Discussion reply 1

Responses to Other Students: Respond to at least 2 of your fellow classmates with at least a 40-50-word reply about their Primary Task Response regarding items you found to be compelling and enlightening. To help you with your discussion, please consider the following questions:

DISCUSSION 1

What did you learn that you did not already know?

This has been like some of the other material that we have covered. I have had exposure to many of the concepts in my master’s program but with this material I am provided both reinforcement of those concept understandings and present new perspectives on them. The from Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm was particularly helpful. Material such as this can often require several iterations of review to begin to develop an understanding of how it can be applied. I have had exposure to similar material but being able to understand how to apply these concepts benefits considerably form exposure to new sources. This material is not abstract but at times being able to apply it in a practice manner almost does seem abstract. Being able to read this material helps me solidify thoughts and ideas on how to concretely implement them in real life situations, this type of process for me is something that requires deeper understanding of the “theory of operations”, for a lack of better words. In course I have gotten a lot of that.

What are some problems that are apparent in the field?

I am going to inject some major bias at this point as my masters was in software engineering and focused on enterprise architecture, IT systems research, software project management, and object-oriented paradigm. To me one of the biggest problems in the industries I have been in is shear negligence in researching the concepts of what software engineering is and how to manage information systems or information technology.  The decision-making process is often left to those who have no technical background, two who’s motivations are at best questionable, and three have no concept of the magnitude or time line of projects. There is an abundant source of research, magazines, and various other forms of literature explicitly addressing these things in a practical manner oriented strictly towards helping organizations undertake such endeavors. I by no means consider myself to be an expert but I often find myself in a situation where I ask what should be some basic questions about projects and in return I receive an answer akin to “what are you talking about” or “I have never heard of that” or “I don’t know I never thought about that”.

What are might be some opportunities for research on the topics covered and how might you perform the appropriate research?

The above rant was a segue into this section because I feel that big data is becoming more prevalent and both the elements of software engineering and systems for big data could become victim to similar issues as stated before. Some issues for research in software engineering is an understanding of optimization. Some programming languages are excellent for the utilization of RAM for programming such as Python. At times it is more computationally prudent to utilize a compiled language such as Java. Even more cutting edge is the low-level programming of GPU’s for parallel computations. The massive amount of data presented in big data also means that relational databases are not suitable in many use cases so architecting data pipelines to utilize NoSQL databases are things that must be considered. These elements must be understood and work in unison to achieve optimal results and minimize cost. So, to me a major are of research potential is the development of Models, Frameworks, and Architectures that focus on helping implement this new paradigm in a practical manner.

YOUR REPLY TO ABOVE DISCUSSION, please answer below Questions.

· What did you learn from your classmate's posting?

· What additional questions do you have after reading the posting?

· What clarification do you need regarding the posting?

· What differences or similarities do you see between your posting and other classmates' postings?

DISCUSSION 2

What did you learn that you did not already know?

Overall I have learned a substantial amount in all of the above subjects over the duration of this course thus far. Portions of the information I have touched on in prior programs making this a refresher in some aspects. An example of this would be the computer systems data hierarchy from chapter 6. Of our reading. Data starts with bits represented as a 0 or a 1(Laudon, Laudon, 2016). Information was part of digital theory instruction from an electronics class taken while pursuing an Associates degree.  Additionally, I am learning more about the management of information security.  Due to the constant changes in technology, information security management will always be a field requiring continual research to explore and learn to stay current within the field.

What are some problems that are apparent in the field?

The most prevalent problem in the field is the need to protect data and privacy. New vulnerabilities are exposed daily adding to the difficulty of the problem. Compounding matters are the continual addition of internet accessible devices and an exponential increase in internet users.  Cybersecurity is now a focal point for the United States and international societies (White, 2016). Risks are greater and more widespread underscoring the need for data and privacy protection.

What are might be some opportunities for research on the topics covered and how might you perform the appropriate research?

I believe there are many avenues for potential research within the field of cybersecurity. As cloud mobile computing continues to expand the protection of the critical information infrastructure has become more challenging. This trend is making traditional security methods obsolete and ineffective (Wood, 2014). Analyzing data gathered from past security breaches would be a good first step in researching this field. Although analyzing past attacks might be reactive, the data could show trends or patterns. 

References

Laudon, K. C., & Laudon, J. P. (2016). Management Information Systems Managing the Digital Firm (14th ed.). Retrieved from https://ebooksbvd.my-education-connection.com

White, J. (2016). "Cyber Threats and Cyber Security: National Security Issues, Policy and Strategies." Global Security Studies 7(4): 23-33

WOOD, C. (2014). MISSION IMPOSSIBLE? (cover story).  Government Technology,  27(8), 16-20.

YOUR REPLY TO ABOVE DISCUSSION, please answer below Questions.

· What did you learn from your classmate's posting?

· What additional questions do you have after reading the posting?

· What clarification do you need regarding the posting?

· What differences or similarities do you see between your posting and other classmates' postings?