CPU Central Processing Unit; electronic component of a computer system that

executes instructions.
Data warehouse A database to support analysis and business decision making. Data is set to read-only status, since its purpose is simply for read analysis with no
active connection to a live transaction system.
DTU Microsoft defines a Data Transfer Unit (DTU) as “a unit of measure of the resources that are guaranteed to be available to a standalone Azure SQL
database ataspecificperformancelevel within astandalone database
service tier”24.
EFTPS Electronic Fund Transfer Payment System; proprietary system used by Fintechtoprocesspaymentselectronicallyfromcustomersthroughoutthe
Alcohol industry.
GB Gigabyte; a measurable unit of storage. Can be interpreted as 1024 bytes
of data.
IDE Integrated Development Environment; software that programmers use to
develop applications
IMDB In-Memory DataBase; uses main memory (directly communicating with the CPU) instead of disk storage, for much faster query times than traditional
databases. Used for high-intensity applications such as
telecommunications networks, and computational-intensive analysis of very large data sets.
iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple, Inc.
JDBC Java Database Connectivity; an application programming interface (API)
for Java-based applications to connect to various data sources.
MySQL an open source relational database management system.
NoSQL sometimes called “non SQL”, “non-relational”, or “not only SQL”; NoSQL stores data in a file format that is architected differently from
traditional relational database management systems.
ODBC Open Database Connectivity; a standard API used to connect databases
to various data sources.
RAM Random Access Memory; used to temporarily store data during processing. High system RAM equates to high capacity to temporarily
store data.
SDK SoftwareDevelopment Kit; a set of softwaretools developers use to create
applications.
SSIS SQL Server Integration Services; Microsoft product that includes tools
that make it easy for database developers to work with and manage data.
SQL Structured Query Language; the common programming language used to
query data stored in a relational database.
Use Case A formal scenario for specific software functionality applied to a real-
world process.
 Exhibit 2: Fintech’s Relationships with Retailer
Convenience Stores
Chevron Corp Circle K Drug Stores Hotels Supermarkets
Cumberland Farms CVS/Revco Pharmacy Hilton Worldwide Hyatt Giant Eagle Harris
Pantry Kinney Drugs OscoDrug Corporation InterContinental Teeter Kroger Trader
Sheetz Rite Aid
Valero Energy Wawa, Hotels Marriott Joe’s Whole Foods
Sav-Mor Super Drugs Sav- Winn-Dixie Stores
Inc. International Omni Hotels
on Drugs Walgreens
Ritz Carlton Hotel White
Lodging

Institutional Restaurants
Aramark Centerplate Mass Merchants Applebee's
Buffalo Wild Wings Chili's
Compass Group BJ's Wholesale Club Cost
Outback Steakhouse Ruby
Delaware North HMS Plus COSTCO
Tuesday
Host K-mart Sam's Club
TGI Friday's Texas
Levy Restaurants Target Walmart
Roadhouse
Sodexo
Fintech’s Nationwide Regulated Distributors
Q1
Joe Kwo recognizes that the cloud offers both opportunities and risks.

• How would a move to the cloud make it easier and/or more profitable
for Fintech to provide large volumes of selected data to its clients?
• What technical challenges does Fintech face in offering the new
service?
• What business challenges does Fintech face in offering the new
service?
Gartner Generic Hype Cycle Concept
Gartner Hype Cycle for Cloud Computing in 2015
What is it about the cloud that is attractive to so many
companies?

• Gartner’s “Hype Cycle” methodology (Exhibit IM-2).

