Infrastructure

An Infrastructure is a basic structure of a organization or or a physical system necessary for the delivery and management of services and goods.

• Context:
  • It ranges from being a Public Infrastructure to a Private Infrastructure.
• Example(s):
  • A system or structure of Electrical Power Distribution such as electrical grid and power station building.
  • A physical structure necessary for transportation such as roads, railways, waterways and airports.
  • A Health Care Facility.
  • …
• Counter-Example(s)
  • Data Structure
  • Syntactic Structure.
  • Semantic Structure.
• See: Public Infrastructure, Expenditure, Public Improvement, Capital Investment.

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References

2016

• (Wikipedia, 2016) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrastructure
  • Infrastructure refers to structures, systems, and facilities serving the economy of a business, industry, country, city, town, or area, including the services and facilities necessary for its economy to function.

It is typically a term to characterize the existence or condition of costly 'technical structures' such as roads, bridges, tunnels, or other constructed facilities such as loading docks, cold storage chambers, electrical capacity, fuel tanks, cranes, overhead clearances, or components of water supplies, sewers, electrical grids, telecommunications, and so forth. Infrastructure thus consists of improvements with significant cost to develop or install that return an important value over time.

Infrastructure can be defined as "the physical components of interrelated systems providing commodities and services essential to enable, sustain, or enhance societal living conditions." the word infrastructure has been used in English since at least 1887 and in French since at least 1875, originally meaning "The installations that form the basis for any operation or system".

• (Investopedia, 2016) ⇒ http://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/infrastructure.asp
  • Infrastructure is the basic physical systems of a business or nation; transportation, communication, sewage, water and electric systems are all examples of infrastructure. These systems tend to be high-cost investments; however, they are vital to a country's economic development and prosperity. Projects related to infrastructure improvements may be funded publicly, privately or through public-private partnerships. (...) Applicable to large- and small-scale organizational frameworks, infrastructure can include a variety of systems and structures as long as there are physical components required. For example, the electrical grid across a city, state or country is infrastructure based on the equipment involved and the intent to provide a service to the areas it supports. Similarly, the physical cabling and components making up the data network of a company operating within a specific location are also infrastructure for the business in question, as they are necessary to support business operations. (...) Along with the aforementioned sectors, infrastructure includes waste disposal services, such as garbage pickup and local dumps. Certain administrative functions, often covered through various government agencies, are also considered part of the infrastructure. Educational and health care facilities may also be included, along with certain research and development functions and necessary training facilities. (...)Infrastructure is also an asset class that tends to be less volatile than equities over the long term and generally provides a higher yield. As a result, some companies and individuals like to invest in infrastructure funds for the defensive characteristics, such as funds involved in transportation or water infrastructure.

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