Assignment+for+chapter+6

Discussion Question # 6

What is the business value driving so many companies to rapidly install and extend intranets throughout their organization?

Intranets can provide an enterprise information portal for applications in communication and collaboration, business operations and management, Web publishing, and intranet portal management (201). Businesses have been using intranets to improve communications and collaboration within an enterprise (202). You can use your intranet browser to send and receive e-mail, voicemail, pages, and faxes to communicate with others within your organization. Businesses also use intranet groupware features to improve team and project collaboration with services such as discussion groups, chat rooms, and audio-and videoconferencing (202).

Businesses have also installed and extended intranets throughout their organizations because of comparative ease, attractiveness, and lower cost of publishing and accessing multimedia business information internally via intranet Web sites (202). Intranet software browsers, servers, and search engines help to easily navigate and locate business information that may be needed (202). Intranet vendors like Claromentis currently provide very chaste web based frameworks that make a noteworthy difference to how a business can perform in the marketplace of an ever flattening world.

Intranets are being used as the platform for developing and deploying critical business applications to support business operations and managerial decisions (202). Inventory control, sales management, and order processing are examples of applications that companies are using via intranet Web servers (202). The business value of intranets is becoming quite immeasurable as businesses continue to spread the usage of intranets.

Discussion Question # 7

What strategic competitive benefits do you see in a company’s use of extranets?

An extranet can do the same thing as an intranet, but it also allows for communication with the outside world. An extranet allows customers, suppliers or vendors to gain access to your computer systems, though that access can be regulated to varying degrees and made secure. Extranets can help companies expand their telecommuting workforce. Extranet allows workers who are unable to make it to the office to work from home.

Many companies use extranets to build and strengthen strategic relationships between the customer and business partners (204). Customers are allowed to make purchases electronically, pay for them on-line, and track their delivery themselves. Clients know exactly where to find information related to their projects. Client pages can be accessed from anywhere in the world at any time. If a conference call is going on, everyone involved can view the information on the client’s page.

Extranets are also beneficial to companies because the information is always current. Printed information involves the risk that information may not be updated. Extranets completely eliminate the inefficiencies of using printed information. The previously stated benefit of an extranet can reduce a company's workload. Vendors can access their customers' extranets, check the supply themselves and ship orders to restock inventory automatically. Customer retention is another of the extranet benefits that has the biggest potential to affect a company's bottom line. Companies can use an extranet to improve service to customers in many ways (businessfinancemag.com). pe in the content of your page here.

Discussion 9 Do you think that business use of the internet, intranets, and extranets has changed what businesspeople expect from information technology in their jobs? Explain. The use of the Internet, intranets, and extranets has changed what businesspeople expect from information Technology in their jobs. Having efficient IT can help a company survive through the hardest times, and create information to better serve their company faster. It is now a standard for most companies to use Internet, intranets, extranets, and other telecommunications networks to become one of the few foundations of that organization. [1] Use of internet, intranets, extranets, and other telecommunications networks can dramatically cut cost, shorten business lead times and response times, support electronic commerce, improve the collaboration of workgroups, develop online operational processes, share resources, lock in customers and suppliers, and develop new products and services. [2] These benefits make applications of telecommunications more strategic and vital for businesses that must increasingly find new ways to compete in both domestic and global markets. If businesspeople are able to overcome geographic, time, cost and structural barriers in a global market with constant updates to IT, it creates an everlasting demand for an updated system, so therefore it has changed what people expect in the present, and will change their expectation in the future. [3] For example, traveling salespeople and those at regional sales offices can use the Internet, extranets, and other networks to transmit customer orders from their laptop or desktop PCs, thus breaking geographic barriers. Point-of-sale terminals and an online sales transaction processing network can break time barriers by supporting immediate credit authorization and sales processing. Teleconferencing can be used to cut cost by reducing the need for expensive business trips, allowing customers, suppliers, and employees to participate in meetings and collaborate on joint projects without traveling. This allows business people to take advantage of the latest technology and gadgets, and receive information anywhere in the world, just by the click of a button. With these constant expanding networks, we find more and more business people connecting with each other, and using IT as a gateway to real money, and a way of life. [4] When the internet began growing in December 1991, it had about 10 servers. In January 2004, the internet was estimated to have more than 46 million connected servers with a sustained growth rate in excess of 1 million servers per month. In January 2007, the Internet was estimated to have over one billion users with Web sites in 34 languages from English to Icelandic. Today everyone has excess to a pc, making the pc more than a necessity in life. It makes it an obligation to do business.

