Information Systems Architectures For Large Enterprises
Information Systems Architectures for Large Enterprises
Information Technology has elicited a dramatic change in modern society. The magnitude of that change, however, sometimes goes unnoticed. IT has for example changed how we communicate both on a small interpersonal level, the mass uptake of email and instant messaging technologies, and how we communicate on a global scale, such as web casting a CEO Presentation via Satellite and IP technologies straight to an employees workstation from company HQ. It has also changed how businesses operate on a day to day basis. Order tracking in the days of three kilo ledgers was a tiresome and not inconsiderable task. With the advent of spreadsheets, stock control systems, and GPS tracking, an individual package can be tracked right down to its real time location represented on an animated map. Looking across a large organisation, there is no part thereof which has not been impacted by IT:
• Human Resource departments have large data warehouses which hold all the records on every employee the organisation has and sometimes had.
• Payroll use large automated batch processing systems to handle the monthly wage payments
• Supply Chain groups have large logistical and stock control applications which allow them to see how much stock they have where at the touch of a button
• Manufacturing units have large Enterprise Resource Planning systems which enable them to examine their manufacturing processes to minimise waste.
A basic definition of an information system (IS) by Diaz (undated) reads as follows:
“the compound of components that operate together in order to catch process store and distribute information.”
The list is endless, but it begins to show, just how large the impact IT has had on the operation of an enterprise of any size. Many organisations have had a haphazard approach to this change, and the result is a largely automated...
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