Author: Hillary Brown
Publisher: Island Press
ISBN: 9781597268059
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
The 2007 bridge collapse in Minneapolis-St. Paul quickly became symbolic of the debilitated interstate highway system—and of what many critics see as America’s disinvestment in its infrastructure. The extreme vulnerability of single-purpose, aging infrastructure was highlighted once again when Hurricane Sandy churned its way across the northeast United States. Inundating New York City’s vital arteries, floodwaters overwhelmed tunnels and sewers; closed bridges; shut down the electrical substations that control mass transit; curtailed gas supplies; and destroyed streets, buildings, and whole neighborhoods. For days and on into weeks, failures triggered by floodwaters deprived millions of electricity, heat, and water services. How can our complex, interdependent utilities support an urbanizing world, subject to carbon constraints and the impacts of climate change? How might these critical networks be made more efficient, less environmentally damaging, and more resilient? Such questions are at the heart of the approaches and initiatives explored in Next Generation Infrastructure. With a better understanding of the possible connections between different services, not only can inadvertent disruptions be reduced, but crosscutting benefits and lower costs will be possible. Next Generation Infrastructure highlights hopeful examples from around the world, ranging from the Mount Poso cogeneration plant in California to urban rainwater harvesting in Seoul, South Korea, to the multi-purpose Marina Barrage project in Singapore. Five bold organizing objectives are proposed that, in the hands of decision-makers and designers, will help bring about a future of multipurpose, low-carbon, resilient infrastructure that is tightly coordinated with natural and social systems. In their conception and design, the innovative projects highlighted in Next Generation Infrastructure encourage us to envision infrastructure within a larger economic, environmental, and social context, and to share resources across systems, reducing costs and extending benefits. Through this systems approach to lifeline services, we can begin to move toward a more resilient future.
Next Generation Infrastructure
Author: Hillary Brown
Publisher: Island Press
ISBN: 9781597268059
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
The 2007 bridge collapse in Minneapolis-St. Paul quickly became symbolic of the debilitated interstate highway system—and of what many critics see as America’s disinvestment in its infrastructure. The extreme vulnerability of single-purpose, aging infrastructure was highlighted once again when Hurricane Sandy churned its way across the northeast United States. Inundating New York City’s vital arteries, floodwaters overwhelmed tunnels and sewers; closed bridges; shut down the electrical substations that control mass transit; curtailed gas supplies; and destroyed streets, buildings, and whole neighborhoods. For days and on into weeks, failures triggered by floodwaters deprived millions of electricity, heat, and water services. How can our complex, interdependent utilities support an urbanizing world, subject to carbon constraints and the impacts of climate change? How might these critical networks be made more efficient, less environmentally damaging, and more resilient? Such questions are at the heart of the approaches and initiatives explored in Next Generation Infrastructure. With a better understanding of the possible connections between different services, not only can inadvertent disruptions be reduced, but crosscutting benefits and lower costs will be possible. Next Generation Infrastructure highlights hopeful examples from around the world, ranging from the Mount Poso cogeneration plant in California to urban rainwater harvesting in Seoul, South Korea, to the multi-purpose Marina Barrage project in Singapore. Five bold organizing objectives are proposed that, in the hands of decision-makers and designers, will help bring about a future of multipurpose, low-carbon, resilient infrastructure that is tightly coordinated with natural and social systems. In their conception and design, the innovative projects highlighted in Next Generation Infrastructure encourage us to envision infrastructure within a larger economic, environmental, and social context, and to share resources across systems, reducing costs and extending benefits. Through this systems approach to lifeline services, we can begin to move toward a more resilient future.
