Running Head: 77547269 WAL-MART’S ENTERPRISE COMPUTING
Wal-Mart’s Enterprise Computing
Walmart is huge corporation with a number of IT systems for the enterprise. The company outsources its databases to the NCR Corporation leading to it having a total of 7.5 terabyte of storage capacity. The Neo Vista Corporation is involved in the provision for Walmart with software rendered to run coherently with the needs of the database environment, this a great deal of association with the NCR databases. This software has brought a great deal of benefit to the Walmart Corporation through the provision of effective communication for the management team; there is good flow of information between the accounting and the resources department otherwise known as data-mining. Data-mining is quite useful in the access of information by the staff about a particular item sold.
Walmart has also put in place a satellite system which provides a great deal of assistance when it comes to communication. The satellite provides a link between the stores and the headquarters eases the communication involved hence easy management. The satellite system used has been switched to the frame relay form of data transmission through publicly owned and shared phone network lines most applicable in the DS3 network that works at a rate of 44.736 Mbps where there is a connection with the virtual circuits giving connection to several offices (blogspot, 2009). Walmart has an effective supply chain management method; so much has been done to build an innovative structure, the company manages the database, the organisation that provides software, the LAN connection, interfaces and the machines and its components like the hubs which are all involved in the correlative functions hence enabling the staff to access any form of information needed. The supply chain management is quite efficient in its performance its efficiency is due to the effective network planning and the database configuration in the Data-warehouse, Data-Mart and Data-Mining.
Wal-Mart being a highly productive company has developed itself to a much bigger force in the marketing world. The softwares that play role in its growth are to be acknowledged for the innovativeness it possesses. Walmart has switched to open source programs; this would in effect affect the software industries due to the magnitude and due to the following by other companies that would result to.
The form of networks put in place in Walmart is made possible due to the LAN connection, which in addition has wireless interfaces. The WLAN puts in applicability a spread spectrum form of technology which is related to the radio waves for efficient communication, this known as the basic service set. Users are as result given the ability to move within an area and continue being connected in the network. Connections between the staff in several stores have been utilized.
The type of network interface used is of two types which can be used, they are personal which be an expansion card and the commercial computers which use the Ethernet card, which goes to the hub or switch hence enabling one to apply cables of varied forms of wiring. The media used is either using cables or the radio waves for the passage of information. A software which enables the communication through the cables is used; either modem software or/and network operating system.
The connecting devices used are either a hub, switch or a router which connects together the computers in a network hence acting as a switch board which hands over information. Walmart utilizes the Novell LAN. Walmart utilizes the VoIP technology where there is the sending of voice data over the network. The network security used apply some principles into play, they are the confidentiality, integrity and availability. The technology used is Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) that encrypts data that are considered to be sensitive initially before put into the network. There is also the use of firewalls to hinder threats and IDS that is meant to watch network traffic for unnecessary interference from threats.
Wal-Mart applies the use of the service-oriented architectures (SOA) in the advancement of its work; this even though is not a fast and flexible form of architecture (blog, 2006). There is also the RFID which is beneficial in the sharing of information.
References
blog, 2006. The Enterprise System Spectator. Retrived on 20th April 2011 from http://fscavo.blogspot.com/2006/04/inside-peek-at-wal-marts-it-systems.html
blogspot, 2009. Walmart. Retrived on 20th April 2011 from http://warlmart.blogspot.com/
