Busn 1002 accounting processes and systems
Get assignment help for this at assignment4finance@gmail.com
1)Define IT Infrastructure from both a
technology and a service perspective. Which services does IT infrastructure
comprise? IT infrastructure consists of a set of physical devices and software
applications that are required to operate the entire enterprise. It is also a
set of firmwide of services budgeted by management and comprising both human
and technical capabilities. Services include:
Platforms used to provide computing services that connect employees, customers,
and suppliersinto a coherent digital envronment, including large main frames,
desktop and laptop computers, pda’s, and internet appliances.
Telecommunications services that provide data , voice and video connectivity to
employee, customers, and suppliers. Data management services that store and manage
corporate data and provide acapabilities for analyzing the data. Applications
software service that provide enterprise wide capabilities such as enterprise
resource planning, customer relationsip management, supply chain management and
knowledge management systems that are shared by all business units. Physical
facilities managament services that develop and manage the physical
installations required for computing, telecommunications, and data management
services. IT management services that plan and develop the infrastructure,
coordinate with the business units for IT services, manage accounting for IT
expenditures, and provide project management services. IT education services
that provide training in system use to employees and offer managers training in
how to plan and manage IT investments. IT research and development services
that provide the firm with research on potential future IT projects and
investments that could help the firm differentiate itself in the marketplace.
2) List each of the eras in IT infrastructure evolution, and describe their
distinguishing characteristics. Electronic ACCTG Machine Period (1930 to 1950)
BUSN 3001 Accounting TheoryPlatforms used to provide computing services that connect employees, customers, and suppliersinto a coherent digital envronment, including large main frames, desktop and laptop computers, pda’s, and internet appliances. Telecommunications services that provide data , voice and video connectivity to employee, customers, and suppliers. Data management services that store and manage corporate data and provide acapabilities for analyzing the data. Applications software service that provide enterprise wide capabilities such as enterprise resource planning, customer relationsip management, supply chain management and knowledge management systems that are shared by all business units. Physical facilities managament services that develop and manage the physical installations required for computing, telecommunications, and data management services. IT management services that plan and develop the infrastructure, coordinate with the business units for IT services, manage accounting for IT expenditures, and provide project management services. IT education services that provide training in system use to employees and offer managers training in how to plan and manage IT investments. IT research and development services that provide the firm with research on potential future IT projects and investments that could help the firm differentiate itself in the marketplace.
2) List each of the eras in IT infrastructure evolution, and describe their distinguishing characteristics. Electronic ACCTG Machine Period (1930 to 1950)
Specialized machines that could sort computer cards into bins, accumulate
totals, and print reports. Software programs wer e hardwired into circuit
boards, and they could be changed by altering the wired connections on a patch
board. There wer eno programmers, and a human machine operator was the
operating system, controlling all systems resources.
Genereal Purpose Mainframe and Minicomputer Period (1959 to present) Commercial
all electronic vacuum computers appeared through the introduction of UNIVAC
computers and the IBM 700 series. It was the first commercial computer with a
powerful operating system hat could provide time sharing, multitasking, and
virtual memory. Mainframe computers eventually became powerful enough to
support thousands of online remote terminals connected to the centralized
mainframe using proprietary communication protocols and propritary data lines.
The mainframe period was a period of highly centralized computing under the
control of professional programmers and systems operators, with most elements
of infratsucture provided by a single vendor, the manufacturer of the hardware
and software. This pattern began to change with the introduction of the
minicomputers by Digital Equipment Corporation DEC in 1965. DEC offered
powerful machines at lower prices than IBM mainframes, making possible
decentralized computing, customized to the specific needs of individual
departments or business units rather than time sharing on a single huge
mainframe. Personal Computers Period (1981-Present)
ACC 305 Accounting TheorySpecialized machines that could sort computer cards into bins, accumulate totals, and print reports. Software programs wer e hardwired into circuit boards, and they could be changed by altering the wired connections on a patch board. There wer eno programmers, and a human machine operator was the operating system, controlling all systems resources.
