Edward Lorenz described the butterfly effect as an illustration of chaos theory, in a presentation entitled “Predictability: Does the flap of a Butterfly's wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas?”
Chaos theory proposes that systems, no matter how complex, rely on an underlying order, and that even small changes in a system can cause complex behaviors or events to occur.
In many ways the butterfly effect could be used to describe the IT industry today.
The Ripple Effect: The IT infrastructure is based on a conglomeration of technologies and interactions among complex systems. Even small changes in one technology sector can have unpredictable and dramatic ripple effects on the rest.
What is IT?
IT encompasses the use of hardware, software, networking, telecommunications, and services, to create, store, exchange, and use information in a number of forms including voice, data, and video.
The IT industry can be broken down into the following segments:
- Semiconductors
- Hardware
- Software
- Networking and Communications Platforms
- Systems Integrations and IT solution providers
The semiconductor segment produces ships - a set of micro miniaturized electronic circuits fabricated on a single piece of semi conducting material - which are a central component of computers and other electronic devices otherwise known as integrated circuits or micro chips, they are often referred to as “silicon chips” since silicon is a commonly used semi conducting material
In the IT industry, hardware generally refers to computers and peripherals. Computers are machines that process data according to a set of instructions (software) and peripherals are equipments that can be attached to computers.
Software tells hardware what activities to perform and how to process data. A set of software instructions is called a program. The two primary categories of software are systems software and application software.
Systems software is an overall “control” program, often transparent to the user, such as an Operating System (OS).
Application software is any program that processes data for the user, such as word processor or a spreadsheet.
The networking and communications platforms segment includes developers of systems that allow control the sharing of data or applications among computers, peripherals, and communication devices
Network operating systems are the software control of the network
While not a technology in and of itself, the systems integrators & IT solutions providers segment is an important component of the IT industry infrastructure. A system integrator or IT solution provider is an organization that builds systems from a variety of diverse components - hardware, software, networking - providing a complete “solution”.
The products and services of this segment may vary widely. In general terms, an IT solution provider may bundle software with hardware that best optimize performance for a specific application and deliver it as a single product that requires no customization to use. This is called a “turn key” solution.
Web services are tools and protocols, which allow different applications to communicate, share data, or issue command with one another over the Internet. This can be accomplished with other internal applications, but one advantage of web services is that it relies on a single standard - basically XML (Extensible Markup Language).
XML enables the definition, transmission, validation, and interpretation of data between applications and between organizations.
At one time distributed computing meant individual workstations were able to run their own applications without reliance on a central server to supply them. Today, distributed computing implies grid computing where the computational power of many computers can be combined over a network to solve a single problem or to support a single application.
Distributed computing will support an infrastructure where processing power is not only shared, but sensitive to flux in demand for resources
“The customer is always right”. But it's sometime difficult to determine just what the customer is right about.
Determining customer requirements can be tough, and for those in a technical field, it can be especially difficult to align technology with business needs. However, it is critical to have an accurate understanding of what your customers want before allocating precious development resources.
“Cautious” is the word of choice to describe the IT economic environment today, which is characterized by increased scrutiny of new IT investments and an emphasis on cost-cutting strategies. This has pushed customers toward IT/business alignment.
IT/business alignment is about ensuring that technology supports overall business processes rather than solving discrete problems in a vacuum. This requires communication between IT departments and business units, which for many organizations is still a relatively new concept.
A few characteristics of IT/business alignment include:
- Return of Investment (ROI) analysis of IT investments
- Consolidation of management tools
- A move toward adaptable IT infrastructure.
IT buyers are increasingly being asked to demonstrate the ROI of IT purchases, which means evaluating the cost of an IT solution against potential savings or improved operating efficiencies
IT customers are looking for ways to cut costs without substantially reducing services. Part of this effort is a push toward limiting the number of suppliers, with hope of getting a better price. Examples of consolidation efforts include those items shown below:
