Paramountly, the main purpose of an information system is genuinely about storing data in a sophisticated manner, making the process of finding the data much easier and helping a business in its decision-making process. An information system is a combination of software, hardware, and telecommunication networks to collect useful data, especially in an organization.
In this content, while analyzing the conceptual stature of an information system, it is also important that you know how much you are intimated with the main purpose of an information system and why it is necessarily so. Many businesses use information technology to complete and manage their operations, interact with their consumers, and stay ahead of their competition. Some companies today are completely built on information technology, like eBay, Amazon, Alibaba, and Google.
Structures of an Information System
Hardware
This is the physical component of the technology. It includes computers, hard disks, keyboards, iPads, etc. The hardware cost has decreased rapidly while its speed and storage capacity has increased significantly. However, the impact of the use of hardware on the environment is a huge concern today. Nowadays, storage services are offered from the cloud, which can be accessed from telecommunications networks.
Software
Software can be of two types, system software and application software. The system software is an operating system that manages the hardware, program files, and other resources while offering the user to control the PC using GUI. Application software is designed to manage particular tasks by the users. In short, system software makes the hardware usable while application software handles specific tasks.
Data
Data is a collection of facts and is useless by themselves, but when collected and organized together, it can be very powerful for business operations. Businesses collect all the data and use it to make decisions that can be analyzed for the effectiveness of the business operations.
Telecommunications
Telecommunication is used to connect with the computer system or other devices to disseminate information. The network can be established using wired or wireless modes. Wired technologies include fiber optics and coaxial cable, while wireless technologies include radio waves and microwaves.
Types of Information System
No doubt, information systems have gained immense popularity in business operations over the years. The future of information systems and their importance depends on automation and the implementation of AI technology. Along with its usefulness, let us look into some of the types of information system that we can find.
Operations Support Systems
The first type of information system is the operation support system. Such type of information system mainly supports a specific type of operation in a business. An example is the transaction processing system used in all banks worldwide. This type of information system enables the service provider to assess a specific process of business.
Management Information Systems
This is the second category of information systems, consisting of hardware and software integration allowing the organization to perform its core functions. They help in obtaining data from various online systems. The data thus obtained is not stored by the system; rather, it is analyzed in a productive manner to help in the management of an organization.
Decision Support Systems
An organization can make an informed decision about its operations using decision support systems. It analyses the rapidly changing information that cannot be determined in advance. It can be used in completely automated systems and human-operated systems. However, for maximum efficiency combination of human and computer-operated systems is recommended.
Executive Information Systems
EIS or executive support system is the last category that serves as management support systems. They help in making senior-level decisions for an organization.
What is the Purpose of an Information System
Below are some of the main purposes of an information system in any organization or society:
Necessary for Businesses to Grow
Every organization has computer-related operations that are critical to getting the job done. In a business, there may be a need for computer software, implementation of network architecture to achieve the company’s objectives or designing apps, websites, or games. So, any company that is looking to secure its future needs to integrate a well-designed information system.
For Data Storage and Access
Such a system is also useful for storing operational data, documents, communication records, and histories. As manual data may cost a lot of time, information systems can be very helpful in it. Information system stores data in a sophisticated manner, making the process of finding the data much easier.
Making Better Decision
Information system helps a business in its decision-making process. With an information system, delivering all the important information is easier to make better decisions. In addition, an information system allows employees to communicate effectively. As the documents are stored in folders, it is easier to share and access them with the employees.
Since you have been reading about information systems, a career in information technology (IT) could interest you. We have collated some information to give you an idea about the field of IT.
Building a Career in IT
It should be no surprise that a career in IT will help one grow significantly in the coming years. It is considered one of the most highly paid industries. There’s a constant need for skilled and qualified professionals to meet the IT industry requirement, a great opportunity for ambitious and hard-working people.
