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| Gordon Moore is one of the founders of Intel Corporation, which makes 75 percent of the integrated processors used in personal computers. In 1965, Moore predicted that computer-processing power would double and its cost would drop by 50 percent about every 2 years. |
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| useful data that can influence someone’s choices and behavior. |
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| The strategic advantage that companies earn by being first to use information technology to substantially lower costs or differentiate a product |
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| Sustaining A Competitive Advantage |
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| The key to sustaining a competitive advantage is not faster computers or better technology. The key is using information technology to continuously improve and support the core functions of a business. |
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| Characteristics of Useful Information |
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Definition
Accurate
Complete
Relevant
Timely |
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| Costs of Useful Information |
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Acquisition costs
Processing costs
Storage costs
Retrieval costs
Communication costs |
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Bar codes
Radio frequency identification (RFID) tags
Electronic scanners
optical character recognition |
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| Transforming raw data into meaningful information that can be applied to business decision making. |
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| The process of discovering patterns and relationships in large amounts of data. Can be supervised or unsupervised |
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Association (affinity)
Sequence
Predictive
Data clusters |
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| Association or affinity patterns |
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Definition
| occur when two or more database elements tend to occur together in a significant way |
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| occur when two or more database elements occur together in a significant pattern in which one of the elements precedes the other. Whereas association or affinity patterns look for database elements that seem to go together, |
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| help identify database elements that are different. |
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| occur when three or more database elements occur together (i.e., cluster) in a significant way. |
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| Process of ensuring that data are reliably and consistently retrievable in a usable format for authorized users but no one else. |
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| Two critical steps are required to make sure that data can be accessed by authorized users and no one else. |
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Authentication
Authorization |
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| that is, making sure potential users are who they claim to be |
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| that is, granting authenticated users approved access to data, software, and systems. |
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| such as fingerprint recognition or iris scanning, users are identified by unique, measurable body features. Of course, since some fingerprint scanners can be fooled by fingerprint molds, some companies take security measures even further by requiring users to simultaneously scan their fingerprint and insert a secure, smart card containing a digital file of their fingerprint. This is another form of two-factor authentication. Unfortunately, stolen or cracked passwords are not the only way for hackers and electronic thieves to gain access to an organization’s computer resources. Unless special safeguards are put in place, every time corporate users are online there’s literally nothing between their personal computers and the Internet (home users with high-speed DSL or cable Internet access face the same risks). Hackers can access files, run programs, and control key parts of computers if precautions aren’t taken |
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| hardware or software devices that sit between the computers in an internal organizational network and outside networks, such as the Internet. Firewalls filter and check incoming and outgoing data. They prevent company insiders from accessing unauthorized sites or from sending confidential company information to people outside the company. Firewalls also prevent outsiders from identifying and gaining access to company computers and data. If a firewall is working properly, the computers behind the company firewall literally cannot be seen or accessed by outsiders. Another way of protecting information is to encrypt sensitive data |
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Definition
| transforms data into complex, scrambled digital codes that can be unencrypted only by authorized users who possess unique decryption keys. Although firewalls can protect personal computers and network servers connected to the corporate network, people away from their offices (e.g., salespeople, business travelers, telecommuters who work at home) who interact with their company networks via the Internet face a security risk. Because Internet data are not encrypted, packet sniffer software easily allows hackers to read everything sent or received except files that have been encrypted before sending. Previously, the only practical solution was to have employees dial into secure company phone lines for direct access to the company network. Of course, with international and long-distance phone calls, the costs quickly added up. |
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| virtual private networks (VPNs) |
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Definition
| have solved this problem by using software to encrypt all Internet data at both ends of the transmission process. Instead of making long-distance calls, employees connect to the Internet. But, unlike typical Internet connections in which Internet data packets are unencrypted, the VPN encrypts the data sent by employees outside the company computer network, decrypts the data when they arrive within the company network, and does the same when data are sent back to the computer outside the network. |
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| secure sockets layer (SSL) encryption |
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| to provide secure off-site access to data and programs. If you’ve ever entered your credit card in a Web browser to make an online purchase, you’ve used SSL technology to encrypt and protect that information. SSL encryption is being used if a gold lock (Internet Explorer) or a gold key (Netscape) appears along the bottom of your Web browser page. SSL encryption works the same way in the workplace. Managers and employees who aren’t at the office simply connect to the Internet, open a Web browser, and then enter a user name and password to gain access to SSL-encrypted data and programs |
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collaboration tools
customizable email accounts
presence awareness
instant messaging
simultaneous access to files |
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| executive information system (EIS) |
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Definition
| uses internal and external sources of data to provide managers and executives the information they need to monitor and analyze organizational performance. The goal of an EIS is to provide accurate, complete, relevant, and timely information to managers. Intranets are private company networks that allow employees to easily access, share, and publish information using Internet software. |
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Term
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Definition
| websites are just like external websites, but the firewall separating the internal company network from the Internet permits only authorized internal access. Corporate portals are a hybrid of executive information systems and intranets. While an EIS provides managers and executives with the information they need to monitor and analyze organizational performance, and intranets help companies distribute and publish information and forms within the company |
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| allow managers and employees to access customized information and complete specialized transactions using a web browser. |
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| External Access & Sharing |
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Electronic data interchange (EDI)
Web services
Extranet |
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| electronic data interchange, or EDI |
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| two companies convert purchase and ordering information to a standardized format to enable direct electronic transmission of that information from one company’s computer system to the other company’s system |
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Definition
| are another way for companies to directly and automatically transmit purchase and ordering information from one company’s computer system to another company’s computer system. Web services use standardized protocols to describe and transfer data from one company in such a way that those data can automatically be read, understood, transcribed, and processed by different computer systems in another company. |
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Definition
| allows companies to exchange information and conduct transactions by purposely providing outsiders with direct, Web–based access to authorized parts of a company’s intranet or information system. Typically, user names and passwords are required to access an extranet. |
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| Sharing Knowledge & Expertise |
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Definition
Knowledge
Decision support system (DSS)
Expert systems |
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| decision support system (DSS) |
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| helps managers understand problems and potential solutions by acquiring and analyzing information with sophisticated models and tools. |
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| systems are created by capturing the specialized knowledge and decision rules used by experts and experienced decision makers. They permit nonexpert employees to draw on expert knowledge base to make decisions. Most expert systems work by using a collection of “if–then” rules to sort through information and recommend a course of action. |
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