Chapter 3:Software
LearningObjectives
Upon successfulcompletionof thischapter,you willbeableto:
• definethetermsoftware;
• describethetwo primarycategoriesof software;
• describetheroleERPsoftwareplaysinanorganization;
• describecloudcomputinganditsadvantagesanddisadvantagesfor use inanorganization;and
• definethetermopen-sourceandidentifyitsprimarycharacteristics.
Introduction
Thesecondcomponentofaninformationsystemissoftware.Simplyput:Softwareisthesetofinstructions thattellthehardwarewhattodo.Softwareiscreatedthroughtheprocessofprogramming(wewillcoverthe creationofsoftwareinmoredetailinchapter10).Withoutsoftware,thehardwarewouldnotbefunctional.
TypesofSoftware
Softwarecanbebroadlydividedintotwocategories:operatingsystemsand applicationsoftware.Operatingsystems managethehardwareandcreate theinterfacebetweenthehardwareandtheuser.Applicationsoftwareis thecategoryof programsthatdo somethingusefulfor theuser.
OperatingSystems
Theoperatingsystemprovidesseveralessentialfunctions,including:
1. managingthehardwareresourcesof thecomputer;
2. providingtheuser-interfacecomponents;
3. providingaplatformfor softwaredeveloperstowrite applications.
Allcomputing devicesrunanoperatingsystem.Forpersonalcomputers, themostpopularoperating systemsareMicrosoft’sWindows,Apple’sOSX,anddifferentversionsofLinux.Smartphonesandtablets runoperatingsystemsaswell,suchasApple’siOS,Google’sAndroid,Microsoft’sWindowsMobile,and Blackberry.
Earlypersonal-computeroperatingsystemsweresimplebytoday’sstandards;theydidnotprovide multitaskingandrequiredtheusertotypecommandstoinitiateanaction.Theamountofmemorythatearly
26
Saylor URL:
Attributed to: David T. Bourgeois, Ph.D.
Ch.3:Software27
operatingsystemscouldhandlewaslimitedaswell,makinglargeprogramsimpractical torun.Themost popularoftheearlyoperatingsystemswasIBM’sDiskOperating System,orDOS,whichwasactually developedfor themby Microsoft.
In1984,AppleintroducedtheMacintosh computer,featuringanoperatingsystemwithagraphical userinterface.Thoughnotthefirstgraphicaloperatingsystem,itwasthefirstonetofindcommercial success.In1985,Microsoft releasedthefirstversionofWindows.ThisversionofWindowswasnotan operatingsystem,butinsteadwasanapplicationthatranontopoftheDOSoperatingsystem,providing a graphicalenvironment.Itwasquitelimitedandhadlittlecommercialsuccess.Itwasnotuntilthe
1990releaseofWindows3.0thatMicrosoftfoundsuccesswithagraphicaluserinterface.Becauseof theholdofIBMandIBM-compatiblepersonalcomputersonbusiness,itwasnotuntilWindows3.0was releasedthatbusinessusersbeganusingagraphicaluserinterface,usheringusintothegraphical-computing era.Since1990,bothAppleandMicrosofthavereleasedmanynewversionsoftheiroperatingsystems, witheachreleaseaddingtheabilitytoprocessmoredataatonceandaccessmorememory. Features such asmultitasking,virtualmemory,andvoiceinputhavebecomestandardfeaturesofbothoperatingsystems.
Linuxlogo (Copyright:Larry Ewing)
Athirdpersonal-computeroperatingsystemfamilythatisgaininginpopularityisLinux (pronounced“linn-ex”).LinuxisaversionoftheUnixoperatingsystemthatrunsonthe personalcomputer. Unixisanoperatingsystemusedprimarilybyscientistsand engineersonlargerminicomputers.Theseareveryexpensivecomputers,andsoftware developerLinusTorvaldswantedtofindawaytomakeUnixrunonlessexpensive personalcomputers.Linuxwastheresult.Linuxhasmanyvariationsandnowpowersa largepercentage ofwebserversintheworld.Itisalsoanexampleofopen-source software,atopicwe willcoverlaterinthischapter.
Sidebar:Macvs.Windows
AreyouaMac?AreyouaPC?Eversinceitsintroductionin1984,usersoftheAppleMacintoshhavebeen quitebiasedabouttheirpreferencefortheMacintoshoperatingsystem(nowcalledOSX)overMicrosoft’s. WhenMicrosoftintroducedWindows,ApplesuedMicrosoft,claimingthattheycopiedthe“lookandfeel” of theMacintoshoperatingsystem.In theend,Microsoftsuccessfullydefendedthemselves.