Publisher: Island Press
ISBN: 9781597268059
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
The 2007 bridge collapse in Minneapolis-St. Paul quickly became symbolic of the debilitated interstate highway system—and of what many critics see as America’s disinvestment in its infrastructure. The extreme vulnerability of single-purpose, aging infrastructure was highlighted once again when Hurricane Sandy churned its way across the northeast United States. Inundating New York City’s vital arteries, floodwaters overwhelmed tunnels and sewers; closed bridges; shut down the electrical substations that control mass transit; curtailed gas supplies; and destroyed streets, buildings, and whole neighborhoods. For days and on into weeks, failures triggered by floodwaters deprived millions of electricity, heat, and water services. How can our complex, interdependent utilities support an urbanizing world, subject to carbon constraints and the impacts of climate change? How might these critical networks be made more efficient, less environmentally damaging, and more resilient? Such questions are at the heart of the approaches and initiatives explored in Next Generation Infrastructure. With a better understanding of the possible connections between different services, not only can inadvertent disruptions be reduced, but crosscutting benefits and lower costs will be possible. Next Generation Infrastructure highlights hopeful examples from around the world, ranging from the Mount Poso cogeneration plant in California to urban rainwater harvesting in Seoul, South Korea, to the multi-purpose Marina Barrage project in Singapore. Five bold organizing objectives are proposed that, in the hands of decision-makers and designers, will help bring about a future of multipurpose, low-carbon, resilient infrastructure that is tightly coordinated with natural and social systems. In their conception and design, the innovative projects highlighted in Next Generation Infrastructure encourage us to envision infrastructure within a larger economic, environmental, and social context, and to share resources across systems, reducing costs and extending benefits. Through this systems approach to lifeline services, we can begin to move toward a more resilient future.
Government 3.0 – Next Generation Government Technology Infrastructure and Services
Author: Adegboyega Ojo
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319637436
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 373
Book Description
Historically, technological change has had significant effect on the locus of administrative activity, cost of carrying out administrative tasks, the skill sets needed by officials to effectively function, rules and regulations, and the types of interactions citizens have with their public authorities. Next generation Public Sector Innovation will be “Government 3.0” powered by innovations related to Open and big data, administrative and business process management, Internet-of-Things and blockchains for public sector innovation to drive improvements in service delivery, decision and policy making and resource management. This book provides fresh insights into this transformation while also examining possible negative side effects of the increasing ope nness of governments through the adoption of these new innovations. The goal is for technology policy makers to engage with the visions of Government 3.0 . Researchers should be able to critically examine some of the innovations described in the book as the basis for developing research agendas related to challenges associated with the adoption and use of some of the associated technologies. The book serves as a rich source of materials from leading experts in the field that enables Public administration practitioners to better understand how these new technologies impact traditional public administration paradigms. The book is suitable for graduate courses in Public Sector Innovation, Innovation in Public Administration, E-Government and Information Systems. Public sector technology policy makers, e-government, information systems and public administration researchers and practitioners should all benefit from reading this book.
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319637436
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 373
Book Description
Historically, technological change has had significant effect on the locus of administrative activity, cost of carrying out administrative tasks, the skill sets needed by officials to effectively function, rules and regulations, and the types of interactions citizens have with their public authorities. Next generation Public Sector Innovation will be “Government 3.0” powered by innovations related to Open and big data, administrative and business process management, Internet-of-Things and blockchains for public sector innovation to drive improvements in service delivery, decision and policy making and resource management. This book provides fresh insights into this transformation while also examining possible negative side effects of the increasing ope nness of governments through the adoption of these new innovations. The goal is for technology policy makers to engage with the visions of Government 3.0 . Researchers should be able to critically examine some of the innovations described in the book as the basis for developing research agendas related to challenges associated with the adoption and use of some of the associated technologies. The book serves as a rich source of materials from leading experts in the field that enables Public administration practitioners to better understand how these new technologies impact traditional public administration paradigms. The book is suitable for graduate courses in Public Sector Innovation, Innovation in Public Administration, E-Government and Information Systems. Public sector technology policy makers, e-government, information systems and public administration researchers and practitioners should all benefit from reading this book.
