Assignment

On
Management Information System

SUBMITTED BY:
Full Name: Mohammad Tahmidur Rahman
NSU ID: 2131499630
Semester: Fall 2021
Email Address: tahmidur.rahman01@northsouth.edu
Q. What are the major challenges in managing information systems?
A system is a set of interrelated components, with a clearly defined boundary, working
together to achieve a common set of objectives. So, any organized collection of people,
hardware, software, communications networks, data resources, and policies and
procedure that stores, retrieves, transforms and dismantles in an organization is known as
information system. Hence, management information system gives information in terms
of reports and displays to managers and many business professionals.
There are five major challenges while managing information systems. They are as
follows:
i. The information system investment challenge: The main challenge that the
information system possesses is if organization can obtain business value from
it. So naturally the question arises if investing in information system is a good
idea or not. Not all companies realize good returns from information systems
investment. The greatest challenge facing managers today is to obtain
substantial returns on the money invested. Information System can help to
design, produce, deliver and maintain new products but does not guarantee that
organization will make money off it.
ii. The strategic business challenge: Many organizations don’t realize the business
value from their system because they don’t understand the assets required to
make their technology assets work. The use of computer software and
hardware has significantly increased over the time but the organizations’
ability to utilize it hasn’t. In order for organizations to benefit from information
systems, realize their productivity and become competitive and effective, they
need a complete overhaul of their employee, management behavior, develop
new business models and retire obsolete work rules.
iii. The globalization challenge: Globalization is a process of integration with
foreign countries. So, globalizing introduces a new set of problems. The rapid
growth of international trade results for information systems to be formed
which can support the data of producing and selling goods in different
countries. This will create a big problem as there will be language, cultural and
political differences among the countries. There needs to me and Information
System that integrates global hardware, software and communication standards
or even create cross-cultural accounting and reporting structures to make
multinationals work easily. Hence, a problem arises.
iv. The information technology infrastructure challenge: Companies may have
very expensive and innovative information system to run their business, but
they may not have an information technology infrastructure. This can result in
the information system to adapt innovation and change. Besides it is a difficult
 to create IT infrastructure. Hence, fragmented and mismatched computer
hardware, software, telecommunications networks, and information systems
handicap most businesses, preventing information from flowing easily between
departments.
v. Ethics and security: The main question that arises is how can an organization
be using information system ethically and socially accepted way? Issues raised
ethically and socially are threats to individual privacy and intellectual property
rights, computer-related health problems, computer crimes and elimination of
jobs. Nowadays managers are struggling to maintain security and control as
cyber crime risk has increased. Since, information systems are so vital to
industry, government, and everyday life, companies must take extra
precautions to assure their security, correctness, and dependability.
Q. Explain the connection between the Firm, its IT Infrastructure and Business
Capabilities.
Various components required to run IT and IT-enabled operations is known as IT
infrastructure. These comprises of software. Composite hardware, network services and
resources. This infrastructure allows businesses to deliver service and solution to
customers, partners, and employees. It can be implemented on owned facilities or
arranged by third-party service providers. Some of the key components of information
systems include:
 Hardware – consist routers, switches, data centers, servers, hubs, computers,
ETC
 Network – covers firewalls and security, internet connectivity and network
enablement.
 Operating system platforms – The software handles system activities and
resources, usually dominated by Windows and Linux
 Software – includes many types of productivity applications. Customer
relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (EPR) are
good examples of programs.
The IT infrastructure of a company determines the services it can provide to its
customers, suppliers, and workers. This infrastructure should ideally support the business
and information systems strategy of the company. The influence of new information
technologies on business and IT strategy, as well as the services that may be delivered to
clients, is significant. IT infrastructure is divided into two categories: technology and
service clusters. Computing platforms, telecommunications, physical facilities
management, application software, data management, IT management, IT standards, IT
educations, and IT research and development are among the services supplied by
hardware and software in the service-based definition. The business value supplied by IT
infrastructure is highlighted from the standpoint of the service platform. There are five
stages of evolution in IT infrastructure:
