Chapter - 2

Information and communication Technology

 Computer systems: End user and enterprise
computing
• All computers are systems of input, processing ,
output, and control components.

• Types of computer systems:

1. Micro computer systems
2. Midrange computers
3. Main frame computers
 Types of Computer Systems

• Microcomputers: are the most important category of

computer systems for business people and consumers.
Though usually called a personal computer; a micro
computer is much more than a small computers for use by an
individual.
• For example: PCs are available as hand-held, notebook,
laptop, portable, and desktops.
 Types of computer systems

• Midrange Computers: including high-end network

servers are multiuser systems that can manage
networks of personal computers.
• Midrange computers have become popular as powerful
network servers to help mange Internet websites,
Corporate intranets and extranets and client/server
networks.
 Types of computer systems

• Main frame computers: are large , fast, and powerful

computer systems. For example, mainframes can process
hundreds of million instructions per second(MIPS).
• Mainframes also have large primary storage capacities.
Their main memory capacity can range from hundreds of
megabytes to many gigabytes of primary storage.
 Types of Computer Systems

• Mainframes have slimmed down drastically in the last few

years, dramatically reducing their air conditioning needs,
electrical power consumption, and floor space requirements
and acquisition and operating cost.
• Mainframe computers continue to handle the information
processing needs of major corporations and government
agencies with transaction processing volumes.
 Types of Computer Systems

• For example: major international banks, airlines, oil

companies, and other large corporations process
millions of sales transactions and customer enquires
each day with large mainframe systems.
• Super computers: describes a category of extremely
powerful computer systems specifically designed for
scientific, engineering and business applications
requiring extremely high speeds for numeric
computations.
 Types of computer systems

• The market for super computers including

government research agencies, large universities
and major corporations.
• They use super computers for applications as
global weather forecasting, military defense
systems, computational cosmology and astronomy.
mainframe
Nasa supercomputer-fastest
2.2 Database Overview

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 Database: What
• Database
– is collection of related data and its metadata organized in a structured
format for optimized information management

• Database Management System (DBMS)

– is a software that enables easy creation, access, and modification of
databases
– for efficient and effective database management

• Database System
– is an integrated system of hardware, software, people, procedures,
and data
– that define and regulate the collection, storage, management, and use
of data within a database environment

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Database Management System
- manages interaction between end users and database

Database Systems: Design, Implementation, & Management: Rob & Coronel

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Database System Environment

 Hardware
 Software
- OS
- DBMS
- Applications

 People
 Procedures
 Data

Database Systems: Design, Implementation, & Management: Rob & Coronel

S511 Session 2, IU-SLIS 15

 Database: Why
• Purpose of Database
– Optimizes data management
– Transforms data into information

• Importance of Database Design

– Defines the database’s expected use
– Avoid data redundancy & ensure data integrity
– Poorly designed database generates errors
• leads to bad decisions
• can lead to failure of organization

• Functions of DBMS/Database System

– Stores data and related data entry forms, report definitions, etc.
– Hides the complexities of relational database model from the user
• facilitates the construction/definition of data elements
• enables data transformation and presentation
– Enforces data integrity
– Implements data security management

S511 Session 2, IU-SLIS

File System: Example

Database Systems: Design, Implementation, & Management: Rob & Coronel

S511 Session 2, IU-SLIS 17

 File System: Weakness
• Weakness
– “Islands of data” in scattered file systems.

• Problems
– Duplication
• same data may be stored in multiple files
– Inconsistency
• same data may be stored by different names in different format
– Rigidity
• requires customized programming to implement any changes
• cannot do ad-hoc queries

• Implications
– Waste of space
– Data inaccuracies
– High overhead of data manipulation and maintenance

S511 Session 2, IU-SLIS 18

 2.3 Communications Networks

• Computer network A collection of computing devices that

are connected in various ways in order to communicate and
share resources
Usually, the connections between computers in a network
are made using physical wires or cables
However, some connections are wireless, using radio
waves.

