Strategic context and patterns of IT infrastructure capability

The importance of a firm's information technology (IT) infrastructure capability is increasingly recognised as critical to firm competitiveness. Infrastructure is particularly important for firms in industries going through dynamic change, for firms reengineering their business processes and for those with multiple business units or extensive international or geographically dispersed operations. However, the notion of IT infrastructure is still evolving and there has been little empirically based research on the patterns of IT infrastructure capability across firms.We develop the concept of IT infrastructure capability through identification of IT infrastructure services and measurement of reach and range in large, multi-business unit firms. Using empirical case research, we examine the patterns of IT infrastructure capability in 26 firms with diverse strategic contexts, including different industry bases, level of marketplace volatility, extent of business unit synergies and the nature of firm strategy formation processes. Data collection was based on a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods with multiple participants.More extensive IT infrastructure capability is defined as a combination of more IT infrastructure services and more reach and range. More extensive IT infrastructure capability was found in firms where: (i) products changed quickly; (ii) attempts were made to identify and capture synergies across business units; (iii) there was greater integration of information and IT needs as part of planning processes; and (iv) there was greater emphasis on tracking the implementation of long term strategy. These findings have implications for both business and technology managers particularly in regard to how firms link strategy and IT infrastructure formation processes.     

A practical framework for discussing IT infrastructure

Although increasingly important, IT infrastructure remains poorly defined. IT professionals need a practical framework to systematically discuss the nature, scope, evolution, and management of IT infrastructure. The guidelines presented can help one to think more clearly about infrastructure issues.     

Valuing information technology infrastructures: a growth options approach

Decisions to invest in information technology (IT) infrastructure are often made based on an assessment of its immediate value to the organization. However, an important source of value comes from the fact that such technologies have the potential to be leveraged in the development of future applications. From a real options perspective, IT infrastructure investments create growth options that can be exercised if and when an organization decides to develop systems to provide new or enhanced IT capabilities. We present an analytical model based on real options that shows the process by which this potential is converted into business value, and discuss middleware as an example technology in this context. We derive managerial implications for the evaluation of IT infrastructure investments, and the main findings are: (1) the flexibility provided by IT infrastructure investment is more valuable when uncertainty is higher; (2) the cost advantage that IT infrastructure investment brings about is amplified by demand volatility for IT-supported products and services; (3) in duopoly competition, the value of IT infrastructure flexibility increases with the level of product or service substitutability; and (4) when demand volatility is high, inter-firm competition has a lower impact on the value of IT infrastructure.     

An exploratory examination of the relationship between flexible IT infrastructure and competitive advantage

Information technology (IT) professionals have discussed the potential value of an organization’s IT infrastructure. Unique characteristics of this infrastructure determine its value to the organization. One characteristic, flexibility, has captured the attention of managers in organizations. A flexible IT infrastructure has even been touted by some as the next competitive weapon. Despite this suggestion, empirical evidence has been sparse. The purpose of this paper is to offer an exploratory analysis into the relationship between flexible IT infrastructure and competitive advantage. A canonical correlation analysis is used to explore this relationship. The findings support the view that there is a positive relationship between flexible IT infrastructure and competitive advantage.     

IT infrastructure capabilities and IT project success: a development team perspective

In this research we investigate how IT infrastructure capabilities are related to IT project success from a development team perspective. We first conduct an extensive literature review and summarize the insights to suggest an IT infrastructure base model. Drawing upon several other bodies of literature, particularly the psychology literature, we then build upon the base model to propose an integrative research model for IT project success that considers both actual and perceived effects of IT infrastructure capabilities. This research model argues that (1) teamwork quality mediates the effect of technical and human IT infrastructure capabilities on IT project success, and (2) team perceptions of both IT infrastructure and team capabilities shape team perceived likelihood of project success, which subsequently affects team commitment that is crucial to IT project success. We also propose a direct-effect model that directly links all constructs to IT project success so that we can test the efficacy of our proposed research model by comparing all three models. We then collect empirical data (n = 91) through an online survey of CIO/CTOs and team leaders. All three models are evaluated and compared using the partial least squares method. The results show strong support for the proposed research model except for two IT infrastructure components. We discuss the practical and theoretical implications of the findings, and suggest several ways this research can be extended.     

