work together to produce information

Functional units within an enterprise might include

• accounting and finance
• human resource
• engineering or product development
• manufacturing
• marketing 
• sales
• distribution
• customer
• information technology

-A human resources information system(HRIS) manages one or more human resources functions 

• Computer-aided design(CAD) uses computers and special software to aid in engineering , drafting , and design
• Computer-aided engineering (CAE) uses computers to test product designs
• Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) is the use of computers to control production equipment
• Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) uses computers to integrate the many different operations of the manufacturing process
• Material Requirements Planning (MRP) uses software to help monitor and control processes related to production
• Manufacturing Resource Planning 11 (MRP11)is an extension of MRP and also includes software that helps in scheduling

-sales force automation(SFA) software equips traveling salespeople with the electronic tools they need to be more productive

Distribution system perform the following functions

• Provide forecasting for inventory control
• Manage and track shipping of products
• Provide information and analysis on inventory in a warehouse

Customer interaction management (CIM) software manages the day-to-day interactions with customers

General purpose information systems generally fall into one of five categories

• office information system 
• transaction processing system 
• management information system
• decision support system
• expert system

Integrated Information Systems

• -Customer relationship management manages information about customer,interactions with customers, past purchases and interests
• Enterprise resource planning provides centralized,integrated software to help mange and coordinate ongoing activities
• Content management system are information system that combine databases ,software, and procedures

Enterprise-Wide Technologies and Methodologies

Some technologies used in enterprises include

• portals
• data warehouses
• electronic data interchange
• extranets
• web services
• document management systems
• workflow
• virtual private networks

A portal is a collection of links, content, and services presented on a Web page that are interesting for a particular job function.

A data warehouse is a huge database that stores manages the data required to analyze historical and current transactions.

EDI is a set of standards that controls the transfer of business data and information among computers both within and among enterprises

An extranet is the portion of a company’s network that allows customers or suppliers of a company to access parts of an enterprise’s intranet

Web services allow businesses to create products and B2B interactions over the Internet.

A document management system (DMS) allows for storage and management of a company's documents.

A workflow is a defined process that identifies the specific set of steps involved in completing a particular project or business process.

A virtual private network (VPN) provides mobile users, vendors, and customers with a secure connection to the company network server.

Virtualization and cloud Computing

Virtualization is the practice of sharing or pooling computing resources.

Server virtualization: Provides the capability to divide a physical server logically into many virtual servers.

Storage virtualization: Provides the capability to create a single logical storage device from many physical storage devices.

Cloud computing is an Internet service that provides computing needs to computer users

Grid computing combines many servers and/or personal computers on a network to act as one large computer

Enterprise Hardware

Enterprise hardware allows large organizations to manage and store information and data using devices geared for: 

• Heavy use
• Maximum availability 
• Maximum efficiency.

RAID duplicates data and implements duplication in different ways.

Network attached storage (NAS) is a server that provides storage to users and information systems attached to the network.

A storage area network (SAN) is a high-speed network that provides storage to other servers to which it attached.

An enterprise storage system is a strategy that focuses on the availability, protection, organization, and backup of storage in a company.

A blade server packs a complete computer server on a single card rather than a system unit.

A thin client is a small terminal-like computer that mostly relies on a server for data storage and processing.

High Availability, Scalability, and Interoperability

A high-availability system continues running and performing tasks for at least 99% of the time.

Scalability is a measure of how well computer hardware, software, or an information system can grow to meet increasing performance demands.

Interoperability is the ability for an information system to share information with other information systems within an enterprise.

Backup Procedures

A disaster recovery plan is a written plan describing the steps a company would take a restore computer operations in the event of a disaster.

-Contains four major components: 

• Emergency plan
• Backup plan
• Recovery plan
• Test plan