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 Networking
• The generic term node or host refers to any
device on a network
• Data transfer rate: The speed with which
data is moved from one place on a network to
another
• Data transfer rate is a key issue in computer
networks

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 Networking
• Computer networks have opened up an entire
frontier in the world of computing called the
client/server model

Figure 15.1 Client/Server interaction 15-21

 Networking
• File server A computer that stores and
manages files for multiple users on a network
• Web server A computer dedicated to
responding to requests (from the browser
client) for web pages.
• For example: Microsoft Internet Information
services (MIIS)

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 Types of Networks

• Local-area network (LAN) A network that connects a

relatively small number of machines in a relatively close
geographical area, such as an office, classroom, building,
manufacturing plant, or other work site. LANs have become
commonplace in many organizations.

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 Types of Networks

• Various configurations, called topologies, have been

used to administer LANs
– Ring topology A configuration that connects all nodes in a
closed loop on which messages travel in one direction
– Star topology A configuration that centers around one
node to which all others are connected and through which
all messages are sent
– Bus topology All nodes are connected to a single
communication line that carries messages in both
directions

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 Types of Networks

Figure 15.2 Various network topologies

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 Types of Networks
• Wide-area network (WAN) A network that connects
two or more local-area networks over a potentially
large geographic distance.
Communication between networks is called
internetworking.
The Internet, as we know it today, is essentially the
ultimate wide-area network, spanning the entire globe.

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 Types of Networks

• Metropolitan-area network (MAN) The

communication infrastructures that have been
developed in and around large cities.

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 So, who owns the Internet?
Well, nobody does. No single person or company owns the
Internet or even controls it entirely. As a wide-area
network, it is made up of many smaller networks. These
smaller networks are often owned and managed by a
person or organization. The Internet, then, is really defined
by how connections can be made between these networks.

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 Firewalls
• Firewall A machine and its software that
serve as a special gateway to a network,
protecting it from inappropriate access
– Filters the network traffic that comes in, checking
the validity of the messages as much as possible
and perhaps denying some messages altogether
– Enforces an organization’s access control policy

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 Firewalls

Figure 15.8 A firewall protecting a LAN 15-30

2. 4 ELECTRONIC BUSINESS AND ELECTRONIC
COMMERCE
 ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

• Electronic commerce (e-commerce) describes

the process of buying, selling, transferring, or
exchanging products, services, and/or
information via computer networks, including
the Internet.
 Categories of e-commerce

• Based on the nature of the participants in the

electronic commerce transaction:

1. business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce,

2. business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce, and
3. consumer-to-consumer (C2C) e-commerce
 Categories of e-commerce…..

1. Business-to-consumer (B2C) electronic

commerce involves retailing products and
services to individual shoppers.
2. Business-to-business (B2B) electronic
commerce involves sales of goods and services
among businesses..
3. Consumer-to-consumer (C2C) electronic
commerce involves consumers selling directly
to consumers.
 Categories of e-commerce…..

• In terms of the participants’ physical

connection to the Web.

1. Mobile commerce or m-commerce…using

wireless devices for purchasing goods and
services from any location
2. Wired networks…
 Customer-Centered Retailing

• The Internet provides companies with new

channels of communication and interaction
with customers in sales, marketing, and
customer support.
• Companies can use the Web to provide
ongoing information, service, and support,
creating positive interactions with customers
 DIRECT SALES OVER THE WEB

• Manufacturers can sell their products and

services directly to retail customers, bypassing
intermediaries such as distributors or retail
outlets.
• Eliminating intermediaries in the distribution
channel can significantly lower purchase
transaction costs.
The benefits of disintermediation to the consumer
 INTERACTIVE MARKETING AND PERSONALIZATION

• Marketers are using the interactive features of

Web pages to hold consumers’ attention or to
capture detailed information about consumer
tastes and interests.
• Then the company can use it to tailor
promotions, products, services, and pricing.
 Business-to-Business E- Commerce:

