Summary
The project to launch Health Tactical, an e-commerce startup, will be resource-intensive with a need for proper planning, installation, furnishing, and engineering. The logical and physical layout of the company’s information systems will be conducted in the star topology to maximize the number of outlets available. A single unitary firewall unit will be used to protect the network from the external internet connection with customers. It is important to note that many monthly expenses will be related to starting and running the business. However, the essential equipment, hardware, and software will involve Intel Core i7 Processors, Dell XPS tower, iPhone 13 Pro, Website, HVAC, MySQL, Cisco Firewall hardware, and other materials. The purchasing process will take one week, the website development will require five months, commercial furnishing and renovation will need two months, and installation of Intel Core i7 Processors and HVAC will demand one week each.
Logical and Physical Layout of the Company’s Information Systems
The logical topology of how the data will move around the networks of Health Tactical is shown in Figure 1 below. The electrical plan shows the essential elements of the office floor since the company will be an online e-commerce store focused on health foods and related products. The star topology will be used in order to create a circular network. It is stated that “unlimited numbers of outlets may be included in ring circuits with the only limitation being the total floor area served” (Scott, 1, para. 1). This is the main reason why such a wiring plan is selected since, as an IT company, many outlets for servers and computers, as well as other devices, might be needed. Other critical elements include lights, duplex receptacle outlets, telephone outlets, smoke detectors, and switches. All of these components will be placed on both floors of the building, where each floor will be identical in the wiring and office space design.
Placement of Key Infrastructure Elements
Internal Connectivity
The core firewall will be placed between the external internet and customers, as shown in Figure 2 below. It is stated that “a network requires a substantial defensive strategy to protect individual components and the information they contain” (National Security Agency, 2, p. 2). The key elements of the company’s information systems infrastructure include four major compartments. These involve shop systems, backend, logistics, and analytics with business intelligence or BI. The shop system will be integrated to contain the product catalog, cart function, and check-out procedure capabilities. It will be interacting with three different subsystems, such as services of payment and logistics, analytics and BI, and the backend. The latter will be comprised of web content, product information, and enterprise resource planning or ERP connected to the core entity management of the backend.
A firewall is a system or combination of systems that allows Health Tactical to divide a network into two and more parts in the future to implement a set of rules that determine the conditions for packets to pass from one part to another. The firewall thus passes all traffic through itself. For each packet passing through, the firewall makes a decision, such as whether to let it through or drop it. In order for the firewall to make these decisions, it needs to define a set of rules. The operation of all firewalls can be combined with the layers of the OSI model. In this case, it will be clearly visible at what level of abstraction each type of firewall operates. In general, the higher the level of the OSI model at which the firewall filters packets, the higher the level of protection it provides.
A critical task is to set up an unencrypted data policy in networks in connection with security. From the point of view of compliance with security policies as a whole, the entire network can be divided into two parts. This includes well-controlled areas and poorly controlled areas. Well-controlled zones include groups in which ordinary users work. Policy settings for their workstations are enforced and unchangeable by the user and controlled by the network administrator. Practically all divisions of the administrative apparatus can be attributed to this type. The second type includes lower-level divisions, such as integrated suppliers. If there are poorly controlled workstations in the network, it becomes possible to organize an illegal access point to this network for others, and therefore a firewall is needed.
External Connectivity
The external network will be comprised of the internet directly connecting to the customers since the website will be publicly accessible and available to consumers on major search engines. Customers and suppliers will be interacting with the backend through the relevant B2C and B2B gateway, respectively. The logistics element will be comprised of return shipments, stock receipt, consignment, and stock management functional elements. Analytics and BI will be interconnected with the shop system, backend, and logistics to ensure data is stored, categorized, and analyzed. A high-level block diagram for the company’s information systems infrastructure can be accessed in Figure 2 below.
It is important to note that a corporate network is a complex system that provides a wide range of data transfer between various applications used in a single information system of an organization. The corporate network allows Health Tactical to create a single database for all departments, conduct electronic document management, organize conference calls, and conduct video conferences. The organization needs high-quality telephone and facsimile local, international and long-distance communications, Internet access, and other interactive networks. All this reduces the response time to changes occurring in the company and ensures optimal management of all processes in real time.
Bill of Materials
The detailed bill of materials can be accessed in Table 1 below. The key expenses will cover Intel Core i7 Processors, Dell XPS tower, iPhone 13 Pro, Website, HVAC, MySQL, Cisco Firewall hardware, and other materials. The table does not include monthly expenses on servers, the internet, and other forms of monthly payments. In other words, it represents the basic hardware needed to jumpstart Health Tactical to make it function. Since it is a fairly large project, the sums demonstrated are also large. Table 1 below shows that the minimum requirement to purchase essential equipment is around $300,000 with details on items, descriptions, models, and approximate costs. The additional monthly or yearly expenses, such as CRAC, cloud servers, or Oracle Cloud ERP, will be accounted for only after the initial purchase in order to establish the current needs.
Methodology and Process
Installation
Intel Core i7 Processors were selected to enhance employee satisfaction, improve workflow, and increase productivity. The purchased processors will be installed in accordance with the company’s manual and likely will involve hiring professionals after the office space is ready. The time requirement will be a week of installation because several tests need to be made to ensure their functionality. The selection of the central processing unit of the corporation depended on the clock speed, core, RAM, cache, and thread needed for the chosen CPU. HVAC installation will also require a professional team to complete it because it is a labor-intensive process with a requirement for technical skills and knowledge. iPhone 13 Pro, Dell XPS tower, MySQL, and Cisco Firewall hardware will not require any form of installation process since they are ready-to-use products. The purchase will be made within a course of a week as soon as the funds become available from the investors.
Furnishing
The furnishing process of the building floors will require three months to complete and a professional team of designers and renovators. The rationale is the fact that “they are licensed to provide commercial renovation services and have required insurance for unforeseen incidences, such as an accident taking place during work” (Lower Coast, 4, para. 4). In addition, the goal for furnishing is to utilize the holistic approach since the business requires a constant improvement of the platform and regular fixes of IT infrastructure, such as bugs. The critical wiring and electrical plan design will also be part of this process.
Effective control of PLC access networks is carried out either by one control center or by a small number of them. However, the access networks associated with network or service providers may exist in geographically large areas, or a number of the networks may be distributed in different, geographically separate regions. Therefore, optimizing the control systems used to control multiple PLC access networks is important. Management of the access networks consists in configuring and reconfiguring its elements, such as base stations and modems, depending on the state of the network. Management can be partially carried out in base stations, gateways, or control centers using remote control functions. Local control is performed automatically without the participation of management personnel. Remote control provides automatic and manual execution of control functions.
The transfer of control information from networks and to access networks is provided through distributed networks to avoid building complex communication control systems. An effective management solution is to move the possible multiple service functions to the base stations and gateways located in the access network. However, the control function of the key network elements leads to an increase in equipment costs. Therefore, the distribution of control functions between the network elements and the central office is also an optimization problem.
Engineering
In the case of the most important element of Health Tactical, which is the website, a team of web developers and designers will be hired. However, it is important to note that the management team will be directly involved in the engineering process since some members are knowledgeable in this area. Key factors will be performance and user experience or UI, which will be evaluated by the management until found satisfactory. Commercial websites built from scratch usually involve five to six months of active development (Bonderud, 3). Since the project assumes that funds will be sufficient, the projected timeline is five months due to the expertise of some members of the management team as well as the ability to hire a large team of specialists.
When it comes to the website engineering details, the products themselves and the manner in which they were paid for, as well as delivered, represent a completed order placed on the website. Collecting minimal information about the buyer forms a customer base. The client database is tied to an Internet resource and is stored on the host server. At the same time, the activity of the client in the online store is monitored, and, based on this information, an individual package of offers and discounts is formed.
Almost all business models are designed for repeat purchases, whereas Health Tactical seeks to capitalize on supplements. Registration often interferes with making purchases and ordering services on resources due to an increase in the time it takes to place an order. Large online stores and auctions keep a history of purchases and returns. The buyer and the seller leave reviews for each other, which will be visible on the first page of the profile. These reviews can be both a warning and a recommendation for cooperation. It is important to note that feedback is measured by the percentage of negative reviews. This information is monitored not only by buyers and sellers, but the resource itself keeps statistics. After the given step, the site either encourages or terminates the functioning of one or another element of commercial activity.
The next step in online shopping is confirmation of the order and subsequent payment, and there are many different types of payment for online purchases. The main ones are bank cards, bank transfers, and payments using electronic money, including cash on delivery. All these systems have sufficient protection against fraudsters, which is important for business stability. However, in an Internet environment that is difficult to control by the executive branch, fraud is not uncommon. Therefore, many banks issue special Internet cards linked to a personal account, with which one can safely pay for purchases on the internet.
When it comes to putting a system into motion, there are a variety of approaches that can be used. There are many other aspects to consider, such as commitment, risks, levels of resistance, user participation, training, and preparedness. If the organization is committed to the change, all risks have been thoroughly considered, resistance has been minimized, and the user has been adequately educated. The system deployment will almost certainly be successful. This is true regardless of which strategy is more time-efficient or cost-effective. It can be concluded that a system design helps improve an organization’s preparedness and allows different teams to work on deliberate solutions before the actual crisis occurs. In addition to the fundamental components of the system, users should receive training on any newly implemented processes, workflows, and dependencies to ensure that they have a comprehensive understanding of how the system functions. The most productive course of action would be to tackle each problem one step at a time. Presenting the system to the various departments and divisions of the firm or corporation comprises several steps and is part of a longer process.
Optional: Paste your Gantt Chart here
List of Key Elements:
- iPhone 13 Pro, Dell XPS tower, MySQL, Cisco Firewall hardware purchase – 1 week.
- Commercial furnishing and renovation – 2 months.
- Website development – 5 months.
- Installation of Intel Core i7 Processors – 1 week.
- Installation of HVAC – 1 week.
References
Paul Scott. 2022. What is a Ring Circuit?
National Security Agency. 2022. Network Infrastructure Security Guidance. Web.
Doug Bonderud. 2021. How Long Does It Take to Build a Website?
Lower Coast. 2021. Why Using Professional Commercial Renovators for Renovating Your Business Is Important.