IT infrastructure lies at the heart of most

companies operating capabilities. Changes in IT

lead therefore to fundamental changes in how

business operate. Because many companies

depend on these technologies, adept

management of this infrastructure has become

vital.

New technologies provide less value if they

cannot inter-operate effectively with the older

technologies still present in most companies.

IT infrastructure greatly determines a companys

differentiating capabilities; effective

infrastructure enhances capabilities, while

ineffective infrastructure destroys them.

Network

Refers to the technologies (hardware and software)

that permit exchange of information between

organizations.

Core technologies fiber optics, cable systems, DSL,

satellite, wireless, internetworking hardware (routers,

switches, firewalls), content delivery software, identity

and policy management, monitoring.

Internet

Browser

DatabaseServer

Client 1

Server A

Server BBank

Server

URL

HTTPTCP/IP

Browser

Client 2 HTTPServer

App.Server

index.htmlprog1.cgi

ERP

prog2.class

Processing Systems

Encompass the hardware and software that together

provide an organizations ability to handle business

transactions.

Core technologies Transaction software (enterprise

systems offered by companies such as SAP and Oracle

or more targeted solution), servers, server appliances,

client devices (PCs, handhelds), mobile phones.

Facilities

The physical systems that house and protect

computing and network devices, are the least

glamorous infrastructure components.

Core technologies Corporate data centers,

collocation data centers, managed services data

centers, data closets

The emergence of real-time infrastructure

Better data, better decisions

Improve process visibility

Improve process efficiency

From make-and-sell to sense-and-respond

Broader exposure to operational threats

New models of service delivery

Managing legacies

Internetworking technologies must support all or

nearby all the elements of business transactions

that can occure in face-to-face transactions.

Companies will in the long run engage each other

in real-time transactions, negotiate the terms of

transactions, establish business linkages, and

settle accounts depends on standards and

technologies net yet fully developed.

1. What does the public infrastructure of the Internet

mean to our business operations? Are we leveraging

this infrastructure to maximum advantage? How

Dependent are we still on proprietary technologies?

2. How close do our company operations come to running

in real-time? What value creation opportunities can still

be obtained by moving more in the direction of real-

time value capture?

3. Has our company taken appropriate advantage of the

many degrees of architectural and operational freedom

offered by internetworking technologies? Have we

thought through the inherent complexities and risks in

those additional degrees of freedom?

4. Have we reexamined our management frameworks in

light of the new and more adaptive capabilities that

internetworking technologies offer? Most important,

do senior business managers play an active and

informed role in infrastructure design and planning

decisions?