Overthepastfewyears,Microsoft andApplehavetradedbarbswitheachother,eachclaiming to haveabetteroperatingsystem andsoftware.WhileMicrosofthasalways hadthelargermarket share(see sidebar), Applehasbeenthefavoriteofartists,musicians,andthetechnologyelite.Applealsoprovides a lotof computerstoelementaryschools, thusgainingafollowingamongtheyoungergeneration.
Sidebar:WhyIsMicrosoftSoftwareSoDominantintheBusinessWorld?
Ifyou’veworkedintheworldofbusiness,youmayhavenoticedthatalmostallofthecomputers runa versionof Microsoft’s Windows operatingsystem.Whyisthis?On almostallcollegecampuses,you seea preponderanceofAppleMacintoshlaptops.Inelementaryschools,Applereignsaswell.Whyhasthisnot extendedintothebusiness world?
Aswelearnedinchapter1,almostallbusinessesusedIBMmainframe computers backinthe1960s and1970s.ThesesamebusinessesshiedawayfrompersonalcomputersuntilIBMreleasedthePCin1981.
28 InformationSystemsforBusiness and Beyond
Whenexecutiveshadtomakeadecisionaboutpurchasing personalcomputersfortheiremployees, they wouldchoosethesaferouteandpurchase IBM.Thesayingthenwas:“Nooneevergotfiredforbuying IBM.”So overthenextdecade,companiesboughtIBMpersonalcomputers(orthosecompatiblewith them),whichrananoperatingsystemcalledDOS.DOSwascreatedbyMicrosoft,sowhenMicrosoft releasedWindowsasthenextiterationofDOS,companiestookthesaferouteandstartedpurchasing Windows.
Microsoftsoonfounditselfwiththedominantpersonal-computeroperatingsystemforbusinesses. Asthenetworkedpersonalcomputerbegantoreplacethemainframecomputerastheprimarywayof computinginsidebusinesses,itbecame essentialforMicrosofttogivebusinessestheabilitytoadminister andsecuretheirnetworks.Microsoftdevelopedbusiness-level serverproductstogoalongwiththeir personalcomputerproducts,therebyprovidingacompletebusiness solution.And so now, thesayinggoes: “No oneevergotfiredfor buyingMicrosoft.”
ApplicationSoftware
Thesecondmajorcategoryofsoftwareisapplicationsoftware.Application softwareis,essentially, softwarethatallowstheusertoaccomplishsomegoalorpurpose.Forexample,ifyouhavetowriteapaper, you mightuse theapplication-softwareprogramMicrosoftWord.If you wanttolistentomusic,you might useiTunes.Tosurftheweb,youmightuseInternetExplorer orFirefox.Evenacomputer gamecouldbe consideredapplicationsoftware.
The “Killer” App
VisiCalcrunningon an AppleII. (Public
Domain)
users.
ProductivitySoftware
Whenanewtypeofdigitaldeviceisinvented,therearegenerallya smallgroupoftechnologyenthusiastswhowillpurchaseitjustfor thejoyoffiguringouthowitworks.However,formostofus,until adevicecanactuallydosomethingusefulwearenotgoingto spendourhard-earned moneyonit.A“killer”applicationisone thatbecomes soessential thatlargenumbers ofpeoplewillbuya devicejusttorunthatapplication.Forthepersonalcomputer,the killerapplicationwasthespreadsheet.In1979,VisiCalc, thefirst personal-computerspreadsheetpackage,wasintroduced.Itwasan immediatehitanddrovesalesoftheAppleII.Italsosolidifiedthe valueofthepersonalcomputer beyondtherelatively smallcircle oftechnology geeks.WhentheIBMPCwasreleased,another spreadsheetprogram, Lotus1-2-3,wasthekillerappforbusiness
Alongwiththespreadsheet, severalothersoftwareapplications havebecomestandardtoolsforthe workplace.Theseapplications,calledproductivitysoftware,allowofficeemployeestocompletetheirdaily work.Manytimes,theseapplicationscomepackagedtogether,suchasinMicrosoft’sOfficesuite.Hereis alistof theseapplicationsandtheirbasicfunctions:
Ch.3:Software29
• Wordprocessing:Thisclassof softwareprovidesfor thecreationof writtendocuments.Functions includetheabilitytotypeandedittext,formatfonts andparagraphs,andadd,move,anddelete textthroughoutthedocument.Most modernword-processingprogramsalsohavetheabilityto
addtables,images,andvariouslayoutandformattingfeaturestothedocument.Wordprocessors savetheirdocumentsas electronicfilesinavarietyof formats.Byfar,themostpopularword- processingpackageisMicrosoftWord,whichsaves itsfilesintheDOCX format.Thisformatcan beread/writtenby manyotherword-processor packages.
