Managerial Questions What is an information system

Managerial Questions What is an information system? ¡ What are some major applications of information systems? ¡ How does the Internet fit in? ¡ 1

What is an Information System? An information system is a combination of technology, people, and processes to capture, transmit, retrieve and display information 2

The Information Systems pervade the enterprise ¡ You need to know: ¡ l l The technical aspects of information, but more importantly the concepts governing their use. How to make decisions about what you firm needs and what it does not. 3

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Components of an IS ¡ Hardware l ¡ Software l ¡ The physical devices like computers and printers Programs that can tell the hardware what to do Communications l Modes of transmitting information (wires, wireless, etc. ) 5

Copyright 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 6

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Hardware The ‘first’ computers: mainframes (1950 s) ¡ The personal computer (early 1980 s) ¡ Client server computers (early 1990 s) ¡ Remote computing (starting in the early 2000 s but still developing) ¡ 8

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Software ¡ Operating Systems l l ¡ Programs that manage and control the computer e. g. , Windows, Mac OS Applications l l Programs that accomplish a specific task e. g. , a word processor or spreadsheet 10

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Evolution of Software Industry ¡ ¡ ¡ The un-bundling of software High fixed development costs but low marginal costs Customization and in-house development 12

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Sidebar: Trade Offs in Software This led to a series of choices and tradeoffs: 1. Buy and Install - Least costly, requires most organizational change 2. Buy and Modify - More costly, but less change intensive 3. Build your own - Most expensive 16