A Guidance to Legacy Systems Modernization

Rapid development of information technology and communication (ICT) has increased the use of information systems in organizations since a decade ago. At the same time, many organizations are still using old information systems to support their business, known as legacy systems. Even though these systems cause technical problems, but they are still used to support service delivery to the customer. These systems are also essential to organizations as they have been operated for many years and possess high business value. The operation of legacy systems cannot be stopped quickly, as it will affect daily business tasks. However, organizations with legacy systems need to think about the ability of the systems to support their future direction. Modernization of legacy systems needs to be implemented to ensure the systems are aligned with global changes as well as improving the competitiveness of the organizations. This study, therefore, reviewed the phases and factors involved in legacy systems modernization to identify gaps and their insufficiencies. There are many studies on legacy systems, but only a few have focused on the overall process of legacy systems modernization. Most studies on legacy systems are technical in nature and refer to specific aspects and phases of modernization. This study aims to provide overall guidance to the organizations in performing legacy systems modernization

Exploring Critical Success Factors for Implementing IT Modernization Systems in Michigan State Agencies

Since 2001, most government organizations’ IT modernization programs had failed because of ineffective implementation strategies from IT leaders. The research problem was the absence of effective strategies to modernize IT legacy systems. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore effective IT modernization strategies to revolutionize IT legacy systems. The researcher sought to answer how organizations create effective strategies to modernize IT legacy systems. The study used purposeful sampling, including 13 IT leaders, IT technicians, and customers based on their experience in implementing successful IT modernization programs’ strategies. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and agency documentation. Data were analyzed using the four-step thematic analysis approach, including data transcription, data organization, data coding, and data validation. The interpretation of data revealed four major themes: IT leader strategy, IT leader knowledge, IT infrastructure security and reliability, and IT cost savings. The findings revealed that IT leaders serve as the key actors in the IT modernization programs’ network. Their knowledge is essential to a holistic IT transformation strategy to enhance risk-based decisions and communicate with customers. The implication for positive social change includes the potential to use innovative technologies to reduce cost, increase data security, and simplify IT applications to enhance Michiganders’ quality of life in multiple aspects

Adoption of Cloud Computing in the SMEs: An exploration of the issues and challenges for adoption of Cloud Computing by SMEs in Bangladesh in the context of “Digital Bangladesh”

Cloud Computing is one of the most recent sophisticated technologies which can play a pivotal role in small and medium sized enterprises primarily because it may offer ICT resources to small businesses without large up-front costs nor expensive investment in specialist staff. This technology, however, is not presently used extensively in SMEs in Bangladesh owing to numerous causes and issues, which provide barriers to its adoption. The importance of SMEs in Bangladeshi economic and social development is crucial. The aim of this research is: • to investigate and to identify issues that explain the challenges of adoption of Cloud Computing by SMEs in Bangladesh; • to place these issues in an academic context by developing and proposing a conceptual framework for understanding drivers and barriers to Cloud Computing adoption and • to explore directions for Bangladeshi SMEs to adopt Cloud Computing within the framework of Bangladesh’s government policies for “Digital Bangladesh”. The “Digital Bangladesh” policy is a set of proposals for making the country digital by bringing the nation’s economy under the umbrella of ICT-related technologies. This policy does not simply mean the comprehensive use of computers in businesses but a modernisation of thinking about the use of advanced digital technologies in an effective way in business, education, and job creation by connecting citizens, businesses, government and ICT specialists. Targets for Digital Bangladesh is to achieve an increase in the country’s annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 10% by 2021 and to double the GDP contribution of SME sectors from 23% to 40%. Development of ICT use in Bangladeshi SMEs – in a variety of business sectors is, thus, fairly central to the Digital Bangladesh policy. This research has used primarily qualitative research methods, whereby data has been collected by conducting interviews with a sample of purposefully selected people from various SME sectors in different metropolitan centres in Bangladesh. In order to investigate and understand the nature of the issues confronting SMEs, this study sought to identify some potential solutions that may lead to Cloud Computing adoption within Bangladeshi SMEs within the Digital Bangladesh policy. Nine different types of SMEs were chosen to participate in this exploration. By using thematic analysis, the collected data are analysed and matched against the proposed framework for identifying drivers and barriers to Cloud Computing adoption. The observed issues were categorized into ‘internal’, ‘external’ and ‘technological’ contexts. This research contributes to the body of knowledge concerning Cloud Computing and its potential use in business contexts by providing a wide-ranging review of the literature that is directed upon identifying issues that challenging the Cloud Computing adoption. This research further developed two other frameworks addressing the drivers (incentives) and barriers to adoption of Cloud Computing especially in smaller businesses. In addition, an integrated but novel conceptual framework was developed to enable Bangladeshi SMEs and Bangladeshi ICT specialists to understand better the issues that may explain the challenges, thus far, of Cloud Computing adoption by SMEs. A realistic roadmap was developed to assist Bangladeshi SMEs to adopt Cloud Computing solutions in order to minimise the current gaps between theory and practice