• Spreadsheet:Thisclassof softwareprovidesaway todo numericcalculationsandanalysis.The working areaisdividedintorows andcolumns,whereusers canenternumbers,text,or formulas. Itistheformulasthatmakeaspreadsheetpowerful,allowingtheuser todevelopcomplex calculationsthatcanchangebasedon thenumbersentered.Most spreadsheetsalsoincludethe abilitytocreatechartsbasedon thedataentered.Themostpopularspreadsheetpackageis MicrosoftExcel,whichsaves itsfilesintheXLSX format.Just as withword processors, many otherspreadsheetpackagescanreadandwritetothisfileformat.
• Presentation:Thisclassof softwareprovidesfor thecreationof slideshowpresentations.
Harkeningbacktothedays of overheadprojectorsandtransparencies,presentationsoftware allowsitsusers tocreateasetof slidesthatcanbeprintedor projectedon ascreen.Users canadd text,images,andothermediaelementstotheslides.Microsoft’sPowerPointisthemostpopular softwarerightnow, savingitsfilesinPPTX format.
• Someofficesuitesincludeothertypesof software.For example,MicrosoftOfficeincludes Outlook,itse-mailpackage,andOneNote,aninformation-gatheringcollaborationtool.The professionalversionof OfficealsoincludesMicrosoftAccess,adatabasepackage.(Databasesare coveredmoreinchapter4.)
Microsoftpopularizedtheideaof theoffice-softwareproductivitybundlewiththeirreleaseof Microsoft Office.Thispackagecontinuestodominatethemarketandmostbusinessesexpectemployeestoknow how touse thissoftware.However, manycompetitorstoMicrosoftOfficedo existandarecompatible withthefileformatsused by Microsoft(seetablebelow).Recently,Microsofthas beguntoofferaweb versionof theirOfficesuite.SimilartoGoogleDrive,thissuiteallowsusers toeditandsharedocuments onlineutilizingcloud-computingtechnology.Cloudcomputingwillbediscussedlaterinthischapter.
30 InformationSystemsforBusiness and Beyond
Comparison ofofficeapplicationsoftwaresuites
UtilitySoftwareand ProgrammingSoftware
Twosubcategories ofapplicationsoftwareworthmentioningareutilitysoftwareandprogramming software. Utilitysoftwareincludessoftwarethatallowsyoutofixormodifyyourcomputer insomeway. Examplesincludeantivirussoftwareanddiskdefragmentationsoftware.Thesetypesofsoftwarepackages were inventedtofillshortcomingsinoperatingsystems.Manytimes,asubsequentreleaseofanoperating systemwillincludetheseutilityfunctionsas partof theoperatingsystemitself.
Programmingsoftwareissoftwarewhosepurposeistomakemoresoftware.Mostoftheseprograms provideprogrammerswithanenvironmentinwhichtheycanwrite thecode, testit,andconvertitintothe formatthatcanthenberun on acomputer.
Sidebar:“PowerPointed”toDeath
As presentationsoftware,specificallyMicrosoftPowerPoint,hasgainedacceptanceastheprimarymethod toformallypresentinformationinabusinesssetting,theartofgivinganengagingpresentationisbecoming rare.Manypresentersnowjustreadthebulletpointsinthepresentation andimmediately borethosein attendance,who canalreadyreaditfor themselves.
TherealproblemisnotwithPowerPointas muchas itiswiththeperson creatingandpresenting.Author andthinkerSethGodin putitthisway:“PowerPointcouldbethemostpowerfultoolon your computer. But it’snot.It’s actuallyadismalfailure.AlmosteveryPowerPointpresentationsucks rotteneggs.”1The softwareused tohelpyou communicateshouldnotduplicatethepresentationyou wanttogive,butinstead
1. FromWhyare your PowerPointsso bad?availablefor downloadat
Ch.3:Software31
itshouldsupport it.I highlyrecommendthebookPresentationZenby Garr Reynoldstoanyonewho wants toimprovetheirpresentationskills.