Genereal Purpose Mainframe and Minicomputer Period (1959 to present) Commercial all electronic vacuum computers appeared through the introduction of UNIVAC computers and the IBM 700 series. It was the first commercial computer with a powerful operating system hat could provide time sharing, multitasking, and virtual memory. Mainframe computers eventually became powerful enough to support thousands of online remote terminals connected to the centralized mainframe using proprietary communication protocols and propritary data lines. The mainframe period was a period of highly centralized computing under the control of professional programmers and systems operators, with most elements of infratsucture provided by a single vendor, the manufacturer of the hardware and software. This pattern began to change with the introduction of the minicomputers by Digital Equipment Corporation DEC in 1965. DEC offered powerful machines at lower prices than IBM mainframes, making possible decentralized computing, customized to the specific needs of individual departments or business units rather than time sharing on a single huge mainframe. Personal Computers Period (1981-Present)
The first personal computer appeared in 1970’s, but was not widely adopted by
Americans until the IBM PC in 1981. It first used the DOS operating system, a
text based command language, and later the Microsoft Windows operating system,
the Wintel PC Windows operating system with Intel processor) computer became
the standard desktop personal computer . 95% of the billion computers use
WINTEL. The proliferation of PC’S launched spate of personal desktop
productivity software tools- word processors, spreadsheets, electronic
presentation software, and small data management programs, that were valuable
to both home and corporate users. Client/Server Period (1983 to Present)
In this desktop or laptop computers called clients are networked to powerful
server computers that provide the client computers with a variety of services
and capabilities. The computer processing work is split between these two types
of machines . The client is the user point of entry while the server typically
processes and stores shared data, serves up web pages, or manages
activities.This server is called a two tier client/server architecture. Server
replies to both the software application and the physical computer on which the
network runs. The server could be a mainframe but today they are typically a
more powerful version of personal computers. A multitiered client/server-the
entire network is balanced over several different levels of server, depending
on the kind of service being requested. EG. A Web Server, a computer that uses
Web server software to house web pages for a web site, will serve a client in
response to a request for service. If a client requests access to a corporate
system ( a product list or price info) the rquest is passed along to an
application server. A.S. handles all application operations between a user and
an organization’s backend business systems. Client/ server computing enables
businesses to distribute computing work across a series of smaller inexpensive
machines that cost much less than minicomputers or centralized mainframe
systems. The result is an explosion in computing power and applications
throughout the firm. 3) What is Moore’s Law and the Law of Mass Digital
Storage? What aspects of infrastructure change do they help explain? Since the
first microprocessor chip was introduced in 1959, the number of components on a
chip with the smallest manufacturing costs per component had doubled each year.
There are three aspects of Moore’s Law?
1)the power of microprocessors doubles every 18 months
2)computing power doubles every 18 months
3)the price of computing falls by half every 18 months
Nanotechnology uses individual atoms and molecules to create computer chips and
other devices that are thousands of times smaller than current technologies
permit. Law and Mass Digital Storage- the 2nd technology driver of IT
infrastructure change. The world produces as much as 5 Exabyte (a billion
gigabytes) of unique info per year. The amount of digital info is doubling
every year. This growth involves magnetic storage of digital data, and printed
documents account for only .003 percent of the annual growth. 5) How do network
economics, declining communication costs, and technology standards affect IT
infrastructure and the use of computers? Network Economics- Moore’s Law and the
Law of Mass Storage help us understand why computing resources are now so
readily available. The economics of networks and the growth of the internet
provide some answers. Robert Metcalfe inventor of Ethernet local area network
technology claimed that the value or power of a network grows as a function of
the number of network members. As the number of members in a network grows
linearly, the value of the entire system grows and continues to grow forever as
members increase. Demand for IT has been driven by the social and business
value of digital networks, which rapidly multiply the number of actual and
potential links among network members. Declining Communication Costs- fourth
driver
1.1billion People worldwide now have internet access. 75% private sector firms
use email, 100% public sector use it. Communication costs are falling and
utilization of communication and computing facilities are increasing. To take
advantage of this business value, firms must greatly expand their internet
connections, including wireless connectivity, and greatly expand the power of
their client/server networks, desktop clients, and mobile computing devices.
