CASE STUDY I - Introduction

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EMPLOYEE SELF SERVICE SYSTEM

ESSS

Case Background A-1 Information Systems (IS) headquartered in Orlando, Florida, employs approximately 4,100 employees throughout the United States. A-1 IS provides leading edge technologies, distributed computing, mainframe, micro, communication, and consulting services to its parent company A-1 Corporation, headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, as well as to external customers including the U.S. government. In addition A-1 IS is responsible for the development and support of all the internal systems that support the entire A-1 corporations day-to-day business processes and operations. Clients pay for the services of A-1 IS based on the number of transactions carried out in support of their contract or by the number of hours spent working on their systems by IS consultants. A-1 IS currently operates in five sites across the nation and they are as follows:

Sunnyvale CA

Denver CO Marietta GA

Valley Forge PA

Orlando FL

Sunnyvale, CA Denver, CO Valley Forge, PA Marietta, GA Orlando, FL -

725 employees 770 employees 1,056 employees 171 employees 1,475 employees

Each site is responsible for servicing and supporting the customers in its region as well as its internal employees. A-1 IS has experienced a 15 percent increase in employees over the past two years, and long-range projections show that trend continuing for the next three years.

Prepared by K. C. Dittman for Systems Analysis & Design Methods 5ed by J. L. Whitten, L. D. Bentley, & K. C. Dittman

Modified by Art Dearing for Networks II Copyright Irwin/McGraw-Hill 2001

CASE STUDY I - Introduction

Organization Structure

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A-1 Information Systems

Joe Turner President
Sharon Jennings Administrative Assistant

Jane Crawley Vice President Sunnyvale Operations

John Jones Vice President Denver Operations

Bill Henry Vice President Marietta Operations

Robert Smith Vice President Valley Forge Operations

Deborah Sellars Vice President Orlando Operations

Lori Simms Vice President Customer Relations

Jack Mills Vice President Human Resources

Peter Crane Vice President Business Operations

Frank Biaz Vice President New Business Development

Information Systems Facilities The information architecture for A-1 IS uses the following standards: Desktop (Micro) Gateway Multimedia Pentium IV Class 2 gigabytes of RAM 560 gig disk drive 19 monitors Operating system MS Windows XP Pro Standard Tools MS Office suite. (2003) Internet Browser MS IE 7.0 or Netscape 6.1 Virus Protection Borland Server (low-end) Dell PowerEdge 4300 class 6 gigabytes of RAM 860 gigabytes available in hard disk storage (via 8 disk raid configuration) Operating system MS Windows Server 2003 Standard Database Management System Oracle 9.0 Server (high-end) Sun Enterprise 10000 class (8 64 processors) 12 gigabytes of RAM 10 terabytes available in hard disk storage (via disk arrays) Operating system Unix Solaris 9.0 Database Management System Oracle 9.0 Printers Hewlett Packard LaserJet and InkJet classes. Netscapes Commerce Server is used to provide data security through encryption. LAN connected via combination of Cat 5 and Cat 5e cabling, combination of hubs and switches, with a standard 100 Mhz. WAN connected via T-1 to the sites and T-3 to the Internet using Frame Relay.
*** Notes: Each site has to have comparable hardware and software, and the employee to microcomputer ratio is 1-to-1. Each facility will require a network access for each employee (with backup drops when using wire) and a 15% overage factor for network components. About 15% of the employees, including most managers, utilize IBM notebooks with docking stations as their desktop computer. Each notebook is comparable to Gateway desktop specifications.
Prepared by K. C. Dittman for Systems Analysis & Design Methods 5ed by J. L. Whitten, L. D. Bentley, & K. C. Dittman Modified by Art Dearing for Networks II Copyright Irwin/McGraw-Hill 2001

