Research and critically evaluate the possible information technologies that might be used to support the information processes for this information system.
... use of time, in addition management would have current accurate information on which to base management decisions. Storing and Retrieving The purpose of storage is to provide a place to store data such that it can be retrieved at a later time for all or some of the following processes: Ø Organising for different purposes Ø Analysis Ø Processing Ø Transmitting to/from, either internally or another information system. The raw material of today’s information systems is data. With today’s technologies information is stored on things such as: Ø Magnetic Disk Ø Optical Disk Ø Tape Ø Zip-Disk Ø Or any other storage devices Efficient storage and retrieval of data/information saves time, money, and allow timely decisions to be made. Processing Processing is the procedure whereby data is manipulated by editing and updating it. Processing may be undertaken either by: Ø Immediately as the data is entered into the system Ø Stored and retrieved later from storage Information technology has made this step much easier, for example, at a supermarket checkout when a product’s barcode is scanned by a scanner it automatically takes in all the information of that product; product name, how much it costs, etc. If the product is low on inventory then the product will be automatically updated in the information system, so when ordering the product next time the business will know exactly how much they need. Therefore processing is made a lot easier by technology, others include: Ø ATMs Ø Cash registers Ø Payroll situations Ø And much more Analysing The role of analysing is to interpret existing data to yield information. To help do this specific software has been designed. These designs include: Ø Pie Charts Ø Context Diagrams Ø Data Flow Diagrams (DFD) Ø Systems Flow Chart Ø Decision Trees Ø Decision Tables Ø Data Dictionary These designs can then be used to help in making important decisions that management face. Efficient analysis of data to defer information depends on several factors including, timing of analysis, quality of the data from the collection process, organisation of data and accessibility of data on secondary storage. Data warehousing is another new technology; data warehousing refers to a central store for all data or the most significant pieces of data. In fundamental nature this means one large database where the information from all the individual information systems is stored. Transmitting and Receiving Transmitting and receiving data is communication; the desire for information drives communication. Such communication occurs within an organisation, or the elements outside this organisation. The ability to communicate is essential to success. Over the past few years there has been major advances in communications technologies. The development of compact, faster and low cost electronics has provided a vehicle that allowed increased communications, that is, transmission and reception of data. Without Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI) electronics would not have the va...