MMU Information System Infrastructure Discussion

Question 1complete the five – 200 words discussion points (Attached)

Question 2Find and view several online videos on unified communications. Identifythe URLs for three that you think do a particularly good jobillustrating the characteristics and capabilities of UC systems. Selectthe one that you think is best and briefly justify your selection.[300 words]
CASE STUDY
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CHEVRON’S INFRASTRUCTURE
EVOLUTION
Chevron Corporation (www.chevron.com) is one of the world’s leading
energy companies. Chevron’s headquarters are in San Ramon, California.
The company has more than 62,000 employees and produces more than
700,000 barrels of oil per day. It has 19,500 retail sites in 84 countries. In
2012, Chevron was number three on the Fortune 500 list and had more than
$244 billion in revenue in 2011 [STAT12].
IT infrastructure is very important to Chevron and to better support all
facets of its global operations, the company is always focused on improving its
infrastructure [GALL12]. Chevron faces new challenges from increased global
demand for its traditional hydrocarbon products and the need to develop IT
support for new value chains for liquid natural gas (LNG) and the extraction of
gas and oil from shale. Huge investments are being made around the world,
particularly in Australia and Angola on massive projects of unprecedented
scale. Modeling and analytics are more important than ever to help Chevron
exploit deep water drilling and hydrocarbon extraction in areas with challenging
geographies. For example, advanced seismic imaging tools are used by
Chevron to reveal possible oil or natural gas reservoirs beneath the earth’s
surface. Chevron’s proprietary seismic imaging
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technology contributed to it achieving a 69% discovery rate in
2011[CHEV12].
Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition
(SCADA) Systems
Chevron refineries are continually collecting data from sensors spread
throughout the facilities to maintain safe operations and to alert operators to
potential safety issues before they ever become safety issues. Data from the
sensors is also used to optimize the way the refineries work and to identify
opportunities of greater efficiency. IT controls 60,000 valves at Chevron’s
Pascagoula, Mississippi refinery; the efficiency and safety of its end-to-end
operations are dependent on advanced sensors, supervisory control and
data acquisition (SCADA) systems, and other digital industrial control
systems [GALL12].
SCADA systems are typically centralized systems that monitor and control
entire sites and/or complexes of systems that are spread out over large areas
such as an entire manufacturing, fabrication, power generation, or refining
facility. The key components of SCADA systems include:
• Programmable logic units (PLCs) that and remote terminal units
(RTUs) connected to sensors that convert sensor signals to digital
data and send it to the supervisory system
• A supervisory computer system that acquires data about the
process and sends control commands to the process
• A human-machine interface (HMI) that presents process to the human
operators that monitor and control the process.
• Process meters and process analysis instruments
• Communication infrastructure connecting the supervisory system and
RTUs and PLCs.
These are illustrated in Figure C6.1.
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Data acquisition occurs at the PLC or RTU level. This includes meter
readings and equipment status reports that are sent to the supervisory
system. The collected data is compiled and formatted by the HMI to enable
the operator to make determine whether adjustments to normal PLC or RTU
settings are needed. Current data may also be compared to historical data
in a SCADA database to assess trends or perform analytical auditing.
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In addition to Chevron refineries, SCADA are extremely important in
national infrastructures such as water supplies, pipelines, and electric
grids. Because attacks or damage to SCADA systems can affect large
numbers of people, ensuring adequate security is important.
Business Infrastructure Transformation
Because of the complexity of its operational processes and the IT that is
needed to support them, Chevron has traditionally been more infrastructure
than business focused. SCADA systems and digital industrial control systems
are critical IT infrastructure at Chevron’s refineries and will always play an
important role in monitoring and managing facility-based processes. These
also are among the first IT systems needed to support Chevron’s new value
chains for LNG and shale oil extraction. However, like any large corporation,
Chevron relies on a wide variety of business applications to run its
businesses.
