Trends In Computer Hardware And Software Platforms Information Technology Essay

Managing information is a planned system of the collection, processing, storage and dissemination of data in the form of information needed to carry out the management functions.

Information system has got three activities produce information organizations needed these are:-

Input: Captures raw data from organization or external environment

Processing: Converts raw data into meaningful form

Output: Transfers processed information to people or activities that use it

The paper is dealing about the trend of IT technology and how does it merge then I will talk about the current trends in computer hardware and software platform and how is involving in mobile platform, grid computing and Cloud computing.

What are the current trends in computer hardware and software platforms? Described the involving mobile platform, grid computing and cloud computing.

Trends identified in a 1982 article were increasing miniaturization and archival ability, increasing software costs, increasing software independence, user empowerment through new software technologies, shorter computer-system life cycles, and more rapid development and support of services. Most of these trends continue today.

Current trends in hardware and software include the increasing use of reduced instruction-set computing, movement to the UNIX operating system, the development of large software libraries, microprocessor-based smart terminals that allow remote validation of data, speech synthesis and recognition, application generators, now in fourth-generation languages, computer-aided software engineering, object-oriented technologies, and artificial intelligence.

The computer industry and its products continue to undergo dynamic change. Software development continues to lag behind hardware, and its high cost is offsetting the savings provided by hardware.

The future of hardware is quite shaky because of the troubles between software and hardware computer engineers and now that software could not keep up with hardware, hardware may be declining as software will take over.

Example we always see the upgrade of software and but hardware still the same. The more software upgrade becomes more easy to use and maintained.

How does hardware platforms involved in

Mobile platform:

A mobile platform is the operating system that controls a mobile device or information appliance similar in principle to an operating system such as Windows, Mac OS, or Linux that controls a desktop computer or laptop. However, they are currently somewhat simpler, and deal more with the wireless versions of broadband and local connectivity, mobile multimedia formats, and different input methods.

Examples of devices running a mobile operating system are smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), tablet computers and information appliances or what are sometimes referred to as smart devices, which may also include embedded systems, or other mobile devices and wireless devices.

More and more business computing is moving from PCs and desktop machines to mobile devices like cell phones and smart phones. Data transmissions, Web surfing, e-mail and instant messaging, digital content displays, and data exchanges with internal corporate systems are all available through a mobile digital platform. Netbooks, small low-cost lightweight subnotebooks that are optimized for wireless communication and Internet access, are included.

Example is iPhone, strengths greatly outweigh its weaknesses, and you need to use it only for a short time to realize how old and heavy most other smart phones feel. In most cases, the iPhone provides the real thing in terms of Web and Internet capabilities, not watered-down phone versions.

The iPhone has already unleashed competition from other vendors that recognize the innovations and improvements that the Apple phone has introduced. It was very good and it was getting close to replace the PC.

Grid computing:

It involves connecting geographically remote computers into a single network capable of working in parallel on business problems that require short-term access to large computational capacity. Meaning rather than purchase huge mainframes or super computers, firms can chain together thousands of smaller desktop clients into a single computing grid.

Example thinks about how much time you don’t use your personal computer, in reality not a lot. Most computers in the world are being idle and at night they are sleeping. What if you could combine all the idle time of hundreds or thousands of computers into a continuous, connected computing capacity to capture, process, manage, store, and retrieve data? You wouldn’t have to purchase enormous, super computers to realize this capability and capacity. You just have to turn on grid computing.

Three reasons why grid computing is appealing to companies include:

Cost savings

Computer become more speed

Computer become very quick

Advantages of grid computing;

Can solve larger, more complex problems in a shorter time

Easier to collaborate with other organizations

Make better use of existing hardware

A good example of a company is Amazon website services use grid computing.

Cloud computing:

This is a model of computing where firms and individuals obtain computing power and software applications over the Internet, rather than purchasing their own hardware and software. Data are stored on powerful servers in massive data centres, and can be accessed by anyone with an Internet connection and standard Web browser.

Cloud computing is an umbrella term used to refer to Internet based development and services. The cloud is an image for the Internet. A number of characteristics define cloud data, applications services and infrastructure:

Remotely hosted: Services or data are hosted on someone else’s infrastructure.

Everywhere: Services or data are available from anywhere.

The result is a utility computing model similar to traditional that of traditional utilities, like gas and electricity. You pay for what you would like pays as you go or the more you use the more you pay.

Types of Cloud Computing

Major corporations including Amazon, Google, IBM, Sun, Cisco, Dell, HP, Intel, Novell, and Oracle have invested in cloud computing and offer individuals and businesses a range of cloud-based solutions.

Social Networking

The most famous use of cloud computing is social networking Websites, including Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter, and many, many others. The main idea of social networking is to find people you already know or people you would like to know and share your information with them. Certainly, when you share your information with these people, you’re also sharing it with the people who run the service.

Example using a Facebook page, a business can connect with its customers, and at the same time, those customers will be promoting your business.

Emails

Some of the biggest cloud computing services are Web-based e-mail. Examples, Hotmail or Windows Live Mail Using a cloud computing e-mail solution allows the mechanics of hosting an e-mail server and maintaining it to be taken out of your hands. It also means that your e-mail is accessible from anywhere.

Banking and Financial Services, Government, health care

Consumers store personal information to cloud computing service providers. They are using free or low cost online backup services.

Advantage of Cloud computing

It provide necessary infrastructure from centralized sources.

