IS 300 - UMBC by Brian Popp

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Week 11 - Blog Post #9 - eCommerce and Social Media - Due by 5/6/2015 Find a recent news story, from within the last year, about how a unique way that a business has used social media to expand their business or to add a payment component to their social network.  Why do you think social networks are so eager to move into the payments space?

My Source: https://medium.com/@sujanpatel/7-examples-of-companies-using-social-media-right-c646f445875c

Social media is used by just about every company out there.  I think most companies use social media for the same reason companies use the web.  It is a great source to get connected to your customer base.  People love social media because it allows them to feel like a very important customer and most of the time get a direct response, often within minutes, to whatever concerns they are having with the company that they are a customer of.  Let’s face it we are living in a time where most people live more online than they do in the real world.  Companies realize this and they want to maintain or improve their virtual image as well.  That is why companies spend millions to handle their social media issues.  Also with so many people really living online these days, companies know that without a strong social media presence they can be doomed.  Bad reviews or complaints aren’t no longer on a piece of paper on someone’s desk.  They are there for the world to see online and a companies reputation on how they handle the good along with the bad can really help or hinder that companies chance of a future.  Many companies can retain or gain new customers simple by what’s online about them or they can also lose potential customers as well.  We live in an interactive age and people want that inter-activeness with the companies they deal with as well.  Payment space is pretty much self explanatory as well even though this article didn't touch on it.  The simpler it is to pay the companies the better it is for the customer and companies alike.  Quick easy and cost effective.

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Blog Post #10 - Predicting the Future - Due by 5/7/2015 Listen to the following recent news story from NPR about a company trying to predict the future of world events through analyzing publicly available social networking streams.  Write a response, on your blog site, using at  least 200 words that explains whether or not you believe the proposed ideas are possible or not.

Is this really possible? I believe this is very possible, or at least to a degree.  Like the example with Yemen, used in this this news clip.  It can predict a situation or see trends and draw conclusions that something may happen in a given area.  However will a computer algorithm be able to predict the future? No there is no way anyone human or computer could possible do that.  Computers can take data and make predictions but they can be flawed also shown in in this news clip when the computer predicted the wrong outcome because two people had the same name but no other affiliation with one or another at all. I can see why a company would be interested in mining information to follow trends or predict what consumers would be interested in the near future.  However to really predict anything with any degree of accuracy would be almost impossible. Remember TY babies how people went crazy over those stuff animal toys.  Sure a computer program might have forecasted their rise in the popularity more quickly than most however there is no possible way a computer program or a person can predict when these trends will go away, only report when the activity out there that is currently being tracked can show when it declines.  is really possible? 

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Week 11 - Blog Post - Due by 4/22/2015 Find a recent (within the last year) online article that discusses the implementation of an ERP, SCM, or CRM solution or the challenges associated with implementing one of those solutions.    In a blog posting of 200-300 words summarize the article.  Be sure to include a link to the source.

My source: http://www.globalshopsolutions.com/blog-post/common-challenges-associated-with-the-use-of-erp-software 

This article talks about some common challenges associated with the use of ERP Software.  Specifically this article is taking a look at the manufacturing industry and how it’s market has seen a large laying off period and much of it’s skilled labor has retired.  As a recovery period starts in the manufacturing industry many companies are looking to install an ERP system.  Manual labor is not the sole requirement for many manufacturing jobs these days, most jobs require a level of technical knowledge on the part of the employee operating the machinery as well.   The use of an ERP software is a solution that allows manufacturing companies to identify areas of improvement and allows it to implement processes that address these issues.  The article takes a look at the shortage of skilled employees and the shortage of people who actually know enough about the ERP systems to make a difference.  The article takes a closer look at the different roles that must take place on the various ends in order for the ERP system to be effective.  

