Chapter 1: Recent Information Technology Trends

Computer Hardware: Faster, Cheaper, Mobile

MANAGING IT IN A DIGITAL WORLD
- Computers have become smaller and faster.
- High growth in small, mobile devices for communications
Information Technology and access to the Internet.
As computer technology (hardware and Software) for processing
and storing Information. As communications technology (voice Mispredictions by IT Industry Leaders
and data networks) for transmitting information.

Managing IT in a Digital World

Information Technology has become pervasive.
- IT is not used only by back office workers, but also frontline
worker
- More and more employees are reliant upon IT for
accomplishing their work activities.

IT is linking emerging, developing and developed economies,

which can help "level" the economic playing field.

Business Managers, not just IT managers, are responsible for IT

investments and effective system utilization.

By the year 2000, the total annual cost of IT purchases was more Computer Software: Integrated, Downloadable, Social
than half of the annual capital expenditures of businesses in Integrated
developed countries. - Standardization has enabled more integration.
- Many “standards” are just de facto standards (Microsoft
Managing Information Technology Windows, Office, Internet Explorer).\
Part I - Many large companies and now midsized and smaller
- Technologies available today and emerging technology organizations
trends, - have also made capital investments in enterprise systems.
Part II Enterprise Systems: Software packages with integrated
- Software applications to support business operations and modules that can easily share data across dispersed work teams,
business intelligence, business divisions, and national boundaries in “real time.”
Part III
- “Best practices” for acquiring and implementing new Downloadable
systems, and - Bit-size software programs for smart phones
Part IV downloadable from App stores.
- Planning and managing an IS department’s resources.
 - Download speeds have increased so that even large files Low Cost - Competing with other businesses by being
can be downloaded by users. a low-cost producer of a good or service.
• Automating transaction time
Social • Shortening order cycle time
- Growth of so-called Web 2.0 or social media applications, • Providing operational information for decision making
such as profile sharing software (e.g., Facebook,
LinkedIn). Differentiation – Competing with other businesses by offering
- Used by a company’s marketing and public relations products or services that customers prefer due to superiority in
groups for branding and other marketing activities. product innovativeness, quality, or customer service
- Collaboration tools connect employees across distance. • Giving sales personnel information to better serve
customers
COMPUTER NETWORKS: HIGH BANDWITH, WIRELESS, • Providing just-in-time supplies for customers
CLOUDY • Creating new information-based products
• Allowing product customization by the consumer
Computer Networks: High Bandwidth, Wireless, Cloudy OR Both Low Cost and Differentiation, enabled by IT.
- Demands for high-speed internet access
- Wireless technologies replace hardwired lines; support New Ways to Work
mobile devices anytime/anywhere New ways for people to work using IT:
- Use of internet to access remote hosts, data storage
Telecommuters: Individuals who use mobile technology and/or
network connections to work remotely.
• Pros - Flexibility -Work-life balance
• Cons - Feelings of being isolated - Concerns about job
promotion opportunities

Virtual Teams: Geographically separated work teams whose

members communicate through the use of IT.
• Pros - Workers can be located anywhere - Teams can be
composed of members with specialized skills from
different business units or companies.
• Cons - Coordination across team members more difficult.

MANAGING IT IN ORGANIZATIONS
Information Systems Department
New Ways to Compete The organizational unit or department that has the primary
New ways for businesses to use IT to compete on: responsibility for IT. Information Systems departments can
vary greatly across businesses,
depending on the organizations
dependency on IT for:
• reliable and secure business operations and
• competitive advantage based on new technologies

Information System Organization in Strategic Mode

• High Need for IT for competitive advantage
• High Need for Reliable and Secure IT for business
operations
• Strategically dependent on IT to enable new business
strategies

Three Types of IT Resources

a. Technology Infrastructure
Computer, software, and networks that enable an organization to
conduct business and share information across organizational
units as well as business partners.

b. Human Resources
IT professionals and managers who have the needed mix of
technology, business, and interpersonal skills to plan for, design,
and manage the other IT resources.

c. Business/IT Relationships
Established relationships between business and IT workers to
ensure that the other IT resources are aligned with business
needs.

In many organizations, the senior IT leader is the CIO.

Chief Information Officer (CIO):
A firm's high level general IT manager with both technology and
business leadership experience. Together with the organizations
executive management team the CIO ensures the alignment of
IT resources with business IT resources with business goals and
plans for integration of IT for strategic advantage.