It’s cheaper and helps companies reduce the total cost of ownership of IT technology.

They can also take advantage of newer technologies than what they are able to buy and maintain on their own.

Software Platform trend

There are five themes for software platform trends and how it is involving in digital mobile, grid computing and cloud computing internet.

List of five themes for software platform are:-

Linux and open source software

Java and Ajax

Web services and services oriented architecture

Software mash up and web2 application

Software outsourcing

Lots of trends are occurring in software’s. At the beginning the computers were very hard to maintain but now days they have made it very easy to maintain computers. Most developers they are using software like Linux and open software because is free and can be modified by users. It can be developed and maintained by a worldwide network of programmers and designers under the management of user communities

Software outsourcing this is kind of small firms purchase most of their software from outside vendors. Three kinds of outsourcing:

Purchase of software packages

Using application service providers

Custom outsourcing

The main changes occurring in software are:-

More flexibility ; one of the major attributes of modern software is flexible meaning, now developed software are becoming more easier to use .It does not really acquire tutorials or have to be thought before one can use a software on the market these days. This is due to indicates and showing of genuineness in software making it meaningful for users to see and use without haven to be explained before use.

For example early versions of Microsoft Office were that uneasy to use but with current versions of this Application software (that is in 2007-2010), the organization is more simple therefore becoming more flexible because you can easily manipulate around with it.

It can be used for daily communication Examples of software are Microsoft Outlook Express, Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger, etc. This software’s used for daily communication through digital mobile, grid computing and cloud computing (internet).

Software can be used for security purpose, security system if you know a lot about software you may break any security system example code and you can even rob the bank in computer term is known as hacking. It can be used for hacking.

Software Enables Multitasking: trend occurring in software’s these days includes multitasking supportiveness. Multitasking refers to the ability of a system specifically CPU/COMPUTER SYSTEM to run more than one task simultaneously. Software’s these days has the ability to support Multitasking. Typical example is, The Microsoft XP PACK versions were able to support multitasking but not more effective as in Windows 7 which can carry more than 4 tasks at a time. It could copy, delete, install at the same time which shows how software evolving these days are multitasking supported.

Part II

Using specific examples/organisation, describe how network economics, declining communication costs and technology standards affect IT infrastructure?

IT infrastructure is the physical hardware used to interconnect computers and users. Infrastructure includes the transmission media, including telephone lines, cable television lines, and satellites and antennas, and also the routers, aggregators, repeaters, and other devices that control transmission paths. Infrastructure also includes the software used to send, receive, and manage the signals that are transmitted.

IT infrastructure how does it affect in Networking Economic?

Network economics: Metcalfe’s Law helps explain the mushrooming use of computers by showing that a network’s value to participants grows exponentially as the network takes on more members. As the number of members in a network grows linearly, the value of the entire system grows exponentially and theoretically continues to grow forever as members increase.

The typical example is the telephone. The more people own telephones, the more valuable the telephone is to each owner. This creates a positive externality because a user may purchase their phone without intending to create value for other users, but does so in any case. Online social networks work in the same way, with sites like Twitter and Facebook being more useful the more users join.

Declining communication costs: Rapid decline in costs of communication and the exponential growth in the size of the Internet is a driving force that affects the IT infrastructure. As communication costs fall toward a very small number and approach zero, utilization of communication and computing facilities explodes.

Example the company can use the policy to each person electronically (e-mail). Everyone would have a personal copy stored on computer. There is no need to print it out on paper because it will be stored electronically and can be referenced whenever it is convenient. As employees acknowledge receipt of the policy via e-mail, the HR department knows they received it.

So what about the people who don’t have their own personal computer? You could post the new policy to the company Intranet, which would be available to all employees whenever they find it convenient. Again, time and resources are cut drastically through the use of an information system. If the policy needs to be revised, the same process can be used to make and send out changes. The revised policy can be posted on the intranet for all to see. This system can be applied in any organisation.

Technology standards: Growing agreement in the technology industry to use computing and communication standards. Technology standards unleash powerful economies of scale and result in price declines as manufacturers focus on the products built to a single standard. Without economies of scale, computing of any sort would be far more expensive than is currently the case.

Example without an information system you would need to have a clerical worker available to record and send out all the information to everyone before and after the meetings. You would have to set up a time and place for team members to meet. This was 20 years system and it cost more.

If your company had the proper information system, much of the hassle and expense of this scenario could be eliminated. By using technology, most of the collaboration and communication throughout the organization, top-to-bottom, side-to-side, could be accomplished quicker and cheaper.

Above you can see how IT infrastructure being affected in networking economic, declining communication costs and technology standards with a good example of any company or any organisation.

Recommendations

Technology is good because it simplify your work environment. Technology makes tasks easier, quicker, more efficient, and better. On the other hand, technology can make people lazier, products are made more cheaply which can be good for companies, but bad for consumers, and technology can have adverse effects on a person’s health and safety. Example of person health it might be eyes problems or headache because of spending time on computer without a break.

IT information has not only brought the world closer together, but it has allowed the world’s economy to become a single interdependent system. This means that we can not only share information quickly and efficiently, but we can also bring down barriers of linguistic and geographic boundaries.

The help of information technology, communication has also become cheaper, quicker, and more efficient. We can now communicate with anyone around the globe by simply text messaging them or sending them an email for an almost instantaneous response. The internet has also opened up face to face direct communication from different parts of the world thanks to the helps of video conferencing.