Information Management - West University of Timișoara

Transcript Information Management - West University of Timișoara

Information Management

Lecture 3 Software for Information Management

Bibliography

    [1] Dave Chaffey, Steve Wood - Business Information Management : Improving Performance Using Infomation Systems, 2005, Prentice Hall/Financial Times, (734 pages) [2] Benson V., Tribe K. – Business Information Management, 2008, Ventus Publishing (83 pages) [3] G. Somasundaram, Alok Shrivastava, Eds. Information Storage and Management: Storing, Managing and Protecting Digital Information, 2009, Wiley Publishing, Inc (478 pages) [4] Wikipedia 2

Overview

        The main categories of software Applications software Systems software Selecting appropriate software E-business applications From the Internet to intranets and extranets Customer relationship management applications Supply chain management applications 3

   Information System is the combination of hardware and software technology used by an individual to perform tasks including information management[1, pg. 58]. Software can be:  

Local programs for interacting with the hardware External programs or web services -> e-commerce

Whereas the selection of hardware isn’t so important in the process of IM, the selection of the software applications and the approaches to information management are the most important to return-on investment in information systems.

Worldwide und-user spending on IT products and services (in billions of dollars) [1,59] 5

      Applications software Software programs used by business users to support their work [1, pg. 59].

Operating systems software Software that interacts with the hardware and applications software of a computer system to control its operation [1, pg. 60].

Enterprise applications Integrated applications used across large parts of an organization [1, pg. 63] Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software Enterprise applications used to manage information about organizational resources such as raw materials, products, staff and customers as part of delivery of a product or service [1, pg. 63] Applications portfolio The mix of software applications used in an organization or department [1, pg. 59].

E-business applications Information management applications supporting business processes which are enabled through Internet technology [1, pg. 59].

Main categories of application software

Classifications of applications by the level of decision making

   Strategic applications – support the decisions taken by the senior managers (frequence: long term perspective > 6 months) Tactical applications - support the decisions taken by the departamental managers which control plannig to achieve strategic objectives (frequence: medium term perspective, one month to 12 months) Operational applications - support the decisions taken by all types of employees (frequence: daily) 8

Forms of applications used to support management decisions making within an organization [1,62] 9

ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software

       Ranging from millions of $ to small accounting programs Ranging from open source solutions to proprietary software Contain databases, can provide a “single view of the customer” (all information related to a customer can be accessed through an integrated system) Examples of proprietary software: SAP, Baan, Peoplesoft, Oracle Implementation of a complete SAP system could take years Possible that not all the modules are needed Best results when all the modules are designed by a single vendor 10

   It is estimated that "for a Fortune 500 company, software, hardware, and consulting costs can easily exceed $100 million (around $50 million to $500 million). Large companies can also spend $50 million to $100 million on upgrades. Full implementation of all modules can take years," which also adds to the end price. Midsized companies (fewer than 1,000 employees) are more likely to spend around $10 million to $20 million at most, and small companies are not likely to have the need for a fully integrated SAP ERP system unless they have the likelihood of becoming midsized and then the same data applies as would a midsized company[4] 11

  SAP and Oracle were the leaders in ERP software sales in 2006 with 9.4 billion Euro respectively 11.4 billion $ in revenues [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ER P_software_packages].

SAP had over 18,000 customers in more than 120 countries and nearly 30,000 employees worldwide [3, pg. 64] and is only one of the many ERP suppliers.

Modules of SAP

       Desktop applications, office support CRM (customer relationship management) SCM (supply chain management) SRM (supplier relationship management) PLM (product lifecycle management) Financials HRM (human resource management) 13

Documents and records management systems

    Electronic document management system (EDMS) are used to create, distribute and maintain organizational documentation.

Content management systems (CMS) (tools for accessing, editing and creating documents through intranet or internet) are used when is necessary to publish hundreds of online records each day.

Generally CMS tend to be the EDMS used.

Information lifecycle management (ILM) – workflow systems to control the creation, storage, modification and deletion of documents [3, pg. 67]. They became necessary because of the legislation. 14

  In the US, the Sarbanes–Oxley regulations and in Europe, the Basel II regulations require capabilities to address the lifecycle of financial reporting, from the initial audit working papers through to the final approval and submittal to the SEC (the Securities and Exchange Commission. [3, pg. 67] ILM is closely related to existing solutions such as EDMS and CMS for records management, but it unites the software applications for managing documents and records with the storage hardware solutions. [3, pg. 68] 15

Departamental applications

  Special application typically used within a departament Examples of specialist departmental applications include:       Computer-aided design (CAD) software for producing product or architectural plans Computer-aided engineering (CAE) Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) Financial modeling software for assessing company growth Analysis software to assess the performance of marketing campaigns Software for keeping an inventory or audit of IT equipment within a company.

Personal productivity or office software

   Office software - Basic document management applications including word-processor, spreadsheet, database, presentation-package and e-mail software [3, pg. 68]. Examples: Microsoft Office, Star Office Personal productivity software - Software application to support staff in administrative tasks [3, pg. 68]. Office software is sometimes referred as personal productivity software. The tendency is to move to e-business so ERP systems can be accessed through web browsers and no longer the office software has to be installed on every PC.

Groupware

  Software supporting group working and collaboration.

It provides key group functions such as:  Communication   Collaboration and Coordination 18

Main applications of groupware [3, 70]

Database systems (DBMS)

  Software for managing structured data. Example: Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, Sybase Middleware communications software is used to mediate between the database and different client applications.

Operating Systems Software

       The best known are Microsoft Windows and Linux.

