Managerial Questions
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What is an information system?
What are some major applications
of information systems?
How does the Internet fit in?
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What is an Information System?
An information system is a
combination of technology, people,
and processes to capture, transmit,
retrieve and display information
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The Information System
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Information Systems pervade the
enterprise
You need to know:
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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.
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Components of an IS
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Hardware
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Software
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The physical devices like computers
and printers
Programs that can tell the hardware
what to do
Communications

Modes of transmitting information
(wires, wireless, etc.)
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Copyright 2006 John Wiley & Sons,
Inc.
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Hardware
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The ‘first’ computers: mainframes
(1950s)
The personal computer (early
1980s)
Client server computers (early
1990s)
Remote computing (starting in the
early 2000s but still developing)
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Software
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Operating Systems
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Programs that manage and control the
computer
e.g., Windows, Mac OS
Applications
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Programs that accomplish a specific
task
e.g., a word processor or spreadsheet
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Evolution of Software Industry
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The un-bundling of software
High fixed development costs but
low marginal costs
Customization and in-house
development
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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
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