 Electronic Accounting Machine Era (1930-1950): For sorting, adding, and
reporting data, huge, bulky machines with hardwired software are used.
 General-Purpose Mainframe and minicomputer era (1959-present): Time-
sharing, multi-tasking and virtual memory were provided on mainframes
computers. They became powerful enough to support thousands of remote
terminals. This era was highly centralized computing controlled by
programmers and system operators. Minicomputers, changed this pattern
and was also less expensive, allowing decentralized computing available to
individual business units or department.
 Personal computer era (1981-present): Personal computers are small
workstations that common consumers can purchase. The first IBM PC was
built in 1981 and is growing further and further. Most PC are Wintel PCs
consisting of Windows and intel microprocessors.
 Client server era (1983-present): Clients which are known as desktop or
laptop are networked to server computer that provide the clients with
services and capabilities in client/server computing. The server processes
 and stores shared data, serves up web pages, or manages network activities
where as the client is the user point of entry. Network software runs on the
server which is known as the software application and physical computer.
Server computers today are powerful versions of personal computer.
Two-tiered client/server architecture is where a client computer is
networked to a server with processing divided between the two. In multi-
tiered client/server architecture, the entire workload is divided over several
different levels of servers. Splitting works among many inexpensive
machine costs less than minicomputers or mainframes.
 Enterprise Internet (1992-present): Transmission Control Protocol/Internet
Protocol (TCP/IP), the internet networking technology, enables
organizations to link different devices and local area networks (LANs) into
single enterprise-wide networks. This allows for much faster and seamless
gathering and distribution of data.
Q. Discuss Cloud Computing in terms of fueling open innovation.
Cloud computing refers to the delivery of various services through the internet. These
resources comprise tools and applications like data storage, servers, databases,
networking and software.
Cloud-based storage allows to store files in a distant database rather than maintaining
them on a proprietary hard drive or a local storage device. As long as the electronic
device has internet connectivity, it has access to the data as well as software applications
needed to run it.
Over the past 6 years, cloud computing has grown by almost 300% and is not slowing
down. Many CIOs are claiming it their top priority at about 60%. IT executives are
outsourcing more infrastructure, application management services and custom
development so they can focus more of their own resources to core business functions.
Moving to cloud computing posses many advantages to the business. The business may
not need to maintain in-house expertise and don’t need large hardware, software and
personnel upgrades as they will be provided by the cloud computing company. Switching
to cloud computing also helps the company reduce its costs of IT as they will no longer
need large hardware and software that they will need to manage. Everything will be done
by the cloud computing company and they will have to just manage the data through the
internet. Hence, there would be a reduction in cost and thus the company can enjoy
advantages such as economies of scale.
Even though cloud computing helps IT firms become more efficient, dependable, and
flexible, the ultimate aim is considerably more profound: innovation. Business have been
able to take advantage of cloud computing and its innovation reducing the cost of their IT
department as well as the IT department being one that exploits new business
opportunities and unlock new revenue streams.
There are few ways by which cloud computing can fuel innovation. They are:
 Resource Allocation: The 80-20 Rule states that up to 80% of a company's
IT effort and expenditure might be spent to maintaining old systems,
leaving only 20% for the adoption of new technologies that assist drive
business development. This is the most visible way cloud computing fosters
innovation. Cloud computing presents the door to business-driving
innovations by drastically altering these percentages.
 Interoperability: When systems are transferred to the cloud, their capacity
to integrate with other systems increases significantly. As a consequence, a
wide range of various systems, devices, and applications may all work
together seamlessly in the cloud with the existing system. This opens the
door to a slew of new ideas, including enhanced communication, business
information, and consumer contact, to name a few.
 Security: Another area where the cloud has resulted in significant
innovation is IT security. The fundamental reason for this is that when it
comes to monitoring, controlling, and analyzing vulnerability, it is more
effective and accurate to do it from the outside rather than from within.
While it's true that the most significant reason firms have been shifting to
the cloud is because it's easier, cheaper, and better, the biggest advantages
are those that could not have been expected before the change, since the
table was simply not set for meaningful innovation before the shift.

REFERENCES:
https://paginas.fe.up.pt/~acbrito/laudon/ch1/chpt1-4main.htm
https://paginas.fe.up.pt/~als/mis10e/ch5/chpt5-1bullettext.htm
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cloud-computing.asp
https://www.syntax.com/cloud-computing-fuels-innovation/