Understanding Infrastructure Edge Computing
Author: Alex Marcham
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 111976324X
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 352
Book Description
UNDERSTANDING INFRASTRUCTURE EDGE COMPUTING A comprehensive review of the key emerging technologies that will directly impact areas of computer technology over the next five years Infrastructure edge computing is the model of data center and network infrastructure deployment which distributes a large number of physically small data centers around an area to deliver better performance and to enable new economical applications. It is vital for those operating at business or technical levels to be positioned to capitalize on the changes that will occur as a result of infrastructure edge computing. This book provides a thorough understanding of the growth of internet infrastructure from its inception to the emergence of infrastructure edge computing. Author Alex Marcham, an acknowledged leader in the field who coined the term ‘infrastructure edge computing,’ presents an accessible, accurate, and expansive view of the next generation of internet infrastructure. The book features illustrative examples of 5G mobile cellular networks, city-scale AI systems, self-driving cars, drones, industrial robots, and more—technologies that increase efficiency, save time and money, and improve safety. Covering state-of-the-art topics, this timely and authoritative book: Presents a clear and accurate survey of the key emerging technologies that will impact data centers, 5G networks, artificial intelligence and cyber-physical systems, and other areas of computer technology Explores how and why Internet infrastructure has evolved to where it stands today and where it needs to be in the near future Covers a wide range of topics including distributed application workload operation, infrastructure and application security, and related technologies such as multi-access edge computing (MEC) and fog computing Provides numerous use cases and examples of real-world applications which depend upon underlying edge infrastructure Written for Information Technology practitioners, computer technology practitioners, and students, Understanding Infrastructure Edge Computing is essential reading for those looking to benefit from the coming changes in computer technology.
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 111976324X
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 352
Book Description
UNDERSTANDING INFRASTRUCTURE EDGE COMPUTING A comprehensive review of the key emerging technologies that will directly impact areas of computer technology over the next five years Infrastructure edge computing is the model of data center and network infrastructure deployment which distributes a large number of physically small data centers around an area to deliver better performance and to enable new economical applications. It is vital for those operating at business or technical levels to be positioned to capitalize on the changes that will occur as a result of infrastructure edge computing. This book provides a thorough understanding of the growth of internet infrastructure from its inception to the emergence of infrastructure edge computing. Author Alex Marcham, an acknowledged leader in the field who coined the term ‘infrastructure edge computing,’ presents an accessible, accurate, and expansive view of the next generation of internet infrastructure. The book features illustrative examples of 5G mobile cellular networks, city-scale AI systems, self-driving cars, drones, industrial robots, and more—technologies that increase efficiency, save time and money, and improve safety. Covering state-of-the-art topics, this timely and authoritative book: Presents a clear and accurate survey of the key emerging technologies that will impact data centers, 5G networks, artificial intelligence and cyber-physical systems, and other areas of computer technology Explores how and why Internet infrastructure has evolved to where it stands today and where it needs to be in the near future Covers a wide range of topics including distributed application workload operation, infrastructure and application security, and related technologies such as multi-access edge computing (MEC) and fog computing Provides numerous use cases and examples of real-world applications which depend upon underlying edge infrastructure Written for Information Technology practitioners, computer technology practitioners, and students, Understanding Infrastructure Edge Computing is essential reading for those looking to benefit from the coming changes in computer technology.
