SI (systems integration) is a service that takes on, as one package, an information system from planning through design, development and deployment, shaped around the client's goals.
Planning and requirements
Design
Building and combining
Deployment
Install the finished system at the client's site and hand it over ready to use.
4 / 4
"Integration" means bringing things together: the point is to combine products and technologies from several vendors into one system. A company that does this work is called an SIer (エスアイヤー). Whether operation after deployment is included depends on the contract, and a company may hand over only the build and run the system itself.
AnalogyIt is like building a house by leaving everything to one home builder until it is finished, instead of arranging the design, carpentry and wiring separately.
How to rememberThe I is for Integrate. Pulling scattered parts together into one whole is SI.
Exam points
ExamThe core of SI is building the system, and it can be ordered separately from the question of who will run it afterward.
Mix-upOutsourcing (アウトソーシング) covers handing any kind of work to outsiders, including system development. SI is the service within it that takes on building a system as one package.
Outsourcing (アウトソーシング) means having part or all of the work a company has been doing itself entrusted to an outside specialist.
Outsourcing (handing work outside)
System development
System operation
Office work such as accounting and help desks
The work handed over is not limited to developing or running systems; it also includes tasks such as accounting and customer help desks. When the contractor is abroad it is called offshore outsourcing (オフショアアウトソーシング), and regions with lower labor costs are often used. A company can focus its people and money on its core business, though know-how in the outsourced work is less likely to build up inside the company.
AnalogyIt is like a shop owner leaving the bookkeeping to an accounting firm and spending the time on making products and serving customers.
How to rememberout + source: you source the work you need from outside the company.
Exam points
ExamOffshore outsourcing (オフショアアウトソーシング) gets its name from the contractor being located abroad.
Mix-upOn-premises (オンプレミス) means keeping a system in facilities the company manages and running it in-house, the opposite direction from outsourcing (アウトソーシング), which hands work outside.
ASP (application service provider) refers to a provider that runs applications on its own servers so users can use their functions over a network, or to that way of delivering them.
Install in-house
Use an ASP
Buying and installing software
Done in-house
Not needed
Server that runs the software
Prepared in-house
Prepared by the provider
Updates and maintenance
Done in-house
Done by the provider
How you pay
Large upfront investment plus running costs
A fee for the period you use it
Users do not buy the software or servers; they pay a usage fee and use the functions. The provider handles updates and maintenance of the application, which cuts the work users must do in-house. Using an application over a network makes it the same family of ideas as SaaS, covered in u01.
AnalogyIt is like borrowing software kept at the provider and using it over the network, instead of buying it and installing it on your own PC.
How to rememberSwap the I (Internet) in ISP, which provides a connection, for an A (Application) and you get ASP. The initials show what is being provided.
Exam points
ExamWith an ASP, a company can start using business applications without buying either the software or the servers it runs on.
ExamInstalling in-house needs a large upfront investment, while an ASP charges a fee for the period of use. With other conditions equal, the larger the upfront cost of installing in-house, the more an ASP pays off.
Mix-upAn ASP is a provider of application functions, while an ISP is a provider of the internet connection itself.
A hosting service (ホスティングサービス) is a service in which the provider prepares servers, places them in its data center, and rents those servers out to users.
Hosting service (renting the provider's server)
Dedicated: one user per machine
Shared: several users split one machine
Users do not have to buy equipment, and the provider also takes care of hardware maintenance such as handling failures and replacing parts. There is a dedicated type, where you rent a whole machine, and a shared type, where several users split one, and either may be called a rental server. Users run their own applications and data on the server they rent.
AnalogyIt is like renting a furnished flat with appliances included. The fittings belong to the landlord, and the tenant can move in with just a suitcase.
How to rememberA host is the one who welcomes guests. Picture the provider as the host, with a server ready for you when you arrive.
Exam points
ExamIn a hosting service (ホスティングサービス), the provider owns and maintains the server, and users borrow its capacity without owning any equipment.
A colocation service (ハウジングサービス) lets users place their own servers and other equipment in a provider's facility, renting the space and the facility environment.
User prepares the equipment
Move it into the provider's facility
Use the facility's power, cooling and lines
Use your own equipment over a network connection
The user keeps using the equipment remotely over the network.
4 / 4
What the provider offers is the building plus an environment for running equipment safely, such as power, cooling, communication lines and earthquake protection. Users pay to buy and replace the equipment, but they can keep using their own servers as they are. How much of the day-to-day operation of the installed equipment the provider takes on varies by contract.
AnalogyIt is like storing your own instrument in a rented unit where temperature and humidity are controlled. The instrument is yours; from the storage company you rent the space and the conditions.
How to rememberTo house something is to give it a home. Lending a home (a place to sit) to the user's equipment is housing.
Exam points
ExamIn a colocation service (ハウジングサービス), the user owns the servers and other equipment, and the provider owns the facility they sit in.
ExamWhat a colocation service (ハウジングサービス) lightens for users is the cost and effort of the setting, such as the building and lines, needed to run their own equipment.
Mix-upA hosting service (ホスティングサービス) and a colocation service (ハウジングサービス) both use the provider's facility, and they differ in whether the server belongs to the provider or the user.
SI is a service that takes on a system from planning through deployment as one package, and the companies doing it are called SIers.
Outsourcing (アウトソーシング) covers handing any work to outsiders, and when the contractor is abroad it is called offshore outsourcing (オフショアアウトソーシング).
An ASP delivers application functions over a network, so users need to own neither the software nor the servers.
In a colocation service (ハウジングサービス), the provider supplies the facility for the equipment and the setting it needs, such as power, cooling and communication lines.