• Today, about 80 percent of B2B e-commerce is based

electronic data interchange (EDI).
• EDI enables the computer-to-computer exchange between
two organizations of standard transactions, such as
invoices, bills of lading, shipment schedules, or purchase
orders.
• Transactions are automatically transmitted from one
information system to another through a network,
eliminating the printing and handling of paper at one end
and the inputting of data at the other.
 E- Commerce Payment Systems
• Electronic payment systems for the Internet
include systems for
– credit card payments,
– digital cash,
– digital wallets,
– accumulated balance digital payment systems,
– stored value payment systems,
– peer-to-peer payment systems,
– electronic checks, and
– electronic billing presentment and payment systems.
 ELECTRONIC BUSINESS

• E-business refers to a broader definition of E-Commerce, not just the

buying and selling of goods and services, but also servicing
customers, collaborating with business partners, conducting e-
learning, and conducting electronic transactions within an
organization.
 E-BUSINESS …..

• Although companies have used internal networks for many

years to manage and coordinate their business processes,
intranets quickly are becoming the technology of choice for
electronic business.
 How Intranets Support E-Business

• intranets provide instant connectivity, uniting all computers

into a single, virtually seamless, network system.
• Web software presents a uniform interface, which can be
used to integrate many different processes and systems
throughout the company.
• Companies can connect their intranets to internal company
transaction systems, enabling employees to take actions
central to a company’s operations.
 INTRANETS AND GROUP COLLABORATION

• Intranets provide a rich set of tools for creating collaborative

environments in which members of an organization can
exchange ideas, share information, and work together on
common projects and assignments regardless of their physical
location.
• Information from many different sources can be displayed,
shared, and accessed across an enterprise through a simple
common interface
 Intranet Applications for E-Business

• Intranets are springing up in all the major functional areas

of businesses, enabling organizations to manage more
business processes electronically.
• Figure 4-8 illustrates some of the intranet applications that
have been developed for finance and accounting, human
resources, sales and marketing, and manufacturing and
production.
Intranet applications have been developed for each of the
major functional areas of business.
 1. FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING

• Many organizations have extensive transaction processing systems (TPS)

that collect operational data on financial and accounting activities, but
their traditional management reporting systems, such as general ledger
systems and spreadsheets, often cannot bring this detailed information
together for decision making and performance measurement.

• Intranets are very valuable for finance and accounting because they can
provide an integrated view of financial and accounting information online

in an easy-to use format.

 [Link] RESOURCES
• Principal responsibilities of HRD include keeping employees informed of company

issues and providing information about employees’ personnel records and benefits.

• The human resources function often uses intranets for online publishing of

corporate policy manuals, job postings and internal job transfers, company

telephone directories, and training classes.

• Employees can use an intranet to enroll in health care, employee savings, and other

benefits plans

• HRDs are able to deliver information about upcoming events or company

developments to employees rapidly using newsgroups or e-mail broadcasts.

 3. SALES AND MARKETING

• Internet technology is also useful for the internal

management of the sales and marketing
function.
• Intranets enables overseeing and coordinating
the activities of the sales force.
• Sales staff consult the intranet for updates on
pricing, promotions, discount, or customers or to
obtain information about competitors.
• They could access presentations and sales
documents and customize them for customers.
 [Link] AND PRODUCTION

• In manufacturing, information management issues are highly complex,

involving massive inventories, capturing and integrating real-time production
data flows, changing relationships with suppliers, and volatile costs.

• The manufacturing function typically uses multiple types of data, including

graphics as well as text, which are scattered in many disparate systems.

• Manufacturing information is often very time sensitive and difficult to retrieve

because files must be continuously updated.

• Developing intranets that integrate manufacturing data under a uniform user

interface is more complicated than in other functional areas.
 MANUFACTURING AND PRODUCTION…….

• Despite these difficulties, companies are launching intranet applications for

manufacturing.

• Intranets coordinating the flow of information between controllers, inventory systems,

and other components of a production system make manufacturing information more
accessible to different parts of the organization, increasing precision and lowering
costs.

• For example, Sony Corporation operates an intranet that provides data on production
quality measurements, such as defects and rejects, along with maintenance and
training schedules.