IT基础设施与信息系统战略对应模型

IT基础设施是IT组合的基础,其在组织范围内为IT应用和核心业务提供可靠的共享服务。IT基础设施能力关系到企业战略及BPR的成功与否。IT基础设施与信息系统战略之间的对应是战略对应的一项基本问题。该文建立了基础设施与信息系统战略之间的对应模型,并根据该模型采用多目标规划方法和AHP方法解决信息系统规划中的基础设施规划问题,建立了IT基础设施的多目标决策模型。     

How to future-proof your IT infrastructure

Today's tight budgets and the increasing complexity of IT infrastructures place incredible stress on the IT environment. IT managers are working hard to keep up with new technologies while supporting existing infrastructure. As the demands on a business infrastructure grow and expand to new areas, an IT infrastructure must support these new and varied needs. Taking a hard look at ones systems can uncover hidden opportunities for savings and provide funds to help one prepares for future demands.     

中小企业IT基础设施

典型中小企业IT基础设施包括:网络连接、网络服务、目录服务、互联网连接、发表内部资源、文件和存储服务、备份和还原、打印服务、终端服务、证书服务、软件升级服务、抗病毒和防攻击等。配置中小企业IT基础设施可以使用网络操作系统提供的服务组件。一个企业的IT基础设施不为企业提供直接的服务,而是支持企业开展业务。中小企业IT基础设施服务器包括主要基础设施服务器和次要基础设施服务器,次要基础设施服务器为企业提供了冗余。此篇以Windows Server2000或Windows Server2003网络操作系统和服务组件为例,配置主要基础设施服务器和次要基础设施服务器。     

中小企业IT基础设施

典型中小企业IT基础设施包括：网络连接、网络服务、目录服务、互联网连接、发表内部资源、文件和存储服务、备份和还原、打印服务、终端服务、证书服务、软件升级服务、抗病毒和防攻击等。配置中小企业IT基础设施可以使用网络操作系统提供的服务组件。一个企业的IT基础设施不为企业提供直接的服务,而是支持企业开展业务。中小企业IT基础设施服务器包括主要基础设施服务器和次要基础设施服务器．次要基础设施服务器为企业提供了冗余。此篇以Windows Server 2000或Windows Server 2003网络操作系统和服务组件为例．配置主要基础设施服务器和次要基础设施服务器。     

IT infrastructure services as a requirement for e-learning system success

Evaluation of e-learning systems success is an essential process in managing and developing these types of systems. There are still arguments about the factors can be used to evaluate the success of e-learning systems. Inadequate attention has been paid to investigate the role of IT infrastructure services as a foundation to create the success of e-learning systems. The focus of this study is the role of IT infrastructure services in terms of the success of e-learning systems. A model is proposed which includes five constructs: IT infrastructure services; perceived usefulness; user satisfaction; customer value; and organizational value. A quantitative study was conducted at an Australian University, with survey responses from 110 Academic staff members and 720 students who use the e-learning system. The empirical study confirmed that an IT infrastructure services is a valid and reliable construct to measure e-learning systems success. In addition, this study provides evidence of the critical role of IT infrastructure services in the success of e-learning systems via its significant effect on perceived usefulness, user satisfaction, customer value, and organizational value.     

Determinants of perceived usefulness of e-learning systems

E-learning systems are increasingly essential in universities, schools, government departments and other organizations that provide an education or training service. The objective for adopting e-learning systems is to provide students with educational services via electronic channels. The focus of this study is on the impact of IT infrastructure services and IT quality on perceptions of usefulness of e-learning systems. A model is proposed which includes five constructs: IT infrastructure services, system quality, information quality, service delivery quality, and perceived usefulness. A quantitative study was conducted at an Australian university with 720 survey responses from students who were enrolled in online courses. The results suggest that IT infrastructure services play a critical role in generating information with high quality, enhancing the aspects of e-learning system quality, and improving service delivery quality. The impact of IT infrastructure services, system quality, and information quality on perceived usefulness is fully mediated by service delivery quality. Universities need to be aware of the critical impact of IT infrastructure services and consider how investment in these services could improve system and information quality, service delivery quality, and the usefulness and success of e-learning systems.     

Resource Complementarity and IT Economies of Scale: Mechanisms and Empirical Evidence

ABSTRACT

In this study, we explore economies of scale for IT infrastructure and application services. An in-depth appreciation of economies of scale is imperative for an adequate understanding of the impact of IT investments. Our findings indicate that even low IT spending organizations can make a difference by devoting at least 60% of their total IT budget on IT infrastructure in order to foster economies of scale and extract strategic benefits.     

Cost accounting for shared IT infrastructures

IT infrastructure, such as servers and networking equipment, accounts for a large proportion of the IT costs in modern organizations. Typically, this IT infrastructure is shared among multiple applications and customers. Cost allocation of shared IT infrastructure is difficult and regularly based on biased cost allocation keys, which often causes free-rider problems. Measuring usage is technically difficult and incurs high costs. In this paper we propose a method to derive adequate estimators for the resource consumption of a customer-oriented service. These so-called resource profiles can then provide a basis for cost allocation keys. The estimators are derived from a series of load tests, as they are typically done before an application is launched in larger organizations. Such profiles need to be unbiased and precise even in cases of varying workloads and in rather heterogeneous environments. We describe the results of a set of experiments in an infrastructure provided by the BMW Group, and illustrate how the estimation can be integrated into existing IT service management processes. In our experiments we use Queuing Networks to validate the estimated resource profiles under different workloads.     

