Information Technology Infrastructure Management - Essay Example

IT Infrastructure Management Name Course Name and Code Instructor’s Name Date Introduction There are so many changes that are taking place in the contemporary world hence demanding for improvement in technology. Information technology is one of the most important aspects of running any organization or company (Kroenke, 2008). The processes of managing information technology recommend the application of the best practices in planning, analysis design, deployment and the management of ongoing operations as well as technical support of the infrastructures in the ICT. There are many tools that organizations use in their information technology management. This means that for every organization, the management of information technology infrastructure is important. This will offer the business good managed solutions for any size of business. The main advantage of this form of management is the fact that it will offer the customers an opportunity to focus on the growth of their business while the management option will ensure they offer a great infrastructure enterprise-level for a fixed but very predictable fees. The services must be built in with great scalability, flexibility, reliability and affordability. Any business which has employed information technology in its operations must ensure it has a strong and reliable information technology infrastructure management. Computers are the main tools for information technology (O'Brien, 2003). The owner of a business may be of an opinion that, because the computers are very cheap to purchase in this modern world, it will mean less costs in handling computing needs in the house. An example is when a person is running a business which needs a server; this means he will need an IT professionional to operate the system as well as other people for the purpose of data entry in the other machines. The use of Mobile /Wireless Technology in today’s global organizations Technology is advancing on a daily basis and as a result there is need for any organization dealing with international businesses or business within a big radius to come up with means of facilitating communication through the use of information technology advanced tools. This explains why in the recent days there is an increase in the use of Mobile /Wireless Technology in today’s business world. This explains why there has been a tremendous growth in the wireless communication industry because even the government, business and learning institutions are applying the technology in their day to day running of the business (Olegas, 2005). It is a very fast and cheap technology to use and especially for the purposes of communication as compared to the others. In a recent study, it is evident that the mobile technology has be en rated as contributing greatly in the transformation of the ways in which development, advocacy relief organizations are managing to achieve their goals, objectives and mission. An example is the report about the wireless technology used for the social changes, a trend that is in the use of mobiles in the non-governmental organizations. According to the study done, some of the areas that entail public relations like in the field of public health, environmental conservation and humanitarian assistance use mobile/wireless technology (Lock, 2007). Investigate the use of the given technology within a given organization Mobile technology has been used by the Microsoft Company for many ways. One of the main reasons is the process of monitoring (Sodipo, 2008). According to the research that has been done, about 86% of the non governmental organizations employees are using the mobile technology in going about their work. About 25% of the employees have also confirmed that the use of the mobile technology has brought a big revolution in the organization as well as their project works. The most use of the mobile in the organization is voice calls and that was confirmed by 90% while 83% of them confirmed that they use the mobile for the purposes of text messaging. There are other ways through which the organization uses the mobile technology like mapping which is 10%, inventory management 8% and data analysis 8%. The organization has been reported to have an increase in production. Show analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of implementing this technology The company has a number of strengths and weaknesses associated with the implementation of the technology. In order to understand the weakness and the strengths the following questions were answered. I. Do the approaches guarantee total security? II. Can the approach be used in any other software other than Microsoft? III. What are the indicators of successful implementations? IV. What is the benchmark or standard against which the success of implementation can be measured? The weaknesses were noted through a risk assessment. The following is a report on a survey of the risk management practices by Microsoft. It should be noted that the process is characterized by four main phases Assessing the risk: this is the first phase which involves risk identification. After the risk has been identified, it is very important to prioritize it to the business. In this phase, data gathering is planned whereby keys to the success as well as preparation guides are discussed. Then risk data is gathered and the question here is in outlining the processes of data analysis and collection. Finally the risk prioritized by outlining descriptive steps to quantify and qualify those risks. Conducting decisions for support: this involves the identification and evaluation of the solutions that will reduce the business risks in the form of a structure that is of cost-reduction process. This phase entails definition of the functional requirement in the process of risk mitigation, selection of the best possible control solutions, reviewing of those solutions, estimation of the reduction, estimation of the cost of solution and finally the strategy for the mitigation. The phase of implementing the controls: This entails the search for the holistic approach by incorporating other people, technologies and processes in mitigation solutions. Also defense-in-depth is used for organization whereby solutions for mitigations are organized across the business. The phase of measuring the effectiveness of the program. This entails development of the risk scorecard which will help one to understand the stand of the risks. It also involves the measurement of the effectiveness of the program through evaluating the program’s risk management so as to identify opportunities for improvement. Difficulty in estimating the probability of a threat attack Risk estimation is faced by a number of difficulties which may be the greatest stumbling block to the achievement of security in the information system (Marite, 2002). A good risk management system must create value, be tailored, consider the human accounts, be inclusive and transparent, be based as per the best information that is available, should explicitly address the assumptions and the uncertainty, it should be based on the best information that is available, dynamic, responsive, iterative and with an ability of continual enhancement and improvement (Orr, 2004). The following are some of the issues that may make it difficult for the