Chapter 1

What is an Information Systems

1
Chapter Objectives

• Major components of information systems

• Basic history of information systems
• Argument behind “Does IT Matter?” article

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What is an Information Systems
Today’s Technology
• Because technology
changes, you must keep
up with the changes to
remain digitally literate
• Digital literacy involves
having a current
knowledge and
understanding of
computers, mobile
devices, the web, and
related technologies

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What is an Information Systems
Technology Uses

Education Government Finance Retail

Entertainment Health Care Science Travel

Publishing Manufacturing

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What is an Information Systems
Technology Users

Home User Small/Home Mobile User

Office User

Power User Enterprise

User
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What is an Information Systems
Definitions of Information Systems

• Is an organized system for the collection, organization,

storage and communication of information. More
specifically, it is the study of complementary networks
that people and organizations use to collect, filter,
process, create and distribute data.
• Information Systems today shows students how
information technology and systems are continuing to
expand within all aspects of today’s organizations and
society.

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What is an Information Systems
Composition of Information Systems

• Components that make up an information

system.
• Role that those components play in an
organization.

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What is an Information Systems
Components of Information Systems

• Technology
 Hardware
 Software
 Data
• People
• Process

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What is an Information Systems
Computers

• A computer is an electronic device, operating

under the control of instructions stored in its own
memory

Accepts Produces
data Processing information
(input) (output)

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What is an Information Systems
Computers
• Laptop
• Tablet
• Desktop
and All-in-One
• Server
• Mobile and Game Devices

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What is an Information Systems
Components of Information Systems Cont.
• Technology
 Hardware, is part of IS that you can touch.
 Software, set of instructions that tells the hardware what to do.
• Operating System, Windows, Mac OS X, iOS, Unix, Linux
• Application, MS Office, Adobe suite
 Data, identified as symbols, raw facts or figures that represent
people, events, and things. Facts and figures are collected
together for reference or analysis. Organizations collect all kinds
of data and use it to make decisions.
 Networking Communication, in today’s world it is extremely
rare that a computer does not connect to another device or to a
network.

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What is an Information Systems
Data and Information

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What is an Information Systems
Communications and Networks

• In the course of a day, it is likely you use, or use information

generated by, one or more of these communications
technologies

Chat rooms Email Fax FTP GPS

Instant
Internet Newsgroups RSS Videoconference
messaging

Wireless
Wireless Internet
Voice mail VoIP messaging
access points
services

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What is an Information Systems
Communications and Networks

• A communications device is hardware capable of

transferring items from computers and devices to
transmission media and vice versa

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What is an Information Systems
Components of Information Systems Cont.

• People, involved with IS are essential element

• Process, series of steps undertaken to achieve a
desired outcome or goal.

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What is an Information Systems
Role of Information Systems
• Take data and turn it into information (data that is
presented in a format people can understand and use)
then transform that into organizational knowledge.
• History:
 Mainframe computers, 1950s – 1960s, large and
expensive that collect and store large volume of data
and capable of passing simultaneously to many
users, large businesses, universities and government
agencies could afford them.
 Data processing, scientific calculations and
accounting functions performed on collected data.

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What is an Information Systems
Role of Information Systems Cont.
 IBM (Big Blue) in mid 1960 became the dominant
mainframe company, brought mainframe and
minicomputers to most large businesses.
 PC revolution in 1975 the first microcomputer, Altair
8800 started the “personal computer” era with the
most prominent of PC maker, Apply Computers. In
1981 IBM and Microsoft ( then, a small system
software company) teamed up and released “PC”.
Many computer companies offered less expensive
version of “PC”. Microsoft developed Windows
operating system for “PC” and applications such as
word processing, spreadsheets and databases for
common use of “PC”.
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What is an Information Systems
Role of Information Systems Cont.
 Client-Server, in mid 1980s, need to connect
computers together as a way to collaborate and share
resources. Local Area Network (LAN) was developed
with PC as clients connecting to a powerful computer
known as server which grants the rights to other
resources such as shared files and printers.
 Internet, invented in 1969 was confined to use by
universities, government agencies and researchers
for many years. The first email was sent in 1970s.
With expansion of LAN-based emails, companies
wanting to hooking up to Internet. This early Internet
connection that computer eve love from a
computational device to a communicational device.

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What is an Information Systems
Role of Information Systems Cont.
 In 1989 in CERN laboratories World Wide Web, as a
collection of files organized as a giant hypertext, was
developed for sharing information between
researchers.
 First website was activated in 1991. In 1993, Web
would be free to anyone.
 Web related terms: web servers, domain names
(http://www.amazon.com), browsers, home pages, web
pages, URL (Uniform Resource Locator), HTTP protocol
(allows web browsers to communicate with web ser.vers)

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What is an Information Systems
Role of Information Systems Cont.
 E-Commerce, financial transactions conducted over a
computer network/Internet; 1994, the year Amazon
and eBay.com were established, the use of the new
digital marketplace.
 Computer viruses ( a program that attaches itself to a file,
reproduces itself and spreads to other files) and worms ( a
program designed to enter a computer system through security
holes, usually through network, email attachments, does not
need to be attached to a document to reproduce), slowly
propagated through sharing disk and data with more
computers connected to Internet which created a
whole new industry of computer and Internet security.

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What is an Information Systems
Digital Safety and Security

• It is important that users protect their computers and

mobile devices

Viruses and
Other Privacy
Malware

Health Environmental
Concerns Issues

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What is an Information Systems
Digital Safety and Security Cont.

• Green computing involves reducing the electricity

consumed and environmental waste generated
when using a computer
• Strategies include:
 Recycling
 Using energy efficient hardware and energy saving features
 Regulating manufacturing processes
 Extending the life of computers
 Immediately donating or properly disposing of replaced computers

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What is an Information Systems
Role of Information Systems Cont.
 Web 1.0, users were more consumers of contents.
 Web 2.0, user generated content allowing users to
interact and collaborate with each other by social
networking, blogging, etc.
 Post-PC world, PC continues to play a key role, but
not the primary way to interact. Tablets and
smartphones sales are taking off and the processing
power of these devices is bring offset by moving to
“cloud” computing for storage, sharing, and backup of
information on massive scale.

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What is an Information Systems