CIS 498 Information Technology Capstone

Executive Summary

Simple Solutions provides world-class IT solutions to businesses and corporations who need experts to design develop and help deploy Technical solutions to meet their business needs. In an ongoing effort to become the world’s most prestigious IT firm, expansion is inevitable, and we should try to reach as many clients as possible.

Problem

Simple Solutions has witnessed incredible growth over the past few years as a direct result of the new project management office and implemented solutions framework. Our year over year growth continue to beat expectations most quarters, and we do not have the resources to support taking on would-be clients.

As simple solutions continue to see excellent growth, the need for a bigger headquarters becomes clear. Our current data estimates that this facility will be overcapacity due to business expansion by the end of the year. Failing to properly expand the business in a timely manner can result in loss potential earnings and missed business opportunities.

Solution

A move into a two-story office building support near any growth that the company might see in the coming years. In six months, our new facility will be operation ready and ready to support the business needs, including further expansion. A new scalable system will be implemented, that will require less maintenance and thus less labor.

The solution allows the company to expand without taking on more responsibilities than needed. As employees and clients come and go, our systems will scale, and without long system down times. As we expand, it is important that our systems are more robust and sophisticated.

That is why a hybrid solution is the best strategy for the company. The backbone of operations that fulfill our client’s request increases our engineer’s workflow efficiency by streamlining their tools and workspace to cloud machines.

Theses cloud machines are more powerful and more cost-effective than our local machines when you include maintenance and upgrade cost. This also dramatically decreases the upfront cost of new machines as the computers need only be fast enough for simple operations using common applications like Google Chrome.

Conclusion

As we continue to be innovators in the IT solutions world, we will continue to see growth, as such, the business needs to be scalable to support long term growth. The project plan provides a high-level overview of the expansion and how the systems interact to support long term growth.

Project Plan

Scope

The project is to deploy several systems in the new facility. The systems are designed to support the business strategy and include hardware and software solutions from third parties, designed to be functional at the best cost-benefit ratio. The I.T. Department will support this effort. Design, testing, implementation, configuration, and training is the responsibility of the I.T. department. Specifically, our network will be designed, tested, implemented, and maintained by the I.T. department, and most of our storage, database, and processing will be handled by the Google Cloud Platform.

The scope of this project includes several elements, including application, sites, re-engineering, customization, interfaces, architecture, data conversion, testing, funding, and training. Keeping the target production date in mind, only mission-critical applications will be implemented. Testing will be a vital part of the project, and we will partner with industry leaders in security to test our systems for production.

Cost Analysis

After reviewing all business requirements, I am confident that with the scope of this project, we can keep a conservative budget of $110,00. $25,000 budgeted for contractors and consultations, $10,000 is dedicated to training, while approximately $25,000 will account for security equipment, while another $25,000 will go toward storage and other computing equipment. $20,00 will procure safety equipment. $15,000 is used for networking equipment purchases. $5,000 will secure the software licenses and another $5,000 for equipment insurance.

Control Measures

Any changes or modification wanted to be made to the scope of this project, must be approved by two senior management members directly related to the project. Modifications and approvals will be documented via document control.

Goals & Objectives

Database

• To design, test, and implement new systems at the anticipated headquarters location in 180 days or less.
• Stay within the allotted budgetary constraints.
• Train all employees on new systems.
• Increase production and efficiency by streamlining workflow, reducing maintenance, and reducing labor on non-profit influencing tasks.
• Provide infrastructure for the growing business for years to come.
• Support the inflation of clientele.
• Provide the business with a competitive advantage by designing and implementing custom solutions.

As an Information Technology solutions company, we have clients, vendor partners, projects, and departments with employees that need to be tracked within a database. The database schema that I have designed meets the necessary specifications to support primary business functions.

The primary purpose of the database is to act as a central repository for all information. Each data set is decoupled from the rest to avoid any operational anomalies such as insertion and deletion anomalies. Eight tables exist in this database, and each table serves a single purpose.

