Professed in the 1960s by Gordon Moore, one of the founder of Intel
States that the storage density of integrated circuits on a silicon chip doubled about every year
By 1970s the rate of doubling the capacity had slowed to 18 months, a pace that continues today
Characteristics of valuable information
Accessibility:
Information should be easily accessible to those who need it. Information that is hard to obtain or understand diminishes its value.
Accuracy:
Information should be correct and free from errors. Inaccurate information can lead to poor decision- making and erroneous conclusions
Timeliness:
The information must be up-to-date and available when needed. Outdated information can be misleading and result in missed opportunities or incorrect conclusions.
Relevance:
Information should be pertinent to the specific needs and context of the user. Relevant information helps in making informed decisions and ensures that the user’s time and resources are not wasted on extraneous data. Irrelevant information, even if accurate, is not useful.
Completeness:
Valuable information provides a comprehensive view of the situation, including all necessary details. Incomplete information can lead to misunderstandings and incomplete analysis
Consistency:
Information should be presented in a consistent manner, without contradictions. Consistency in
information allows for reliable comparisons and helps in building trust.
Clarity:
The information must be clear and understandable. It should be presented in a way that is easy to comprehend, avoiding unnecessary jargon or complexity that can make the message ambiguous.
Credibility:
The source of the information must be trustworthy and authoritative. Information from unreliable sources can be suspect and lead to incorrect decisions.
Economical: The value of information should justify the cost of obtaining it. Information that is too expensive to gather may not be valuable in a cost-benefit analysis.
Information System:
An information system (IS) is an interconnected set of components (people, hardware, software,
data, and processes) that collect, store, process, and distribute information to support decision making and control in an organization.
Examples: ATMs, Airline Reservation System, POS, Human Resource Management Systems, Online Banking, ERP etc.
INFORMATION CLASSIFICATION
process of classifying information into relevant categories
Classification ensures that information is handled and protected appropriately
o Making it easier to be found when needed
o Making information available to individuals who are authorized to access it
Factors Influencing Information Classification:
Value: What is the value or importance of the information to the organization?
Level of Sensitivity: How sensitive is the information?
Impact of disclosure: What would be the impact on the organization if the information were disclosed?
Impact of Modification: What would be the impact if the information were altered?
Impact of Destruction: What would be the impact if the information were destroyed or lost?
Best Practices for Information Classification
Develop a Classification Policy: Establish clear guidelines and criteria for classifying information
Train Employees: Ensure that all employees understand the classification levels and how to handle information appropriately
Use Access Controls: Implement access controls to restrict access to classified information based on need-to-know.
Regularly Review and Update: Periodically review classification levels and update them as necessary.
Implement Security Measures: Use encryption, monitoring, and other security measures to protect classified information. Types of Information System
Transaction Processing Systems (TPS):
A TPS is used by businesses to process the day-to-day (routine) business transactions
o such as payroll processing, sales, purchases
Used by users at the operational management level
o Cashier at a Point of Sale, Bank teller
Examples:
o Point of Sale Systems – records daily sales
o Payroll systems – processing employees salary, loans management, etc
Management Information Systems (MIS):
MIS are used by middle managers to monitor organization’s routine operations
MIS Collect operational information from different sources, including from a TPS, and convert them into a summarized form, usually in a report format
o provide managers with the information they need for making decisions
Decision Support Systems (DSS):
DSS are designed to help managers make complex decisions by providing them with ana lytical tools to gain insights into complex business problems
DSS gather information from both internal (TPS, MIS) and external sources (trends within industry, cost with other companies or suppliers)
DSS use sophisticated mathematical models, data mining, machine learning, and statistical techniques (probability, predictive modeling, etc.)
o To provide insights into an organization’s operations
o To make predictions based on historical and real-time data
Example:
o Bank loan management systems: to verify the credit of the loan applicant and predict the likelihood of the loan being recovered Executive Information Systems (EIS):
EIS are designed for senior executives to monitor their companies and to make appropriate decisions
They provides easy access to internal and external information relevant to organizational goals and transform into useful reports
EIS emphasizes graphical displays and easy-to-use user interfaces for reports
o summaries, graphs, charts
Benefits of Information Systems
Data Management: Organizes and secures large amounts of data, making it easily accessible and manageable
Increased Efficiency: Automates routine tasks and processes and better data management reducing the time and effort required, resulting increased operational efficiency
Accuracy: Minimizes errors through standardized data entry and processing
Improved Decision-Making: Provides timely and relevant information, to help managers make better-informed decisions
Strategic Planning: IS supports long-term planning by providing insights into market trends, customer preferences, and internal performance metrics
BIG DATA
Organizations store large amount of data in their computer-based information systems because they conduct so many business transactions
This data is very significant for organizations
o Contain past information about organization’s operations (ups and downs)
o Future insights (identify trends)
o Decision making
Such large amount of data is useless for business if not efficiently organized
Traditional data management technologies do not have sufficient power to store and analyze big data DATABASE
Shared and organized collection of interrelated data designed to meet the information needs of an organization
o Raw data and Metadata (data about data / description of data)
Databases are essential for storing all / large amounts of data in one place
o Very much like a library that houses a wide range of books of different types
o Think of data as books
Data is stored in such a way that it can be easily accessed, retrieved, managed, and updated
Database Management System (DBMS)
A software package to facilitate the creation and maintenance of database, generally through an interface. (e.g. MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle)
o Manages Database structure: view and change the design of the database
o Controls access to data: registering and monitoring users
o Contains query language: to create queries for insert, delete, update, retrieve actual data
o Develop reports
Database system:
The DBMS software together with the data itself
o Sometimes, the applications are also included
People (five users)
o System administrator: hardware system support
o Database administrator: manage DBMS use
o Database designer: design database structure
o System analyst and programmers: implement application programs
o End users
Procedures
o Instructions and rules that govern the design and use of the database system Data
o Data used by the organization and a description of this data
A Database is a collection of organized data
How that data is organized determines what type of database it is
Over the history of computers there have been different types of databases –hierarchical and network, for example – but relational database has been the most prevalent since 1980’s