Standards and Network Effects-
Today’s infrastructure and Internet computing would be impossible without
agreements among manufacturers and widespread consumer acceptance of technology
standards. Technology standards are specifications that establish the
compatibility of products and the ability to communicate in a network. It
unleashes powerful economies of scale and result in price declines as
manufacturers focus on products built to a single standard. Without economies
of scale, computing would be far more expensive. Wintel Pc became the standard
desktop and mobile client computing platform. 6) List and describe the
components of IT infrastructure that firms need to manage. Operating Systems
Platform-
It is important to discuss about these topics:BUSN 3002 Auditing
Busn 2015 Company AccountingThe first personal computer appeared in 1970’s, but was not widely adopted by Americans until the IBM PC in 1981. It first used the DOS operating system, a text based command language, and later the Microsoft Windows operating system, the Wintel PC Windows operating system with Intel processor) computer became the standard desktop personal computer . 95% of the billion computers use WINTEL. The proliferation of PC’S launched spate of personal desktop productivity software tools- word processors, spreadsheets, electronic presentation software, and small data management programs, that were valuable to both home and corporate users. Client/Server Period (1983 to Present)
In this desktop or laptop computers called clients are networked to powerful server computers that provide the client computers with a variety of services and capabilities. The computer processing work is split between these two types of machines . The client is the user point of entry while the server typically processes and stores shared data, serves up web pages, or manages activities.This server is called a two tier client/server architecture. Server replies to both the software application and the physical computer on which the network runs. The server could be a mainframe but today they are typically a more powerful version of personal computers. A multitiered client/server-the entire network is balanced over several different levels of server, depending on the kind of service being requested. EG. A Web Server, a computer that uses Web server software to house web pages for a web site, will serve a client in response to a request for service. If a client requests access to a corporate system ( a product list or price info) the rquest is passed along to an application server. A.S. handles all application operations between a user and an organization’s backend business systems. Client/ server computing enables businesses to distribute computing work across a series of smaller inexpensive machines that cost much less than minicomputers or centralized mainframe systems. The result is an explosion in computing power and applications throughout the firm. 3) What is Moore’s Law and the Law of Mass Digital Storage? What aspects of infrastructure change do they help explain? Since the first microprocessor chip was introduced in 1959, the number of components on a chip with the smallest manufacturing costs per component had doubled each year. There are three aspects of Moore’s Law?
1)the power of microprocessors doubles every 18 months
2)computing power doubles every 18 months
3)the price of computing falls by half every 18 months
Nanotechnology uses individual atoms and molecules to create computer chips and other devices that are thousands of times smaller than current technologies permit. Law and Mass Digital Storage- the 2nd technology driver of IT infrastructure change. The world produces as much as 5 Exabyte (a billion gigabytes) of unique info per year. The amount of digital info is doubling every year. This growth involves magnetic storage of digital data, and printed documents account for only .003 percent of the annual growth. 5) How do network economics, declining communication costs, and technology standards affect IT infrastructure and the use of computers? Network Economics- Moore’s Law and the Law of Mass Storage help us understand why computing resources are now so readily available. The economics of networks and the growth of the internet provide some answers. Robert Metcalfe inventor of Ethernet local area network technology claimed that the value or power of a network grows as a function of the number of network members. As the number of members in a network grows linearly, the value of the entire system grows and continues to grow forever as members increase. Demand for IT has been driven by the social and business value of digital networks, which rapidly multiply the number of actual and potential links among network members. Declining Communication Costs- fourth driver
1.1billion People worldwide now have internet access. 75% private sector firms use email, 100% public sector use it. Communication costs are falling and utilization of communication and computing facilities are increasing. To take advantage of this business value, firms must greatly expand their internet connections, including wireless connectivity, and greatly expand the power of their client/server networks, desktop clients, and mobile computing devices. Standards and Network Effects-
Today’s infrastructure and Internet computing would be impossible without agreements among manufacturers and widespread consumer acceptance of technology standards. Technology standards are specifications that establish the compatibility of products and the ability to communicate in a network. It unleashes powerful economies of scale and result in price declines as manufacturers focus on products built to a single standard. Without economies of scale, computing would be far more expensive. Wintel Pc became the standard desktop and mobile client computing platform. 6) List and describe the components of IT infrastructure that firms need to manage. Operating Systems Platform-