Infrastructural Optimism
Author: Linda C. Samuels
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351060252
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 423
Book Description
Infrastructural Optimism investigates a new kind of twenty-first-century infrastructure, one that encourages a broader understanding of the interdependence of resources and agencies, recognizes a rightfully accelerated need for equitable access and distribution, and prioritizes rising environmental diligence across the design disciplines. Bringing together urban history, case studies, and speculative design propositions, the book explores and defines infrastructure as the basis for a new form of urbanism, emerging from the intersection of architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design. In defining this new infrastructure, the book introduces new dynamic and holistic performance metrics focused on "measuring what matters" over growth for the sake of growth and twelve criteria that define next generation infrastructure. By shifting the focus of infrastructure – our largest public realm – to environmental symbiosis and quality of life for all, design becomes a catalytic component in creating a more beautiful, productive, and optimistic future with Infrastructural Urbanism as its driver. Infrastructural Optimism will be invaluable to design, non-profit and agency professionals, and faculty and students in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design, working in partnership with engineers, hydrologists, ecologists, urban planners, community members, and others who shape the built environment through the expanded field of infrastructure.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351060252
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 423
Book Description
Infrastructural Optimism investigates a new kind of twenty-first-century infrastructure, one that encourages a broader understanding of the interdependence of resources and agencies, recognizes a rightfully accelerated need for equitable access and distribution, and prioritizes rising environmental diligence across the design disciplines. Bringing together urban history, case studies, and speculative design propositions, the book explores and defines infrastructure as the basis for a new form of urbanism, emerging from the intersection of architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design. In defining this new infrastructure, the book introduces new dynamic and holistic performance metrics focused on "measuring what matters" over growth for the sake of growth and twelve criteria that define next generation infrastructure. By shifting the focus of infrastructure – our largest public realm – to environmental symbiosis and quality of life for all, design becomes a catalytic component in creating a more beautiful, productive, and optimistic future with Infrastructural Urbanism as its driver. Infrastructural Optimism will be invaluable to design, non-profit and agency professionals, and faculty and students in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design, working in partnership with engineers, hydrologists, ecologists, urban planners, community members, and others who shape the built environment through the expanded field of infrastructure.
Next Generation Content Delivery Infrastructures
Author: Giancarlo Fortino
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781466617940
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
"This book delivers state-of-the-art research on current and future Internet-based content delivery networking topics, bringing to the forefront novel problems that demand investigation"--
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781466617940
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
"This book delivers state-of-the-art research on current and future Internet-based content delivery networking topics, bringing to the forefront novel problems that demand investigation"--
Next Generation Internet of Things
Author: Vermesan, Ovidiu
Publisher: River Publishers
ISBN: 8770220085
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 352
Book Description
This book provides an overview of the next generation Internet of Things (IoT), ranging from research, innovation, development priorities, to enabling technologies in a global context. It is intended as a standalone in a series covering the activities of the Internet of Things European Research Cluster (IERC), including research, technological innovation, validation, and deployment. The text builds on the ideas put forward by the European Research Cluster, the IoT European Platform Initiative (IoT-EPI), the IoT European Large-Scale Pilots Programme and the IoT European Security and Privacy Projects, presenting global views and state-of-the-art results regarding the next generation of IoT research, innovation, development, and deployment. The IoT and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) are evolving towards the next generation of Tactile IoT/IIoT, bringing together hyperconnectivity (5G and beyond), edge computing, Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs), virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR), and AI transformation. Following the wider adoption of consumer IoT, the next generation of IoT/IIoT innovation for business is driven by industries, addressing interoperability issues and providing new end-to-end security solutions to face continuous treats. The advances of AI technology in vision, speech recognition, natural language processing and dialog are enabling the development of end-to-end intelligent systems encapsulating multiple technologies, delivering services in real-time using limited resources. These developments are focusing on designing and delivering embedded and hierarchical AI solutions in IoT/IIoT, edge computing, using distributed architectures, DLTs platforms and distributed end-to-end security, which provide real-time decisions using less data and computational resources, while accessing each type of resource in a way that enhances the accuracy and performance of models in the various IoT/IIoT applications. The convergence and combination of IoT, AI and other related technologies to derive insights, decisions and revenue from sensor data provide new business models and sources of monetization. Meanwhile, scalable, IoT-enabled applications have become part of larger business objectives, enabling digital transformation with a focus on new services and applications. Serving the next generation of Tactile IoT/IIoT real-time use cases over 5G and Network Slicing technology is essential for consumer and industrial applications and support reducing operational costs, increasing efficiency and leveraging additional capabilities for real-time autonomous systems. New IoT distributed architectures, combined with system-level architectures for edge/fog computing, are evolving IoT platforms, including AI and DLTs, with embedded intelligence into the hyperconnectivity infrastructure. The next generation of IoT/IIoT technologies are highly transformational, enabling innovation at scale, and autonomous decision-making in various application domains such as healthcare, smart homes, smart buildings, smart cities, energy, agriculture, transportation and autonomous vehicles, the military, logistics and supply chain, retail and wholesale, manufacturing, mining and oil and gas.
