Cost-effective Information Systems Research Articles

EKF Connect Industry digital platform for efficient operation of manufacturing plants

The decline in the supply of digital solutions for monitoring and supervisory control of technological processes in the domestic market has given Russian companies an incentive to begin developing their own cost-effective information systems and cloud solutions. EKF experts have developed the EKF Connect Industry Internet of Things platforms. The IIoT analytical platform has become part of the EKF Connect cloud product ecosystem. The EKF Connect Industry cloud platform is a smart solution for industrial enterprises that need process control, which does not require the purchase of expensive additional equipment, and does not require additional highly qualified specialists to maintain it.

Land administration system and geoportal service for the need of a fit-for-purpose national urban greenery management system (UGMS). The concept for the EU member state of Poland

Motives: IT is nowadays an effective tool supporting management in many fields, including management of urban greenery. Only a few cities in Poland have launched a dedicated urban greenery management system (UGMS). The need to provide all cities in the country with such a possibility gave birth to the idea of developing a concept using existing Land Administration System (LAS) infrastructure connected with INSPIRE Geoportal which can provide more than 75% of the information for urban greenery management.Aim: The main aim of this study was to propose the functional and database concept of a fit-forpurpose urban greenery management system (UGMS) in Poland as a universal tool for different types of urban greenery management bodies (UGMB) and a consistent information platform covering the entire country based on LAS referred to as the Integrated Real Estate Information System (IREIS), and the INSPIRE Geoportal service. The UGMS concept can be implemented in the other Member States of the European Union and other countries that have LAS and SDI like INSPIRE.Results: This approach develops a cost-effective information system that contains comprehensive information from the existing SDI in Poland and can be used by all Polish cities. The system will provide UGMB with access to data that is required for the performance of their statutory duties. Previous accomplishments, EU recommendations, and national experiences in spatial planning have been taken into account in the design process. In line with the fit-for-purpose concept, the relevant needs were determined during a survey of selected public administration authorities responsible for urban greenery. As a result, the scope of data required to create the UGMS was defined in the context of system functionalities. In addition, potential sources of data for the UMGS and their location in the NSDI were identified.

LBP21: LABORATORY INFORMATION SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION AND INTEGRATION: ACHIEVING A FULLY FUNCTIONAL SYSTEM

Aim The increasing volume of tests (∼5% growth per year) processed by the Histocompatibility laboratory has gradually become an overwhelming challenge. The current Laboratory Information System (LIS) Oracle database has generated a substantial amount of manual and redundant data entry while only offering limited interface capabilities without meeting the changing regulatory reporting requirements. This manual input has contributed to inefficiency and transcription errors while lack of interfaces has significantly increased the paperwork. In 2011, the decision was made to implement a replacement LIS to address these issues. Methods The HistoTrac software available from SystemLink was chosen to meet our needs. Workflow considerations were subsequently made with strategies developed for maintaining an existing information system while implementing its replacement. A detailed timeline with major milestones and their estimated durations was established to monitor progress with support from the vendor. The laboratory IT team performed all major data migration, software upgrades and interface development as well as testing, validation and training. After going live in May 2012, the cost savings and improvement in Turn Around Time (TAT) have been closely monitored. Results External databases and most laboratory equipment were integrated with HistoTrac to support a seamless data transfer and reduce manual transcription. Middleware (i.e. Excel macros) were developed to format data exported from HistoTrac specifically to fit instrument requirements. Significant cost savings in all areas of the laboratory ($93,000) was realized. The TAT was improved on average by a day for both High and Mediums resolution HLA typing tests. Conclusions A well designed cost-effective information system is essential for a laboratory to stay competitive. The new LIS dramatically reduced the clerical labor required to handle information, increased the accuracy of patient reports, and significantly sped up reporting of results to providers. The connection of automated instruments to the LIS is perhaps the most important aspect of the system. Without these bi-directional interfaces, the system will not be fully functional.

Performance Analysis of Remote Desktop Virtualization based on Hyper-V versus Remote Desktop Services

Abstract The fast spread of computer networks and broadband Internet access, and also the development of different operating systems, makes possible to use different virtualization techniques and virtual machines. The release and spread of virtualization platforms makes possible the development of cost-effective information systems that can provide in addition dynamic resource management and simplified system administration. In this paper we present a comparative performance analysis of Remote Desktop Virtualization based on Hyper-V versus Remote Desktop Services. We introduce system architecture for the two tested scenario and test environment including detailed hardware description. The main conclusions of the paper are that despite the higher acquisition and maintenance costs, the Remote Desktop Services outperforms the Hyper-V based Remote Desktop Virtualization in memory, CPU and also storage management.

Petri nets for performance modelling study of client-server systems

Client-server computing provides many corporations with the ability to build scalable, adaptive and cost-effective information systems. However, to design and implement an effective client-server system is not an easy job. The complexity due to the inherent heterogeneity in client-server platforms makes the performance evaluation an important issue. The main purpose of this paper is to provide an analytical model to evaluate the performance of a client-server system before it is implemented. It is shown in this paper that the Petri net model is a powerful technique used to study the client-server system performance. Besides using a numerical example to illustrate the solution procedure of the Petri net model, a case study is also given to show the applicability of the developed analytical model. This research concludes that, with the assistance of some software packages, the Petri nets are very useful tools for the information system manager to analyse a client-server system and to decide the appropriate configuration thereafter

The development, management and preservation of art and architectural microform collections

Anticipated educational changes and their effects on libraries include increased emphasis upon independent study and consideration of economic priorities. These changes taking place in the eighties will force the issue of cost effective information systems for teaching and research. Economical advantages of the microformat include: compact storage, lower operational costs and economical text or image transfer onto paper or videodisc. Without overcoming the following impediments, however, microforms will not reach their full and remarkable potential as a research tool in the art and architectural reference library, 1) Lack of a systems approach, especially regarding technical standards; 2) Insufficient education of micrographics specialists, and; 3) Inadequate legal and copyright procedures.This paper addresses the lack of a systems approach in the body of this paper and provides specific recommendations for establishment and maintenance of art and architectural microform collections with emphasis placed upon three key issues: оDevelopment–selection of art and architectural microform software programs and the technology appropriate for their viewing, projecting and copyingоManagement–administration of a microforms collection including staffing patterns and bibliographic instruction–bibliographic control methods and projects–circulationоPreservation–facilities planning covering the issues of centralisation versus decentralisation and environmental factorsThe use of microforms represents a critical link in the information transfer chain in art and architectural libraries. Promotional attitudes on the part of librarians as well as technical standards generated from the profession insures the success of a microform collection development program utilising the systems approach.This paper was originally delivered to the section of Art Libraries at the 1983 IFLA Council.