WEEK 1 ch1 Flashcards
Information systems have multiple definitions, name the 3 different definitions
- the study of complementary networks of hardware and software that people/organ use to COLLECT, FILTER, PROCESS, CREATE AND DISTRIBUTE DATA.
- combinations of hardware and software and telecommunications networks that people build and use to COLLECT, CREATE AND DISTRIBUTE useful data
- interrelated components working together to collect, process, story and disseminate info to support decision making, coordination, control, analysis and visualization in an organization
what are the 5 components of information systems
- hardware
- software
- data
- people
- processes
which of the 5 components of IS belong to technology
- software
- hardware
- data
Technology
application of scientific knowledge for practical processes
Hardware
tangible, physical portion of IS (keywords, computers, flash drives (USB stick)).
Software
intangible set of instructions that tells the hardware what to do.
what are the two main categories in software?
- operating system software: makes the hardware usable, Microsoft, windows, google android
- application software: does something useful like Microsoft excel or instagram
data
intangible collection of facts. pieces of data are not useful individually but when aggregated, indexed and organized in database they become a powerful tool
communication
connecting to other devices through networking and can be considered as the fourth component of technology. it is made up of software and hardware
what can be seen as the fourth component of technology
communication
process
a series of steps undertaken to achieve a desired outcome or goal
The role of IS has changed over the years
- Mainframe
- Manufacturing resource planning
- PC revolution
- client server
- Mainframe era (1950s-1960s): large room-sized machines, mainly used for data processing and calculations, only large organ could afford them, specialized personnel
- Manufacturing resource planning (MRP) (late 1960s): helped companies manage manufacturing processes (inventory tracking, material planning, production scheduling).
PC revolution (1975): first microcomputer was announced by apple and later Microsoft, more for hobbyists.
client server (1980): businesses started connecting computers to collaborate and share resources, client server allowed users to access the same data at the same time. later ERP systems were built on client server model. provided a centralized database to manage a company’s entire operations.
WWW revolution
invented in 1969 but Web 2.0 led to people no longer needing programming skills to create and share content online, led to disintermediation because technology skipped middlemen (video rental stores –> streamings services).
whats the situation with the PCs now?
post-PC world: PC sales declines as more people switched to tablets and smartphones.
what is a client server
there is one main computer (client) where all the data and resources are stored and other computers (clients) are all connected to that computer. This allowed multiple people to use the same data at the same time instead of keeping separate copies.
what is important to mention with PC revolution
the introduction of graphical user interfaces (GUIs) such as windows 3.0 made it easier to use computers.
