This document discusses current trends in information technology hardware, software, and infrastructure. It covers input/output technologies, including touch screens and scanners. Storage trends like cloud computing are explained. The types of computers from PDA's to supercomputers are outlined. Hardware trends such as mobile devices, nanotechnology, virtualization, and cloud/autonomic computing are presented. Multi-core and power-efficient processors that enhance performance while reducing power consumption are also discussed.

1. Z
Current Trends and
Issues in IT
Subject Code: COMP131
By: Marlon Jamera
Email: mjdesignexpress@gmail.com

2. Z
Scope of the Lesson
• Hardware Technology Trends
• Input Technologies and Trends
• Output Technology Trends
• Storage Trends and Trade offs.

3. Z
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the lesson, you will be
familiar with the current trends and issues
in IT.
• Identify what the input technology trends
are.
• Identify what the output technology
trends are.
• Explain what the uses of the hardware
trends are.
• Integrate the trade offs of the storage
trends.

4. Z
Infrastructure Components
• IT Infrastructure: Provides platform
for supporting all information systems in
the business and the society.
• Computer Hardware
• Computer Software
• Data Management Technology
• Organizes, manages and processes business data
concerned with inventory, customers and vendors.

5. Z
Infrastructure Components
• Network and Telecommunications
Technology
• Technology Services
• E.g. consultants for system integration
with legacy systems.

6. Z
Infrastructure Components
Figure 1-1
A firm’s IT infrastructure is composed of hardware,
software, data management technology, networking
technology, and technology services.

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Types of Computers
• Computers come in different sizes
with varying capabilities for processing
information.
• FLOPS (Floating Point Operations per Second)
• PDA’s, handheld mobile devices.
• PC’s
• Workstation
• More powerful mathematical and graphic-
processing capabilities than a PC.

8. Z
Types of Computers
• Servers
• Type of midrange computer
• Support computer network, sharing files and
resources
• Provide hardware platform for e-commerce
• Mainframes
• Large capacity, high performance computer that can
process large amounts of data very rapidly.
• E.g. used by airlines for thousands of reservations
per second.

9. Z
Types of Computers
• Supercomputer
• More sophisticated computer used for tasks
requiring extremely rapid and complex calculations
with thousands of variables and millions of
measurements
• Used in engineering, scientific simulations,
military/weapons research, weather forecasting.
• Grid Computing
• Power of geographically remote computers
connected into single network to act as a “virtual
computer”

10. Z
Types of Computers
• Client/Server Computing
• Form of distributed computing
• Splits processing between “clients”
and “servers”
• Clients: User point of entry.
• Servers: Store and process shared data
and perform network management
activities.

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Types of Computers
• Client/Server Computing (cont.)
• Two-tiered client/server architecture
• Uses two types of machine
• Multi-tiered client/server architecture
• Balances load of network over several levels of
servers.
• E.g. Web servers and application servers

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Client/Server Computing
Figure 1-2
In client/server computing, computer processing is
split between client machines and server machines
linked by a network. Users interface with the client
machines.

13. Z
A Multi-tiered Client/Server
Network
Figure 1-3
In a multi-tiered client/server network, client requests
for service are handled by different levels of servers.

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Input, Output and
Storage Technology
• Input Devices: Gather data and convert
them into electronic form.
• Keyboard
• Computer Mouse
• Touch Screen
• Optical Character Recognition
• Magnetic Ink Character Recognition
• Pen-based Output
• Digital Scanner
• Audio Input and Sensors.

15. Z
Input, Output and
Storage Technology
• Output Devices: Display data after they
have been processed.
• Monitor
• Printer
• Audio Output
• Information systems collect and process
information in one of two ways
• Batch Processing: Transactions stored for
predefined amount of time, then processed as a group
• Online Processing: Transactions processed
immediately.

16. Z
Hardware Trends
• The emerging mobile digital platform
• Cell phone, Smartphone
• Netbooks and Tablet Computers
• E-book Reader
• Nanotechnology
• Creating computer chips and other
devices thousands of times smaller
through manipulating individual atoms
and molecules.

17. Z
Hardware Trends
• Example of Nanotubes:
Figure 1-4
Nanotubes are tiny tubes about 10,000 times thinner than a human hair. They consist of rolled up
sheets of carbon hexagons, have potential uses as minuscule wires or in ultra small electronic
devices, and are very powerful conductors of electrical current.

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Hardware Trends
• Cloud Computing
• A model of computing in which firms
and individuals obtain computing
resources over the internet.
• Cloud infrastructure as a service
• Cloud platform as a service
• Cloud software as a service

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Hardware Trends
Figure 1-5
In cloud computing, hardware and software capabilities are provided as services over the Internet.
Businesses and employees have access to applications and IT infrastructure anywhere at any time
using an Internet-connected device.

20. Z
Hardware Trends
• Autonomic computing
• Development of systems that can
configure themselves, heal themselves;
• E.g. Self-updating antivirus software.

21. Z
Hardware Trends
• Virtualization
• Process of presenting a set of
computing resources so they can be
accessed in ways that are unrestricted
by physical configuration or
geographical location.
• Server Virtualization: Running more
than one operating system at the same
time on single machine.

22. Z
Hardware Trends
• High performance and power-saving
processor
• Multi-core Processors
• Integrated circuit with two or more
processors.
• Enhanced performance, reduced power
consumption and more efficient simultaneous
processing of multiple tasks.
• Power-efficient processors
• Low Power consumption essential in
mobile computing.

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Let’s call it a day,
Thank you!