End of Semester Summary

What have I learned in INSY 440?

Coming into this class I was hoping to learn about technologies and how they helped business. But as it turns out, I learned much more about the resources available to make business a lot cheaper and more efficient. Many subjects were touched upon this class, some that I understand and some that still confuse me, but I was definitely exposed to a lot of things that will help me in the future.

The subject of cloud computing, I think, is subject that will help me a lot in the future. Never did I think I would be able to create my own website for pennies and not have to be responsible for the maintenance. This to me is the future of online business. I think that not only will existing companies switch to using it, but there will be more and more starts everyday because it is so easy to use.

The blogging experience is something I really enjoyed doing. I got the chance to talk about a lot of subjects that really interest me, and also got the chance to research and learn things that I was not previously aware of. There is still a long list of subject to blog about, and maybe ill continue blogging after the semester.

Learning things in class and listening to guest speaker was great and gave me a lot of insight on things. But what I definitely enjoyed the most was getting into discussions in class. Whether it was talking about cloud social networking or encryption, the discussions were very informative and great to participate in.

So do I have a better understanding of E-Business?

Though it is still very complicated and there are plenty of things I still do not fully comprehend, I believe that I have a greater knowledge about conducting business online. Gaining a much better understanding of what is available helps me realize how I can use these resources to my advantage, and how I can establish a proper business online. And though I don’t think ill be creating the next Facebook, or Google anytime soon, I have a much better understanding of how to start on up.

Cloud Computing

Is cloud computing really the future? Based on what we’ve learned so far, I think the answer is obvious. Why would companies pay thousands of dollars to have their own in house servers, that require upkeep, maintenance and bear all the risks if they went down. Cloud computing allows people to share resources, software and information for a minimal fee, and allow someone else to deal with the technical difficulties that arise with hardware.

Recently my mother asked me to help her start-up her own website. She thoughts that we would need to talk to a consultant or hire someone to develop it for us. Having just learned about cloud computing, I visited the site devhub.com and within 10 minutes the website was up and running. For now we can run the site for free (because it's site.devhub.com), but for only $2 a month we can run it under our own name. Other sites like Google, and Amazon offer similar services, also at very low prices.

Cloud computing also allows sites to upgrade their servers at peek times. For example: McGill University has steady traffic on it's registration site year-round, but twice a year when registration officially opens for the upcoming semester, there is a drastic increase in the number of students accessing it. It seems as if it would be too costly to upgrade the entire server system, but by using cloud computing, McGill could increase their servers for that one day and it would cost them next to nothing.

The big issue that arises when talking about cloud computing, is the same issue when talking about outsourcing any function, is the elimination of jobs. Companies can completely eliminate their IT departments thus causing thousands of jobs to be eliminated. And while cloud computing is in all likeliness the future, there will be consequences that will effect the lives of many people.

Apple - Sony potential merger

The idea of Apple merging with Sony could be, in my opinion, the best thing for both companies. Apple is always looking for ways to expand it's business and enter markets that they’ve never ventured into before, and Sony, who has been declining in the market and needs to revamp it's image.

I had Sony TVs in my house when I was much younger. They were always great quality and had excellent picture. But as time went on and we needed new ones, we went with different brands like Panasonic or Samsung. I still own a PS3 and absolutely love it, and I guess so does Apple.

My personal belief as to why Apple would want to buy Sony is that they don’t want to make some of the same mistakes that Microsoft did. I think that when they created the Xbox, they devoted a lot of their resources to it and took a lot away from their software department. By purchasing Sony, Apple is buying an established company, and can focus more on figuring out ways to combine their resources instead of diluting the current ones.

There is a big race with technology companies to have all the consumer entertainment product be one brand. By merging, Apple can get into the TV and entertainment industry, and combine it with a lot of their current products. Being able to hook your iPod or Mac, to a TV or PS3 without any difficulty could be the necessary steps to ensure both companies success.