Case study 1 What are some of the business benefits associated with using wireless networks to collect and transmit data? There are a tremendous amount of business benefits associated with using wireless networks to collect and transmit data. One of these benefits are called wireless sensor devices, or “motes”. [5] Wireless sensor devices, or “motes” package together a circuit board with networking and application software; interfaces to sensors that can detect changes in temperature, pressure, moisture, light, sound, or magnetism; and a wireless radio that can report on their findings- all powered by a pair of AA batteries. Wireless networks can help companies save a lot of money. If a company can save money, and time, it would allow them to better track information, quickly and more efficient. [6] Enabled by the fusion of small, low-cost chips, low-powered radios, and the spread of wireless networking, motes are a giant leap ahead of traditional sensors that for decades have measured everything from temperature in buildings to factory machines’ vibrations. [7] Those sensors require wiring to electrical systems, which can cost $200 to $400 per sensor, and are expensive to service. Motes cost about $100 each and are much cheaper to install. That price could drop to less than $10 in a few years, as mote components follow computing’s march toward higher volume, better performance, and lower prices. [8] one breakthrough of mote technology is special “ mesh networking” software that lets each device wake up for a fraction of a second when it has an interesting result to transmit, then relay that information a few yards to its nearest neighbor. [9] so instead of every sensor transmitting its information to a remote base station, an electronic bucket brigade moves data mote by mote until it reaches a central computer where it can be stored and analyzed. This will help business save a lot of money as well, knowing that the cost to run theses motes are less, because they use a lot less power. The book gives an example. [10] “ this technology enabled a major advance,” claims Tom Sereno, a division manager at SAIC. Just 2 percent of the U.S. border is outfitted with ground-sensor networks that can detect illegal crossings of people or vehicles. And those sensors have shorter life spans than the wireless motes with which SAIC is developing its applications. With the wireless remotes, it will allow them to over more of the border and have a longer life span of these technologies. It will help government and people keep track of things a lot more easily.

[1] O’Brien pg 196 [2] O’Brien pg 196 [3] O’Brien pg 196 [4] O’Brien pg 197 [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

Question 1: The Internet is the driving force behind developments in the telecommunications, networks, and other information technologies. Do you agree or disagree? Why?

I agree that the internet is the driving force behind developments in telecommunications, networks, and other information technologies. The internet and everything that it has to offer has been booming in recent years. According to the text, in January of 2007 there were over one billion users using the internet throughout the world, and by 2010, they are projecting that there will be more than two billion internet users (p. 197). There are also about one million servers added to the network every month (p. 197). With that many users and servers available for use, there are bound to be developments for telecommunications and information technologies. Users want more and more from the internet experience, and everyone involved is doing their best to move forward and expand the internet.

One great example of a development that the internet has produced is the internet tool that we use for this class, wiki technology. With so many people using e-mail to try to collaborate on projects, papers, and even just trying to put a newsletter together, they realized that there was a big problem. There were so many versions of whatever they were working on floating around in e-mail inboxes that it became so time consuming and stressful to manage because of the numbers of edits and changes that were made. Because so many people use the internet and were experiencing this problem, there was bound to be someone or a group of people that designed something that could be used for group collaboration, and out of that came the wiki technology. This class would be much more difficult if we had to operate exclusively through e-mail. With the wiki page, everyone can see the current draft and any changes that are made immediately, making it a much more useful tool.

Another great example come from the textbook, on page 198, and it shows that telecommunications has developed so far that an entire aircraft (Boeing 777 to be exact) can be designed using the internet. Their network consisted of 2,200 workstations that were linked to eight large mainframe computers using the internet. Many of the designers that collaboratively worked on the plane do not know each other and would probably not recognize each other if they met face to face. Their system used software called CATIA and also a system called EPIC. These two systems allowed the teams around the world to design and virtually test parts for the plane. There were 250 teams worldwide, including suppliers and customers, which were linked into their design network. This system of design also allowed Boeing to reduce production costs without having to compromise in their quality, due to the strength of their design and testing software.

Metcalfe’s Law states that the usefulness, or utility, of a network equals the square of the number of users (p. 190). That must mean that the internet is a very useful network and it will continue to become more useful and more people start using the internet. As I mentioned before, the internet is bound to grow and expand because of the massive amount of users, which are always demanding something new and innovative from the internet

O'brien, J.A, & Marakas, G.M (2008). //Introduction To Information Systems//. New York,: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Question 4: How will wireless information appliances and services affect the business use of the internet and the web? Explain?

In general wireless communication considered to be a branch of telecommunication. We can define the wireless communication as transfer information via distance without using any kinds of wires. The distance of wireless could be short or long depends on which kinds of wireless. For instance, if I get internet at home with charter company and I would like to add internet wireless I would have to buy the router and choose the distance based on the router because there is a router that has a short distance and it has lower price, but if I want to buy it for a long distance I would have to pay more.