Publisher: River Publishers
ISBN: 8770220085
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 352
Book Description
This book provides an overview of the next generation Internet of Things (IoT), ranging from research, innovation, development priorities, to enabling technologies in a global context. It is intended as a standalone in a series covering the activities of the Internet of Things European Research Cluster (IERC), including research, technological innovation, validation, and deployment. The text builds on the ideas put forward by the European Research Cluster, the IoT European Platform Initiative (IoT-EPI), the IoT European Large-Scale Pilots Programme and the IoT European Security and Privacy Projects, presenting global views and state-of-the-art results regarding the next generation of IoT research, innovation, development, and deployment. The IoT and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) are evolving towards the next generation of Tactile IoT/IIoT, bringing together hyperconnectivity (5G and beyond), edge computing, Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs), virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR), and AI transformation. Following the wider adoption of consumer IoT, the next generation of IoT/IIoT innovation for business is driven by industries, addressing interoperability issues and providing new end-to-end security solutions to face continuous treats. The advances of AI technology in vision, speech recognition, natural language processing and dialog are enabling the development of end-to-end intelligent systems encapsulating multiple technologies, delivering services in real-time using limited resources. These developments are focusing on designing and delivering embedded and hierarchical AI solutions in IoT/IIoT, edge computing, using distributed architectures, DLTs platforms and distributed end-to-end security, which provide real-time decisions using less data and computational resources, while accessing each type of resource in a way that enhances the accuracy and performance of models in the various IoT/IIoT applications. The convergence and combination of IoT, AI and other related technologies to derive insights, decisions and revenue from sensor data provide new business models and sources of monetization. Meanwhile, scalable, IoT-enabled applications have become part of larger business objectives, enabling digital transformation with a focus on new services and applications. Serving the next generation of Tactile IoT/IIoT real-time use cases over 5G and Network Slicing technology is essential for consumer and industrial applications and support reducing operational costs, increasing efficiency and leveraging additional capabilities for real-time autonomous systems. New IoT distributed architectures, combined with system-level architectures for edge/fog computing, are evolving IoT platforms, including AI and DLTs, with embedded intelligence into the hyperconnectivity infrastructure. The next generation of IoT/IIoT technologies are highly transformational, enabling innovation at scale, and autonomous decision-making in various application domains such as healthcare, smart homes, smart buildings, smart cities, energy, agriculture, transportation and autonomous vehicles, the military, logistics and supply chain, retail and wholesale, manufacturing, mining and oil and gas.
Next Generation Data Centers in Financial Services
Author: Tony Bishop
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0080959369
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 307
Book Description
Financial markets are witnessing an unprecedented explosion in the availability of data, and the firms that survive will be able to leverage this information to increase their profit and expand their opportunities in a global world. Financial firms have two options: to build their own data centers or to outsource them to hosting services such as Google and Amazon ‘cloud’ services. While outsourcing data centers is a trend for small firms, it is not applicable to bigger firms who want more control over their huge amounts of data. Large firms thus build their own data centers. In such an environment, the CIO’s ability is crucial to lead an effective data strategy to capture, process and connect data to all the relevant lines of business. At the core of this strategy lies the data center – the repository of all information. In recognition of the importance of information, firms are rushing to invest in data centers, but they are finding that just throwing technology at the problem is not good enough. Despite the investments, data centers prove frustrating in terms of inefficiencies and rising costs, directly cutting into the profitability of lines of business that they serve. While there are books that discuss the mechanics, hardware and technicalities of data centers, no book has yet made the connection between enterprise strategy and data center investment, design and management. This book is a solution driven book for management demonstrating how to leverage technology to manage the seemingly infinite amount of data available today. Each chapter offers cutting-edge management and technology solutions to effectively manage data through data centers. • Feature: Presents cutting-edge technology solutions not available in one place until now • Benefit: Saves time going to numerous websites, calling vendors, going to conferences • Feature: Includes step-by-step instructions on how to implement a data center strategy based on the author’s recent success with Wachovia’s data center • Benefit: Readers can follow these steps with confidence that they will work and not have to re-invent the wheel • Feature: Demonstrates how business and IT can be aligned in financial services • Benefit: Demonstrating this alignment is crucial for any proposal for IT related resources today