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Week 9 - Blog Post #6 Visit the following website: http://www.fedscope.opm.gov/ Use the most recent employment cube to determine the number of Social Security employees with over 35 years of service.  Write about your experiences using software you've never seen before

The actual website was okay to use.  It could have been more friendly towards it’s users.  Once a user gets use to the website then the information is readily available to the user.  However you don’t seem to be able to compare two or more categories of the same stats.  It would have been much more convenient for this particular assignment if when looking at the statistics for those who have 35+ plus years of experience to be able to see the overall statistics as well at the same time.  However it seems like you need to flip back and forth between the view to see the numbers instead of seeing a side by side comparison of the two sets of data.  Looks like about 3.5% of the entire workforce have 35 plus years of service, which to me seems like a lot.  If for whatever reason those employees decide to leave around the same time, then much would probably be lost along with all those years of experience.     

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Find a recent news story, from within the last 12 months, that describes some sort of data breach or security breach.  If you were the Chief Security Officer, what steps would you have taken to address the situation?

My article: http://www.databreachtoday.com/judge-oks-target-breach-settlement-a-8031

This article is about the huge data breach that was found a little while back that happened to the major retail chain Target.  Although this actual article was about the settlement that was reached, steps that could have prevented this whole thing wouldn't have changed from the original breach till now.  Over 40 million customers were effected by this breach. That’s 1 out every 3 persons in the United States. Apparently a team from Bangalore missed some warning signs in their security system.  They either chose to ignore them or didn't recognize the warning signs.  So proper training of handling the situations as they arise is essential.  Problems can’t be ignored or swept under the rug.  If there is a problem no matter how small they must be address before they become larger issues.  Their security team should have been more alert to the multiple warnings that came through.  Many businesses fail to recognize the warning signs, or disregard them before it’s too late.  Proper training in security principles could have caught this problem earlier.  Establishing basic security practices and policies for employees is essential.  They also needed to protect information, computer and networks better from cyber attacks.  Keeping clean machines, having the latest security software, web browser, and operating system are the best defenses against viruses, malware and other online threats.  Make sure you have proper firewall security.  Employees working from home must also have their home systems protected by firewalls as well.  Target could have also had a better mobile device action plan.  Encryption of their data is very key here as well. Control physical access to your computers and create user accounts for each employee.  Secure all Wi-Fi networks.  Work with banks or processors to ensure the most trusted and validated tools and anti fraud services are being used to have the best practice on credit card payments.  Limit employee access to data and information, limit authority to install software.  Require employees to use unique passwords and change their passwords every so often.

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Using the Fedscope Employment Cube for June 2013, identify a state in the country where you would like to live and who the leading Federal employer for someone who matches your demographics - age, gender, and type of occupation you are interested in.  Is the state you identified a good spot for you to find Federal employment.  Describe your answer and what the process of using FedScope was like.  Paste your 200 word response in the submission box below.

It looks like the area I chose was a good area to pick.  It seems they have a large number of employees that have thirty plus years of service working at this location.  That is good news because most of those people are at the age of retirement or very near to age of retirement and have more than enough time to go ahead and retire with a full pension.  The only other factor would be if these people actually do retire.  It seems that most locations have a top heavy number of employees that have twenty plus years of service.  The only real obstacle to getting hired here at this location would be if they were trying to balance out the gender differential.  This location has a 2 to 1 male to female ratio at the moment.  That is very high for most areas in today’s market.  Employers, including the government rather see a closer to 1 to 1 ratio with good reasons.  The website itself wasn’t really user friendly but it wasn’t overly complicated. I believe it could be laid out different to make it more user friendly.  If you know what you are doing and what you are looking for, it can be easy to get the information, however if you are unfamiliar with layout it take a little bit of time to access the data you are looking to find.  I also didn’t have any luck getting the site to work on Goggle Chrome at all.  I had to switch over to Interenet Explorer to use the site.

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Data Sharing Between Computer-aided Design and Product Spefications

Using two of the linked processes from the picture above (except for targeted marketing & sales force), write a blog post of 200-300 words with an explanation of the data that could be shared through two of the linked business processes and benefits that could be achieved through linking the two processes together with a common application/shared database.

