1.2 Business Information Technology

Information technology (IT) is the study, design, development, implementation, support, and management of computer-based information systems, particularly software and hardware. Information systems (IS) is the application of information technology to meet business requirements.

Early in the twenty-first century, a prestigious academic publication suggested that information technology (IT) didn’t matter. The publication concluded that IT was simply a plentiful commodity that could be easily acquired by anyone. If you were to only look at IT as computer hardware and software, these conclusions would probably be true. The issue was hotly debated in the media and universities, but what was ignored in the publication was the role of people in IT. Without people, a computer is just a plastic box of microchips and wires. People are smart; a computer is not.

People that use computers are called end-users. It is very important to make this distinction and to understand that smart people make computers smart. Smarter people will have a clear advantage over those who mistakenly assume a computer is already smart, and that advantage is particularly clear in business. Conversely, the not-so-smart will be poor computer users and do poorly in applying technology to their business. This suggests that people are the most important, integral part of an information system. And as for that prestigious academic publication, they were wrong. Information technology matters, everywhere.

Every computer ever made was developed to do exactly as it was intended and, oftentimes, more than the user could ever imagine. This holds true whether it’s a personal computer, a Mac, a Google Chromebook, or the computer program that runs the microwave oven.

Information technology is a part of every aspect of life, and business is no exception. Too often, businesses have treated information technology as though it were a commodity and paid dearly for such narrow thinking. It is not uncommon for an organization to supply its employees with many thousands of devices that rely on IT (such as laptops, smartphones, and personal computers) while neglecting to study how to take advantage of the technology and gain the necessary competence to use said devices in a way that could leverage them into a competitive business advantage.

This is not to say that the average businessperson needs to be an IT expert. It is, however, imperative to understand that IT can be taken advantage of by those who are able to operate a system better than their competitors. Information technology can be a core competency in business. So what do we mean by a core competency? A core competency differentiates a business from its competition by creating a distinct competitive advantage in the marketplace through processes, skills, or experience. It is not a measurement of financial or physical assets. For example, the ability to bring products to the marketplace faster than the competition is a core competency. So are customer information systems, data analysis skills, and superior marketing skills.

Gaining computer competency in business is paramount to success. Competency is the knowledge that enables a person to understand something—in this case, a computing system and its relationship to business. How does one gain this competency, or even know what computing aspects one needs to know? This course is designed to answer these questions and prepare you to make sound business decisions regarding information technology and computing in general.

Attitude toward information technology plays a pivotal role in gaining computer competency. A computer should never be thought of as a mysterious box with a mind of its own; it is a tool with boundaries that are only limited by the imagination and ingenuity of its user. Can a computer accomplish your business application? The answer can be yes, but only in the hands of a competent and smart end-user whose attitude is fearless, but not reckless.

Individuals with the capacity for critical thinking have the ability to understand that a task can always be done better and more efficiently, and this same thinking can be applied to business computing as well. Critical thinking involves analysis and evaluation and includes considering all possible outcomes in order to form a solid decision. It is this type of thinking and attitude that should permeate business computing applications. The goal is to not just complete a task, but also complete it better and more efficiently than your competitors and thereby gain a competitive advantage.

One of the first things to understand is that learning to use a computer can seem like an overwhelming undertaking, especially in business where the stakes are high. The best way to embark on a learning experience is to start small and keep it simple. Learn one thing at a time, learn it well, and learn why it worked. When that task is complete, understand that there is probably a better way to do it. This is not to say that “good is not good enough,” it is just that computing systems and applications can always do better. Also, do not get discouraged by the overused acronyms and terminologies that IT professionals are so fond of using and are commonplace in the IT world.

In business, a best practice is a management process, technique, or method that is most effective at arriving at a desired or better outcome than any other process, technique, or method. Simply stated, it’s the best way to do something and to remember how to do it for future reference. Best practices strive to find the most efficient and effective way to achieve a business goal, store these practices so they can be used in the future, and arrive at the best results with the least amount of effort. Business computing also has best practices that try to find the optimum way to do something and ensure the right way to repeatedly attain a desired business-computing outcome.

It may not be best to try to learn a computing system or application by rote, such as simply memorizing keystrokes to accomplish a task. If a computing system accomplishes a given task, try to understand why it worked. The same holds true if the results do not meet expectations. A person who simply memorizes keystrokes to accomplish a task will not be prepared to assess why there was an unexpected outcome; whereas, the person who understands what the keystrokes do and why has a far greater chance of overcoming a problem and subsequently learning from the process.