However, growing technology in area of wireless information appliances and services which individuals are able to use from anywhere and at any time, the appliances which use wireless technology will keep growing as technology improvements are made to those appliances. There are many wireless appliances in the market today for example wireless headphone for the cell, wireless keyboard. In the future, with the improving technology we might see many things that we can’t expected such as wireless speakers, and wireless hard drives.

Connect laptop users and mobile networks that connect through satellite are the most ordinary uses of wireless network. Today there are tremendous increases in the use of cellular, PCS telephone. The wireless technology is used to support mobile phone service, mobile voice communication and data communication. Wireless technology is also used to connect local area networks through the use of radio and infrared transmissions. The wireless appliance technology makes simplicity for people to access information and data from many places. Therefore, wireless technology will absolutely affect the business use of the internet and the web.

. code What are some of the challenges faced by this use of wireless technologies? What solutions can you offer?

Since wireless technologies can be expensive, as a result money becomes an issue and poses challenges. The average cost for the wireless sensor device can be anywhere between $200 to $400 per sensor to wire to electrical systems. Motes cost $100 a piece. The more measurement points a company has the more critical cost becomes. For each measurement point the motes would cost about $1000. The cost presents a challenge despite the fact they are saving money using these wireless sensors. The cost measurement point would today cost $1000 compared to costing $10,000 the old way. Wireless companies are saving a lot of money with the new way but cost reduction is still an issue.

A solution to avoid the current costs of wireless technology could be to wait a bit to transition over to wireless sensors. As wireless technology becomes more and more popular, the cost of the merchandise and installation will fall. Waiting could be the only option though. New companies that need to choose what device to use would probably figure that it would make no sense to install the wired devices because they are much more expensive than the wireless devices. Waiting is a more viable option for the companies that already have a system in place and are looking to upgrade. If you need an upgrade then the best option is going with the wireless since it is cheaper. Sometimes waiting may save the company money but money could still be lost by not having an efficient system in place.

A company could potentially see significant cost savings if their existing wired sensor networks are combined with the newer technology. Having this would allow the company both to utilize existing infrastructure for necessary monitoring and process functions at the same time selectively expanding the systems capability as need, funding and time allows. The transition from the old system to new does not necessarily have to be all at once. Now companies adopting RFID technology but are doing so in limited amounts as the technology grows more robust and becomes less expensive. The wireless sensor network is an enhancement to the process, not a replacement. It is an enhancement at least until maintenance costs of the existing wired system begin to be more expensive than the total replacement cost for a wireless sensor system.

Wireless technology also brings along with it some environmental challenges. These environmental challenges are primarily found in places that wireless sensors are a good idea such as on plant floors, manufacturing hardware, etc.. The conditions of the environment like temperature and atmosphere necessitate robust design, leading to higher production costs, installation, maintenance and replacement. Also, an important consideration is EMI from machinery. Wired networks typically have special design considerations to exclude such as filter or bypass EMI from running processes whereas a wireless network would have to be powerful enough to cut through the noise of all of these interferences since they are directly affected or must be have such a system that would mute the noise. Obviously the risk of system stopping interference from AC motors, heater coils, overhead power lines, other communications technology, monitors and simple background radiation can turn a lab-functional wireless sensor network into a nonfunctional one by being crowded out by simple interference. All of these considerations must be tackled before real deployment can start.

The use of wireless networking as described in the case is both innovative and functional. What other business uses can you envision for this approach?

There are many different uses for wireless sensor network outside the production shop and manufacturing floor. More basic implementations of wireless sensor technology could consist of things like cheap burglar alarms, light and heat sensors, utilizing vibration, motion etc.. The decentralized and vast nature of the network causes it to be far more difficult to take down the entire network of sensors by something like cutting wires or causing other physical damage.

Additionally, vehicles on highways might be able to communicate data to other travelers. Potential situations here are obvious, abrupt changes in speed by one or more cars could indicate crashes, traffic jams or other potential issues. Sudden alterations in travel direction could point out hazardous conditions from ice to objects blocking the road. If a communicator was placed at any point on the road, it could communicate detours, hazards, and other traffic difficulties in real time. This would operate with each car simply passing the signal down the freeway to the cars behind them. Traffic problems like crashes, jams, pileups, delays and other problems have the potential to be eliminated for the most part as traffic could be instantly and precisely rerouted for maximum efficiency through instructions to the driver. Additionally, a wireless sensor network might play a critical role in the allowance for self-navigating cars from sensors that would be imbedded in road surfaces. The sensors in cars would be used to relay proximity, location, speed, and other data to surrounding cars.

There are also other uses that could be considered for personal area networks, a person’s pocket could be a place for a miniature mp3 and receiver could be in the headphones. Health data or personal information or history could be contained in a small chip. There are numerous military uses that stretch from instant vehicle communications to live maps detailing the positions of soldiers and vehicles. There are numerous uses that are limited only by the imagination. code