Not everyone in the company needs access to the database administrative functions that can cause irreversible modifications. Those employees, however, may still need to view the data for references, printing, and other purposes, and for this, we have views of selected data from combined database tables. Employees with non-administrative privileges will have access to the appropriate views.

Refer to Appendix A; we can see that employee is the central table as it has the most connections to other tables in the database. We can also see the different relationships represented in the diagram, such as zero or one to many, and one to one. Several constraints exist within the database and are represented by bold font. These constraints consist of not null, which signifies that the field in question cannot be an empty or null entry in the database. The primary key denoted by (P.K.) in the diagram, is a unique identifier for each row of data within our database and Reinherits the not-null constraint. The third constraint used is Foreign Key (F.K.) references a column from another table.

Continuing with Appendix B, we have a high-level overview of the data flow process.

The system is functional and provides the user with everything they need. The user selects an option from the user interface, which is either access or modify. That process starts the data store, and the user can then process that data and proceed to log out of the system.

The user interface is a simple web application that allows a user to view and modify information in the tables depending on user permissions. Upon logging on, the user selects to create a new entry in the system or view an entry in the system. At this point, users without sufficient permissions only have one option and all other options are greyed out unavailable. If the user has selected to view data, the user is then presented with categories for easier navigation, or if they prefer, they can search for the information via identification number, name, or contact.

On the lower half of the page, a results pane generates the expected data into tables for the user to process as they see fit. The menu bar provides the user with the option to export the data as a file through the save as function. There is also a print function and a clear search function for quickly clearing the search. From any screen, the user can logout and terminate the session.

With this relational database implementation users can create, modify, update, and delete corresponding information in the database. Users can also export data for special reports or print the information from the view. All primary business functions are supported by the database.

Network Topology

For the relocation of headquarters to be successful, a logical and physical network topology must be planned and vetted. The network will support all business functions in addition to adhering to the security policy. The security policy addresses the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the network. Keeping many of the operations in the cloud allows us to have a smaller network. Thus a smaller maintenance budget and less labor will be required.

Logical Topology

Appendix D.1 illustrates the logical network topology. It is a simple yet effective layout. Starting with the external network, there will be a firewall to block specific incoming and outgoing traffic. The router connects to five switches which each host a subnet for the different sections of the buildings. This is primarily done to segment departments and resources. Most workstations and peripherals use a wired ethernet connection, while the few mobile devices will have access to the wireless network. The wireless network is also protected by a firewall. Then there is the server which has its dedicated switch. This implementation is scalable from each switch, allowing us to provision more devices in the future.

Physical Topology

The network in the building run between the two floors via ethernet providing support throughout the entire building. Segmenting the network into subnets provide an additional layer of security, as if the lobby is compromised, then the perpetrator will be unable to access any other network resources. The second floor is an open office split into three sections, Accounting, Sales, and Project Management.

Additionally, the room has been made for anticipated company growth. Down on the first floor, we have the lobby, server room, office 1, and an additional workspace. The lobby houses a notebook and printer, together on a subnet that utilizes the wireless network. In the server room, we have our rack-mounted equipment. There exist five switches, three servers, and a router. The server rack supports company expansion and allows us to add additional servers, routers, switches, and any other networking devices as needed. Windows server will reside on the System Admin workstation located in the server room. A total of four all-in-one printers will reside in the building, with two on each floor. The last two rooms on the first floor are used for meetings with clients and a dedicated office for leadership. Leadership has access to a printer and is the fourth subnet in the network. The office will host clients and only houses two workstations. Since this room will have visitors, it has been placed in the most visible area in the building, viewable from any angle in the lobby.

Appendix

Appendix A – Entity Relationship Diagram.

Appendix B – Data Flow Diagram

Appendix C – User Interface Layout

Appendix D – Network Topology

Appendix A – Entity-Relationship Diagram

Appendix B – Data Flow Diagram

Appendix C.1 – User Login

Appendix C.2 – Create or view

Appendix C.3 – Category Selection

Appendix C.4 – Search

Appendix D.1- Logical Network Topology

Appendix D.2 – Physical Network Topology