Enhancing computer competency is greatly facilitated by having a specific application. An application in computing is something with a practical use and expected outcome. Always question what has been set out to accomplish with a computer. Find a reason to use a computer, like creating a simple budget with a spreadsheet, for example. By simply doing an overly mechanical tutorial, the user can often lose sight of the lesson being taught. Remembering keystrokes to accomplish a task can be counterproductive to the learning process. Tutorials are excellent for practice but need to be complemented with relevant applications. Even when a task is accomplished, question it and stay open-minded. Ask the question: What am I trying to accomplish? What was the expected outcome? What did I learn? What else can be accomplished? Am I using the right software and hardware? Talk to other users about how they might carry out your task. People are, by far, the best resource when learning a computing system.

In business computing, as with business itself, the learning process never ends. New business concepts and laws like the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (that attempts to protect investors from accounting and reporting fraud) severely impacted the business world and created an entirely new industry of jobs and computing applications. Business and technological advances go hand in hand and hurtle forward at a startling rate, and it is up to the user to either keep pace or be left behind.

Gordon Moore, one of the founding fathers of Intel, made an astounding observation in 1965, which became known as Moore’s Law. Moore’s Law states that computing power doubles every eighteen months. That prediction still holds true today and is most likely to continue well into the twenty-first century. This essentially means that, if a business purchases a microcomputer today, in eighteen months there will be a microcomputer available that is twice as fast.

Imagine buying any product and knowing it will potentially be obsolete in less than two years. This points out how very important IT knowledge is from a purchasing standpoint. Some organizations buy new technology as it comes to market in the hopes that it will afford them a competitive advantage. These businesses are called leaders. Another term for a leader is a first or early adopter. Some organizations abstain from buying new technology and wait for it to improve from its original version, believing that there is no competitive advantage to be gained. These businesses are called followers.

For example, should a large pharmaceutical company buy its representatives the first version of a smartphone to replace their cell phones and therefore be a technological leader? The answer is yes if the pharmaceutical business has decided that smartphones will give it a competitive advantage.

How does the pharmaceutical company know if it will get a competitive advantage? It knows this by staying current in information technology news. An investment company is expected to stay current with stock markets worldwide the same way that all businesses are expected to stay current with technology. There are thousands of technology news outlets on the internet. Business professionals do not need to read up-to-the-second technology news, but should rather keep apprised of developments in IT and their business’s consciousness. Websites like Gizmodo.com, WSJ.com, ZDNet.com, and Wired.com are all excellent resources for staying current in the technology field.

Anyone involved in the business information technology field needs to constantly plan for the future. Today’s technology, with its promises of competitive advantages, can be tomorrow’s mistakes. Staying current simply involves paying attention, keeping an open mind, and considering your business and technologies’ future. To prepare for a career in business, it becomes important to understand information technology and its long-term implications. It is a mistake to think that you need to know everything about IT. Instead, focus first on a baseline understanding of hardware, software, networks, and what they can do.

The components of IT infrastructure that support organizations include hardware that make up the physical and tangible parts of a computer, like the microprocessor chip called a central processing unit (CPU) (the brains of a computer), a monitor to output information to an end-user, a keyboard and mouse for input, disk drives to store data and information, a network interface card (NIC) that connects to a network, and a main circuit board called a motherboard. Peripheral devices that reside outside of the computer like printers and scanners are also considered hardware.

Software is a set of computer instructions that tell the computer how to work and actually performs computer tasks. Application software is defined as software an end-user chooses to use, like Microsoft Excel or Adobe Photoshop, that accomplishes a specific task for the user. System software, like the Microsoft Windows operating system, is software that supports a computer’s basic functions, such as scheduling tasks, executing applications, and controlling peripherals.

Computer networks include devices such as routers, switches, and communication links that allow the computer systems to communicate with each other no matter the distance or location. Networks are sometimes known as the backbone of IT infrastructure. Without communicating and sharing information, each computer would be a stand-alone device and unable to send or receive data that may be required to facilitate the business of the company.

Hardware, software, and computer networks are business assets and as such need to be secure. Information technology architecture and all it encompasses requires careful governance and extremely diligent computer security. For instance, a business might choose to distribute human resources information on their intranet (which is essentially their private part of the internet) so their employees can access their information anywhere. Security measures like firewalls made up of a combination of hardware and software make intranets secure. Even within intranets and organizational networks, network administrators must put into place security policies, procedures, and permissions to make sure data and information are secure and can only be viewed by the appropriate end-user.

Anytime a business is involved with information technology, especially in decision-making, it is imperative that the business think of the future. Today’s astounding technology, with its promises of competitive advantage, can quickly become tomorrow’s mistakes. Staying current simply involves paying attention, keeping an open mind, and considering the business’s and technology’s future. To prepare for a career in business, it is important to understand information technology and its long-term implications. It is a mistake to think one needs to know everything about IT. Instead, focus on gaining a baseline understanding of hardware, software, and networks and what they can do. This course will not make one an IT expert, but it will help prepare you to engage in an intelligent IT conversation and understand how information technology can benefit a business.