What are Information Systems?

* Information Systems (IS) are collections of computers, networks,

software and people who create, store, modify and distribute data and
information in any organisation.
* Information Technology (IT) are the artefacts such as computers,
software and networks that constitute the IS.

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 Brief History of Computing

* Charles Babbage conceived of computers in 1820

* Babbage designed a mechanical device that could make computations
* Babbage's device was called the Difference Engine
* Ada Lovelace helped create the instructions for Babbage's device; Lovelace
invented the idea of software
* Electronic computers were built independently in Germany, the UK and the
USA around 1940s
* The first general purpose computer was called the ENIAC, built in the USA
in 1946
* First commercial computers appeared in 1950s
* Widespread development of hardware and software around the world

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 Brief History of Computing

* First computer arrived in India in 1956 at the Indian Statistical Institute

in Kolkata
* Development of computer networks began in 1960s
* Artificial Intelligence efforts were started to write software that
emulated human capabilities
* Personal computers became widely available in the 1980s
* Early 1980s also saw the emergence of Free Software, software that
was openly available
* 1990s – growth of the Internet and widespread computing around the
globe
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 Brief History of Computing

* First computer arrived in India in 1956 at the Indian Statistical Institute

in Kolkata
* Development of computer networks began in 1960s
* Artificial Intelligence efforts were started to write software that
emulated human capabilities
* Personal computers became widely available in the 1980s
* Early 1980s also saw the emergence of Free Software, software that
was openly available
* 1990s – growth of the Internet and widespread computing around the
globe
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Brief History of Computing

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 The Internet and Web

* The Internet is a massive network of millions of computers

* The World Wide Web (or Web) is an information sharing technology
built on the Internet

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 The Internet

* The Internet enables many services to run, which include

* The World Wide Web
* E-mail
* E-commerce
* The Internet enables new ways of doing business

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Growth of the Internet

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 Managing in the Internet Era

* Challenge for organisations – find and use most relevant and useful
data
* Organisations have to create a presence on the Internet
* Organisations have to decide whether to use services on the Internet
* The Internet presents many security challenges

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 The IT Interaction Model

* Challenge of managing IS in organisations

* Organisations do not remain static; they have to change to respond to the environment
* IS too continuously evolves
* Important to understand how IS and organisations interact

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IT Interaction Model

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 IT Interaction Model

* When an organisation builds an information system, the system may

be
* Used or not used
* Which may lead to positive or negative outcomes
* Outcomes will have
* First-order effects
* Second-order effects
* Third-order effects

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 IT Interaction Model

* When an organisation builds an information system, the system may be

* Used or not used
* Which may lead to positive or negative outcomes
* Outcomes will have
* First-order effects
* Second-order effects
* Third-order effects
* Whether an IS is successful is largely dependent on
* The competitive environment of the firm
* The competitive strategy that the firm follows
* The work culture of the firm
* The structure of the organisation

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 IT Interaction Model

* Information systems may impact the organisation by

* Changing work processes and functions
* Automate manual processes
* Eliminate some work processes
* Building an IS requires choices to be made
* Build the system, if internal skills are available
* Buy the system
* Initiation requires understanding the need for the IS
* Analysis is required to understand the specifications for the system
* A new system has to be introduced and integrated within the organisation

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 Challenges for the Manager

* A manager who has to manage the IS of an organisation faces many challenges

* What systems to build?
* Choose from many possible needs of the organisation

* How much to spend on IS?

* See what competitors are doing

* What level of capabilities should be created with the IS?

* Support one department or many departments

* How centralized should the services be?

* The systems should be both scalable and flexible

* What security levels are required?

* Security has to be adequate without being cumbersome and expensive

* What is the technology Road Map for the organisation?

* Plan for the evolution of the IS in the organisation

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 Data and Information

* Data and Information are key resources that have to be managed in

organisations.
* Data is a raw collection of facts collected and used by all major
functions in an organisation.
* Information is processed data, created across the organisation. It can
be treated as raw data when used for further processing.

