Bourgeois – Information Systems for Business and
Beyond
Chapter 1: What is an Information System?
Chapter 3: Software
Chapter 10: Information Systems Development
Chapter 1: What Is an Information System?
Learning Objectives Upon successful completion of this chapter, you will be able to:
• define what an information system is by identifying its major components;
• describe the basic history of information systems; and
• describe the basic argument behind the article “Does IT Matter?” by Nicholas Carr.
“Information systems (IS) is the study of complementary networks of hardware and software
that people and organizations use to collect, filter, process, create, and distribute data.”
These definitions focus on two different ways of describing information systems: the
components that make up an information system and the role that those components play in
an organization. Let’s take a look at each of these.
The Components of Information Systems
information systems are made up of different components that work together to provide
value to an organization.
they are made up of five components:
1. hardware,
2. software,
3. data,
4. people,
5. process
students must understand how all of these components work together to bring value to an
organization.
Technology:
The first three components of information systems – hardware, software, and data – all fall
under the category of technology. Technology can be thought of as the application of
scientific knowledge for practical purposes.
Hardware
Information systems hardware is the part of an information system you can touch – the physical components of
the technology
Software
Software is a set of instructions that tells the hardware what to do. Software is not tangible – it cannot be
touched. When programmers create software programs, what they are really doing is simply typing out lists of
instructions that tell the hardware what to do. There are several categories of software, with the two main
,categories being operating-system software, which makes the hardware usable, and application software, which
does something useful.
Data
The third component is data. You can think of data as a collection of facts.
People
the people involved with information systems are an essential element that must not be
overlooked
Process
A process is a series of steps undertaken to achieve a desired outcome or goal. Information
systems are becoming more and more integrated with organizational processes, bringing
more productivity and better control to those processes. Businesses are looking to effectively
utilize information systems more. Using technology to manage and improve processes, both
within a company and externally with suppliers and customers, is the ultimate goal
The Role of Information Systems
To get a full appreciation of the role information systems play, we will review how they have
changed over the years.
The Mainframe Era
From the late 1950s through the 1960s, computers were seen as a way to more efficiently
do calculations. In the late 1960s, the Manufacturing Resources Planning (MRP) systems
were introduced. This software, running on a mainframe computer, gave companies the
ability to manage the manufacturing process, making it more efficient.
The PC Revolution
In 1975, the first microcomputer was announced. During the 1980s, many new computer
companies sprang up
Client-Server
In the mid-1980s, businesses began to see the need to connect their computers together as
a way to collaborate and share resources. This networking architecture was referred to as
“client-server” because users would log in to the local area network (LAN) from their PC (the
“client”) by connecting to a powerful computer called a “server,”
An ERP system is a software application with a centralized database that can be used to run
a company’s entire business
The World Wide Web and E-Commerce
First invented in 1969, the Internet was confined to use by universities, government
agencies, and researchers for many years
, companies who wanted to expand their LAN-based e-mail started hooking up to the Internet
in the 1980s.
In 1989, Tim Berners-Lee developed a simpler way for researchers to share information over
the network at CERN laboratories, a concept he called the World Wide Web
Web 2.0
The Post-PC World
The limited storage and processing power of these devices is being offset by a move to
“cloud” computing, which allows for storage, sharing, and backup of information on a
massive scale.
We are now to a point where every company is using information systems and asking the
question: Does it bring a competitive advantage? In the end, that is really what this book is
about. Every business person should understand what an information system is and how it
can be used to bring a competitive advantage
Chapter 3: Software