Softwaredevelopersarebecomingawareof thisproblemas well.New digitalpresentationtechnologies
arebeingdeveloped,withthehopes of becoming“thenextPowerPoint.”One innovativenew presentation applicationisPrezi.Preziisapresentationtoolthatuses asinglecanvasfor thepresentation,allowing presenterstoplacetext,images,andothermediaon thecanvas,andthennavigatebetweentheseobjects
as theypresent.Just as withPowerPoint,Prezishouldbeused tosupplementthepresentation.And we mustalwaysrememberthatsometimesthebestpresentationsaremadewithno digitaltools.
Sidebar:IOwnThisSoftware,Right?Well...
Whenyoupurchasesoftwareandinstallitonyourcomputer, areyoutheownerofthatsoftware? Technically, youarenot!Whenyouinstallsoftware,youareactuallyjustbeinggivenalicensetouseit. Whenyoufirstinstallasoftware package, youareaskedtoagreetothetermsofserviceorthelicense agreement.Inthatagreement,youwillfindthatyourrightstousethesoftwarearelimited.Forexample,in thetermsoftheMicrosoftOfficeExcel2010softwarelicense,youwillfindthefollowingstatement:“This softwareislicensed,notsold.Thisagreementonlygivesyousomerightstousethefeaturesincludedinthe softwareeditionyou licensed.”
Forthemostpart,theserestrictionsarewhatyouwouldexpect:youcannotmakeillegalcopiesofthe softwareandyoumaynotuseittodoanythingillegal.However,thereareother,moreunexpectedtermsin thesesoftwareagreements.Forexample,manysoftwareagreementsaskyoutoagreetoalimitonliability. Again,fromMicrosoft:“Limitationonand exclusionofdamages.Youcan recoverfromMicrosoftand its suppliers onlydirectdamages uptotheamountyoupaidforthesoftware. Youcannotrecoveranyother damages,includingconsequential,lostprofits,special,indirector incidentaldamages.”Whatthismeansis thatifaproblemwiththesoftwarecausesharmtoyourbusiness,youcannotholdMicrosoftorthesupplier responsiblefor damages.
Applicationsforthe Enterprise
Asthepersonalcomputerproliferatedinsideorganizations,controlovertheinformationgeneratedby theorganization begansplintering.Saythecustomerservicedepartmentcreatesacustomerdatabaseto keeptrackofcallsandproblemreports,andthesalesdepartment alsocreatesadatabasetokeeptrackof customerinformation. Whichoneshouldbeusedasthemasterlistofcustomers?Asanotherexample, someoneinsalesmightcreateaspreadsheettocalculatesalesrevenue,whilesomeoneinfinancecreates adifferentonethatmeetstheneedsoftheirdepartment.However,itislikelythatthetwospreadsheets willcomeupwithdifferenttotalsforrevenue.Whichoneiscorrect?Andwhoismanagingallofthis information?
32 InformationSystemsforBusiness and Beyond
EnterpriseResource Planning
Inthe1990s,theneedto bringtheorganization’sinformationbackundercentralizedcontrolbecamemore apparent.Theenterpriseresourceplanning(ERP)system(sometimes justcalledenterprisesoftware)was developedto bringtogetheran entireorganizationin onesoftwareapplication.Simplyput,an ERPsystem isasoftwareapplicationutilizingacentraldatabasethatisimplementedthroughouttheentireorganization. Let’stakeacloserlookatthisdefinition:
• “A softwareapplication”:An ERPisasoftwareapplicationthatisused by manyof an organization’semployees.
• “utilizingacentraldatabase”:Allusers of theERPeditandsavetheirinformationfromthedata source.Whatthismeanspracticallyisthatthereisonlyonecustomerdatabase,thereisonlyone calculationfor revenue,etc.
• “thatisimplementedthroughouttheentireorganization”:ERPsystemsincludefunctionalitythat coversallof theessentialcomponentsof abusiness. Further,anorganizationcanpurchase
modulesfor itsERPsystemthatmatchspecificneeds,such as manufacturingor planning.
RegisteredtrademarkofSAP
ERPsystemswereoriginally marketed tolargecorporations. However,asmoreandmorelargecompanies beganinstalling them,ERPvendorsbegantargetingmid-sizedandevensmaller businesses.Someofthemorewell-known ERPsystemsinclude thosefromSAP, Oracle,andMicrosoft.
In ordertoeffectivelyimplementanERPsysteminan organization,theorganizationmustbereadytomakeafull
commitment.Allaspectsof theorganizationareaffectedas old
systemsarereplacedby theERPsystem.In general,implementinganERPsystemcantaketwo tothree yearsandseveralmilliondollars.In mostcases,thecostof thesoftwareisnotthemostexpensivepartof theimplementation:itisthecostof theconsultants!