Market shares vary depending on the domain Desktop systems 1% to 5% Linux and 85% Windows in 2007 [4] In September 2008 Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer admitted that 60% of web-servers run Linux versus 40% that run Windows Server [4].

According to the Linux Movies Group, more than 95% of the servers and desktops at large animation and visual effects companies use Linux [4: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux ].

The problems are the integration of various parts of an ERP on a certain OS. They are generally solved in our days so a lot of companies or government structures “go linux”.

Main functions of an OS

      Managing the GUI (Graphical User Interface) Managing data transfer with hardware.

Managing the file system.

Provide restricted access to files and applications.

Managing system resources for different applications – multitasking Providing utilities for systems management. Ex. Disk defragmentation 22

Network Software

   Or Network Operating System (NOS) are OS used to control the access to and flow of information on a network [4, pg. 75] Main functions:     Managing shared hardware resources. Ex. File servers and backup devices Managing shared data resources.

Managing communications between different systems.

Managing access control.

In the past NOS were installed separately, in our days their functions were included in the OS 23

  Directory services such as Microsoft Active Directory or Novell Directory or Open LDAP on Linux are the most common used. They are part of the NOS and are used to manage objects associated with the network. They use a hierarchical organization similar to that for the folders on a single computer that provides a single point of access for management of user accounts, clients, servers, printers and applications.

Development software

  are used by programmers to develop new applications and systems software.

Programming languages are in this category. Tools used for better and easier programming are the IDE’s (Integrated development environment). Examples Eclipse, Microsoft Visual Studio.

The software selection process

     Identify criteria and functionality for new system Take the make-rent-or-buy decision Identify possible suppliers Produce a shortlist of preferred suppliers Select supplier from shortlist [3, pg. 77] 26

Criteria for selecting the software

         Functionality – how well the software meets the business needs Ease of use – minimize the time used for learning to use the product Performance – the speed of the application to perform differrent tasks.

Scalability – how well a system adapts to higher workloads Compatibility or interoperability with other applications Extensibility – how easy is to add new modules to the application Stability or reliability – as free of bugs as possible Security Support from the software vendor and the cost of it 27

The decision to make, buy or rent the software

     Bespoke development – a completely new, unique application is designed to meet the company’s needs Off-the-shelf or packaged implementation – a standard existing system is purchased Hosted solution (packaged) – a standard system is used, but is not inside the company. The services or software are rented. Tailored development – an off-the-shelf system is tailored for a company’s needs Open source software – software or systems free to use 28

E-business

      The transformation of key business processes through the use of Internet technologies [3, pg. 92].

E-commerce – buying and selling using the Internet. It also includes other activities such as pre-selling and post-sales activities.

E-commerce is a subset of e-business.

Sell-side e-commerce refers to transactions involved with selling products to an organization’s customers.

Buy-side e-commerce refers to business-to-business transactions to procure resources needed by an organization from its suppliers.

E-commerce can be business-to-consumer (B2C) or

business-to-business (B2B)

Tangible and intangible benefits from e-commerce and e-business [3, 95]

Intranet and extranet

    Intranet is the part of Internet technologies used inside the company.

Extranet is the part outside the company, formed by extending the intranet beyond a company to customers, suppliers, collaborators or even competitors. This is again password-protected to prevent access by all Internet users [3, pg. 97].

Extranet is not the whole Internet.

Intranet applications:    Phone directories Staff newslitters Company procedures or quality manuals 31

Extranet benefits [3, 102]

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Information sharing in secure environment.



Cost reduction



Order processing and distribution.



Improved customer service.

Web Logs (blogs)

 Give an easy way of publishing information about events, personal opinions, also a good way to interact with the customers.

Customer relationship management (CRM)

  An approach to building and sustaining long-term business with customers.

A CRM system supports the following marketing applications [3, 105]:      Sales force automation (SFA). Sales representatives are supported in their account management through tools to arrange and record customer visits.

Customer service management. Representatives in contact centers respond to customer requests for information by using an intranet to access databases containing information on the customer, products and previous queries.

Managing the sales process. This can be achieved through e-commerce sites, or in a B2B context by supporting sales representatives by recording the sales process (SFA).

Campaign management. Managing ad, direct mail, e-mail and other campaigns.

Analysis. Through technologies such as data warehouses and approaches such as data mining, customers’ characteristics, their purchase behaviour and campaigns can be analysed in order to optimize the marketing mix.

Information gathered about the customers in CRM’s

   Personal and profile data – age, sex, socio-economic group (for B2C) or role in decision making (for B2B) Transaction data – what, when, where and in what quantities have the customers bought something and using what chanels Communications data – response from customers targeted by campaigns 35

Data mining

  Data mining - A technique used to identify patterns within data that may prove valuable in understanding customer behavior or enable targeting [3, pg. 106].

Data warehousing - Data related to customer characteristics and transactions are stored separately from the operational systems to enable analysis and targeting of future communications [3, pg. 106].

Supply chain management (SCM)

   SCM is the coordination of all supply activities of an organization from its suppliers and delivery of products to its customers [3, pg. 107].

Value chain A model for analysis of how supply chain activities can add value to products and services delivered to the customer [3, pg. 107].

Value network The links between an organization and its strategic and non-strategic partners that form its external value chain [3, pg. 107].

Information Systems’ benefits for SCM

     Increased efficiency of individual processes.

Reduced complexity of the supply chain.

Improved data integration between elements of the supply chain.

Reduced cost through outsourcing.

Innovation.

Managing the resources in the production process

 This type of application includes:  MRP or materials requirements planning,  computer-aided design (CAD),    computer-aided manufacture (CAM), computer-integrated manufacture (CIM), flexible manufacturing systems (FMS).