Description of an Information System

Deborah Adams Northcentral University

XYZ Construction’s Digital World

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Planning for Technology – Need to Knows

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Communications technology creates competition and innovation.

Our business is fixed in a knowledge society our investments should

buying new concepts rather than more new equipment.

Our possession of knowledge is equally important as the possession of

labor, and capital.

We need information systems—hardware, software and

networks built/used to collect, create/distribute data.

To remain competitive and attain/keep the edge in the market our

must have a competitive advantage rooted in technology.

A company must have control over its people, hardware, software, data and

telecommunications networks—this is done through technology and

information systems.

Information systems (IS) is a computer based information systems = a type

technology.

The possibilities of IS…

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Pluses of IS:

If conceived, designed, used, and managed effectively and

strategically with a sound business model it can help us to be more

effective, productive, and expansive in gaining or sustaining

competitive advantage in the market.

If we embrace/manage IS effectively and strategically by

with a sound business model we can be more successful.

Minuses of IS:

If not managed/used properly results will be negative effects in

money, loss time, loss customers’ goodwill, and loss customers.

Know the difference:

Data = raw material—recorded, unformatted information, words, and

numbers—which considered alone have no meaning.

Information = context added to data through formatting which turns it

into information—a representation of reality.

Knowledge = understanding of the relationships between information.

Wisdom = understanding how to apply concepts to

situations/problems.

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Information systems can be utilized in (3) distinct ways: for automating, for organizational learning, and for achieving our missions.

Automating—thinks of technology as a way to help complete a task faster, cheaper, and with greater accuracy/consistency within the company.

Organizational learning—uses past behavior and information for automation and to improve processes. AKA: skilled at creating, acquiring, and transferring knowledge, and at modifying its behavior to reflect new knowledge and insights.

Organizational strategy—a plan to accomplish mission/goals as well as gain/sustain competitive advantage relative to information systems.

Strategic planning = vision of where the company needs to head + convert vision into measurable objectives + hit targets + create a strategy to achieve desired results.

Implementing Systems or Changes

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What is Web 2.0?

o New revolution changing the World Wide Web (www), electronic commerce (EC), and business.

o Web 2.0 describes the change in business models and web site functionality by offering ways to connect, share knowledge and collaborate.

o E-commerce and its use of technology to change strategies of business and integrate more interactive features into web sites.

o Web 2.0 is how the Internet is used to execute successful business models—Internet is the platform for a business.

o Companies operating in the digital world—data—is the their most valuable asset. Amazon, eBay and Google have success because of powerful databases containing useful information.

o In Web 2.0 companies that are successful, technology is key to competitive advantage by constantly monitoring and upgrading their systems, while treating users as codevelopers, learning from their behavior to improve products or services

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Apps-to-applications…consider…

Employment Application

Amazon Instant Video – streaming of videos inside Amazon app for viewing

from game consoles, televisions, AV receivers, media players, DVRs and mobile phones.

Amazon Prime members have unlimited access to a library of free, rent or

buy videos.

Amazon Free Video

Employment applications are available on the company’s website for online

completion and submitting.

Changes to Technology

Digital World:

• When operating in the

digital world, online

collaboration with

business partners, and

customers is crucial to

success.

• There must be seamless

collaboration by allowing

outsiders access to

company data, over the

Internet.

Web services - critical

components of sharing data.

It allows data to be accessed

without intimate knowledge

of other organizations’

systems, enabling machine-

to-machine interaction over

the Internet.

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Important questions should be asked/answered when planning and managing information systems…

1. How will IS enable a competitive strategy?

2. What technologies and systems support core business processes?

3. Which vendors should be partnered with for choosing the appropriate technologies?

4. What hardware, software or services to buy or build?

5. How to get the most of captured data from internal or external sources?

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Technology Evaluation and Control

Hardware

• Supercomputer – assists in solving

substantial scientific problems.

• Mainframe – main central

computing system used by

governmental agencies or major

corporations.

• Workstations – used for

engineering and midsized business

applications.

• Microcomputer – used for personal

computing or small businesses.

(i.e. notebooks, tablets, handheld,

etc.)

Software

• Software – enables companies to

utilize IS hardware/network to

assist in the execution of business

processes and competitive

strategies.

• Systems software supports the

overall operation of computer

hardware.

• The systems software controls the

operation of computer hardware.

The operating system—type of

systems software—coordinates

interaction between hardware

devices.

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Solutions for Complex Computing Decisions

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On-demand computing - organizations can allocate resources based on the needs. A variation

of on-demand computing is utility computing—companies rent resources like processing and

storage from external providers as needed and billed for the services monthly. Utility

an effective way to manage fluctuating demands, and controlling costs.

Grid computing –a way to overcome cost or use limitations by combining the computing power

of a large number of smaller, independent, networked computers into a cohesive system for

resolving problems that once only supercomputers were capable of solving. It allows

organizations to solve large-scale problems, and concurrent multiple smaller problems.

Edge computing – tasks are solved at the edge of a company’s network multiple with smaller

servers located closer to users the network bandwidth is saved and access time is decreased.

businesses use edge computing for improving performance of their online commerce sites. It

bandwidth, while offering superior performance that otherwise may be too expensive to offer.

Green computing – a trend to use computers efficiently, and for organizations to save $$$$$

on power and cooling by using virtualization that replaces hundreds of individual servers with

one powerful mainframe computer. The use of multiple virtual machines, each with its own

applications, can be configured to run on a single computer. Energy can be saved by installing

power management software on desktops to reduce the waste of leaving computers idling or

overnight standby.

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Reference(2011) SKS 7000-Executive Concepts in Business Strategy. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Learning Solutions