So why implementanERPsystem?If doneproperly,anERPsystemcanbringanorganizationagood returnon theirinvestment.Byconsolidatinginformationsystemsacross theenterpriseandusingthe softwaretoenforcebestpractices,mostorganizationsseeanoverallimprovementafterimplementingan ERP.Businessprocessesas aformof competitiveadvantagewillbecoveredinchapter9.
Sidebar:Y2KandERP
Theinitialwaveofsoftware-application developmentbeganinthe1960s,whenapplicationswere developedformainframecomputers.Inthosedays,computingwasexpensive,soapplications were designedtotakeaslittlespaceaspossible.Oneshortcutthatmanyprogrammerstookwasinthestorage ofdates,specifically theyear.Insteadofallocatingfourdigitstoholdtheyear,manyprogramsallocated twodigits,makingtheassumption thatthefirsttwodigitswere“19″.Forexample,tocalculatehowold someonewas,theapplicationwouldtakethelasttwodigitsofthecurrentyear(for1995,forexample,that
Ch.3:Software33
wouldbe“95″)andthensubtract thetwodigitsstoredforthebirthday year(“65″for1965).95minus65 givesanageof 30, whichiscorrect.
However,astheyear2000approached,manyofthese“legacy”applicationswerestillbeingused,and businesseswereveryconcernedthatanysoftwareapplications theywereusingthatneededtocalculate dateswouldfail.Toupdateourage-calculationexample,theapplication wouldtakethelasttwodigitsof thecurrentyear(for2012,thatwouldbe“12″)andthensubtractthetwodigitsstoredforthebirthday year(“65″for1965).12minus 65givesanageof-53,which wouldcauseanerror.Inordertosolvethis problem,applications wouldhavetobeupdatedtousefourdigitsforyearsinsteadoftwo.Solvingthis would beamassiveundertaking,as everylineof codeandeverydatabasewould havetobeexamined.
Thisiswherecompanies gainedadditionalincentivetoimplement anERPsystem.Formany organizations thatwereconsideringupgradingtoERPsystemsinthelate1990s,thisproblem,knownas Y2K(year2000),gavethemtheextrapushtheyneededtogettheirERPinstalled beforetheyear2000. ERPvendorsguaranteedthattheirsystemshad beendesignedtobeY2Kcompliant–whichsimplymeant thattheystoreddatesusingfourdigitsinsteadoftwo.ThisledtoamassiveincreaseinERPinstallationsin theyearsleadingup to2000, makingtheERPastandardsoftwareapplicationfor businesses.
Customer RelationshipManagement
Acustomerrelationshipmanagement(CRM)systemisasoftwareapplicationdesignedtomanagean organization’s customers.Intoday’senvironment,itisimportanttodeveloprelationshipswithyour customers,andtheuseofawell-designed CRMcanallowabusinesstopersonalizeitsrelationshipwith eachofitscustomers. SomeERPsoftwaresystemsincludeCRMmodules.Anexampleofawell-known CRM packageisSalesforce.
Supply Chain Management
Manyorganizationsmustdealwiththecomplextaskofmanagingtheirsupplychains.Atitssimplest, a supplychainisthelinkagebetweenanorganization’ssuppliers,itsmanufacturingfacilities,andthe distributorsofitsproducts.Eachlinkinthechainhasamultiplyingeffectonthecomplexityoftheprocess: iftherearetwosuppliers,onemanufacturingfacility,andtwodistributors,forexample,thenthereare2x
1 x 2 =4 linkstohandle.However, ifyou addtwo moresuppliers,anothermanufacturingfacility,andtwo moredistributors,thenyou have4 x 2 x 4 =32 linkstomanage.
Asupplychainmanagement(SCM) systemmanagestheinterconnectionbetweentheselinks,aswell astheinventoryoftheproductsintheirvarious stagesofdevelopment.Afulldefinitionofasupply chain managementsystemisprovidedbytheAssociationforOperationsManagement: “Thedesign,planning, execution,control,andmonitoring ofsupplychainactivitieswiththeobjectiveofcreatingnetvalue, buildingacompetitiveinfrastructure,leveragingworldwidelogistics,synchronizingsupplywithdemand, andmeasuringperformanceglobally.”2Most ERPsystemsincludeasupplychainmanagementmodule.
MobileApplications
Justaswiththepersonalcomputer,mobiledevicessuchastabletcomputersandsmartphones alsohave operatingsystemsandapplication software.Infact,thesemobiledevicesareinmanywaysjustsmaller versionsofpersonalcomputers.Amobileappisasoftwareapplicationprogrammedtorunspecificallyon a mobiledevice.
