Managing Information Technology

Start / Stop / Continue Create upward feedback Do as a group Identify three items in each area Present to me I will not respond I may ask for clarification Later I will respond to group

Information What information do businesses keep and use? What information have you been exposed to today?

INFORMATION An organizational resource and tool e.g. McDonalds, Walmart, Target Can you name others? A resource that must be managed carefully Associated costs for production, distribution, security, storage, and retrieval

INFORMATION Global explosion Global accessibility Internet Private networks Often considered “intellectual property” Managed by information systems Often considered a strategic differentiator Facebook Google Apple Target

Information Technology Resources used to manage information Computers, networks, phones, fax, etc. Often distinction between IT and systems development (IS)

Useful Information Accurate How accurate do you need it? What’s the cost of an error? Timely Out of date may mean not accurate Complete Do you see the total picture? Relevant Companies often collect lots of data that is not relevant

Need to Control Information Get more data than can process Used data mining Need to control it Check data entering the system “Garbage in, garbage out.” Check data in work flows Check data leaving the organization

Information Users First level managers Middle managers Executive management Knowledge workers Text distinguishes functional areas vs. knowledge workers Others do not make this distinction

Information Systems Transaction Processing Systems (TPS) Office Automation Systems (OAS) Work flows, MS Office Management Information Systems (MIS) Provide reports, schedules, budgets Decision Support Systems (DSS) Analyze problems. How much to make, order, enter new markets … Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP) Large, integrated systems for orders, inventory, accounting, payroll, … Executive Support Systems (ESS) High level analysis Expert Systems and AI E.g. loan approval, medical diagnosis

Internet Internet and intranet Need to have outside access Need to protect corporate information Security Firewalls Separate networks Mail filters Backups Technology-People-Policy tradeoff

The Threat Tree Outsider Threat Unintentional Natural Intentional ¨ software bugs ¨ system overloads ¨ fires ¨ hardware failures ¨ floods ¨ poorly trained administrators ¨ earthquakes ¨ errors and accidents ¨ hurricanes ¨ uniformed, unmotivated ¨ extreme heat incompetent custodians ¨ extreme cold Outsider Insider hacker - spy fraud organized crime competitor ¨ disgruntled employee ¨ former employee ¨ contract employee

Managing Information Systems Determine needs (requirements) Hardware (incl. performance) Software Networking Staff Integrate Document & Train Test Evaluate and monitor Needs change

Business Examples American Airlines – Fuel Control at Harrah’s Finagle a Bagel – Operations Coke – The Bottlers Fed Ex Little Guys American Airlines – Gathering Storm Cruise Inc. – Bottom Line