1. Chapter 5 Closing Case: UPS
1.Why do you think UPS is embracing sustainable technology?
Sustainable MIS describes the production, management, use, and disposal of technology in a way that
minimizes damage to the environment.
To UPS, I think there are several reasons why UPS is embracing sustainable technologies:
Firstly, sustainable technologies can improve the efficiency of its operations in a long term. One of its
main goals is to improve the speed and efficiency of its delivery operations. To achieve that, UPS is
equipping its vans with sensors that allow it to collect data about things such as fuel consumption,
chosen routes, and how much time its engines speed idling.
Secondly, sustainable technologies not only can reduce fuel consumption and cut costs, but also can be
more environmentally responsible. A big portion of the company’s costs comes from transporting
packages by air,trucks. By installing the sensors, it could save millions of dollars. So does the cooling
technology.
2. How is UPS developing a sustainable MIS infrastructure?
Sustainable MIS infrastructure identifies ways that a company can grown in terms of computing
resources while simultaneously becoming less dependent on hardware and energy comsumption.
First, UPS uses electronics, computer, and data processing to ensure uninterrupted power supply. And It
keep the system alive 24-7-365.
Second, UPS takes advantage of grid computing and cloud computing to get the customers and the
companies have access to the website so as to run the business all the time. UPS also install the sensors
in the transporting vehicles and tools, thereby save money and operate the business in a more
efficiently way.
Third, UPS invest in faster server processors, allowing to consolidate existing servers through
virtualization. That helps lower energy costs and also reduces the physical footprint of its servers. And t
he company has been consolidating smaller server rooms that were scattered around the world. These
changes are saving UPS millions of dollars.
The virtualization also separates the operating systems and applications from the hardware, if there us a
disaster or hardware failure, it is easy to port the virtual machine to a new physical machines allowing a
company to recovery quickly from disasters.
3. What business benefits will UPS gain from virtualization?
Virtualization creates multiple “virtual” machines on a single computing device, thereby it can reduce
costs, power requirements, and ewaste.

2. UPS invests in faster server processors, allowing it to consolidate existing servers through virtualization.
That helps lower energy costs and also reduces the physical footprint of its servers. And t he company
has been consolidating smaller server rooms that were scattered around the world. These changes are
saving UPS millions of dollars.
The virtualization also separates the operating systems and applications from the hardware, if there us a
disaster or hardware failure, it is easy to port the virtual machine to a new physical machines allowing a
company to recovery quickly from disasters.
4. What role does each characteristics of an agile MIS infrastructure play in helping UPS to operate its
business?
Agile MIS infrastructure includes the hardware, software, and telecommunications equipment that,
when combine, provides the underlying foundation to support the organization’s goals. The
characteristics of agile MIS infrastructures can help ensure the systems can meet and perform under any
unexpected or unplanned changes.
(1) Accessibility: accessibility refers to the varying levels that define what a user can access, view,
or perform when operating a system. Each system user is provided with an access level that
details which part of the system the user can and cannot access and what the user can do when
in the system. This characteristic makes sure each person in UPS views the information which is
allowed to view.
(2) Availability: availability refers to the time frames when the system is operational. This
characteristic helps the UPS professionals use their systems whenever they want from where
they want to support ebusinss operatopns, global customers, and online suppliers.
(3) Maintainability: maintainability refers to how quickly a system can transform to support
environmental changes. Building and developing flexible systems allow easy updates, changes,
and reconfigurations for unexpected business or environmental changes.
(4) Portability: portability refers to the ability of an application to operate on different devices or
software platform, such as different operating system. It will increases the target market and
even revenue.
(5) Reliability: reliability ensures a system is functioning correctly and providing accurate
information. Inaccurate information can put a company at risk of losing customers, placing
inaccurate supplier orders, or even unreliable business decisions.
(6) Scalability: scalability describes how well a system can scale up, or adapt to the increased
demands of growth. Performance measures how quickly a system performs a process or
transaction. Capacity planning determines future environmental infrastructure requirements to
ensure high-quality system performance.
(7) Usability: usability is the degree to which a system is easy to learn and efficient and satisfying to
use.
5. How could UPS benefit from cloud or grid computing?

3. (1) grid computing: grid computing is a collection of computers, often geographically dispersed, that are
coordinated to solve a common problem. With grid computing a problem is broken into pieces and
distributed to many machines, allowing faster processing than cloud occur with a single system. It allows
greater scalability as systems can easily grow to handle peaks and valleys in demand, become more
efficient, and solve problems than would be impossible to tackle with a single computer. Moreover, grid
computing can make company work faster or more efficiently, providing a potential competitive
advantage and additional cost savings.
(2)clouding computing: cloud computing refers to the use of resources and applications hosted remotely
on the internet. It makes everyone can access, deliver, and use information. The user does not have to
incur any hardware, software, or networking expenses. In addition, the customers of UPS branches can
store, access, and analyze information and connect people and resources from any location in the world
where an internet connection is available.
6. What types of ethical issues might UPS encounter with the tracking technology it has placed in its
trucks?
Technology can be double-sword sometimes. It undermines the creditibility. It can cause untrust
between the employers and employees. It also opens the door of evasion to privacy. Nobody wants to
be monitored physically so close. It influences the quality life and mental health of employees. To me, I
think it is very unethical.
7. What types of security issues might UPS encounter with the tracking technology it has placed in its
trucks?
I am not very sure about this question. I just think since the data will be stored and collected in the
UPS data pool or internet, UPS does not automatically encrypt much of the data sent between
customers' computers and UPS’ servers and it might means when customers type their password into
eBay's Web site, that information can be viewed by hackers. Most ecommerce sites use Secure Socket
Layer (SSL), a technology that encrypts sensitive information such as customer passwords and account
activity while the data is in transit to another computer.