Two Primary Responsibilities:

• Computer and communication operations
• Acquiring and maintaining application software
Chapter 2: Magnetic Ink Character Recognition
Magnetic ink character recognition code, known in short as MICR
COMPUTER SYSTEMS
code, is a character recognition technology used mainly by the
banking industry to streamline the processing and clearance of
Basic Components of Computer Systems cheques and other documents.
Two Types of Computer
a. Analog - use continuous values or similar types of systems Optical Character Recognition / Imaging
process continuous data. In other words it uses physical data to
compute tasks Bar Code Label
a machine-readable code in the form of numbers and a pattern of
b. Digital - use discrete values or to process discrete data. They parallel lines of varying widths, printed on and identifying a
use binary system to compute complicated tasks product
Underlying Structure Types of Output
All computers are made up of the same set of building blocks: Printer
• Input the dominant form of an output is printed reports or output, a
• Output machine for printing text or pictures onto paper, especially one
• Memory linked to a computer, from an input or source
• Arithmetic/logical unit
• Control unit Computer Output Microfilm
• Files recorder that accepts the data from the memory and prepares the
micro- film output at very high speeds, either as a roll of micro-
Input and Output film or as a sheet of film called a microfiche that contains many
• To use a computer, we must have some means of entering pages on each sheet
data into the computer for it to use in its computations.
• Input is what you give to the computer, and output is what Voice Response Units
you get from the computer in response. Voice response units are gaining increasing acceptance as
providers of limited, tightly programmed computer output.
Terminal
A terminal is a simpler device than a PC; it is designed strictly for Memory
input/output and does not incorporate a processor (CPU), or at • The memory, also referred to as main memory or primary
least not a general-purpose processor. memory. All data flows are to and from memory
• Data from input devices always go into memory; output
Speech Recognition Software devices always receive their data from memory and etc.
Voice input to computers is another input option, although the
accuracy of speech recognition software is still less than perfect Arithmetic/Logical Unit
• It has been built to carry out addition, subtraction,
multiplication, and division, as well as to perform certain
 logical operations such as comparing two numbers for - often called micros or personal computers or just PCs, cost
equality or finding out which number is bigger. from $200 to $4,000
- A desktop PCs is a personal computing device designed
Compute Files (Secondary Memory) to fit on top of a typical office desk. It houses the physical
• As applications are being processed on a computer, the hardware that makes a computer run and connects to
data required for the current computations must be stored input devices such as the monitor, keyboard and mouse
in the computer memory. The capacity of memory is users interact with. Desktop computers are commonly
limited, and there is not enough space to keep all of the used in the enterprise, as well as in consumer use cases
data for all of the concurrently running programs in such as gaming. In the enterprise, they are important
memory at the same time. because they are the main means for many users to do
• There are 2 ways to organize computer files, Sequential their jobs
access and Direct access. - Laptop or Notebook a battery- or AC-powered personal
• Sequential Access computer (PC) smaller than a briefcase. personal
o all of the records that make up the files are stored computer that can be easily moved and used in a variety
in sequence according to the file’s control key of locations.
o Sequential access files are usually stored on - Handheld or palmtop- it is a small computer that literally
magnetic tape. fits in your palm
• Direct Access - Smartphones- combine the functions performed by
o A direct access file, stored on a direct access conventional handheld PC, or personal digital assistants
storage device (DASD), is a file from which it is (PDAs), with the ability to make phone calls. These
possible for the computer to obtain a record devices permit the user to make phone calls, pick up and
immediately. send e-mail, manage your calendar, keep your to-do list
and address book up to date, take pictures, and be
Control Unit entertained with games, music, and video, as well as a
• The control unit is the key. It provides the control that wide variety of other functions—with new applications
enables the computer to take advantage of the speed and being created on a regular basis
capacity of its other component - Tablet PC - where the user writes on an electronic tablet
(the video screen folded flat on top of the PC) with a digital
The Stored-Program Concept pen. a wireless, portable personal computer with a
- It refers to how a computer follows and executes a series touchscreen interface. The tablet form factor is typically
of instructions, or a program, step by step. smaller than a notebook computer, but larger than a
- The complete listing of what is to be done for an smartphone.
application is called a program, and each individual step - Netbook - they are designed for use on the Internet and
or operation in the program is called an instruction are being marketed both by computer vendors and by
wireless phone carriers who want to sell the user a
Types of Computer System wireless data contract (Crockett and Kharif, 2009).
Microcomputers - Microcomputers have been put to a myriad of uses in the
home, schools, and colleges. In the business world, they
are used for word processing, spreadsheets,
 presentations, and small database applications; as • high end machines are powered either by RISC
terminals into larger computers; as clients in client/server processors developed by the vendor (such as IBM or Sun
applications; and as the point of entry into the Internet and Microsystems) or by top-of-the-line Intel or AMD
the World Wide Web. microprocessors (such as the Intel Itanium). For the most
- Microcomputers are also important for small businesses, part, these high-end machines run either the Linux
where they do operate as stand-alone machines or on operating system or some variation of the UNIX operating
small local area networks (LANs)—but even in these system.
cases microcomputers usually have access to the Internet.
Mainframe Computers
Midrange System - are the heart of the computing systems for many, perhaps
Two earlier computer categories most, major corporations and government agencies. The
Workstations are, in fact, grown-up, more powerful early history of computing is the story of the various
microcomputers. Workstations were originally deployed for generations of mainframe computers
specific applications demanding a great deal of computing power, - The strength of mainframes is the versatility of the
high-resolution graphics, or both, but they more recently have applications they can handle: online and batch processing,
been used as Web servers, in network management, and as standard business applications, engineering and scientific
servers in client/server applications. applications, network control, systems development, Web
• Reduced Instruction set computing (RISC) chip- serving, and more. Mainframes also operate as very large
largely responsible for the success of this class of servers in a client/server environment.
machines, at least at its upper end.
• By working with a reduced instruction set, they were able System z10
to create a smaller, faster chip than had been possible - is a symmetric multiprocessor (SMP) machine, so each
previously. processor can be handling a different application. eSystem
z10 incorporates stronger security features than other
Minicomputers these machines were just like the larger computers, higher availability, and greater management
mainframe machines, except that they were less powerful and control over the use of IT resources.
less expensive. These traditional midrange systems were very
important, serving as departmental computers, handling specific Supercomputers
tasks such as office automation, and acting as the server in a - are the true “number-crunchers, ” with MFLOPS ratings in
client/server architecture excess of 250,000 and price tags from $1 million to $100
Two Categories: million or more. The high-end supercomputers are
• low end machines are ssentially high-powered PCs, specifically designed to handle numerically intensive
typically built around Intel Xeon processors or AMD problems, most of which are generated by research
Opteron processors and often using Windows Server as scientists, such as chemists, physicists, and
the server operating system. It is also possible to run the meteorologists. Thus, most of the high-end
UNIX or Linux operating system on these Intel- or AMD- supercomputers are located in government research
based servers, but this is not as common. laboratories or on major university campuses (even in the
latter case, most of the machines are largely supported by
 grants from the National Science Foundation or other
government agencies).

