Part 1: Overview

Question 1

Information Systems

Answer 1

Broader perspective in which management uses IT to create and support systems that allow the organization to pursue and meet its strategic goals

Integrated set of components for:

• collecting
• storing
• processing data
• for providing information, knowledge, and digital products
• incorporate IT, data and information, and business procedures and processes

Question 2

IT

Answer 2

The term used to describe:
- Hardware
- Software
- Networks of computer systems 
(the technology on which information systems run)

It is managed through governance and planning

Question 3

Data

Answer 3

Derived from internal sources:
- information found within enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems
Or
- external sources like the internet

Question 4

Big Data

Answer 4

Large data sets too big to be stored using standard relational databases or analyzed using conventional tools like Excel.
Organizations use big data to analyze and predict consumer demand.

Question 5

Two key problems relate to the engineering and architecture of software:

Answer 5

1. Scalability: how easily the systems can increase or decrease in size
2. Flexibility: the ability of a system to adapt to changes

Question 6

Key to developing a good information systems strategy

Answer 6

1. Aligning information systems + IT strategy with the firm’s overall business strategy
2. Must extend to the firm’s IT governance framework
3. How effectively a firm can use its human resources

Question 7

COBIT

Answer 7

Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies

- The first principle of COBIT: meeting stakeholder needs

Question 8

ISO 3800

Answer 8

International Organization for Standardization 38500

- The 1st and 2nd principles: responsibility and strategy.

Question 9

Management Support

Answer 9

All levels in the organization supporting information systems and IT initiatives and good governance, including project “champions.”

• the organization’s structure and internal processes, and degree to which the culture is accepting of change all influences how successful it will be at using IT systems as a competitive advantage
• “Tone at the top” drives innovative organizational culture that embraces technology and is constantly looking for new ways to use IT and information systems

Question 10

Nicholas Carr

Answer 10

2004 book: Does IT Matter? Information Technology and the Corrosion of Competitive Advantage

Question: since the tools that once gave IT competitive advantage are now widely available to all organizations, can we truly say that IT matters as strategically as it once did?

Carr’s point about the commoditization of IT, coupled with its reduced return on investment, was and is pertinent. This observation was before the influx of social media, when online advertising was still mostly banners, and cloud computing was still just an idea

Competitive advantages because of information technology are no longer sustainable advantages, and therefore IT should not be granted special consideration when it comes to budget, capital, or other strategic investments