As it is for most global businesses, SAP ERP is a key transaction
processing system at Chevron. Chevron has been using SAP for more than
two decades and it has played an important role in the development of
SAP’s vertical solutions for the hydrocarbon industry. There are more than
50 instances of SAP used by Chevron [SCRI11]. Most of these run on Oracle
databases. Some other key enterprise applications at Chevron include Ariba
Buyer, EMC Documentum, Informatica, MicroStrategy, multiple Oracle
applications [SCRI11].
Going forward, IT executives at Chevron would like to flip the
company’s traditional IT priorities so that the majority of the IT staff’s time
and attention is focused on improving business capabilities [GALL12]. To do
this, Chevron’s IT leaders have increasingly turned their attention to Web
services, software as a service (SaaS), and cloud computing to help it run its
business. Chevron considers mobility to be a game changer in how it
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delivers information and provides solutions and it is convinced that it can
do both without sacrificing security or reliability.
IT infrastructure at Chevron pervades every facet of its operations.
However, Chevron’s executives have not lost sight of the fact that IT is not
the company’s core competency. By moving business solutions to the
cloud, Chevron executives hope to help the company maintain its focus on
its core competencies.
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Chevron has used business-oriented Web services for several years. Ariba
Buyer, Salesforce.com, and Ketera’s price negotiation system are just a few of
the SaaS solutions that Chevron has woven into its IT architecture.
Chevron is interested in developing an integrated information network
that includes all of its major supply chain partners, both upstream and
downstream. Identify management has emerged as a priority at Chevron to
ensure secure data transfer among its business partners. A generic
example of an identify management system is illustrated in Figure C6.2.
When users at Chevron partners need to access Chevron’s intranet and/or
SaaS data or solutions, they are first cleared by an identity broker. The
identity broker authenticates the user and transparently provides a single
sign on (SSO) token that enables the partner to access Chevron’s intranet
(2) or the company’s SaaS solution providers (3).
Chevron hopes to better align its operations with those of its business
partners via its migration of business applications to the cloud. It hopes
that the business infrastructure transformation that is currently underway
will also lead to better IT and business alignment. As a global company, the
cloud may be an ideal platform for running the business.
In the years ahead, Chevron’s IT leaders expect mobility, analytics and
visualization, and social media to become critical aspects of its business
infrastructure. At the facilities level, advanced sensors and deeper
embedding of RTUs and PLCs within operations are foreseen [GALL12].
Technical appreciation of convergence network infrastructure will continue to
be important, but business literacy/savvy will be most important to the longterm success of Chevron’s IT leaders.
Discussion Points
1. Do some Internet research on Chevron’s use of seismic
imaging technology. Briefly explain how it works and how it has
helped Chevron discover new oil and gas reservoirs. (200
words)
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2. Do some Internet research on security vulnerabilities associated with
SCADA and digital industrial control systems. Summarize the major
security concerns associated with these systems and steps than can be
taken to enhance their security. (200 words)
3. Discuss the pros and cons of moving enterprise-wide applications
that have traditionally been supported on premises to the cloud. (200
words)
4. Do some Internet research on identify management and single sign on
systems. Briefly explain how these work and why they are important
in business intranets and extranets. (200 words)
5. Why is it increasing most important for a CIO or IT executive who
oversees geographically distributed enterprise networks to be
business literate? (200 words)
Sources
[CHEV12] Chevron.com “Seismic Imaging.” Retrieved online:
at http://www.chevron.com/deliveringenegy/oil/seismicimaging.
[GALL12] Gallant, J. ”Chevron’s CIO Talks Transformation and Why IT
Leaders Should Smile.” April 12, 2012. Retrieved online at:
http://www.cio.com/article/print/704095.
[SCRI11] Scribd.com. “Chevron Corporation CRUSH Report.” August 17,
2011. Retrieved online at http://www.scribd.com/doc/62481977/ChevronCRUSH-Report-09A1.
[STAT12] Statistic Brain. “Chevron Company Statistics.” February 12, 2102.
Retrieved online at: http://www.statisticbrain.com/chevron-companystatistics/.
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