CCT 355: E-Business Technologies

Class 2: Foundations of business information systems technology

Administration

• Assignment of presentation topics/dates will be next week

• Dates/topics can be switched by mutual agreement – but *not* moved all to the end (e.g., if you have an early October date, you can trade with a mid-November, but not move to mid-November unilaterally)

• Looks at specific technologies beginning next week – first, a foundation

Data, Information, Knowledge, Wisdom

• Data - raw bits (e.g., 0’s and 1’s, many computer controls)

• Information - data organized into chunks that have semantic value

• Knowledge - Application of information to tasks and goals of value and importance

• Wisdom - Ethical and political judgements regarding tasks of importance

Input Process Output (IPO) Model• Data is provided, computer transforms it,

transformed data is returned• Outputted data usually then become inputs for other

processes = feedback loops• Garbage in, garbage out (GIGO) - badly formatted

inputs break processes, wrong inputs generate incorrect results

• What’s garbage? Depends on the problem.

What is IT, then?

• IT transmits data - but data alone is rather pointless• IT helps structure data into information, which has

more semantic value• While knowledge is mostly human domain, IT

increasingly supports knowledge communities and decision support

• Limitations of IT to knowledge – level of trust in automated decision support?

• Relation to wisdom?

IT and Automation

• IT does best at scheduled, simple repetitive tasks (examples?)

• Increases efficiency, reduces human error • Implemented for years in manufacturing and

logistics management - but increasingly common in knowledge work

• Examples?

Competitive Advantage of IT?

• IT can increase speed and lower cost of distribution and production of information

• IT and the productivity paradox - for years, the above was true, but return on investment (ROI) was stagnant or even negative - why?

• Paradox solved - IT now trends positive ROI - why?

A Balance…• IT alone doesn’t do much - it must be implemented

intelligently by intelligent people• People, business process, technology, end objectives,

market dynamics, partners and competitors, ethical concerns, legal concerns - all interact to determine success or failure of implementation

• IS systems (e.g., ERP, CRM, TPS, SCM, etc.) blend – create information ecology usually as robust as weakest link

• Right balance? Well, that’s where knowledge and wisdom come in.

Cui bono?

• Literal translation: who benefits?• Figurative: to what good purpose?• Both excellent questions in any technology

implementation• Technology has potential to shape/be shaped

by existing social structures in an organization

Enterprise Software and Social Media

• Traditional enterprise software not particularly social or open

• “Enterprise 2.0” – learning lessons from social media/Web 2.0 and applying to business contexts

SLATES

• http://andrewmcafee.org/• McAfee sees promise in social media/web 2.0

technologies to break impasse and barriers of early IT systems

SLATES

• Search• Links• Authoring• Tags• Extensions• Signals

Requirements

• Receptive culture• Common platform• Informal rollout• Managerial support (and tactics)

Enterprise Information systems and FSOSS

• Traditional enterprise systems – proprietary, closed, difficult and expensive to administer

• A move to free software/open source solutions?

• Why FSOSS?• Why *not* use FSOSS?• http://fsoss.senecac.on.ca/2011/

Recurring case studies

• GPO and Cornell FSAE• Cases help contextualize information

problems• Questions of transferability – what works in

one context may or may not work in similar• Sometimes, may or may not work the year

later!

On networking

• Mehria’s presentation• In-class assignment:• 1) What will you do (and *not* do) to gain

access to your interviewee?• 2) Go to meetup.com – what group/event

would you join to learn more about business information systems?

Next week

• A look at ERP solutions and their implementation issues

• And a look at FSOSS solutions