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.

ERP
Client 1
Browser

HTTP
TCP/IP

Client 2

Internet

Browser

Server B

Bank
Server

Server A
HTTP
Server

App. Database
Server Server

URL index.html prog2.class

prog1.cgi

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.

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 realtime value capture?
1.

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?
3.