Cyber warfare: threats and opportunities

Relatório apresentado à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para o cumprimento do programa de Pós-Doutoramento em Ciências da InformaçãoCybersecurity has gone through several changes that have presented new challenges in recent years, complicated by the rise of cybercrime and digital warfare. With the introduction of militarizing the space domain, it has become apparent that we must consider multidomain concepts. Thus, the threat landscape has again shifted, and defenders must become knowledgeable about how the cyber domain crosses into maritime, land, air, and space. The traditional thinking of protecting enterprise systems locked away in a building is no longer. Thus, we have the emergence of cyber warfare and cyber as a fifth domain that brings together maritime, land, space, and air. These domains are not just for the military but the civilian sector as well. Understanding the role of cyber and how it can be used to take advantage or secure the remaining domains will give entities the upper hand in strategy. The technological advancements that pave the way to the mass implementation of the Internet of Things (IoT) and Internet connectivity to everyday devices have led to an explosion in cyberattacks such as breaches resulting in millions of accounts being compromised. (Dawson, Eltayeb, & Omar, 2016). Bad actors such as those focused on criminal activities regarding human trafficking and espionage navigate these domains to circumvent law enforcement agencies globally. We must understand how exploitation, circumvention, and defense needs to occur in a multidomain concept. However, knowing that the cyber domain is a domain that goes through land, maritime, space, and air can be an area that serves as a central point for realizing assured security. Executive Orders (EO), laws, policies, doctrine, and other directives have shaped the landscape of cybersecurity. New EOs have been released that allow a cyber-attack with responsive measures such as one that involves military force. Laws created that impose rights for Personal Identifiable Information (PII) being breached, leaving millions of individuals unprotected. One of these most well-known items is General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as it relates to the European Union (EU) and the evolving threats with hyperconnectivity (Martínez, 2019a; Martínez, 2019b). Understanding the role of cybercrime and digital warfare and how they continue to play in shaping the technological landscape is critical. These various actions change the spectrum regarding combating nefarious actors or design errors that leave the system susceptible. As attacks continue to rise from bad actors such as nation-states, terrorists, and other entities, it is essential to understand the threat landscape and select cybersecurity methodologies that can be put in place to provide adequate measures. This document presents the work form a post-doctoral project that provides a perspective of cybersecurity under a information science perspective. This six-month project allows to stress the broadly importance that information and its management (not just within the information security context), and the urgent need to deal with cybersecurity as a societal challenge. The document is organized in four main chapters presenting different but complementary issues, going from high level to a more operational level: National Cybersecurity Education: Bridging Defense to Offense, stressing the importance of societal awareness and education. Emerging Technologies in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, stressing the importance to consider cybersecurity issues as core ones, even to economic and production areas. Nefarious Activities within the Deep Layers of the Internet, stressing the need to be part of digital places where information is traded, shared and, even sometimes, created. The fourth chapter provide a few hints and issues related with software development and test: Software Security Considerations. A final session presents several remarks as Final Thoughts, closing the work pointing out some of the current challenges that we are facing of.N/