a. parallel vector processing

b. massively parallel processing
c. symmetric multiprocessing

Example:
-the IBM Blue Gene/P computer named JUGENE, located at the
German research center Forschungszentrum Juelich,
incorporates 73,728 compute nodes, each of which contains 4
symmetric multiprocessors, for a total of 294,912 processors—
which makes JUGENE the fastest computer in Europe.

Key Types of Software

Software - Are the programs that control the operations of Application Software
computer systems. - Portfolio management programs, general ledger
accounting programs, sales forecasting programs,
Stored-Program Concept - a machine language program is material requirements planning (MRP) programs, and
loaded in memory and executed by the control unit. desktop publishing products are all examples of
applications software.
Two Major Categories - Standard applications products, such as word processing,
a. Application Software database management systems (DBMSs), electronic mail,
- includes all programs written to accomplish particular and spreadsheets, are always purchased.
tasks for computer users.
- Applications programs would include a payroll Middle Ground Application
computation program, an inventory record-keeping e.g. accounts payable, accounts receivable, general ledger,
program, a word processing product, a spreadsheet inventory control, sales analysis, and personnel reporting.
product, a program to allocate advertising expenditures,
and a program producing a summarized report for top Peachtree by Sage Premium Accounting 2010
management. This product has all the features that a small to midsized business
b. Support Software would need, including general ledger, accounts receivable,
- provides a computing environment in which it is relatively accounts payable, inventory, payroll, time and billing, job costing,
easy and efficient for humans to work; it enables fixed asset accounting, and analysis and reporting tools.
applications programs written in a variety of languages to
be carried out; and it ensures that the computer hardware Personal Productivity Software
and software resources are used efficiently. - The most important application software
- Use it on a regular basis
 • Word processing and data sharing among groups. Both are essential for managing
• Spreadsheets businesses today.
• Presentation graphics
• Electronic mail and desktop publishing Office Suites
• Database management systems - Combines personal productivity software applications into
• Web browsers integrated suites for use in the office.
• Other useful personal productivity software
- These products are microcomputer based World Wide Web Browsers
- Developed with a friendly, comfortable Graphical User Interface - Allows users to access information on the World Wide
(GUI) Web.
- Internet service provider (ISP) or local area network (LAN)
Word Processing Software - Uses a hypertext-based approach to navigate the internet.
WordPerfect (1980s)
Microsoft Word (1990s) Support Software
Features : Support software has been designed to support applications
- underlining misspelled words software from behind the scenes rather than to directly produce
-changing fonts, margins, and columns output of value to the user.
- rewriting sentences
- converting Web files to Word format Advanced Operating System Concept
• Multiprogramming- Employed to switch among programs
Spreadsheets stored in memory in order to overlap input and output
- Based on accountant's spreadsheets, which are large operations with processing time
sheets of paper divided into columns and rows for • Virtual Memory - Concerned with the management of
organizing and presenting financial data. main memory

