VI-1techarch.ppt5/4/25TechnologyTrendsAffectingABCCompanyTechnologyTrendsAffectingABCCompanySectionIntroduction:TheenclosedtechnologystrategyslidesoutlinehowABCCompanyshouldapplytheuseofcomputersandrelatedequipmenttomeetitsíbusinessneeds.AbriefintroductiontotechnologytrendsandtheirimpactonABCCompanyísbusinessstrategyhasalsobeenprovided.Severaltechnicalschematicshavebeenprovidedoutliningourrecommendationtomigratetowardsmid-rangecomputersystems.VI-2techarch.ppt5/4/25TechnologyTrendsAffectingABCCompanyTechnologyTrendsAffectingABCCompanySuperServersandMid-rangeComputersTheroleofthemainframeischanging....withtheadventofmicrocomputertechnology,groupsofsmallercomputersarebeingusedtoprovidesimpler,cheaperandmoreflexiblecomputingpower.MovetoìOpenSystemsîStandardsareevolvingquicklytobreakthetoe-holdofhardwarevendorswithproprietarysystems.Everymajorcomputermanufacturerismovingaggressivelytoward"opensystems",meaningmoreportablesoftwareandflexibilitytomixandmatchthemostcosteffectivehardware.Thesestandardsalsopromote"connectivity",ortheabilityforcomputerstosharecorporatedataseamlessly.New,SimplerProgrammingMethodsNewsoftwareprogramminglanguages,databasemanagementsystemsoftwareandcomputerassistedsoftwareengineering(CASE)softwarehasevolvedtogreatlysimplifythetaskofprogrammingorchangingcomputersystems.Also,anewtechniquecalledobjectorientedprogrammingishelpingtospeeddevelopmentandsimplifychangesby"modularizing"programsintore-usableandinterconnectablebuildingblocksofcode.VI-3techarch.ppt5/4/25CostEffectivePackageSoftwareThetrendinsoftwareistoutilizepre-packagedsoftwareforcorebusinessapplications,versuscustomprogrammingcompletetransactionsystems.Softwarepackagesarenowbeingdesignedtobemoreeasilytailoredtouniquecompanyneedsthroughtheuseofend-userreportwritersandoptioncodes/parameterswhichcontrolwhichfeatureswillbeused.Customprogramstakemoretimeandresourcestodevelop,andtypicallyrequiremoresupportthanpackagesoftware.Customprogramsorsoftwarepackageenhancementsstillmaymakesenseforstrategic"competitiveadvantage"functionsnotaddressedbyprovenpackagedsoftware.SoftwareDesignedwithEase-of-UseinMindSoftwareisbeingdesignednowwithmorecaretohowuserscanbemoreproductiveworkinginteractivelywiththesystem.CapturingDataOneTimeattheSourceNewtechnologyismakingiteasiertocapturetransactionsaccuratelyatthesourceonarealtimebasis.Itisalsomoreeasynowtogetinformationoutofthecorporatedatabase.VoiceandDataVoiceanddatacommunicationnetworkswillbecomemorecloselyinter-twined.Thecomputerwillbethephone,faxmachineandterminaltoaccessthecorporatedatabase.TechnologyTrendsAffectingABCCompany(continued)TechnologyTrendsAffectingABCCompany(continued)VI-4techarch.ppt5/4/25HardwareStrategyHardwareStrategyABCCompanyíshardwareplatformstrategyshouldbebasedonmid-range(minicomputer)technology,asopposedtotraditionalmainframehardwaresuchastheexistingIBM4381orthecurrentIBMES9000computers.ABCCompanyístransactionvolumesandprojectednumberofon-lineusers/devices(seeAppendixF)canbesupportedbyasinglelargemid-rangecomputerormultiplemid-rangesystemnetworkedtogether.Mid-rangecomputersoffermanyadvantagesovertraditionalmainframes,aslongastransactionvolumescanbeaccommodated.Advantagesinclude:✓Hardwarecosts✓Softwarecosts✓Simpleroperationsandsupport✓Simplerprogramming✓Simpleroperatingsystem✓Smallerandlesscomplicatedphysicallocationrequirements(notw...
