Impact of IT on Enterprises, Users, and the Environment

Information Technology for Management

Improving Performance in the Digital Economy

Chapter Outline

New and Accelerating Trends in IT Current Perspectives on the Enterprise

Web 2.0 Operating Greener Businesses and Eco-

Friendly Data Centers Impacts of Too Much Information and

Connectivity Managerial Issues

Learning Objectives

1. Recognize trends in IT that are affecting business processes, competition, and workers.

2. Describe ways that IT can help conserve natural resources and protect the environment.

3. Identify key uses of Web 2.0 technologies that gave rise to the concept of Enterprise 2.0.

4. Understand green business practices and data center designs.

Learning Objectives – cont’d

5. Understand the complexity of the effects of technological progress on labor markets and individual employees.

6. Discuss the impacts of IT on the quality of life and interpersonal relationships.

7. Recognize the physical and emotional issues related to the proliferation of IT.

Figure IT7eU

Problems – lab & computing facilities needed extensive processing power which would consume huge amounts of energy & generate extreme heat. Solution – high performance computer

cluster with Intel processors. Results – computing infrastructure

delivers computing power & data transfer rate required to capture & analyze large amounts of data in real time.

New and Accelerating Trends in IT

Kurzweil’s Law of Accelerating Returns

During this century, there will be roughly 20,000 years of progress based on today’s rate. Equivalent of 4,000 years of technological

advancement will occur from 2000 to 2010. By 2020, we will have workable artificially

intelligent brain that can recognize patterns the way human brains do.

Robotics

Engaged in sports, war, medicine, business, entertainment, leisure & home care. Nanobots will be highly intelligent & make

smart decisions in many areas of applications. Increasingly substitute for humans. U.S. Department of Defense is working on

creating robot armies that will operate autonomously.

Robotics – cont’d

IBM Consulting uses software programs that choose & allocate resources for projects better & faster than humans can. Cisco is using software programs to

replace humans in HR, finance, customer services & other staff areas.

Quantum Leaps Driven by IT

In mid-1990s – emerged the Web, with it the Internet & e-commerce; enterprise information systems such as CRM, SCM & ERP developed to improve performance. End-user driven technologies such as

Web 2.0 and social networking, & social media. Shift away from centralized IT to business

units & giving consumers an active role via social marketing & feedback.

Telemedicine & Telehealth

Telemedicine or telehealth technologies will help in increasing number of patients who physicians treat remotely & in lowering costs & travel times associated with treatment.

Telemedicine is use of telecommunication networks to provide medical information & services.

Telehealth is use of electronic information & telecommunications technologies to support preventative & curative long-distance clinical health care, education, public health & health administration.

Patients may be monitored remotely.

Mobile Technology in Medicine

Allows specialist to triage, diagnose, & monitor remote medical cases by viewing data & images conveyed wirelessly to their locations. Allows access to medical records &

reference materials related to a specific patient’s case.

Urban Planning with Wireless Sensor Networks

Adverse effects associated with traffic congestion can be alleviated with deployment of sensors & wireless networks.

System will alert drivers to empty parking spaces.

IT solutions will have series of positive effects on transportation, economy & environment.

Dozen major cities are in discussions currently with technology companies to deploy smart parking systems.

Offshore Outsourcing

Software development & call center operations are most prevalent.

Expanding into such activities as processing insurance claims, transcribing medical records, engineering & design work, financial analysis, market research among others.

Concerns surrounding identity theft & privacy issues with confidential data. Standards in one country may vary extensively with the contracted offshore country.

Ethical issues continue to be of major concern to U.S. workers.

Business Process Outsourcing Entire business processes are being

outsourced to greater extents similar to way manufacturing has been outsourced for decades.

BPO is process of hiring another company to handle business activities. Distinct from IT outsourcing which focuses on hiring third-party company or provider to do IT-related activities such as application management & development, data center operations, or testing & quality assurance.

SOA Delivery Models SOA is infrastructure in which software

applications are broken into modular components called services.

Example - Installing an SOA helped NYC-based Coty, Inc., accomplish 3 major business goals in less than 6 months: absorb IT infrastructure of newly acquired company; connect to new procurement system; & to implement new SAP system in Western Europe.

Article for more - The future of SOA -- A service-based delivery model with Web 2.0 capabilities

Current Perspectives on the Enterprise Web 2.0

Enterprise 2.0 & What It Can Do For You

Began as a way to collaborate using blogs, or comment forums, within companies, or between, & with partners or customers.

Builds business intelligence. KM becomes more decentralized.

Provides users with critical customer information instantly.

Real-time, secure access to business performance information on mobile devices.

Presence, Location & Privacy

Social networking capability such as IM on facebook enables users to know when friends are online. iPhone built-in location awareness capabilities expand the concept to exact physical location. Provides audit trail to track people’s

movements. Many privacy & legal issues arise when

harm results from so much awareness & connectivity.

Operating Greener Businesses and Eco-Friendly Data Centers

Green Computing – Enterprises Need To…

Identify desktops to virtualize. Results in savings in energy, space & recycling. Video on virtualization. Identify & turn off unused computers. Enable power management features. Replace old technologies Institute green supply chain to include

procurement, manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, etc.

Global Green Initiatives

RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) Directive in European Union – restricts use of certain hazardous substances in electrical & electronic equipment. China has passed its own initiative to RoHS legislation. California’s Electronic Waste Recycling

Act – prohibits sale of electronic devices banned by EU’s RoHS. States have enacted mercury & PBDE

bans.

Table 15.1

Impacts of Too Much Information and Connectivity

Information Overload

Huge amounts of data can be collected almost instantly. Possible to penetrate virtually every

barrier. Intelligent software to process data. Exponential increase in speed.

Information Quality

Acts make CEO & CFO personally responsible & liable for quality of financial information that firms release to stockholders or file with SEC. Lots of relevant & important data may be

omitted.

Spam

Indiscriminately broadcasting unsolicited messages via e-mail & over Internet. Cost U.S. businesses $42 billion in 2008;

$140 billion worldwide in 2008 . Lowers productivity by employees who

have to deal with these unwanted messages. Anti-green as it wastes computing power. Profitable to originators.

Table 15.2

Dehumanization & Other Psychological Impacts

Many feel loss of identity. Many have increased productivity. Many have created personalization

through blogs & wikis. May cause depression & loneliness due to

isolation. May damage social, moral & cognitive

development of school-age children.

Impacts on Health & Safety

Job stress can occur with demand for increased productivity. Managers must provide training, redistribute workload & add employees.

Table 15.3

Managerial Issues

Managerial Issues

Offshore IT & business process outsourcing – legal & ethical considerations as well as impact upon morale. Managing & evaluating nonpresent

workers – may save billions of gallons & dollars associated with fuel. Requires communications & secure network connections. Effective performance evaluations is different yet critical.

Managerial Issues – cont’d

Information overload – stress can negatively impact employees & productivity. Greater investment in filtering software, DSS & expert systems may help. High quality information – critical to

business operations. Governed by regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Displacement of employees with IT –

potentially disruptive technologies that may displace.

Managerial Issues – cont’d

Electronic surveillance – may reduce exposure to crime, but may result in employee resentment. May erode individual privacy. Social & ethical – lack of common

framework for deciding what is & what is not ethical. Globalization & Internet may undermine moral responsibility.