IT FUNDAMENTALS Lecture 1

IT FUNDAMENTALSIT FUNDAMENTALSLecture 1

Overview of Information Overview of Information TechnologyTechnology

Computing has dramatically influenced progress in science, engineering, business, and many other areas of human endeavor. In today’s world, nearly everyone needs to use computers, and many will want to study computing in some form. Computing will continue to present challenging career opportunities, and those who work in computing will have a crucial role in shaping the future.

What is computing?What is computing?In a general way, we can define

computing to mean any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from or creating computers. Thus, computing includes designing and building hardware and software systems for a wide range of purposes; processing, structuring, and managing various kinds of information; doing scientific studies using computers; making computer systems behave intelligently; creating and using communications and entertainment media; finding and gathering information relevant to any particular purpose, and so on.

IT DefinitionIT DefinitionThe collection of technologies that deal

specifically with processing, storing, and communicating information, including all types of computer and communications systems as well as reprographics methodologies.

“Information technology is a label that has two meanings. In the broadest sense, the term information technology is often used to refer to all of computing. In academia, it refers to undergraduate degree programs that prepare students to meet the computer technology needs of business, government, healthcare, schools, and other kinds of organizations.

The Explanation!The Explanation!The field of engineering involving

computer-based hardware and software systems, and communication systems, to enable the acquisition, representation, storage, transmission, and use of information. Successful implementation of information technology (IT) is dependent upon being able to cope with the overall architecture of systems, their interfaces with humans and organizations, and their relationships with external environments. It is also critically dependent on the ability to successfully convert information into knowledge.

Information Technology is concerned with improvements in a variety of human and organizational problem-solving endeavors through the design, development, and use of technologically based systems and processes that enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of information in a variety of strategic, tactical, and operational situations.

Ideally, this is accomplished through critical attention to the information needs of humans in problem-solving tasks and in the provision of technological aids, including electronic communication and computer-based systems of hardware and software and associated processes.

Information technology complements and enhances traditional engineering through emphasis on the information basis for engineering.

The hardware and software of computing and communications form the basic tools for information technology. These are implemented as information technology systems through use of systems engineering processes.

Thus, Information Technology emphasis is on the technology itself more than on the information it conveys.

IT Development!IT Development!Information technology is an enormously

vibrant field that emerged at the end of the last century as our society experienced a fundamental change from an industrial society to an “information society.”

From its inception just half a century ago, computing has become the defining technology of our age, changing how we live and work. Computers are integral to modern culture and are a primary engine behind much of the world's economic and social change.

However, as the personal computer became more powerful and more connected, it became more complex to administer, and the demand for people who could “make things work” in a networked microcomputer environment escalated.

The trend to desktop computing was turned into a revolution with the appearance of Web browsers and the resulting explosion of the World Wide Web. By turning the computer into a usable communication device that can access the entire world, Web browsers became the first compelling reason for everyone in society to use a computer.

The acceptance of the WWW by society at large created a hyper-demand for Web-based content and services, which ignited the explosion in demand for Web content developers and Web masters.

As Web sites became more active and interactive, the demand for application developers and especially database developers expanded as well.

The field continues to evolve at an astonishing pace. New technologies are introduced continually, and existing ones become obsolete almost as soon as they appear.

Technical changesTechnical changesMuch of the change that affects

Information Technology comes from advances in technology. In the last decade there has been unprecedented innovation in technologies for communication, computation, interactivity, and delivery of information.

Over the last ten years the world has changed dramatically both in how people work and live. The technology of telephony and computing has created an increasingly mobile environment where communications and connectivity are expected anytime and anyplace.

Society has become accustomed to connectivity that provides access to information on demand in all aspects of every day life. Demand for connectivity to full network service anytime anyplace has resulted in enormous growth in wireless networks in the last few years comparable to the explosive growth of the Internet in the ‘90s.

Over one billion people have access to the Internet today by wired and wireless access and it is predicted that over two billion people will have wireless access to the Internet by 2010 (Beaulieu, 2002).

Technical advances over the past decade have increased the importance of many curricular topics, such as the following: ◦ The World Wide Web and its applications ◦ Networking technologies, particularly based on

TCP/IP ◦ Systems administration and maintenance ◦ Graphics and multimedia ◦ Web systems and technologies ◦ Service-oriented architecture and E-commerce

technologies ◦ Relational databases and Client-server

technologies ◦ Technology integration and deployment ◦ Object-oriented event-driven programming ◦ Sophisticated application programmer interfaces

(APIs) ◦ Human-computer interaction and Security ◦ Application domains

IT TodayIT TodayToday, organizations of every kind are

dependent on information technology. They need to have appropriate systems in place. These systems must work properly, be secure, and upgraded, maintained, and replaced as appropriate. Employees throughout an organization require support from IT staff who understand computer systems and their software and are committed to solving whatever computer-related problems they might have.

Today, the term information technology has ballooned to encompass many aspects of computing and technology, and the term is more recognizable than ever before. The information technology umbrella can be quite large, covering many fields. IT professionals perform a variety of duties that range from installing applications to designing complex computer networks and information databases.

Today, Information and Information technology have become the fifth major resource available to executives for shaping an organization, alongside people, money, material and machines.

IT IT OrganizationsOrganizationsThe Information Technology

Association of America (ITAA) is an industry trade group for several information technology companies in USA. ITAA members range from the smallest IT start-ups to industry leaders in the Internet, software, IT services, digital content, systems integration, telecommunications, and enterprise solution fields.

Founded in 1961 as the Association of Data Processing Services Organizations (ADAPSO), the Information Technology Association of America provides global public policy, business networking, market intelligence, and leadership to promote the continued rapid growth of the IT industry.

