3D Printing Stage 3
Mark is much happy for the achievement he has obtained from the previous recommendations for his Information Technology Infrastructure. Mark’s father promises to offer him capital for him to open two other 3D Printing facilities around veterans Administration Hospitals in Memphis, Tennessee and Phoenix, Arizona. Since Mark has already bought various server and storage devices for holding his business and design information; he would, therefore, like to retain that investment. The plan of Mark is to develop two facilities, each with a similar number of 3D printers and staff with those at his present location. Additionally, the workers at the two new places shall be accessing the ERP system to make reports of their time and order supplies. Therefore, this report aims at providing detailed information to Mark on how his IT infrastructure shall be adjusted to accommodate his new facilities as well as allow him to manage the general enterprise as a single business.
List of the Components
3D Scanner: This will allow Mark to scan in 3D images to print or modify and change to meet his design needs.
Computers: Currently Mark has two part-time employees with only one PC and with an increase in employees and printers will require an increase in the number of workstations that will be needed to operate.
3D Printers: Ten 3D Printers – Mark currently has three 3D printers, but is planning to purchase 7 more, in which he will have 10 total 3D printers. Mark will use the 3D printers to print his designs and products.
Microsoft Office: Mark’s enterprise needs MS software that includes programs such as Microsoft Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, MS Publisher, MS Access and MS Outlook. Each MS program operates on its own sphere but is compatible and related to one another
McAfee Security Software: for computers and laptops to operate smoothly, McAfee Security Software should be installed as the strongest antivirus. McAfee Security is primarily present in the cloud thus ensuring proper management of the networks and devices by small business enterprises like Mark 3D Printers (Seethamraju, 2015).
Five Dell Precision Laptops: Mark will be hiring five new employees. Each employee will have one laptop to create, modify, and send designs to production.
IBM Power Systems Server: The IBM Power Systems Server will be used to save and share files amongst employees at the facility. For instance, Mobile access to the ERP systems and the 3D design files and printers are needed
ERP software: Many ERP applications are available for a small business to utilize.
Mark’s IT Infrastructure Changes
Mark needs to change his current IT infrastructure so that to incorporate the two new facilities he wants to establish. These changes are investable due to the increased number of orders and designs as well as an increased number of employees. Mark currently uses Verizon FiOS as his internet provider. All employee laptops are connected to the internet, so 3D printing designs can be obtained from the internet. However, with an increased number of facilities and devices using the internet, Mark is expected to opt for a faster internet connection. Internet with high surfing speed shall ensure that 3D documents and files are downloaded faster. This faster internet connection shall help Mark to manage the increased number of designs and orders. More interfaces need to be created in the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software located at the current location to attach the new locations to the main server. This shall make it easier for Mark to manage and control the new facilities. Creating an employee portal from the main server in the current location will help Mark to manage the increased number of the employees.
IT Infrastructure Differences at the New Locations and Current Facility
There is a difference between the IT infrastructure at Mark’s current 3D Printer location and that in the two new locations. The IT Infrastructure at the current place is more profound and detailed. The main server of the ERP is located at the current 3D facility while in the new facilities, ERP is provided as an interface from the main server. This difference is there because the current 3D Printer Facility location is operating as the central region for the business while the two new facilities are branches. The business is operated from a central place, the current location.
Graphical Representation of the Three Facilities
CENTRAL SERVER
Service Applications
Sales and Distribution
Inventory Management
Production Application
Financial Application
NEW FACILITY 2
NEW FACILITY 1
CURRENT LOCATION
HR Management
Analyze and Optimization
Corporate Reporting
Employees
References
Deaky, B., & Pârv, L. (2017). ERP system for the 3D printing industry. MATEC Web of Conferences, Vol 94, P 06005 (2017), 06005. doi:10.1051/matecconf/20179406005
Seethamraju, R., (2015). Adoption of software as a service (SaaS) enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Information systems frontiers, 17(3), 475-492.
Sheikhizadeh, S., Schranz, M. E., Akdel, M., de Ridder, D., & Smit, S. (2016). PanTools: representation, storage, and exploration of pan-genomic data. Bioinformatics, 32(17), i487-i493.