Business Information Systems Through the Application of ICT

Question: Discuss about the Business Information Systems ICT. Answer: Introduction An Information system consists of an organized group of components that collect, organize, store and communicate information. Business information systems are the applications and programs that have been built to enable business digitize business processes, activities as well as outputs through the application of ICT. This report attempts to discuss the importance of information systems to businesses and their challenges to SMEs. The report will also touch on cloud computing, cloud services as well as recommendations to SMEs for implementing successful cloud computing. Necessity of information systems to todays business Operational excellence to achieve high efficiency and productivity levels, businesses ought to utilize information systems on a daily basis. For world-class operations using an information system, an organization ought to adopt proper business practices as well as ensuring that its managers are supportive of their adoption (Laudon and Laudon, 2014). Addition or implementation of new products and services adoption of information systems enable a business to implement and add new products or services eg Apple Inc built iPod through which it was able to distribute and sell music online (Laudon and Laudon, 2014). Promotion of customer and supplier relationship with the business if a business is able to properly understand its customers, it is then able to serve them well. This increases customer loyalty and hence continuous revenues and profits. Also with the supplier, increased engagement with them ensures a continuous supply of important inputs. To attain a reliable relationship with customers and suppliers, an information system would be imperative to include in the business. For example; high-end hotels have adopted the use of computers in to be able to track preferences of their guests such as check-in hour, temperatures in their rooms, favorite foods etc. The information systems are able to generate data which is analyzed by the hotel for targeted advertising (Laudon and Laudon, 2014). Decision making information systems are capable of providing a business with real time data which enables the management to make proper decisions such as to reduce or increase production as well as where to allocate resources depending on performance. Survival - information systems are themselves a necessity for doing business. These include ATMs in banks as well as X-Ray machines in hospitals (Laudon and Laudon, 2014). Trends in the business environment that make information systems essential Growth of cloud computing the emergence and growth of Software as a Service (SaaS) has been one of the major trends in the business environment necessitating the adoption of information systems. Tasks are now being performed by using applications and programs hosted on remote computers Big data this has led to the need for tools specialized in data management and handling. Huge volumes of data are being generated on a daily basis and this includes web traffic, social media as well as emails and documents generated by users or employees. Growth of mobile digital platforms these have emerged to compete with the desktop and personal computers as the next digital frontiers. For example, Apples iPhone and Googles Android devices such as phones, tablets/iPads are capable of downloading a large number of applications which support communication, services that are based on location and collaboration among teams within a business (Laudon and Laudon, 2014). Management challenges Information systems investment this involves organizations trying to obtain business related value from their information systems investment. The management of a business is always faced with the challenge of making proper returns from the information systems they have invested in. Strategic business this challenge involves trying to find out the complementary resources and assets which an organization requires in order to efficiently utilize information systems. Globalization this involves the attempt to understand the requirements of a system in global economic context or environment. Increase and growth of the international trade has led to the need for information systems that can support buying and selling in different countries. Considering the differences in culture especially language and politics, a business is forced to develop or purchase multinational software that consists of transnational processes that may be risky to transmit on international networks. IT Infrastructure investment challenge considering the rapid rate at which information technology is changing, the management is facing challenges in investing in information technology infrastructure which can still support the organizations goals in the face of the rapid changes. It is difficult to create digital infrastructure considering that operations in an organization are handled by different versions of computer hardware and software which may not be compatible. Ethics and security challenge this involves responsibility and control of information systems. The management is faced with the task of ensuring that once the information systems have been installed, they are used in an ethical and responsible manner as well as enabling people to control and understand them. Installation of information systems in an organization have led to new problems pertaining to ethics and security. They include threats to privacy of individuals who interact with the systems such as customers and suppliers. Other problems include intellectual property, health problems that are related to repeated use of computers, cyber crimes as well as loss of jobs. There is a persistent struggle in majority of organizations in trying to maintain security of their information systems. This includes protecting them from access by unauthorized outsiders, ensuring safety of inputs and protecting sending of wrong outputs (Samiappan, 2010). Cloud computing This is the consumption of computing resources over the Internet or remotely instead of building and maintaining computing resources locally (Bigelow, 2016). Types of cloud services Everything as a Service this is provided to all hardware and software users in order to control processes pertaining to their businesses. This includes interaction between customers as well as users or employees of the organization. Infrastructure as a Service this consists of computing infrastructure provided to the users of ZCM and it consists of virtual computing platforms which are networked for ease in access by users. Platform as a Service consists of the operating system and necessary software for success execution of business processes at ZCM. Software as a Service this involves deploying software that users at ZCM would need to use on remote servers instead of local servers. Hardware as a Service this is where ZCM will lease remote hardware for their use. Workplace as a Service ZCM can use this service to organize employee activities by through installation of necessary software required by the ZCM personel Data as a Service this consists of provision to ZCM of a storage space. They can use this space to store or backup large amounts of information imperative to them. Security as a Service Security as a service is provided thus helping their clients to save on the costs of installing and maintaining their own security systems. Therefore, ZCM products utilizing the web can easily be secured with the latest security systems which are up-to-date. (Ganore, 2012) Recommendations for implementing a successful Cloud computing for SMEs First finding out how the cloud service provider keeps data secure for the SME when an SME decides to use a cloud service, it should take upon itself to find out how secure is its data in the cloud. Most of the cloud computing service providers usually have complied with international standards of security including having personnel who are dedicated as well as qualified in security maintenance and troubleshooting. These service providers also have top-of-the-range security devices and procedures that are usually better than an IT departments security measures. Therefore, SME ought to review the security standards employed by the cloud service provider in order to be safe. Deciding on the data to be moved to the cloud this will involve an SME conducting a review internally with the stakeholders in order to identify what data to move to the cloud with respect to the vendors standards related to security and privacy compared to those of the SME. Reviewing the service level agreement the most important consideration to make would be on the guarantees available in the event of service outage. It is advisable to consider using more than one cloud service provider or using a service provider who has the services hosted across multiple regions. Development of a backup and disaster recovery plan data backup and/or redundancy should be well planned in order to ensure data is safeguarded in the event of a disaster. It is advisable to adopt those companies that enable regular export and secure backup in the cloud. Ensuring compliance with available privacy requirements the SME ought to ensure compliance with the regulations pertaining to the data hosted in servers within a country as well as those outside the country. (Galonis, 2011) Conclusion This report provides a discussion on information systems in business and cloud computing among SMEs. Considering that modern customers are tech savvy, it is important for business to shift to digital business practices in order to reap benefits of using information systems among clients who are knowledgeable of their importance and power. 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