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ITAA consists of approximately 325 corporate members throughout the U.S., and is secretariat of the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA), a global network of 67 countries' IT associations.

The Association plays a leading role in issues of IT industry concern including information security, taxes and finance policy, digital intellectual property protection, telecommunications competition, workforce and education, immigration, online privacy and consumer protection, government IT procurement, human resources and e-commerce policy.

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WORLDWIDEWORLDWIDEWorld Information Technology

and Services Alliance (WITSA) is a consortium of over 60 information technology (IT) industry associations from economies around the world. Founded in 1978 and originally known as the World Computing Services Industry Association, WITSA has increasingly assumed an active advocacy role in international public policy issues affecting the creation of a robust global information infrastructure.

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IT Society in AcademicIT Society in AcademicOver the last forty years, four major

organizations in the U.S. have developed computing curriculum guidelines for colleges and universities:◦The Association for Computing Machinery

(ACM)◦The Association for Information Systems

(AIS)◦The Association for Information Technology

Professionals (AITP)◦The Computer Society of the Institute for

Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE-CS)

The Association for The Association for Computing MachineryComputing Machinery ACM or the Association for Computing is a

scientific and professional organization founded in 1947. It is concerned with the development and sharing of new knowledge about all aspects of computing (the word machinery in its name is a historical artifact). It has traditionally been the professional home of computer scientists who devise new ways of using computers and who advance the science and theory that underlies both computation itself and the software that enables it. ACM began publishing curriculum recommendations for CS in 1968 (a preliminary version appeared in 1965) and for IS in 1972.

The Association for The Association for Information SystemsInformation SystemsAIS was founded in 1994. It is a

global organization serving academics who specialize in Information Systems. Most academic members of AIS are affiliated with Schools/Colleges of Business or Management. AIS began providing curriculum recommendations for IS in cooperation with ACM and AITP in 1997.

The Association for The Association for Information Technology Information Technology ProfessionalsProfessionalsAITP was founded in 1951 as the National

Machine Accountants Association. In 1962, it became the Data Processing Management Association (or DPMA). It adopted its present name in 1996. AITP focuses on the professional side of computing, serving those who use computing technology to meet the needs of business and other organizations. It first provided curriculum recommendations for IS in 1985.

The Computer Society of the The Computer Society of the IEEEIEEEIEEE-CS originated in 1946 as the committee

on Large Scale Computing Devices of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) and, in 1951, as the Professional Group on Electronic Computers of the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE). The AIEE and the IRE merged in 1964 to become the IEEE, and the two subunits joined to become the Computer Society. The Computer Society is a technical society within the IEEE that is focused on computing from the engineering perspective. Today the Computer Society's members include computer engineers, software engineers, computer technologists, and computer scientists. It began providing curriculum recommendations in 1977.

Overview of Information Overview of Information SystemSystemAn Information System (IS) is the

system of persons, data records and activities that process the data and information in a given organization, including manual processes or automated processes.

Usually the term is used erroneously as a synonymous for computer-based information systems, which is only the Information technologies component of an Information System. The computer-based information systems are the field of study for Information technologies (IT)

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IS as a Program StudyIS as a Program StudyInformation Systems is the study of a

system and how technology can be incorporated into that system to make it fully functional and efficient. Some areas of study in Information Systems include system analysis and design, databases, human-centered computing (HCC), health informatics, artificial intelligence, knowledge management, security, project management, and decision sciences.

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Back Ground of ISBack Ground of ISThe study of information systems,

originated as a sub-discipline of computer science, in an attempt to understand and rationalize the management of technology within organizations. It has matured into a major field of management, that is increasingly being emphasized as an important area of research in management studies, and is taught at all major universities and business schools in the world.

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Information Systems (IS) and Computer Science (CS) both involve computer technology. Unlike IS, CS frequently takes an inner-workings perspective of technology and involves the principles of hardware and software design.

Information Systems, on the other hand, focuses on the entire system of information, knowledge, delivery and use, taking an external, human-based perspective on technology– its focus is on how technology can be implemented to serve the informational needs of people and organizations.

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The The IS inIS in DDifferent ifferent MMeaningseanings In systems theory, an information

system is a system, automated or manual, that comprises people, machines, and/or methods organized to collect, process, transmit, and disseminate data that represent user information.

An information system is a collection of methods, practices, algorithms and methodologies that transforms data into information and knowledge desired by, and useful for, individual and group users in organizations and other entities. 

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This system can involve a combination of work practices, information, people, and technologies organized to accomplish goals in an organization.

In telecommunications, an information system is any telecommunications and/or computer related equipment or interconnected system or subsystems of equipment that is used in the acquisition, storage, manipulation, management, movement, control, display, switching, interchange, transmission, or reception of voice and/or data, and includes software, firmware, and hardware.

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Applications of Applications of ISIS Information systems deal with the

development, use and management of an organization's IT infrastructure.

In the post-industrial, information age, the focus of companies has shifted from being product oriented, to knowledge oriented, in a sense that market operators today, compete on process and innovation, rather than product : the emphasis has shifted from the quality and quantity of production, to the production process itself, and the services that accompany the production process.

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The biggest asset of companies today, is their information, represented in people, experience, know-how, innovations (patents, copyrights, trade secrets), and for a market operator to be able to compete, he/she must have a strong information infrastructure, at the heart of which, lies the information technology infrastructure. Thus, the study of information systems, focuses on why and how technology can be put into best use to serve the information flow within an organization.

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Areas of work Areas of work Information Systems has a number of

different areas of work:◦ Information Systems Strategy ◦ Information Systems Management ◦ Information Systems Development

Each of which branches out into a number of sub disciplines, that overlap with other science and managerial disciplines such as computer science, pure and engineering sciences, social and behavioral sciences, and business management.

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