     With any business communication is key for success. A business must have very good communications between the processes that are linked that allow the business to get things done.  Two processes that must have essential communications in a business would be the computer-aided designs and the product specifications divisions.  A company would use CAD to figure out all the very specific measurements and other specs that would go into developing a new product so all essential data would come from that division.   Any information that the product specifications division may need would have to come from the CAD or the simulation division if the company has it.  It is much cheaper for a company to figure out all the details before trying to make a product without having all the information available ahead of time.  Computer-aided designs allow the companies to do just that.  They can make a virtual item before investing many hours and labor in the real world making something that may or may not work.  It allows the company to figure out things before using valuable resorces.

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Using the 7 categories of the IT Infrastructure Ecosystem, write about where you would like to focus your career in Information Technology.  Think about what your likely entry position might look like and where would you like to advance.  You can use the job titles and descriptions on page 69 of the text as a way to help define career goals and objectives.

      Majoring in the Information Systems, I am focusing on the Networking and Telecommunications side of the IT infrastructure.  Ultimately my goal would be to reach the level of a Network Administrator.  The entry position of this field is usually Junior Network Administrator.  As a Junior Network Administrator a person would install and secure the WAN and LAN, internet and/or intranet systems for a company.  It would also include upgrading current systems, troubleshooting problems with the current system and even customer support or employee support of the systems that are being used presently.  Also any new upgrades or changes required to do new or different operations would fall on the responsibilities of a Junior Network Administrator as well.  

     After being a Junior Network Administrator I would like to advance to Senior Administrator.  More knowledge of servers, routers, security and platforms would be needed for this position.  Farther education would also be needed as well for this position and I have plans on continuing my education to the masters degree level to aid in this goal.  

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What would be the advantages and disadvantages of implementing Cloud Computing within that organization or company?

         Cloud computing in any workplace would have it's advantages and disadvantages.  However the advantages would most likely out-weight the disadvantages in any organization.   I volunteer at a hospital so I will use this environment as an example.   The use of cloud computing in the a hospital would be extensive.  Cloud computing would give anyone that is authorized instant access to the patients folder that has any important information about the patient and their charts.  It would allow test results to be viewed in real time from remote locations if needed.   It could allow doctors and nurses to have potentially life saving information at their fingertips. Also cloud computing would allow the doctors to access any information they may have on their patients that they may have made notes about while the patients were at the office that they wouldn't normally have unless they referenced their notes that they had in the patient's folders at the doctor's office.  Cloud computing is also very cost efficient because it is very easy to use, upgrade and even maintain.  It also offers virtually limitless storage capacity as well.  A hospital could also benefit from cloud computing by having all your information stored in the cloud you wouldn't have to worry about backing up and restoring that information on a physical drive.  

     Some disadvantages a hospital may face when using the cloud would include the same faced by most other businesses.  Risk is the probably the biggest concern when using the cloud.  Security would be a major concern for a hospital, keeping the patients information and treatment confident and safe from those who shouldn't have access to them would be paramount.  Unfortunately there is no such thing as anything being completely secure and safe from hackers anywhere.

     Cloud computing has it's pros and cons like every tool used when operating a business.  While technology can prove to be a great asset to a company it can also cause harm if not understood and used correctly.  

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Technology - Changing the world around us.

Technology is changing the way we live our lives more and more every day.  It is hard to imagine what the future may bring.

This past year we have seen so much going mainstream and widely accepted by the general public.  Mobile payments are currently making their impact on the consumer world as their use gains in popularity both for the online world and use in stores.  Apple Pay has gone live, and many other major companies have plans to enter the same market as Apple Pay.  

Security comes into question when discussing this new type of payment method.  Although there hasn't been any breach in the use of Apple Pay yet to date, it makes one wonder just how long before a hacker finds a way to exploit this technology?

Privacy will still be a concern for just about anyone that uses this new technology. Unfortunately we have seen several major breaches in security this past year.  Major companies like, Home Depot and Target had the credit card numbers stolen by hackers.  Other companies like Adobe, Dropbox and Snapchat had their own security issues where hackers were able to steal the passwords.   There will be millions spent on security by all the companies to make sure they aren't victim to a security breach.  Hopefully there won't be any issues and the security of this type of technology can stay secure.

It shall be interesting to watch and see how much more advanced and convenient, technology will make our lives.  

Stay tuned.....