Information system


An information system is a formal, sociotechnical, organizational system designed to collect, process, store, and distribute information. From a sociotechnical perspective, information systems comprise four components: task, people, structure, and technology. Information systems can be defined as an integration of components for collection, storage and processing of data, comprising digital products that process data to facilitate decision making and the data being used to provide information and contribute to knowledge.
A computer information system is a system, which consists of people and computers that process or interpret information. The term is also sometimes used to simply refer to a computer system with software installed.
"Information systems" is also an academic field of study about systems with a specific reference to information and the complementary networks of computer hardware and software that people and organizations use to collect, filter, process, create and also distribute data. An emphasis is placed on an information system having a definitive boundary, users, processors, storage, inputs, outputs and the aforementioned communication networks.
In many organizations, the department or unit responsible for information systems and data processing is known as "information services".
Any specific information system aims to support operations, management and decision-making. An information system is the information and communication technology that an organization uses, and also the way in which people interact with this technology in support of business processes.
Some authors make a clear distinction between information systems, computer systems, and business processes. Information systems typically include an ICT component but are not purely concerned with ICT, focusing instead on the end-use of information technology. Information systems are also different from business processes. Information systems help to control the performance of business processes.
Alter argues that viewing an information system as a special type of work system has its advantages. A work system is a system in which humans or machines perform processes and activities using resources to produce specific products or services for customers. An information system is a work system in which activities are devoted to capturing, transmitting, storing, retrieving, manipulating and displaying information.
As such, information systems inter-relate with data systems on the one hand and activity systems on the other. An information system is a form of communication system in which data represent and are processed as a form of social memory. An information system can also be considered a semi-formal language which supports human decision making and action.
Information systems are the primary focus of study for organizational informatics.

Overview

Silver et al. provided two views on IS that includes software, hardware, data, people, and procedures.
The Association for Computing Machinery defines "Information systems specialists focus on integrating information technology solutions and business processes to meet the information needs of businesses and other enterprises."
There are various types of information systems, : including transaction processing systems, decision support systems, knowledge management systems, learning management systems, database management systems, and office information systems. Critical to most information systems are information technologies, which are typically designed to enable humans to perform tasks for which the human brain is not well suited, such as: handling large amounts of information, performing complex calculations, and controlling many simultaneous processes.
Information technologies are a very important and malleable resource available to executives. Many companies have created a position of chief information officer that sits on the executive board with the chief executive officer, chief financial officer, chief operating officer, and chief technical officer. The CTO may also serve as CIO, and vice versa. The chief information security officer focuses on information security management.

Six components

The six components that must come together in order to produce an information system are:
  1. Hardware: The term hardware refers to machinery and equipment. In a modern information system, this category includes the computer itself and all of its support equipment. The support equipment includes input and output devices, storage devices and communications devices. In pre-computer information systems, the hardware might include ledger books and ink.
  2. Software: The term software refers to computer programs and the manuals that support them. Computer programs are machine-readable instructions that direct the circuitry within the hardware parts of the system to function in ways that produce useful information from data. Programs are generally stored on some input/output medium, often a disk or tape. The "software" for pre-computer information systems included how the hardware was prepared for use and instructions for using them.
  3. Data: Data are facts that are used by systems to produce useful information. In modern information systems, data are generally stored in machine-readable form on disk or tape until the computer needs them. In pre-computer information systems, the data were generally stored in human-readable form.
  4. Procedures: Procedures are the policies that govern the operation of an information system. "Procedures are to people what software is to hardware" is a common analogy that is used to illustrate the role of procedures in a system.
  5. People: Every system needs people if it is to be useful. Often the most overlooked element of the system is the people, probably the component that most influences the success or failure of information systems. This includes "not only the users, but those who operate and service the computers, those who maintain the data, and those who support the network of computers".
  6. Internet: The internet is a combination of data and people.
Data is the bridge between hardware and people. This means that the data we collect is only data until we involve people. At that point, data becomes information.

Types

The "classic" view of Information systems found in textbooks in the 1980s was a pyramid of systems that reflected the hierarchy of the organization, usually transaction processing systems at the bottom of the pyramid, followed by management information systems, decision support systems, and ending with executive information systems at the top. Although the pyramid model remains useful since it was first formulated, a number of new technologies have been developed and new categories of information systems have emerged, some of which no longer fit easily into the original pyramid model.
Some examples of such systems are:
A computer information system is essentially an IS using computer technology to carry out some or all of its planned tasks. The basic components of computer-based information systems are:
  • Hardware are the devices like the monitor, processor, printer, and keyboard, all of which work together to accept, process, show data, and information.
  • Software are the programs that allow the hardware to process the data.
  • Databases are the gathering of associated files or tables containing related data.
  • Networks are a connecting system that allows diverse computers to distribute resources.
  • Procedures are the commands for combining the components above to process information and produce the preferred output.
The first four components make up what is known as the information technology platform.
Information technology workers could then use these components to create information systems that watch over safety measures, risk and the management of data. These actions are known as information technology services.
Certain information systems support parts of organizations, others support entire organizations, and still others, support groups of organizations. Each department or functional area within an organization has its own collection of application programs or information systems. These functional area information systems are supporting pillars for more general IS namely, business intelligence systems and dashboards. As the name suggests, each FAIS supports a particular function within the organization, e.g.: accounting IS, finance IS, production-operation management IS, marketing IS, and human resources IS. In finance and accounting, managers use IT systems to forecast revenues and business activity, to determine the best sources and uses of funds, and to perform audits to ensure that the organization is fundamentally sound and that all financial reports and documents are accurate.
Other types of organizational information systems are FAIS, transaction processing systems, enterprise resource planning, office automation system, management information system, decision support system, expert system, executive dashboard, supply chain management system, and electronic commerce system. Dashboards are a special form of IS that support all managers of the organization. They provide rapid access to timely information and direct access to structured information in the form of reports. Expert systems attempt to duplicate the work of human experts by applying reasoning capabilities, knowledge, and expertise within a specific domain.