CASE STUDY I - Introduction Page: I-1

Prepared by K. C. Dittman for Modified by Art Dearing for Networks II Systems Analysis & Design Methods 5ed by J. L. Whitten, L. D. Bentley, & K. C. Dittman Copyright Irwin/McGraw-Hill 2001

EMPLOYEE SELF SERVICE SYSTEM

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 corporation’s 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

Orlando

FL

Denver

CO

Marietta

GA

Valley Forge

PA

Sunnyvale, CA - 725 employees

Denver, CO - 770 employees

Valley Forge, PA - 1,056 employees

Marietta, GA - 171 employees

Orlando, FL - 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.

ESSS

CASE STUDY I - Introduction Page: I-2

Prepared by K. C. Dittman for Modified by Art Dearing for Networks II Systems Analysis & Design Methods 5ed by J. L. Whitten, L. D. Bentley, & K. C. Dittman Copyright Irwin/McGraw-Hill 2001

Organization Structure

A-1 Information Systems

Joe Turner

President

Jane Crawley

Vice President

Sunnyvale

Operations

Deborah Sellars

Vice President

Orlando

Operations

Bill Henry

Vice President

Marietta

Operations

John Jones

Vice President

Denver

Operations

Robert Smith

Vice President

Valley Forge

Operations

Jack Mills

Vice President

Human

Resources

Peter Crane

Vice President

Business

Operations

Lori Simms

Vice President

Customer

Relations

Frank Biaz

Vice President

New Business

Development

Sharon Jennings

Administrative

Assistant

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.

Netscape’s 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.

CASE STUDY I - Introduction Page: I-3

Prepared by K. C. Dittman for Modified by Art Dearing for Networks II Systems Analysis & Design Methods 5ed by J. L. Whitten, L. D. Bentley, & K. C. Dittman Copyright Irwin/McGraw-Hill 2001

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 company’s resources was presented to executive

management. This document included a multiphase plan to reengineer the current systems to use state-of-the-

art 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).

CASE STUDY I - Introduction Page: I-4

Prepared by K. C. Dittman for Modified by Art Dearing for Networks II Systems Analysis & Design Methods 5ed by J. L. Whitten, L. D. Bentley, & K. C. Dittman Copyright Irwin/McGraw-Hill 2001

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.

CASE STUDY I - Introduction Page: I-5

Prepared by K. C. Dittman for Modified by Art Dearing for Networks II Systems Analysis & Design Methods 5ed by J. L. Whitten, L. D. Bentley, & K. C. Dittman Copyright Irwin/McGraw-Hill 2001

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.