IT Strategy: Technology Recommendations for Interior Design Startup

This report provides technology recommendations for a newly established interior design firm setting up a small office. It addresses the client's preference for Mac operating systems while needing Windows-based software like Autodesk Revit, suggesting solutions like VMware or Boot Camp. The report details hardware requirements and costs for software such as Autodesk AutoCAD and Rhino. It also emphasizes the importance of a fast and reliable internet connection, file-sharing technologies like iCloud, and considerations for virtual and augmented reality applications in design. Furthermore, the report advises on establishing a network policy, selecting appropriate operating systems, and carefully evaluating assistive technologies to optimize the firm's IT infrastructure. Desklib offers a platform to explore similar assignments and study resources.

Research and Recommend Technology Options
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Research and Recommend Technology Options
The report analyzes a range of technology options to address the information technology
needs for my client. The client is a newly established interior design firm and is setting up a
small office to be located at Collins Street Tower 480 Collins Street Melbourne, VIC 3000. The
client will have three offices that will be occupied by design consultants.
It should be noted that the client has a preference for the Mac operating system.
However, the client requires the use of software applications called Autodesk Revit which
primarily uses Windows systems. Therefore, if the company chooses to use the Mac system, they
will still need to have access to a Windows computer as other options such as using parallel or
VMware Fusion may leave Autodesk Revit not a hundred percent functional.
Because the client prefers to use the Mac system, then the only available option is to
supply the software and appropriate Mac system configuration using the existing system or
assistance in setting up a parallel desktop by installing Windows and Revit software on Windows
partitions. The recommended Mark system for a VMware usage is MacBook Pro 10 or iMac14
or a newer version of the same.
The other available alternative is to use the boot camp utility that can be used in the Mac
system to enable the creation of a separate partition in the hard drive on which a Microsoft
Windows operating system can be installed. It should be noted that the boot camp allows a user
to specify the operating systems they want to boot when starting their computer. If you're going
to start the computer using the Windows operating system, then Windows applications such as
the Autodesk Revit can run at average speeds. However, this option is expensive as the client has
to buy both the Mac OS and Windows OS as separate operating systems. The client will also be
using other software applications including Autodesk AutoCAD and rhino software.

Hardware requirements for Autodesk AutoCAD
Memory
Basic 8 GB while Recommended is 16 GB
Display resolution Conventional
Displays: 1920x1080 with True Color
High Resolution & 4K Displays: Resolutions up to 3840x2160 supported on Windows 10, 64
bit systems (with capable display card)
Disk space: 6.0 GB
Pointing device: MS-Mouse compliant
Multiple processors: Supported by the application
Display card
Basic 1 GB GPU with 29 GB/s Bandwidth and DirectX compliant while the Recommended is 4
GB GPU with 106 GB/s Bandwidth and DirectX compliant
Plotter/Printer: Continued system printer and 1101 support
Compiler: Visual Studio 2017 with Update 2 (version 15.7.5 and earlier)
Installer: m51 5.0
Builds: Locked-FLEXnet
Locking/License management: FLEXnet & Autodesk Licensing Service will be used for both
the stand-alone and networked versions
Additional requirements for large datasets, point clouds, and 3D modeling.
8 GB RAM or more, 6 GB free hard disk available not including installation requirements,
1920x1080 or greater True color video display adapter, 128 MB VRAM or greater, Pixel Shader
3.0 or greater, Direct3D capable workstation-class graphics card.

Autodesk AutoCAD costs around $335 monthly and $2670 per year. Autodesk Australia Inc. is
the supplier in Australia.
Hardware requirements for rhino software
Processor: 64-bit Intel or AMD processor (Not ARM)
No more than 63 CPU Cores.
Memory: 8 GB memory (RAM) or more is recommended.
Disk space: 600 MB.
OpenGL 4.1 capable video card is recommended.
4 GB Video RAM recommended.
Pointing device: Multiple-button mouse with a scroll wheel is recommended.
The SpaceNavigator is supported.
Apple hardware is supported by Bootcamp.
Phino version 6 for windows is sold at €495 and is mainly distributed by McNeel North
America.
The consultants in the three offices will require to share files and client information
amongst themselves, and thus require a fast internet connection that is reliable. Their mobile
devices also need to have access to the internet while they are in the office. Mobile devices are
classified as Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and thus an internet connection policy for the
firm will be a must to avoid network vulnerabilities such as hacks and data loss (McLean, 2016)

exploited when individual consultants connect their BYOD on the company network (Olalere &
Abdullah, 2015).
A peer-to-peer application will enable the consultants to share files from the individual
computers to each other. The consultants will have to use and maintain anti-virus software to
ensure that this file-sharing technology does not introduce a vulnerability in the network (Argan
& Kose, 2013). Also, a firewall can be useful as it can prevent some types of infections by
broking any malicious traffic before it can enter into individual PC. Examples of file sharing
technologies include Dropbox and iCloud for Apple users. Since the company has a preference
for Mac systems, I recommend the use of iCloud for file storage and sharing (Holmström, 2015).
The client will also be exploring the use of virtual reality in the office. VR application in
designing will help the client in explaining the architectural structures by creating virtual reality
(Bottani & Vignali, 2019). They'll also be able to test hundreds of wallpaper designs, furniture
pieces or flooring types at the click of a button. However, as this is an expensive option that
requires powerful computational power and hardware requirements, the client can opt to use
augmented reality which fuses the virtual world and the real world by offering virtual features on
top of actual features (Cipresso & Giglioli, 2018). This technology is much simpler and one can
download an app on their smartphone or their tablet for this purpose.
In conclusion, my client, who operates a design company, will need to do several things
before the information technology can start running. For instance, the installation of the internet
network using the available network providers in the area is a must. Since this is a new firm, they
will need to use at least two internet providers to avoid downtime. As time goes, the firm will
need to come up with a network policy documentation that will describe how the consultants,
suppliers and customers can connect to the firm’s internet connection. Also, the company will

need to come up with an operating system that they can use for all their purposes to avoid the use
of VMware or the use of more than one operating system for their operations. Assistive
technologies such as virtual reality and augmented reality need to be well checked at before
choosing to use either. As clearly explained, augmented reality is cheaper and simpler to use at
first but virtual reality offers more complex and more features that the design company may need
later.

References
Argan, M. T., & Kose, H. (2013). A Study of Motivational Factors Associated With Peer-to-Peer
(P2P) File-Sharing. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 99, 180–188.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.10.484
Bottani, E., & Vignali, G. (2019). Augmented reality technology in the manufacturing industry:
A review of the last decade. IISE Transactions, 51(3), 284–310.
https://doi.org/10.1080/24725854.2018.1493244
Cipresso, P., & Giglioli, I. A. C. (2018). The Past, Present, and Future of Virtual and Augmented
Reality Research: A Network and Cluster Analysis of the Literature. Frontiers in
Psychology, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02086
Holmström, J. (2015). File sharing beyond grabbing and running: Exploring the sense of
community in a peer-to-peer file sharing network. Convergence, 21(4), 437–449.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1354856514526314
McLean, K. J. (2016). The Implementation of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) in Primary
[Elementary] Schools. Frontiers in Psychology, 7.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01739
Olalere, M., & Abdullah, M. T. (2015). A Review of Bring Your Own Device on Security Issues.
SAGE Open, 5(2), 2158244015580372. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244015580372