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Support Competitive Advantage. Gaining a strategic advantage over competitors requires innovative
use of information technology. For example, store management might make a decision to install
touch-screen kiosks in all of their stores, with links to their e-commerce website for online shopping. This
might attract new customers and build customer loyalty because of the ease of shopping and buying
merchandise provided by such information systems. Thus, strategic information systems can help provide
products and services that give a business a comparative advantage over its competitors.
e-Business in Business
The explosive growth of the Internet and related technologies and applications is revolutionizing the
way businesses are operated and people work, and how information systems support business processes,
decision-making, and competitive advantage. Thus, many businesses today are using Internet
technologies to web-enable business processes and create innovative e-business applications.
e-business is the use of Internet technologies to internetwork and empower business processes,
electronic commerce, and enterprise communication and collaboration within a company and with its
customers, suppliers, and other business stakeholders. The Internet and Internet-like networks-inside the
enterprise (intranets), and between an enterprise and its trading partners (extranets)—have become the
primary information technology infrastructure that supports the e-business applications of many
companies. These companies rely on c-business applications to (1) reengineer internal business processes,
(2) implement electronic commerce systems with their customers and suppliers, and (3) promote
enterprise collaboration among business teams and workgroups. The figure below illustrates how
businesses depend on Internet technologies to implement and manage e-business operations and
electronic commerce and collaboration.
Transaction processing
systems are an important
example of operations support
systems that record and process
data resulting from business
transactions. They process
transactions in two basic ways. In
batch processing, transactions data
are accumulated over a period of
time and processed periodically. In
real-time (or online) processing,
data are processed immediately
after a transaction occurs. For
example, point-of-sale (POS)
systems at many retail stores use
electronic cash register terminals
to electronically capture and
transmit sales data over
telecommunications links to
regional computer centers for
immediate (real-time) or nightly
(batch) processing.
Process control systems monitor and control physical processes. For example, a petroleum
refinery uses electronic sensors linked to computers to continually monitor chemical processes and make
instant (real-time) adjustments that control the refinery process. Enterprise collaboration systems
enhance team and workgroup communications and productivity, and are sometimes called office
automation systems. For example, knowledge workers in a project team may use electronic mail to send
and receive electronic messages, and videoconferencing to hold electronic meetings to coordinate their
activities.
Challenges of IT Careers
Information technology and its uses in information systems have created interesting, highly paid,
and challenging career opportunities for millions of men and women. So learning more about information
technology may help you decide if you want to pursue an IT-related career. Employment opportunities in
the field of information systems are excellent, as organizations continue to expand their use of information
technology. However, this poses a resource management challenge to many companies, since
employment surveys continually forecast shortages of qualified information systems personnel in a variety
of job categories. Also, job requirements in information systems are continually changing due to dynamic
developments in business and information technology.
One major recruiter is the IT industry itself. Thousands of companies develop, manufacture, market,
and service computer hardware, software, data and network products and services, or provide e-business
and commerce applications and services, end user training, or business systems consulting. However, the
biggest need for qualified people comes from the millions of businesses, government agencies, and other
organizations that use information technology. They need many types of IS professionals to help them
support the work activities and supply the information needs of their employees, managers, customers,
suppliers, and other business partners.