• Case Exhibit 4 includes this descriptive template and its 2015 Cloud
Computing Hype Cycle.
• Cloud computing is a bundle of related tools and applications, each
adopted by organizations at a different pace, over time.
• Hype Cycle’s Peak of Inflated Expectations versus the “Trough of
Disillusionment” – the point in time when news stories shift from
glowing better-than-sliced- bread testimonials to darker stories about
problematic implementations, unexpected problems and so on.
Q2
• Assume Joe Kwo must choose a cloud services provider. Based only
on information provided in the case, which provider should Kwo
choose? Why? You will need to compare and contrast the three
providers’ offerings in detail, and prepare to discuss technical and
business implications of their similarities and differences.
Exhibit 5: Fintech Architecture Diagram
Assessing a New IT Application in One or More Pilot Studies: Technical,
Operational, and Economic Feasibility
• Technical Feasibility
• Does it work?
• Is it compatible?
• Do we understand how it works?
• When it breaks, do we know how to fix it?
• Does it scale?
• (etc.)
• Operational Feasibility
• How would it fit in?
• Can we streamline business processes?
• Will our employees accept this?
• How much must they change?
• What about our business partners?
• (etc.)
• Economic Feasilibity
• Is it worth it?
• How expensive is this to buy? To install? To opearate? To maintain? To upgrade?
• Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
• Will it lead to reduced costs?
• Will it lead to new customers?
• Increased sales? Better customer retention?
• (etc)
Q3
• For each provider (Amazon, Google, Microsoft), identify specific risks,
and prepare to offer specific suggestions for launching, running, and
managing the proposed new service if that provider is chosen.
Q4
• Evaluate strengths and weaknesses of the provider evaluation process
described in the case. What useful steps were taken? Do you see any
problems?
 Amazon Web Services
System Admin
AWS Management Console AWS Console
mobile app for iOS or Android
Security
Cloud Security Professional Services
Penetration Testing Vulnerability
Reporting Security Bulletins Resources
Compliance
Partners
Google Cloud Platform
Google Cloud Platform Console Google Cloud
Console mobile app for Android
Information Security Team Data Center Physical
Security
Server and Software Stack Security Data Access
Data Disposal
Platform Security Features Cloud Platform
Project Security
Microsoft Azure
Microsoft Azure Portal
Mobile Cloud Manager mobile app for iOS,
Android, Windows
Design and Operational Security Security
Development Lifecycle Encryption
Identity and Access Management

Programmability
Platforms / multiple platforms Development tools & Environments Logging & multiple programming languages multiple
Languages multiple programming languages Monitoring browsers
Deploy Systems Automatically multiple clients
multiple mobile devices Windows or
Linux OS.
AWS language-specific Eclipse, Visual
Google Cloud-specific. Android Studio,
SDK
Studio AWS CodeCommit
IDE Toolkit Source Eclipse Can use GIT language-specific. Visual Studio
Can use GIT
control

Scalability yes yes yes

Database
Relational SQL Server Amazon Aurora Amazon Cloud SQL SQL Server
RDS
Oracle PostgreSQL

NoSQL Amazon DynoD Cloud BigTable Cloud DataStore DocumentDB

Data Warehouse Amazon Redshift ? SQL Data Warehouse

Fintech Achievable with Third Party Tool. Achievable with MySQL ODBC Driver Achievable with Microsoft ODBC Driver
Test Use Case
 Exhibit 8: Monthly Price Estimates for Use Case
Estimates below only include Database and Support. Other service prices not considered for this example.
Amazon Web Services Google Cloud Platform Microsoft Azure

AWS database (relational or SQL Database

Database data warehouse type) (relational or data warehouse type)
Google Cloud 2nd Generation

Instance Type dc1.large Instance db-n1-highmem-16 Instance Premium (Tier): P11 (Level)

Performance Level 16 Virtual CPUs (8 nodes) 16 Virtual CPUs 1750 DTUs

In-Memory OLTP
RAM 120 GB 104 GB (online transaction processing) stores up
to14 GB of data in
memory

# of Databases 1 1 1
Uptime per month 744 hours 730 hours 744 hours

Storage 1280 GB 1024 GB 1024 GB

Database Cost $1488 per Month $1284 per Month $7001 per Month
Support Plan Business Support Gold Support Standard Support
$150 per Month (approx. 10% of
Support Cost monthly $400.00 per Month $300.00 per Month
usage)
Total Cost per $1,638 $1,684 $7,301
Month
 What has Fintech lost by not issuing an RFP?

• Without detailed RFP, it is difficult to evaluate whether some

providers’ features – such as an IMDB, or support for mobile
devices, or foreign currency translation -- would be relevant
and helpful