2.
34 InformationSystemsforBusiness and Beyond
Aswesawinchapter2,smartphones andtabletsarebecomingadominantformofcomputing,with manymoresmartphonesbeingsoldthanpersonalcomputers.Thismeansthatorganizations willhaveto getsmartaboutdevelopingsoftwareon mobiledevicesinordertostayrelevant.
Thesedays,mostmobiledevicesrunononeoftwooperatingsystems:AndroidoriOS.Androidis anopen-source operatingsystempurchasedandsupportedbyGoogle;iOSisApple’smobileoperating system.Inthefourthquarterof2012,Androidwasinstalled on70.1%ofallmobilephonesshipped, followedby21.0%foriOS.OthermobileoperatingsystemsofnoteareBlackberry(3.2%)andWindows (2.6%). 3
Asorganizations considermakingtheirdigitalpresencecompatiblewithmobiledevices,theywill havetodecidewhethertobuildamobileapp.Amobileappisanexpensiveproposition,anditwillonly runononetypeofmobiledeviceatatime.Forexample,ifanorganization createsaniPhoneapp,those withAndroidphonescannotruntheapplication.Eachapptakesseveral thousanddollars tocreate,sothis isnotatrivialdecisionfor manycompanies.
Oneoptionmanycompanieshaveistocreateawebsitethatismobile-friendly.Amobilewebsite worksonallmobiledevicesandcostsaboutthesameascreating anapp.Wewilldiscussthequestion of whethertobuildamobileappmorethoroughlyinChapter10.
CloudComputing
Historically,forsoftwaretorunonacomputer,anindividualcopyofthesoftwarehadtobeinstalledon thecomputer,eitherfromadiskor,morerecently,afterbeingdownloadedfromtheInternet.Theconcept of “cloud”computingchangesthis,however.
Tounderstandcloudcomputing,wefirsthavetounderstandwhatthecloudis.“Thecloud”refersto applications,services,anddatastorageontheInternet.Theseserviceproviders relyongiantserverfarms andmassivestoragedevicesthat areconnectedviaInternetprotocols.Cloudcomputingistheuseofthese servicesby individualsandorganizations.
Youprobablyalreadyusecloudcomputinginsomeforms.Forexample,ifyouaccessyoure-mail viayourwebbrowser,youareusingaformofcloudcomputing. IfyouuseGoogleDrive’sapplications, youareusingcloudcomputing.Whilethesearefreeversionsofcloudcomputing,thereisbigbusinessin providingapplications anddatastorageovertheweb.Salesforce(seeabove)isagoodexampleofcloud computing–theirentiresuiteofCRMapplicationsareofferedviathecloud.Cloudcomputingisnotlimited toweb applications:itcanalsobeused for servicessuch as phoneor videostreaming.
AdvantagesofCloud Computing
• No softwaretoinstallor upgradestomaintain.
• Availablefromanycomputerthathas accesstotheInternet.
• Canscaletoalargenumberof users easily.
• New applicationscanbeup andrunningveryquickly.
• Servicescanbeleasedfor alimitedtimeon anas-neededbasis.
• Your informationisnotlostifyour harddiskcrashesor your laptopisstolen.
• You arenotlimitedby theavailablememoryor diskspaceon your computer.
3. TakenfromIDC WorldwideMobilePhone Tracker,February14, 2013. Fullreportavailableat
getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS23946013
Ch.3:Software35
DisadvantagesofCloud Computing
• Your informationisstoredon someoneelse’scomputer– how safeisit?
• You musthaveInternetaccesstouse it.If you do nothaveaccess,you’reoutof luck.
• You arerelyingon athird-partytoprovidetheseservices.
Cloudcomputinghastheabilitytoreallyimpacthow organizationsmanagetechnology.For example,why isanITdepartmentneededtopurchase,configure,andmanagepersonalcomputersandsoftwarewhenall thatisreallyneededisanInternetconnection?
Using a PrivateCloud
Manyorganizationsareunderstandably nervousaboutgivingupcontroloftheirdataandsomeoftheir applicationsbyusingcloudcomputing.Buttheyalsoseethevalueinreducingtheneedforinstalling softwareandaddingdiskstoragetolocalcomputers. Asolutiontothisproblemliesintheconceptofa private cloud.Whiletherearevarious models ofaprivate cloud,thebasicideaisforthecloudservice providertosectionoffwebserver spaceforaspecificorganization.Theorganizationhasfullcontrolover thatserverspacewhilestillgainingsomeof thebenefitsof cloudcomputing.
