IT in the SaaS Era
| Code | Completion | Credits | Range | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MI-SAS | Z,ZK | 4 | 2+2 | Czech |
- Lecturer:
- Jiří Donát (gar.)
- Tutor:
- Jiří Donát (gar.)
- Supervisor:
- Department of Software Engineering
- Synopsis:
- Requirements:
- Syllabus of lectures:
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1. Three stages of IT development - the era of mainframe computers, the PC era, the era of Internet services. The main players in these eras and the main factors of success in the market. Changing market from the corporate market selling precious unique products (mainframes) to mass market, and consequently to the market of individual services (services are again unique, but are provided automatically). What assumptions must be met to succed in the market in these different periods? Illustration on examples of IBM, Microsoft and Apple and their successful products at the time.
2. Technology Adoption Cycle and main rules for success on the mass market. Discussion of the adoption cycle in terms of PC adoption and adoption of Windows operating system. What was Microsoft's strategy to capture the market? What mistakes did IBM in promotion of its operating system OS / 2? What will be Google's strategy for capturing the market in the era of internet services? What is the platform in Google's case, which the firm wants to promote?
3. Creation of commercial software market and its business model. Two inherent limitations of commercial software: ability to copy the software (threat for the revenues) and need to re-sell to the same customers and thus innovate, even in the stage when the software is good enough. The phenomenon of moral obsolescence and its impact on the quality of software. The emergence of PC sales cycle in the 90th, in which all the major players on the PC market cooperated. The emergence of Netbooks, which meant the end of the PC sales cycle. Turning the original allies to competitors: Intel has launched its own operating system Moblin, Microsoft released the first operating system (Windows 7), which has lower hardware requirements than its predecessor.
4. Legal construction of commercial software sales: the „license for personal use“. Why does similar license work without problems with books? What was the problem which started with onset of PCs and why is this problem further extended with mass availability of the Internet? The analogy with music, book and film industry. Emergence and retreat of DRM systems. Is there a business model that would remove the threat of copying „forever“?
5. The emergence of the Internet, its basic technical characteristics. The mass growth of the number of Internet users. „Internet fever“ of the years 1988-2001 and its causes. Specific examples of failed projects. What lessons from these failed projects can we take?
6. The phenomenon of open software. Factors which enabled its creation. Motivation of OS creators, an overview of the most important applications. Why has open-source software failed as an alternative to commercial software?
7. Technological and business reasons that lead to transition of the majority of the market from commercial software to Software as a Service model. SaaS Architecture versus Architecture of PC applications. The main characteristics of SaaS applications from the perspective of users and operators. Possible SaaS business models.
8. Advertising as an important part of the new business model. Transformation of „mass“ (and blind) advertising into a targeted useful information which respects the individual recipient and context of his situation. How can the system „know“ its users and their needs, without bothering them? What role in the advertising industry will be played by search engines?
9. The advent of mobile devices and mobile Internet services. Increasing the overlap of Internet into our daily lives. Role of mobile devices in their ability to bring additional personalization services. What platforms can replace the web, especially in countries with lower levels of literacy? How can we build applications that do not require literacy of users?
10. Analysis of markets for SaaS applications. Which companies will emerge on the SaaS market? Categorization of SaaS applications by the degree of applied technology and dependence on other Internet applications. What type of business may be appropriate for today's software companies? Which other players will move to the new SaaS market?
11. Implications of the SaaS paradigm shift for the role of IT in companies. Structure and basic functions of today's corporate IT. Which IT functions will companies perform in the future on their own? Which functions will be outsourced? And which features will disappear as a result of advances in technology development?
12. Consequences of the SaaS paradigm for systems integration. Current functions of SI, categorization of main players and their activities. Will some of the large system integrators transform into providers of specialized Internet services for large companies?
- Syllabus of tutorials:
- Study Objective:
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* Understand current trends affecting the change in the computing paradigm from today's PC-centric model supported by commercial software to Software as a Service model.
* Will be able to independently think about the impact of these changes both to the IT industry and to other business fields.
* Will become familiar with market strategies of IT industry's largest companies and examine how these companies were able to respond to major technological changes.
* Discuss current strategies of large corporations during the transition to a paradigm of software as a service.
* Independently develop a strategy for a fictional start-up, which should have a chance to succeed in an era of Software as a Service.
- Study materials:
- Note:
- Time-table for winter semester 2011/2012:
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06:00–08:0008:00–10:0010:00–12:0012:00–14:0014:00–16:0016:00–18:0018:00–20:0020:00–22:0022:00–24:00
Mon Tue Fri Thu Fri - Time-table for summer semester 2011/2012:
- Time-table is not available yet
- The course is a part of the following study plans: