Enterprise Business System Design: Oracle Grid Computing
This paper outlines the preliminary and detailed design process for an enterprise-level business information system. It evaluates trade-offs among cost, schedule, and performance across three major platforms — Oracle, Microsoft, and PeopleSoft — examining the pros and cons of each in terms of usability, security, scalability, and organizational fit. After analyzing these options, the paper recommends Oracle Grid Computing as the final design choice, citing its modular cost structure, server redundancy, and capacity to function as a unified organizational system. The paper also addresses standards for interdepartmental data sharing, security protocols, and human-computer interface considerations relevant to implementation.
- Design Trade-Off Approach: Criteria for evaluating hardware, software, and interface
- Oracle Systems: Oracle grid computing pros and cons
- Microsoft: Microsoft platform strengths and security risks
- PeopleSoft: PeopleSoft usability versus scalability limitations
- Detailed Design Process: Pending decisions for hardware, software, and standards
- Final Design Specification: Oracle Grid Computing selected as final system
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What makes this paper effective
- Uses a clear comparative structure — evaluating each platform with explicit pros and cons — making the final recommendation easy to follow and justify.
- Grounds design decisions in organizational requirements (scalability, usability, security), connecting technical choices to real operational concerns.
- Progresses logically from trade-off analysis through detailed design to a final specification, mirroring actual systems engineering workflows.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates a structured decision-analysis technique common in systems engineering and business technology courses: establishing evaluation criteria (cost, performance, usability, security), assessing competing options against those criteria, and documenting the rationale for a final selection. This approach shows how technical recommendations are built on comparative evidence rather than preference alone.
Structure breakdown
The paper is organized into five functional sections: (1) a trade-off framework introducing evaluation criteria; (2) platform comparisons covering Oracle, Microsoft, and PeopleSoft; (3) a detailed design summary addressing pending technical and organizational decisions; (4) a final design specification selecting Oracle Grid Computing; and (5) a reference to a supporting design diagram. The structure follows a standard preliminary-to-final design progression used in enterprise IT planning.
Design Trade-Off Approach
This section specifies trade-offs among cost, schedule, and performance to be used in the final design choice for hardware, software, and human interface. It also includes a discussion of the rationale for these design choices and any known impact on achieving the confirmed system requirements.
Three major platforms were evaluated: Oracle, Microsoft, and PeopleSoft. Each was assessed for its suitability as the foundation of an enterprise-level business information system.
Oracle Systems
Oracle's grid system allows the coordinated use of servers and storage across an organization. Its "one computer" approach encourages greater unity in management structure, facilitates data sharing, and eliminates the problem of separate interfaces. Oracle's Linux technology is also an industry leader in website design, and its troubleshooting support would be critical in creating a new interactive website.
Oracle's grid architecture can turn 64 small servers into a single giant mainframe. It is fast, cost-effective, and highly reliable — when one server goes down, the overall system continues to run (Oracle, 2004).
The system could be intimidating for non-technical staff during training and in day-to-day use, which may require additional onboarding resources.
Microsoft
Microsoft is user-friendly and an industry leader. Because Windows is used by many other systems, adopting it could help expand the customer and vendor base through greater compatibility.
Microsoft systems are a frequent target for viruses. Creating a highly integrated database on a Microsoft platform could pose significant security risks, even with password protection in place for staff.
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