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 Measuring Data

* Data is stored as basic data called bits (1s and 0s), aggregated into
bytes (8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit and 64-bit). Memory capacities are
designed in kilo-bytes, mega-bytes or giga-bytes, using 8-bit byte
units.
* Organisations commonly have total storage capacities of terabytes.

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 Information as a resource

* Organisations process information which forms a valuable

organisational asset that has to be managed and used for different
purposes.
* These information stores are by-products of the processes of the
organisation and are stored in various forms in databases or in some
compressed form through the process of archiving.

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 Information in Organisational functions

* In modern organisations, information, data and information systems

are used extensively within and across organisational functions,
across hierarchies.
* Typical functions in an organisation include accounting and finance,
marketing, operations, human resource management and information
systems management.

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 Types of Information Technology

* Historically, information systems were designed for specific

functions within organisations
* Modern information systems are designed largely to support
individuals, groups or enterprise functions
* Functional IT is used by individuals for their own work, Network IT
is used within functions to collaborate/ communicate within the
group. Enterprise IT is designed for processes in the organisation and
is very efficient in moving data between different functions and to
communicate with outside partners
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 Types of Information Technology
* Diagram – Components of modern information technology
infrastructure in an organisation

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 Types of Information Systems:
Transation Processing system

* Transaction processing systems record all transactions as they

happen, storing transaction data and preserving a digital record of the
functioning of the enterprise.
* They are designed to respond quickly to the user, through carefully
designed interfaces that guide users through various transactions.

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 Types of Information Systems: Management Information
Systems

* MIS process data generated by Transaction processing systems, by

aggregating data into reports to be used by the management, to sense and
monitor the organisation.

* Real-time monitoring involves presenting data as soon as it is created

* Batch mode monitoring aggregates data over a period of time, allowing

drilling down to details

* Specific reports are tailored for specific decisions and hence the need for
MIS to be designed to meet the specific requirements of managers
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 MIS at different levels

* Needs of managers at different levels are different

* Executives at the highest level require aggregated data – Executive
Support Systems (ESS) provide such reports which use graphs, charts
and diagrams
* Managers who report to Executives use Decision Support Systems
which use scientific models of decision making on available data
* Knowledge workers use sophisticated models to analyse transaction
data and data related to the industry and economy

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A Screenshot of an ESS (simulated)

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 Decision making with MIS: Tactical Decisions

* Tactical decisions are those that have short-term impact

and are taken by workers and operators
* Examples

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 Decision making with MIS: Operational Decisions

* Decisions that have a medium-term scope and are made

by managers are Operational decisions
* These are based on aggregate data and are often
supported by decision support systems
* Examples
* Control and planning are important activities involving
operational decisions

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 Decision making with MIS: Strategic Decisions

* Strategic decisions are decisions taken by top-level

executives that have long-term impact on the very
manner in which the organisation does its work
* They are related to the vision and mission of the
organisation
* Examples

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 Communication in organisations

* Communications occur through various forms within

an organisation – text messages, emails, documents and
files
* As organisations grow their need for communication
grows
* Communication is critical for transactions, decision
making and strategic collaborations.

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 Types of Communication

Digital networks allow -

* Synchronous communication – two or more parties communicate
at the same time.
* Asynchronous communication – two or more parties
communicate but not simultaneously
* Simplex communication – possible only in one direction between
two parties
* Half-duplex communication – two parties can communicate with
each other, but not at the same time
* Duplex communication – Two parties communicate with each
other at the same time
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 Examples of Communication in Organisations

* Sales
* Service
* Tracking
* Communication 'on the go’. The Internet presents
many security challenges

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 Decision making with Communication Technology

* Communications in organisations are from people to

people, device to device and devices to people.
* Such high levels of connectivity leads to information
overload and organisations face the challenge of
minimising this to present only relevant information

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