新IT基础架构探讨

在互联网时代,各行业需要在"商业模式"和"体验"方面的创新,这使得IT变成了核心引擎,需要新的IT基础架构。     

Managing the Reliable Design of an Enterprise IT Network Infrastructure

Today's businesses are more and more dependent upon their information technology (IT) infrastructure. Therefore, the managers are aware of the huge costs associated with data loss (and recovery) and invest millions of dollars in special equipments in order to increase the reliability of their IT systems. Thus, the focus in this article is on the practical modalities of designing a reliable IT network infrastructure in an enterprise. In this direction an algorithm has been developed that is a hybrid between classic greedy and simulated annealing that search for the most reliable IT network infrastructure meeting the imposed budget cost constraints and the enterprise managers' decisions constraints. A key point of the proposed solution is the way in which the enterprise managers are involved in the estimation of the relative importance of their interconnections between their business's data centers. Furthermore, the algorithm presented in this article has been evaluated in the case of a retail enterprise for addressing the business's demands for a higher reliability of their IT network infrastructure.     

IT spending in the midst of the Asian economic downturn: a Singapore perspective

The Asian economic downturn has severely affected the revenue and profitability of companies operating in Asia. This has in turn caused a significant number of companies to reduce their spending on IT, particularly in the countries that have been most affected by the downturn. While IT spending is an immediate and visible effect of the downturn, less visible changes in managerial attitudes towards IT, and approaches to controlling IT spending are likely to have longer term implications to the IT capabilities of companies in the region. In this paper, we examine these issues in the Singapore context, paying particular attention to how companies plan to control and reduce IT infrastructure spending. We found that in the participating firms, managers appear to pay more attention to the links between business strategy and IT after the downturn. We also found that deferring investments in physical infrastructure and outsourcing were the main approaches to IT cost reduction.     

IT alignment strategies for customer relationship management

Customer relationship management (CRM) is the overall process of building and maintaining profitable customer relationships by delivering superior customer value and satisfaction. A CRM strategy involves the entire enterprise and is employed on an ongoing basis. Despite the fact that CRM projects incur huge expenditures, a large percentage fails to achieve the stated objectives. Failure in CRM initiatives could be avoided if a firm's CRM strategies are intelligently linked with its employees, customers, channels, and IT infrastructure. In this paper, we focus on those linkages, particularly on the linkages between an organization's CRM strategies and its IT infrastructure. Even though the relationships between IT and business strategies have been extensively explored in the IT alignment literature, prior research has not addressed how a firm's CRM strategies are aligned with its IT infrastructure. In this paper, we investigate the issues relating to CRM-IT alignment based on an in-depth case study of a large, well-known Internet travel agency.     

Examining the role of information technology in cultivating firms’ dynamic marketing capabilities

Most prior research has investigated an organization's dynamic capabilities in general and overlooked their effect on critical business functions. Our study considered the role of IT in improving firm's dynamic marketing capabilities. We developed a model consisting of market orientation, IT infrastructure capabilities, and the use of IT in customer relationship management (CRM). With data collected from 135 manufacturing and service firms in Taiwan, our results supported most of our hypotheses. Our results showed important direct effects of a firm's market orientation, use of IT to support CRM, and the functionality of IT infrastructure capabilities on its dynamic marketing capabilities.     

制造企业IT运维管理实践与研究

本文以ITIL理论为指导思想,从IT运维服务管理对IT基础架构和应用的实时监控、服务台、事故管理、问题管理、配置管理、发布管理、知识库等维护管理进行了探讨和研究,结合制造业IT运维服务管理的现状。提出更合适制造业的IT运维服务管理的设计和实现,保障IT基础架构和应用高效、安全、正常的运行,为生产平稳运行提供支撑。     

IT-enabled knowledge ambidexterity and innovation performance in small U.S. firms: The moderator role of social media capability

This study examines the impact of information technology (IT)-enabled knowledge ambidexterity on innovation performance, and the potential moderator role of social media capability on a sample composed of 100 small U.S. firms. The empirical analysis suggests that IT infrastructure enables the firm to explore new knowledge and exploit existing/new knowledge to innovate more and better. We also find that social media capability has a positive moderator role in this equation: IT infrastructure and social media capabilities work together to enable knowledge ambidexterity.