It is important to discuss about these topics:BUSN 3002 Auditing
At the client level, 95% of PCs and 45% of handheld devices use some form of
Microsoft Windows operating system. In contrast in the server market place,
more than 85% of the corporate servers in the US use some form of Linux, an
inexpensive and robust open source relative of Unix. Microsoft is capable but
not generally used for more than 300 client computers in a network. Linux and
Unix can run on many different type of processors. The major providers of Unix
are IBM, HP, and Sun. Enterprise and Other Software Applications
This software is the largest single component after telecommunication in the IT
Infrastructure. A large portion of the software budget of medium-large size
companies will be spent on enterprise system software. The largest providers of
enterprise application software are SAP and Oracle. Data Management and Storage
Enterprise data management software is responsible for organizing and managing
the firm’s data so that it can be efficiently accessed and used. The leading
software providers are IBM (DB2), Oracle, Microsoft (SQL Server), and Sybase
(Adaptive Server Enterprise). A growing new entrant is MySQL, A Linux open
source relational database product available for free on the internet and
supported by HP. The physical storage market is dominated by EMC Corporation.
Storage area Networks (SAN) connect multiple storage devices on a separate high
speed network dedicated to storage. The SAN creates a large central pool of
storage that can be rapidly accessed and shared by multiple servers. The market
for data digital storage devices has been growing at more than 15% annually
over the last 5 years. Networking/Telecommunications Platforms
Telecommunication services consist of telecommunications, cable, and telephone
company charges for voice lines and Internet access, these could be counted as
part of the firms infrastructure. Telecommunications platforms are provided by
telecommunications/telephone services companies that offer voice and data
connectivity, wide area networking, and internet access.
Internet Platform
Internet platforms overlap with, and must relate to, the firms general network
infrastructure and hardware and software platforms. Expenditures for internet
related infrastructure for hardware, software, and, management services to
support a firms Web site, including Web hosting services, and for intranets and
extranets. Web hosting services maintain a large Web server, or series of
servers, and provide fee paying subscribers with space to maintain their Web
sites. This is growing by 10% annually. The internet revolution led to an
increase in server computers, with many firms collecting thousands of small
servers to run their internet operations. Since then there has been a steady
push toward server consolidation, reducing the number server computers by
increasing the size and power of each. Consulting and System Integration
Services
Firms implement IT infrastructure and have to make significant changes in
business process and procedures, training and education, and software
integration. Consulting services help them with these problems. Software
integration means ensuring the new infrastructure works with the firms older,
so called legacy systems and ensuring the new elements of the infrastructure
work with one another. A legacy system is generally an older transaction
processing system created for mainframe computers that continues to be used to
avoid the high cost of replacement or redesign. Most firms replied on their
accounting firms in the past, because they were the only ones who understood a
company’s business process and had the expertise to change its software. 7)
Compare grid computing and edge computing.
Links:
Busn 2011 management accountingThis software is the largest single component after telecommunication in the IT Infrastructure. A large portion of the software budget of medium-large size companies will be spent on enterprise system software. The largest providers of enterprise application software are SAP and Oracle. Data Management and Storage
Enterprise data management software is responsible for organizing and managing the firm’s data so that it can be efficiently accessed and used. The leading software providers are IBM (DB2), Oracle, Microsoft (SQL Server), and Sybase (Adaptive Server Enterprise). A growing new entrant is MySQL, A Linux open source relational database product available for free on the internet and supported by HP. The physical storage market is dominated by EMC Corporation. Storage area Networks (SAN) connect multiple storage devices on a separate high speed network dedicated to storage. The SAN creates a large central pool of storage that can be rapidly accessed and shared by multiple servers. The market for data digital storage devices has been growing at more than 15% annually over the last 5 years. Networking/Telecommunications Platforms
Telecommunication services consist of telecommunications, cable, and telephone company charges for voice lines and Internet access, these could be counted as part of the firms infrastructure. Telecommunications platforms are provided by telecommunications/telephone services companies that offer voice and data connectivity, wide area networking, and internet access.