Database Management System Language Translators

- Helps you organize and keep track of large amounts of Machine Language (First Generation Languages)
data. • only language which is understood by the computer
- Easily create custom reports and forms to help you make • the language of the programs are written in binary code
better decisions. • execute the fastest since they are immediate understood
by the computer
Presentation Graphics Assembly Language (Second Generation languages)
- Helps in creating textual presentations with embedded clip • use mnemonics (memory aid) in place of operation codes
art, photographs, and graphs. • the language uses symbols instead of numbers to write
programs
Electronic Mail and Groupware • the program written in assembly language has to be
Electronic mail and groupware are personal productivity software, converted into machine language for use by the computer
asynchronous and easy to use, aiming to increase productivity
Assembler- converts the assembly program into machine The computer user merely gives a precise statement of what he
readable program or she wishes to accomplish, not an explanation of how to do it
Object Program- Resulting Program shorter, easier to write, easier to modify, easier to read and
understand, and less error-prone.
Third generation languages are also called procedural
languages. Database Management System
- Software that is used to create, manage, and protect
10 Machine Language = 3GL organizational data
100 Machine Language = 4GL - A database is a shared collection of logically related data
that is organized to meet the needs of an organization.
*Procedural Languages: - A related term is a data warehouse, a very large database
-FORTRAN (FORmula TRANslator) or collection of databases.
-BASIC (Beginner’s All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) - The database architecture refers to the way in which the
-C data are structured and stored
-COBOL (COmmon Business Oriented Language) - in the database. The five basic database architectures are
Compiler- the entire program is translated into machine language Hierarchical, Network, Relational, Object-oriented, and
before any of the program is executed. Object-relational
Interpreter- each source program statement is executed as soon
as that single statement is translated. Hierarchical
- IBM product Information Management System (IMS)
COBOL Common Business-Oriented Language - Data are arranged in a top-down organization chart
- Standardized, has strong data management capabilities, fashion.
and is relatively easy to learn and use.
1. IDENTIFICATION DIVISION gives the program a name Network
2. ENVIRONMENT DIVISION describes the computer - Ex. Integrated Database Management System (IDMS,
environment in which the program will be run and is also now called CA IDMS)
the portion of the program that has to be changed to - Data are arranged often with several paths from one piece
transport the program from one computer model to of data to another.
another.
3. DATA DIVISION often quite lengthy, defines the file Relational
structures employed in the program. - Data are arranged into simple tables, and records are
4. The PROCEDURE DIVISION it consists of a series of related by storing common data in each of the associated
operations specified in a logical order to accomplish the tables.
desired task. - Most common organizational approach to organizing data.

Fourth Generation Languages Object-Oriented

Fourth generation languages are also called productivity - Data can be graphics, video, and sound as well as simpler
languages and nonprocedural languages they are even easier to data types.
use than the third generation languages.
Object-Relational Major Player in Hardware Arena
- Hybrid approach to organizing data capitalizes on the -Dell -Apple
capability of object- oriented databases to handle complex -Acer -Toshiba
data types and on the inherent simplicity of the relational -Lenovo -Sony
data model.
Microsoft, the largest and most influential software house, is
CASE Tools based in Redmond, Washington, and until 2000 was headed by
- Computer-aided software engineering (CASE) is a Bill Gate
collection of software tools to help automate all phases of
the software development life cycle.
- It has the potential of providing a productivity boost to an
area of the company (the information systems
organization) that needs such a boost.

Communications Interface Software

- Computer-aided software engineering (CASE) is actually
a collection of software tools to help automate all phases
of the software development life cycle.
- Became increasingly important with the explosion in the
number of local area networks
- (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs) and with the
growing importance of the Internet and the World Wide
Web the most important type of communications interface
software is the web browser.
- File Transfer Protocol (FTP)- designed to transfer files
from one computer system to another.

Utility Programs
- Performs specific tasks related to the management of
computer functions, resources, or files, such as password
protection, memory management, virus protection , and
file compression.

The Information Technology Industry

Two Largest Players in the Global IT
-Hewlett-Packard
-IBM