CASE STUDY I - Introduction

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The Problem Due to the tremendous growth the company has experienced in recent years, it has recognized that to ensure the continued success of servicing internal as well as external customers, it needed to develop a strategic plan and vision for the use and modernization of its computing resources. The challenges of that of creating a centralized system across all five IS sites to support business practices that are common if not identical across the sites. This includes a need to be able to continue to function if one or more sites are down, temporarily or long term. In January 2012 a strategic plan to modernize the companys resources was presented to executive management. This document included a multiphase plan to reengineer the current systems to use state-of-theart technology and provide a showcase of systems that eventually could be delivered across the whole corporation. This included the need to purchase whatever hardware and software was needed to insure full operation at each location should one or more of the sites go down. Request for Proposal: As a part of the implementation, your company is requested to submit a proposal for their Information Technology requirements. If your company is interested, you must provide a proposal that will update all phases of the network infrastructure to current standards and provide expansion capability for higher speeds on the networks, increased customer and employee numbers at 25% and 15% respectively over the next three years. This proposal must include a multiphase implementation plan (using MS Project). The plan must cover the network infrastructure (wiring, equipment, and connectivity), server systems, and workstation computer/appliances. You will include equipment manufacturers, pricing, replacement planning, and purchase increases through the three year implementation. You may assume that growth will be as predicted at each location. Appendices to your proposal will include a complete listing of the specifications for each planned component as well as an estimated price. In the case of wiring and network infrastructure that may need to be purchased, it is understood that without detailed plans for each facility and location it will be impossible to estimate the total amount of wiring, number of wiring closets requiring racks, switches, UPS, etc. An itemized listing of individual pricing for recommended components will suffice (i.e. price per foot for recommended wire, price per unit for J-hooks, racks, surge protection, and appropriately sized uninterrupted power supply units). In the case of routers and computers, software, etc., you can compute the total numbers required based on the number of personnel and provide estimated purchase numbers and pricing for required components. Each proposal must include a logical diagram of the WAN and logical diagrams of each LAN location (using MS Visio).

Prepared by K. C. Dittman for Systems Analysis & Design Methods 5ed by J. L. Whitten, L. D. Bentley, & K. C. Dittman

Modified by Art Dearing for Networks II Copyright Irwin/McGraw-Hill 2001

CASE STUDY I - Introduction

Page: I-4

Your proposal should include specifications for upgrading or replacing each of the following components of the system: Computer Components Desktop (Microcomputer) RAM Hard disk drive Monitors Keyboard Mouse Operating system Standard Tools Primary Software Internet Browser Firewall Virus Protection Server (low-end) RAM Hard disk storage and configuration Monitors Keyboard Mouse Operating system Database Management System Server (high-end) RAM Hard disk storage and configuration Monitors Keyboard Mouse Operating system Database Management System Data security Intrusion detection Network Infrastructure LAN Media MDF/IDF Components Speed Protocols WAN Media MDF/IDF Components Speed Protocols

Part 2: Each company submitting a proposal will be expected to have their design team make a formal presentation (using MS PowerPoint) of their proposals to the board of directors. Presentation should be not less than 15 minutes and should not exceed 25 minutes to allow for question and answer period.
Prepared by K. C. Dittman for Systems Analysis & Design Methods 5ed by J. L. Whitten, L. D. Bentley, & K. C. Dittman Modified by Art Dearing for Networks II Copyright Irwin/McGraw-Hill 2001

CASE STUDY I - Introduction

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Deliverables for Final Proposal Submission: One (1) Hard Copy and one digital copy of the proposal: Due before midnight Central Standard Time, April 28, 20013 Written proposal to include: Proposal for project Implementation plans and timelines Logical WAN/LAN diagrams Detailed specification and pricing for IT components One (1) Hard Copy and one digital copy of your proposed presentation: Contact Mr. Dearing at dearing@tarleton.edu or 968-9340 for any questions and to schedule your presentation time. Presentations will be scheduled at a later date.

Prepared by K. C. Dittman for Systems Analysis & Design Methods 5ed by J. L. Whitten, L. D. Bentley, & K. C. Dittman

Modified by Art Dearing for Networks II Copyright Irwin/McGraw-Hill 2001