Virtualization
Onetechnologythatisutilizedextensivelyaspartofcloudcomputingis“virtualization.”Virtualization istheprocessofusingsoftwaretosimulateacomputer orsomeotherdevice.Forexample, using virtualization,a singlecomputercanperformthefunctionsofseveralcomputers.CompaniessuchasEMC providevirtualizationsoftwarethatallowscloudserviceproviderstoprovisionwebserverstotheirclients quicklyandefficiently.Organizationsarealsoimplementingvirtualizationinordertoreducethenumber ofserversneededtoprovidethenecessaryservices.Formoredetailonhowvirtualizationworks,seethis informationalpagefromVMWare.
SoftwareCreation
Howissoftwarecreated?Ifsoftwareisthesetofinstructions thattellsthehardwarewhattodo,howare theseinstructionswritten?Ifacomputerreadseverything asonesandzeroes,dowehavetolearnhowto writesoftwarethatway?
Modernsoftwareapplicationsarewrittenusingaprogramming language.Aprogramming language consistsofasetofcommandsandsyntaxthatcanbeorganizedlogicallytoexecutespecificfunctions. Thislanguagegenerallyconsistsofasetofreadablewordscombinedwithsymbols.Usingthislanguage, aprogrammerwritesaprogram(calledthesourcecode)thatcanthenbecompiledintomachine-readable form,theonesandzeroesnecessarytobeexecutedbytheCPU.Examplesofwell-known programming languagestodayincludeJava,PHP,andvariousflavorsofC(VisualC,C++,C#). Languagessuchas HTMLandJavascriptareusedtodevelopwebpages.Mostofthetime,programming isdoneinsidea programming environment; whenyoupurchaseacopyofVisualStudiofromMicrosoft,itprovidesyou withaneditor,compiler,andhelpfor manyof Microsoft’sprogramminglanguages.
Softwareprogramming wasoriginallyanindividualprocess,witheachprogrammerworkingonan entireprogram,orseveralprogrammerseachworkingonaportionofalargerprogram.However,newer
36 InformationSystemsforBusiness and Beyond
methodsofsoftwaredevelopmentincludeamorecollaborativeapproach,withteamsofprogrammers working on codetogether.Wewillcoverinformation-systemsdevelopmentmorefullyinchapter10.
Open-SourceSoftware
Whenthepersonalcomputerwas firstreleased,itdidnotserveanypracticalneed.Earlycomputerswere difficulttoprogramandrequiredgreatattentiontodetail.However,manypersonal-computer enthusiasts immediately bandedtogethertobuildapplications andsolveproblems.Thesecomputerenthusiastswere happytoshareanyprogramstheybuiltandsolutionstoproblemstheyfound;thiscollaboration enabled themtomorequicklyinnovateandfixproblems.
Assoftwarebegantobecomeabusiness,however,this ideaofsharingeverythingfell out offavor,at leastwithsome.Whenasoftwareprogramtakeshundredsofman-hours todevelop,itisunderstandable thattheprogrammers donotwanttojustgiveitaway.Thisledtoanewbusinessmodelofrestrictive softwarelicensing,whichrequired paymentforsoftware,amodelthatisstilldominanttoday.Thismodel issometimesreferredtoasclosedsource, as thesourcecodeisnotmadeavailabletoothers.
Therearemany,however,whofeelthatsoftwareshouldnotberestricted. Justaswiththoseearly hobbyistsinthe1970s,theyfeelthatinnovationandprogresscanbemademuchmorerapidlyifweshare whatwelearn.Inthe1990s,withInternetaccessconnecting moreandmorepeopletogether,theopen- sourcemovementgainedsteam.
Open-sourcesoftwareissoftwarethatmakesthesourcecodeavailableforanyonetocopyanduse.For mostofus,havingaccesstothesourcecodeofaprogram doesuslittlegood,aswearenotprogrammers andwon’tbeabletodomuchwithit.Thegoodnewsisthatopen-sourcesoftwareisalsoavailablein acompiledformatthatwecansimplydownloadandinstall.Theopen-sourcemovementhasledtothe development ofsomeofthemost-usedsoftwareintheworld,includingtheFirefoxbrowser,theLinux operatingsystem,and theApachewebserver.Manyalsothinkopen-sourcesoftwareissuperiortoclosed- sourcesoftware.Becausethesourcecodeisfreelyavailable,manyprogrammershavecontributedtoopen- sourcesoftwareprojects,addingfeaturesandfixingbugs.
