Recap Since Exam 1 (Part 1) Guide to preparing for the Final Exam and Appreciating this course

Big Picture This course is about Information Technology E-commerce Technology

Big Picture Technically, the prerequisites are –Management Information Systems (CSIS-114) –Database Management (CSIS-112) Information Technology E-commerce Technology Database Technologies: Relational DB’s Queries, etc. Business Information Technology: MIS’s, DSS’s, TPS’s, etc. Internet & WWW Technologies: Packet Switching, TCP/IP, URLs, etc.

MIS-end Companies are interested in two things (two main goals): 1.Sell more stuff (increase revenue) 2.Reduce cost Management Information Systems help achieve these goals in a very basic way. –Companies can make better decisions if they have better information –(more valuable information).

MIS-end Information Systems help transform Data  Information –by adding context –by summarizing data –by sorting data –by processing data

MIS-end Information Systems help add value to information by 1.Improving Information Delivery: more timely, accessible, flexible, and economical. Internet/WWW play a crucial role. 2.Improving Information Quality: more secure, accurate, verifiable, complete, and reliable. Database technology plays a crucial role.

MIS-end The more valuable information is …the more helpful it is –Helpful in making decisions decisions that lead to cost cuts decisions that lead to revenue increases However, the technologies for making information more valuable can have 1.A direct impact on goals –cost reduction –revenue increases 2.Create new opportunities –new businesses –new enterprises

Power of IT: Direct benefits It is not just a means to get better information for making better decisions. Similar to other technologies (automobile, electricity, etc.), it can have a direct impact on goals. Discussion Example: Supply Chain Management Systems 1.Provides valuable info. 2.Directly cuts costs (RFID, DB, WWW).

Power of IT: New Opportunities How does the Internet/WWW help deliver information in a more timely, accessible, flexible, and economical manner? While answer are obvious, we studied more specific examples: Discussion Example: Standardization of HTML 1.Helps improve information delivery 2.But, creates new opportunities

Power of IT: New Opportunities Discussion Example: Online Credit Scores –Experian (credit report company) –Wanted to cut transaction costs (paper delivery of credit reports) –Required by law to provide to consumer free of charge –Discovered that they could charge for the online service and consumers would pay even though they could get the paper report for free.

Power of IT: New Opportunities and Direct Benefits Discussion Example: Online Yellow Pages –Yahoo (Internet portal, directory, and search engine) –Wanted to increase visitors and exposure –Decided to provide online Yellow Pages. Cost: Yahoo pays print yellow pages for data. –Direct Benefit: Increased visitors and audience –New Opportunity: Now businesses by-pass print yellow pages and advertise directly with Yahoo.

Power of IT: Intangible benefits Discussion Example: Online Yellow Pages –Yahoo’s yellow pages are vastly superior to their print counter-part. Why?

Power of IT: New Opportunities and Direct Benefits Discussion Example: Online Yellow Pages –Direct Benefit: Increased visitors and audience –New Opportunity: Now Yahoo is prime real estate for placing local ads –Initially, YP was a cost for Yahoo –Now, YP is a revenue stream.

Power of IT: Intangible benefits and new opportunities Discussion Example: Google Adsense and Adwords Google built an audience by providing the world’s best Internet search engine. –New Opportunity: With the World’s Largest Internet Audience, they became the largest advertising company in history. –Intangible Benefit: Targeted advertising blows away other forms –New Opportunity: Funding source for popular websites that used to be “volunteer only.”

Summary: Power of IT 1.Data  Information 2.Adds value to information $  $$$ Valuable information is key in making good decisions Management decisions, Strategic decisions 3.Direct Benefits (Specific to E-commerce) –Cost cutting (information density, standardization, mass customization) –Revenue increase (Ubiquity, global reach, interactivity, richness, personalization). 4.New Opportunities (Specific to E-commerce) –Information Products (Experian Credit Reports) –Advertising Medium (Yahoo YP and Google) 5.Intangibles (Superior to the old way) –Online YP superior to paper YP –Online Ads superior to other (context)

Future of IT Learn from the past: Look at related examples: –Coal used to be the #1 Energy source in the USA. –Train Locomotives were once exclusively powered by coal. –Oil Refinery (a technology) changed everything –Oil production was cheaper and more efficient. Gas Combustion Engines are now #1. Will they be #1 in 15 years?

Future of IT Two things can make technology obsolete 1.Something superior is discovered/invented Superior could mean cheaper more efficient or, just better (in terms of $$$ these things are all pretty much the same) 2.Resources for supporting the technology run out. Usually #1 happens first.

Future of IT One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) –Delivery Information Technology to the 3 rd world –Characteristics of the 3 rd World: No electricity No computers No network (Wait, no electricity rules out all technology, right?) The technology behind OLPC changes everything.

Future of IT One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) –Business (free market) doesn’t play a role, yet. –Scary thought: Energy crisis could mean OLPC technology is the future for the USA. –Direct Benefits: Delivery of information (IT) to peoples who could never support technology before. –New Opportunities: Could set the standard for how IT is delivered universally. Could drastically alter the economics behind Hardware sales. –Intangibles: Wireless is inherently superior to wired. Peer to peer networking could be superior than the current Internet Structure (Web+Hierarchy)

Future of IT Things to ponder: Hardware may approach $0 cost. All the money is in software and services. IT becomes more important as physical infrastructures reach saturation. Virtual worlds become more important than physical ones. How to make $$$?