Information Technology Trends Dr. Merle P. Martin MIS Department CSU Sacramento

Acknowledgements t Dr. Russell Ching (MIS Dept) Source Materiel / Graphics t Edie Schmidt (UMS) - Graphic Design t Prentice Hall Publishing (Permissions) u Martin, Analysis and Design of Business Information Systems, 1995

Agenda t Information as Power t The IT System t IT Trends t IT Issues t Chief Information Officer ( CIO )

Information as Power t Collapse of Communism t Information and Totalitarianism t Information and Organizations u Power u Just in case u Information Overload

Relevance t IT is a critical resource t Requires mgmnt decisions t IT people have been making these decisions by default u lack of management awareness u lack of management knowledge u inpenetrable jargon ( binary curtain )

The IT System TECHNOLOGYMANAGEMENT COMPUTERUSER Hardware/Soft- ware Interface Change Management Decision Support Application Programming Systems Development Database IT Operations Management Connectivity

Shneiderman’s 10 Plagues t of the Information Age t Who is Ben Shneiderman? u Univ Maryland ( College Park ) u Computer Science u Human Factors Institute u System Philosopher

The Ten Plagues t Anxiety u “ computer shock ” u “ terminal terror ” u “ network neurosis ” t Alienation u less connected to other people u “ Whose voice is that, anyway ”

Ten Plagues ( cont. ) t Information-poor minority u another way for disadvantaged to be more disadvantaged t Impotence of individual u everyone treated the same u no special treatment for exceptions

Ten Plagues ( cont. ) t Bewildering complexity and speed u Windows 98? t Organizational fragility ( SciFi) t Invasion of privacy u Alaskan jury list

Ten Plagues t Unemployment and displacement u clerks / typesetters u VP - mortgage loan decision replaced by Expert System (ES) t Lack of professional responsibility u “ Sorry, the computer won’t let me ________. ”

Ten Plagues t Deteriorating image of people u “ smart machines ” u “ intelligent terminals ” u “ expert systems ” u “ Maybe they’ll keep us as pets.” u Shneiderman’s computer with arms and legs.

Ten Plagues ( cont.) What are some of your experiences?

IT Trends t Hardware t Software t Data t Telecommunications t Systems Development t End-users

Hardware Trends t Batch to on-line u Batch is delayed processing v Airport limousine v Monthly billing application u On-line is instantaneous processing v Airport taxi v Airline Reservation System

On-line with Delayed Processing On-line Batch Ticket Credit Card Monthly Statement

Hardware Trends Central to distributed processing u Mainframe to PC u Individual productivity t Centralized to decentralized resource control u Departmental purchases

Software Trends t Large to small system development t Reusable code ( packages ) t Outsourcing t Prototyping t 3GL to 4GL u concept of the Macro

Concept of the Macro t Computer processes one instruction at a time u CAD PAY u ADD BONUS u STO NEWPAY t Macro is one-to-many u ADD PAY, BONUS, NEWPAY

Third Vs. Fourth GLs COBOL OPEN INPUT EMPLOYEE-FILE. READ EMPLOYEE-FILE. PERFORM WHILE NOT EOF IF EMP-ID = SEARCH-KEY DISPLAY EMP-ID " " EMP-FIRST-NAME " " EMP-LAST-NAME " " EMP-YTD-PAYEND-IF READ EMPLOYEE-FILE END-PERFORM. SQL SELECT EMP-ID, EMP-FIRST-NAME, EMP-LAST-NAME, EMP-YTD-PAY FROM EMPLOYEE WHERE EMP-ID=1234

Data Trends t Centralized to decentralized u mainframe to PC t Keystroke to optical scanning u voice? t Multimedia u voice / animation / video, etc. t Data to information

Telecomm Trends t Link organizations to u customers v Amer Hosp Supply ( AHS ) u suppliers u Porter Model t LAN to WAN t Internet

Development Trends “Information systems are becoming too complex to develop by conventional means.” John Podlipnik John Podlipnik Vice President, Vice President, American Management Systems American Management Systems

Increasing Complexity t Program Lines of Code u 1970’s - 10,000 u 1980’s - 100,00+ u 1990’s - 1,000,000+ t Type Hardware u 1970’s - Standalone u 1980’s - Networked u 1990’s - Distributed

Increasing Complexity t Type of Data u 1970’s - Text u 1980’s - Graph User Intrface (GUI) u 1990’s - Object-oriented User Interface (OOUI) t Data Organization u 1970’s - Files u 1980’s - Databases u 1990’s - Relational Databases

Increasing Complexity t Software Languages u 1970’s - 3GL u 1980’s - 3GL / 4GL u 1990’s - 3GL / 4GL / Objects t Application of Blaab’s Law

Blaab’s Law “Old technologies persist in the face of new technologies.” u Magnetic tape u Windmill east of Livermore

Issue “Our company is committed to providing each employee with the latest technology.” Anonymous CEO Anonymous CEO WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THIS POLICY ?

Increasing Complexity t Standards u 1970’s - None u 1980’s - Some u 1990’s - “Open”

Podlipnik’s Question: “How do we deal with changing: u business environment, u technology landscape AND u increasingly complex systems?”

Podlipnik’s Answer t Advanced user interfaces u user-centered methodologies t Client / server solutions u integration to legacy systems t Object-oriented techniques t Open systems u to address technology evolution

Legacy Systems Client/Server Object Technology

End-user Trends t More knowledgeable users u More demanding of IT t More opportunities for u misuse of IT resources u mischief u computer crime t IT people as communicators

IT Issues Model End-user IT Dept Company Society

End-user IT Issues t Computer Literacy u What is it? u Costs u How do we deliver? u Changing content u Shneiderman plagues v anxiety and alienation v information poor minority

End-user Issues t User development u how much? u power / control / misuse t Safe IT work environment ( Ergonomics) t IT humanization u Human Factors u deteriorating image of people

IT Department Issues t Centralize or decentralize IT resources t Interconnectivity u islands of technology t Alignment of IT dept. goals with organization t Organizational level u VP? Report to whom?

Department Issues t Technology transfer u “ bewildering complexity and speed ” u scouting the future u predicting trends u technology mapping u prototyping / demonstrations u technology implementation

Company IT Issues t Strategic role of IT t Computer crime / security t Reengineering with IT t Business value of IT ( e.g, waste ) t IT Top-down planning

Company Issues t Organizational fragility u Worst case scenarios u Contingency Management v Electronic Data Systems ( EDS) example u Change Management

Societal Issues t Ethics u “professional responsibility” t Individual privacy t Unemployment / displacement t Social responsibility

Chief Information Officer ( CIO ) t VP for IT Services t Understands business t Technology transfer t Create IT vision u sell it ! t Implement IT infrastructure u chassis for building on

Issue Does your firm have a CIO? u To whom does the CIO report? u Has the CIO created an IT vision? u Does the CIO have a technical or management background? TELL US YOUR EXPERIENCES!

Points to Remember t IT Trends t IT Issues t CIO t Apply to a business organization u Exercises u Research paper