estimation of risks in the company: If there is no laid down plan for the management of the risks especially with reference to a particular project. This is whereby the plan lacks responsibility, budget, activity and management risks. Where there is no officer assigned to monitor the risks in the company When there is no live maintenance of a project database for the risks with the following attributes; short description, importance, probability, title and opening date Where there is no anonymous channel for risk reporting created When there is no provision for receiving the public involvement When there is no coordination and collaboration with the credible sources When one does not meet the needs of the media When the company has not created some standards that are to be observed as far as the issue of information system security is concerned. The strengths Facilitates easy and fast communication The organization has been able to have an improvement in its performance Reports are now submitted timely through the use of the mobile technology Through the mobile technology, the organization has been able keep the employees up to date with everything that is happening by passing every important information to them in good time Examples of at least 2 other areas/businesses using this technology and an illustration of the success of this technology Many other businesses have adapted this mobile technology. Most of the businesses dealing with service marketing use it to get in touch with their clients. Marketing has been made easy because a company like an internet provider gets in touch with the clients through the mobile (Lock, 2007). This is whereby incase there is a problem with the services provided, the company can be contacted immediately and also incase there is any information the company wishes to give to the clients; they use the mobile phone either through the voice calls or the text messages. Another company that has adapted this technology is the broadcasting company in America, the Voice of America. This company has opened its mobile lines for the clients or the listeners to be able to contact the studio and give their opinions about any matter. By doing that the company is able to receive feedback about the services it offers to the public. Discuss broadly the setup (capital) costs and the ongoing (operating) costs of implementing this technology The setup capital for this technology is very high. This is because it is an expensive technology to set up both in terms of finances, machines and human resource. Discuss any issues specific of this technology to the organization under study It should be noted that threats in a company that has been involved in online activities are very common (Kenneth & Jane, 2010). These are very important factors that a business should be keen on because the security of the business could be at stake. This company has been using a kind of public system internet for all of its transactions and so it can be a serious threat to the business. These transactions can be easily tracked, monitored, logged on, as well as stored in so many locations. This means that it is very necessary for a company to understand better any possible threats to its business (Van Bon & Verheijen, 2006). There are a number of threats faced by the internet commerce company and their source in the company may be from within or even from an outside source. The following are the main possible sources of threat to information of a small company 1) Some internal users who are not authorized to gain access to the information that is confidential by the use of some stolen password. The main aim for that is to be able to commit fraud or even theft. This can be done by one or more of the employees. 2) Some former kind of employees who may still be having the passwords to the information resource systems whereby they can also have created some other alternative passwords or what is called backdoors passwords for the computer system. This can also be done indirectly via the former co-workers. 3) Some available weak points to the information infrastructure as well as security which can easily expose the company’s information as well as the secrets of its trade. 4) If the management undermines the importance of having good information security, then this can also be a risk in itself to the business. Conclusion Project management is a very important aspect of any organization (Burnett, 1998). It entails a discipline that deals with the organization, planning, resource management and security, all of which is geared towards the accomplishment of the organization’s objectives, goals and mission. Project management works hand in hand with programs management but it is technically ranked higher than the project management because it entails a group of so many but related projects that are under one management in a certain project. A project for that matter refers to an activity which is temporary and contains a very well defined ending and beginning which is done with the aim of meeting a particular objective or goal (Van Bon & Verheijen, 2006). Project management is very challenging especially as far as the issue of achieving the goals for the engineering projects is concerned as well as managing to control all the forth coming constrains associated with the projects. Some of the main and primary challenges which need great and very efficient project management include the scoop of the project, time factor, and also the budget of the project (Kerzner, 2009). There are other challenges which are termed as secondary like ensuring an optimum allocation of all resources needed to execute the laid down objectives and tasks. There are several laid down approaches that are in use today as far as the success of project management is concerned. The following are the main approaches used in project management which are interactive, agile, phased and incremental. The approach to be used in any particular project must be carefully considered especially in terms of the project timeline, cost, objectives and responsibilities or the roles of the stakeholders and other participants (Kerzner, 2009). Reference Burnett, K. 1998. The project management paradigm. Sidney: Springer. Kenneth, C & Jane, P. 2010.management information system. Canada: Pearson prentice hall Kerzner, H. 2009. Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling. London: John Wiley and Sons. Lock, D. 2007. Project management, 9th Ed. London: Gower Publishing, Ltd. Lock, D. 2007. The Essentials of Project Management, 3rd Ed. London: Gower Publishing, Ltd. Kroenke, D. 2008. Experiencing MIS. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall Marite, K. 2002. Information systems development: advances in methodologies, components, and management. Oxford: oxford university press. O'Brien, J. 2003. Introduction to information systems: essentials for the e-business enterprise. Boston, MA : McGraw-Hill. Olegas , V. 2005. Information systems development: advances in theory, practice, and education. London: spring Orr, A.D. 2004. Advanced project management: a complete guide to the processes, models and techniques. London: Kogan Page Publishers. Sodipo, E. 2008. Project Management Explained. New York City: Lulu.com. Van Bon, J. & Verheijen, T. 2006. Frameworks for IT Management, London: Van Haren Publishing, The Screen Shots Read More