From topic 6 (IT Infrastructures and Emerging Technologies) read the Interactive Session: Management “Organizations” (Chapter 5,
page 223) and answer all the following questions: 1. What business benefits do cloud computing services provide? What problems do they solve?
2. What are the disadvantages of cloud computing?
3. How do the concepts of capacity planning, scalability, and TCO apply to this case? Apply these concepts both to Amazon and to subscribers of its services?
4. What kinds of businesses are most likely to benefit from using cloud computing? Why?
From topic 7 (Foundations of Business Intelligence: Database and Information management) read the Interactive Session: Management “Management” (Chapter 6, page 275) and answer all the following questions:
1. Discuss the role of information policy, data administration, and efforts to ensure data quality in improving data management at American Water.
2. Describe roles played by information systems specialists and end users in American Water’s systems transformation project.
3. Why was the participation of business users so important? If they didn’t play this role, what would have happened?
4. Give some examples of problems that would have occurred at American Water if its data were not “clean”?
From topic 8 (Securing Information Systems) read the Interactive Session: Management “Management” (Chapter 8, page 347) and answer all the following questions:
1. Is cyberwarfare a serious problem? Why or why not?
2. Assess the management, organization, and technology factors that have created this problem.
3. What makes Stuxnet different from other cyberwarfare attacks? How serious a threat is this technology?
4. What solutions have been proposed for this problem? Do you think they will be effective? Why or why not?