Internet Platform
Internet platforms overlap with, and must relate to, the firms general network infrastructure and hardware and software platforms. Expenditures for internet related infrastructure for hardware, software, and, management services to support a firms Web site, including Web hosting services, and for intranets and extranets. Web hosting services maintain a large Web server, or series of servers, and provide fee paying subscribers with space to maintain their Web sites. This is growing by 10% annually. The internet revolution led to an increase in server computers, with many firms collecting thousands of small servers to run their internet operations. Since then there has been a steady push toward server consolidation, reducing the number server computers by increasing the size and power of each. Consulting and System Integration Services
Firms implement IT infrastructure and have to make significant changes in business process and procedures, training and education, and software integration. Consulting services help them with these problems. Software integration means ensuring the new infrastructure works with the firms older, so called legacy systems and ensuring the new elements of the infrastructure work with one another. A legacy system is generally an older transaction processing system created for mainframe computers that continues to be used to avoid the high cost of replacement or redesign. Most firms replied on their accounting firms in the past, because they were the only ones who understood a company’s business process and had the expertise to change its software. 7) Compare grid computing and edge computing.
Links:
BAFN 200 principles of finance
Grid computing involves connecting geographically remote computers into a
single network to create a virtual supercomputer by combining the computational
power of all computers on the grid. Grid computers require software programs to
control and allocate resources on the grid, such as open source software
provided by Globus Alliance or private providers. The business case for using
grid computing involves cost savings, speed of computation, and agility. The
grid adjusts to accommodate the fluctuating data volumes that are typical in
this seasonal processing time for seismic data, while improving output quality
and helping its scientists pinpoint problems in finding new oil supplies Edge
Computing is a multitier, load balancing scheme for web based applications in
which significant parts of Web site content, logic, and processing are
performed by smaller, less expensive servers located nearby the user in order to
increase responsiveness and resilience while lowering technology costs. In this
case edge computing is another technique like grid computing and on demand
computing for using the internet to share the workload experience by a firm
across many computers located remotely on the network. In edge platform
applications, edge servers initially process request from the user client
computer. The edge servers delivers to the client presentation components such
as static Web page content, reusable code fragments, and interactive elements
gathered on forms. Database and business logic elements are delivered by the
enterprise computing platform. 8) How can businesses benefit from on demand
computing? From automatic computing? On demand computing refers to firms offloading
peak demand for computing power to remote, large scale data processing
centre’s. In this manner, firms can reduce their investment in IT
infrastructure by investing just enough to handle average processing loads and
paying for only as much additional computing power as the market demands.
Another term for on demand computing is utility computing which suggests that
firms purchase computing power from central computing utilities and pay only
for the amount of computing power they use, much as they would pay for
electricity. In addition lowering the cot of owning hardware resources, on
demand computing gives firms greater agility to use technology and greatly
reduces the risk of over investing in IT infrastructure. Over investing shifts
from having a fixed infrastructure to a flexible one some of it owned by the
firm, and some of It rented. Automatic computing
This is an industry wide effort to develop systems that can configure
themselves, optimize and tune themselves, heal themselves when broken, and protect
themselves from outside intruders and self destruction. Eg a PC knows it is
invaded by a virus and eradicates it or alternatively turns its workload over
to another processor and shuts itself down before the virus destroys any files.
Some of these capabilities are also available on desktop such as firewalls. A
firewall is hardware or software placed in between an organizations internal
network and external networks to prevent outsiders from invading private
networks. These programs can be updated automatically as the need arises by
connecting to an online virus protection service such as MCAFEE. 9) How can
businesses benefit form virtualization and multi core processors?