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0080959369
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 307
Book Description
Financial markets are witnessing an unprecedented explosion in the availability of data, and the firms that survive will be able to leverage this information to increase their profit and expand their opportunities in a global world. Financial firms have two options: to build their own data centers or to outsource them to hosting services such as Google and Amazon ‘cloud’ services. While outsourcing data centers is a trend for small firms, it is not applicable to bigger firms who want more control over their huge amounts of data. Large firms thus build their own data centers. In such an environment, the CIO’s ability is crucial to lead an effective data strategy to capture, process and connect data to all the relevant lines of business. At the core of this strategy lies the data center – the repository of all information. In recognition of the importance of information, firms are rushing to invest in data centers, but they are finding that just throwing technology at the problem is not good enough. Despite the investments, data centers prove frustrating in terms of inefficiencies and rising costs, directly cutting into the profitability of lines of business that they serve. While there are books that discuss the mechanics, hardware and technicalities of data centers, no book has yet made the connection between enterprise strategy and data center investment, design and management. This book is a solution driven book for management demonstrating how to leverage technology to manage the seemingly infinite amount of data available today. Each chapter offers cutting-edge management and technology solutions to effectively manage data through data centers. • Feature: Presents cutting-edge technology solutions not available in one place until now • Benefit: Saves time going to numerous websites, calling vendors, going to conferences • Feature: Includes step-by-step instructions on how to implement a data center strategy based on the author’s recent success with Wachovia’s data center • Benefit: Readers can follow these steps with confidence that they will work and not have to re-invent the wheel • Feature: Demonstrates how business and IT can be aligned in financial services • Benefit: Demonstrating this alignment is crucial for any proposal for IT related resources today
Resilience-based Performance
Author: American Society of Civil Engineers. Infrastructure Resilience Division. Risk and Resilience Measurement Committee
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780784415276
Category : Buildings
Languages : en
Pages : 92
Book Description
IRP 3 discusses the enhancements that are needed in the design and construction of buildings and lifeline systems to support a community's social stability, economic vitality, and environmental sustainability.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780784415276
Category : Buildings
Languages : en
Pages : 92
Book Description
IRP 3 discusses the enhancements that are needed in the design and construction of buildings and lifeline systems to support a community's social stability, economic vitality, and environmental sustainability.
Next Generation Application Integration
Author: David S. Linthicum
Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional
ISBN: 9780201844566
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 518
Book Description
••Defines Web services and integration and the relationship between EAI and Web services•Outlines the types of Web services integration from standards, implementation to enabling technologies•Features Web services integration scenarios and case studies
Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional
ISBN: 9780201844566
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 518
Book Description
••Defines Web services and integration and the relationship between EAI and Web services•Outlines the types of Web services integration from standards, implementation to enabling technologies•Features Web services integration scenarios and case studies
Leveraging the New Infrastructure
Author: Peter Weill
Publisher: Harvard Business Press
ISBN: 9780875848303
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 324
Book Description
One of the most important investments in an organization is its information technology (IT) infrastructure. Yet many managers are ill-prepared to make sound IT investment decisions. Drawing upon rigorous research with over 100 businesses in 75 firms in nine countries, the authors here present a wide range of IT possibilities, enabling managers to take control of decisions that many have relegated to technical staff or vendors.
Publisher: Harvard Business Press
ISBN: 9780875848303
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 324
Book Description
One of the most important investments in an organization is its information technology (IT) infrastructure. Yet many managers are ill-prepared to make sound IT investment decisions. Drawing upon rigorous research with over 100 businesses in 75 firms in nine countries, the authors here present a wide range of IT possibilities, enabling managers to take control of decisions that many have relegated to technical staff or vendors.