Manybusinessesarewaryofopen-sourcesoftwarepreciselybecausethecodeisavailableforanyone tosee.Theyfeelthatthisincreasestheriskofanattack.Otherscounterthatthisopennessactuallydecreases therisk becausethecodeisexposedtothousandsofprogrammerswhocanincorporatecodechangesto quicklypatchvulnerabilities.
Therearemanyargumentsonbothsidesoftheaisleforthebenefitsofthetwomodels.Somebenefits of theopen-sourcemodelare:
• Thesoftwareisavailablefor free.
• Thesoftwaresource-codeisavailable;itcanbeexaminedandreviewedbeforeitisinstalled.
• Thelargecommunityof programmerswho work on open-sourceprojectsleadstoquickbug- fixingandfeatureadditions.
Somebenefitsof theclosed-sourcemodelare:
• Byprovidingfinancialincentivefor softwaredevelopment,someof thebrightestmindshave chosensoftwaredevelopmentas acareer.
• Technicalsupport fromthecompanythatdevelopedthesoftware.
Ch.3:Software37
Todaytherearethousandsofopen-source softwareapplications availablefordownload.Forexample,as wediscussedpreviouslyinthischapter,youcangettheproductivity suitefromOpenOffice.Onegood placetosearchforopen-source softwareissourceforge.net,wherethousandsofsoftwareapplications are availablefor freedownload.
Summary
Softwaregivestheinstructionsthattellthehardwarewhattodo.Therearetwobasiccategoriesofsoftware: operatingsystemsandapplications.Operatingsystemsprovideaccessto thecomputerhardwareandmake systemresourcesavailable.Applicationsoftwareisdesignedtomeeta specificgoal.Productivitysoftware isasubsetofapplicationsoftwarethatprovidesbasicbusinessfunctionalitytoapersonalcomputer:word processing,spreadsheets,andpresentations. AnERPsystemisasoftwareapplicationwithacentralized databasethatisimplementedacrosstheentireorganization.Cloudcomputingisamethodofsoftware deliverythatrunsonanycomputerthathasawebbrowserandaccesstotheInternet.Softwareisdeveloped throughaprocesscalledprogramming, inwhichaprogrammerusesaprogramminglanguagetoput togetherthelogicneededtocreatetheprogram.Whilemostsoftwareisdeveloped usingaclosed-source model,theopen-sourcemovementisgainingmoresupport today.
StudyQuestions
1. Comeup withyour own definitionof software.Explainthekeytermsinyour definition.
2. Whatarethefunctionsof theoperatingsystem?
3. Whichof thefollowingareoperatingsystemsandwhichareapplications:MicrosoftExcel, GoogleChrome,iTunes,Windows, Android, Angry Birds.
4. Whatisyour favoritesoftwareapplication?Whattasks does ithelpyou accomplish?
5. Whatisa“killer”app?Whatwas thekillerappfor thePC?
6. How would you categorizethesoftwarethatruns on mobiledevices?Breakdown theseapps intoatleastthreebasiccategoriesandgiveanexampleof each.
7. ExplainwhatanERPsystemdoes.
8. Whatisopen-sourcesoftware?How does itdifferfromclosed-sourcesoftware?Givean exampleof each.
9. Whatdoes asoftwarelicensegrant?
10. How didtheY2K (year2000) problemaffectthesalesof ERPsystems?
Exercises
1. Go onlineandfindacasestudyabouttheimplementationof anERPsystem.Wasitsuccessful? How longdidittake?Does thecasestudytellyou how muchmoneytheorganizationspent?
38 InformationSystemsforBusiness and Beyond
2. WhatERPsystemdoes your universityor placeof employmentuse?Findoutwhichonethey use andseehow itcomparestootherERPsystems.
3. If you wererunningasmallbusiness withlimitedfunds for informationtechnology,would you considerusingcloudcomputing?Findsomeweb-basedresourcesthatsupport your decision.
4. Download andinstallOpen Office.Use ittocreateadocumentor spreadsheet.How does it comparetoMicrosoftOffice?Does thefactthatyou gotitfor freemakeitfeelless valuable?
5. Go tosourceforge.netandreviewtheirmostdownloadedsoftwareapplications.Reportbackon thevarietyof applicationsyou find.Thenpickonethatinterestsyou andreportbackon whatit does, thekindof technicalsupport offered,andtheuser reviews.
6. Reviewthisarticleon thesecurityrisks of open-sourcesoftware.Writeashort analysisgiving your opinionon thedifferentrisks discussed.
7. Whatarethreeexamplesof programminglanguages?Whatmakeseachof theselanguages usefultoprogrammers?