Questions: 6.
Should the club upgrade its computer systems? Identify the areas that should be upgraded. Discuss the benefits that would be gained from upgrading the system. 7. Design a network configuration for Cactus Spine County Club. Why did you choose to include certain functions on the network? Answers: 6.
Should the club upgrade its computer systems? ? The club needs to upgrade its computer systems. Identify the areas that should be upgraded. ? The areas that should be upgraded consist of two main parts, hardware and software. Recommended areas that should be upgraded: The old IBM personal computer should be replaced with a more powerful computer and several terminals which can support the application and network configuration. Because of the nature of the entity and the industry, the suitable software package and databases should be selected from suppliers. The transactions and events of the entity are relatively simpler than the manufacturing companies, and the size of the entity is relatively small.
As a result, the entity may choose to use a simplified ERP system which integrates the accounting application, data and other applications. There are many big suppliers like SAP, Oracle, etc. When selecting the supplier and the product, there are several factors should be considered: -Functionality, i. e.
whether it meets the requirements of the entity -Cost -Quality, i. e. the reliability of the system -Post-sale services -Suppliers’ business risk and the need of Escape Agreement As the rapid development of the IT technology, there are a great of techniques can be used to develop the e-business of entity, which also request upgrading of the computer system. Discuss the benefits that would be gained from upgrading the system.
? Tangible benefits: -Cost savings from reducing the high maintenance costs -Cost deductions from labor costs -Better cash flow control -Faster information processing -Data sharing and consistency -Paperless processing -Better operation scheduling and monitoring -Improved reporting function thus assists decision making -Improved internal control and preventions of fraud -Audit trail ? Intangible benefits -Morale -Company image -Quality of service 7. Design a network configuration for Cactus Spine County ClubWhy did you choose to include certain functions on the network? Electronic networks are groups of computers that are connected together electronically. There are two main kinds of network configuration, LAN and WAN. The Internet is an electronic highway that allows computers to communicate with each other.
The entity in this case should make use of Internet to develop E-business. Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is a standard protocol, available since the 1970s, for electronically transferring information between organizations and across business processes. EDI improves accuracy and cuts costs. The Internet, as one of the recent EDI Facilitators, eliminates the need for special proprietary third-party networks. Reaping the full benefits of EDI requires that it be fully integrated with the company’s AIS. The use of EDI to exchange information is only part of the buyer-seller relationship in business-to-business electronic commerce.
Electronic funds transfer (EFT) refers to making cash payments electronically, rather than by check. EFT is usually accomplished through the banking system’s Automated Clearing House (ACH) network. An Application Service Provider (ASP) is a company that provides access to and use of application programs via the Internet. The ASP owns and hosts the software; the contracting organization accesses the software via the Internet. In this case of Cactus Spine County Club, the centralized system with distributed data entry is recommended. This system is also a kind of centralized system, as the data stored in a single computer, and all the processing work is done by programs in this computer.
However, data entries can be made by users by means of inputting data on terminal emulation. NOTATION: TE= Terminal emulation Advantages: ? Resources sharing (computer, peripheral equipment, data, etc) ? End users can input data from local terminals ? Update in time As there are not so many users in this case, so the processing speed at busy time is not the problem. However, the disaster recovery plan (contingency plan) is necessary indeed. Because of centralization, once the computer breaks up, all the users are influenced. The cooperation requirements for primary activities and support activities in the value chain ask for employees sharing supportive data. There are several problems to solve.
? Data sharing for multi-users ? Access only to authorized part of application (read exclusive not allowed) ? Network configuration Use of Internet and network configuration—Client-server systems A server is a robot-type program that constantly runs on some computer and exchanges information with users who request it. Databases and DBMS or accounting application are stored in the server. Users’ programs that access and exchange information with servers are called clients. Software and interface are stored in the clients.
Organizations may select database and application packages which meet its requirements from suppliers. E-business and e-commerce ? Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) ? Static and dynamic web pages (Three-tier: Client tier, Middle tier, and Bottom tier) for e-business applications Integrating of business processes, data and applications There is an important technology trend is the accelerative business processes, data and applications both within and outside the organization. For example: Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) or Extensible Markup Language (XML) Customer relationship management system (CRM)