Virtualization is the process of presenting a set of computing resources so that
they can all be accessed in ways that are not restricted by physical
configuration or geographic locations. This decreases the power consumption ad
curbs the hardware proliferation. Server virtualization enables companies top
run more than one operating system at the same time on a single machine. Most
servers run at 10 to 15% of capacity and virtualization can boost server
utilization rates to 70% or higher. This translates into fewer computers
required to process the same amount of work. Server utilization runs between
the operating system and the hardware, masking server resources, including the
number and identity of physical servers, processors and operating systems from
server users. In addition to reducing hardware and power expenditure,
virtualization allows business to return their legacy applications on older
versions of an operating system on the same server as new applications.
Multiprocessors is an integrated circuit that contains two or more processors.
In the past the speed of processors have been increased by increasing their
frequency from a few mega hertz to today’s chips which operate at gigahertz
frequencies.
Grid computing involves connecting geographically remote computers into a single network to create a virtual supercomputer by combining the computational power of all computers on the grid. Grid computers require software programs to control and allocate resources on the grid, such as open source software provided by Globus Alliance or private providers. The business case for using grid computing involves cost savings, speed of computation, and agility. The grid adjusts to accommodate the fluctuating data volumes that are typical in this seasonal processing time for seismic data, while improving output quality and helping its scientists pinpoint problems in finding new oil supplies Edge Computing is a multitier, load balancing scheme for web based applications in which significant parts of Web site content, logic, and processing are performed by smaller, less expensive servers located nearby the user in order to increase responsiveness and resilience while lowering technology costs. In this case edge computing is another technique like grid computing and on demand computing for using the internet to share the workload experience by a firm across many computers located remotely on the network. In edge platform applications, edge servers initially process request from the user client computer. The edge servers delivers to the client presentation components such as static Web page content, reusable code fragments, and interactive elements gathered on forms. Database and business logic elements are delivered by the enterprise computing platform. 8) How can businesses benefit from on demand computing? From automatic computing? On demand computing refers to firms offloading peak demand for computing power to remote, large scale data processing centre’s. In this manner, firms can reduce their investment in IT infrastructure by investing just enough to handle average processing loads and paying for only as much additional computing power as the market demands. Another term for on demand computing is utility computing which suggests that firms purchase computing power from central computing utilities and pay only for the amount of computing power they use, much as they would pay for electricity. In addition lowering the cot of owning hardware resources, on demand computing gives firms greater agility to use technology and greatly reduces the risk of over investing in IT infrastructure. Over investing shifts from having a fixed infrastructure to a flexible one some of it owned by the firm, and some of It rented. Automatic computing
This is an industry wide effort to develop systems that can configure themselves, optimize and tune themselves, heal themselves when broken, and protect themselves from outside intruders and self destruction. Eg a PC knows it is invaded by a virus and eradicates it or alternatively turns its workload over to another processor and shuts itself down before the virus destroys any files. Some of these capabilities are also available on desktop such as firewalls. A firewall is hardware or software placed in between an organizations internal network and external networks to prevent outsiders from invading private networks. These programs can be updated automatically as the need arises by connecting to an online virus protection service such as MCAFEE. 9) How can businesses benefit form virtualization and multi core processors? Virtualization is the process of presenting a set of computing resources so that they can all be accessed in ways that are not restricted by physical configuration or geographic locations. This decreases the power consumption ad curbs the hardware proliferation. Server virtualization enables companies top run more than one operating system at the same time on a single machine. Most servers run at 10 to 15% of capacity and virtualization can boost server utilization rates to 70% or higher. This translates into fewer computers required to process the same amount of work. Server utilization runs between the operating system and the hardware, masking server resources, including the number and identity of physical servers, processors and operating systems from server users. In addition to reducing hardware and power expenditure, virtualization allows business to return their legacy applications on older versions of an operating system on the same server as new applications. Multiprocessors is an integrated circuit that contains two or more processors. In the past the speed of processors have been increased by increasing their frequency from a few mega hertz to today’s chips which operate at gigahertz frequencies.
No comments:
Post a Comment