BMGT301 NOTES FOR FINAL EXAM 11 29 2012 CHAPTER 9 Understanding software a primer for managers Computing hardware the physical components of information technology including the computer input devices and output devices Software computer program or collections of computer programs instructions that tell the hardware what to do Operating system the software that controls the computer hardware and establishes standards for executing and developing applications Applications desktop applications enterprise software utilities and other programs that perform specific tasks for users and organizations Software refers to a computer program or collection of programs It enables computing devices to perform tasks You can think of software as being part of a layer cake with hardware at the bottom the operating system controlling the hardware and establishing standards the applications executing one layer up and the users at the top How these layers relate to one another has managerial implications in many areas including the flexibility in meeting business demand costs legal issues and security Software is everywhere not just in computers but also in cell phones cars cameras and many other technologies User Interface UI the mechanism in which users interact with computers includes elements of graphical user interface such as windows scroll bars buttons menus touch screens Firmware software stored on non volatile memory chips many products allow firmware to be upgraded online or by connecting to another device Embedded systems special purpose software designed and included inside physical products they help make devices smarter by sharing information diagnosing problems and providing alerts or scheduled maintenance The operating system OS controls a computer s hardware and provides a common set of commands for writing programs Most computing devices enterprise class server computers PCs phones set top boxes video games cars the Mars Rover have an operating system Some products use operating systems provided by commercial firms while others develop their own operating system Others may leverage open source alternatives Embedded systems are special purpose computer systems designed to perform one or a few dedicated functions and are frequently built into conventional products like cars air conditioners and elevators Embedded systems can make products and services more efficient more reliable more functional and can enable entire new businesses and create or reinforce resources for competitive advantage Platform products and services that allow for the development and integration of software products and other complementary goods windows and the iphone and the standards that allow users to create Facebook apps are all platforms Desktop software applications installed on a personal computer your browser your Office suite e g word processor spreadsheet presentation software photo editors and computer games are all desktop software Enterprise software refers to applications that address the needs of multiple simultaneous users in an organization or work group Software package a software product offered commercially by a third party Enterprise resource planning ERP a software package that integrates the many functions of a business Sales inventory manufacturing human resources purchasing order tracking decision support Customer relationship management CRM systems used to support customer related sales and marketing activities Supply chain management SCM systems that can help a firm manage aspects of its value chain from the flow of raw materials into the firm through delivery of finished products and services at the point of consumption Business Intelligence BI systems which use data created by other systems to provide reporting and analysis for organizational decision making Database management systems DBMS also know as database system software software for creating maintaining and manipulating data Application software focuses on the work of a user or an organization Desktop applications are typically designed for a single user Enterprise software supports multiple users in an organization or work group Popular categories of enterprise software include ERP enterprise resource planning SCM supply chain management CRM customer relationship management and BI business intelligence software among many others These systems are used in conjunction with database management systems programs that help firms organize store retrieve and maintain data ERP and other packaged enterprise systems can be challenging and costly to implement but can help firms create a standard set of procedures and data that can ultimately lower costs and streamline operations The more application software that is available for a platform the more valuable that platform becomes The DBMS stores and retrieves the data used by the other enterprise applications Different enterprise systems can be configured to share the same database system in order share common data Firms that don t have common database systems with consistent formats across their enterprise often struggle to efficiently manage their value chain and often lack the flexibility to introduce new ways of doing business Firms with common database systems and standards often benefit from increased organizational insight and decision making capabilities Enterprise systems can cost millions of dollars in software hardware development and consulting fees and many firms have failed when attempting large scale enterprise system integration Simply buying a system does not guarantee its effective deployment and use When set up properly enterprise systems can save millions of dollars and turbocharge organizations by streamlining processes making data more usable and easing the linking of systems with software across the firm and with key business partners Distributed computing a form of computing where systems in different locations communicate and collaborate to complete a task Server program that fulfills the request of a client Client software program that makes requests of a server program Application server software that houses and serves business logic for use by multiple applications Web services small pieces of code that are assessed via the application server which permit interoperable machine to machine interaction over a network Application programming interfaces APIs Service oriented architecture SOA a robust set of Web services around their processes and procedures
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