Introduction
In today’s world, many businesses have taken advantage of using technology to streamline and automate their operation. The information system has come in handy to ensure that companies can process their data and make significant decisions. Information systems are components that enable an organization to manage its data processing and storage. Information system (IS) is essential as it helps an organization to run its crucial aspect effectively. IS includes a combination of particular hardware, telecommunication networks, and software.
Benefits of Information System to an organization
The information system is essential in every organization as it ensures the survival and thriving of an organization in a competitive market. Information System in necessary as it helps an organization in making a decision. IS helps an organization understand the current trends, consumers’ habits, and many more. from this information, an organization can make the necessary decision to ensure that
Secondly, Information management enables collaboration between employees and the team hence improving their communication channel. Information management has brought in tools such as skype, team viewer, which has encouraged groups to work together by making it easy for them to communicate, share documents, and conduct meetings. Hence this has allowed an organization to make crucial decisions and also function correctly anywhere and anytime.
Another critical role of the information system in an organization is that it promotes efficient operations management. IS helps an organization to collect and also keep comprehensive data of an organization. IS in an organization allows it to store documents, revision histories, and operational data and prepare and forecast cost estimates. With the comprehensive information held, an organization can take appropriate action for the better of a company.
The importance of MIS in the decision-making process.
Management Information system plays an essential role in a managerial position in making an informed decision. Information System provides an organization with up to date data and also perform other analytical functions. Selecting a suitable management information system is essential in an organization. It is because it can structure the information from your organization’s operation and records into a detailed report that will help the managers make the right decision.
MIS is essential in an organization as it organizes data that gets into the organization into useful formats. The information contained in MIS are mainly figures, sales, and investments. Expenses and other data. Hence if the management wants to know the profit they have made in the past three years to decide, MIS can accurately give you the report.
MIS also aids in projecting to assist in making decisions. A decision to Alter a company projection requires a modification in the organization strategy and its goal. However, MIS has a trend analysis that allows managers to carry out such alterations and research. A trend analysis is essential as it shows how the projected change will impact the organization once the decision has been made.
Finally, MIS gives managers data; they may need to determine if their decision has any desirable impact or if they have to correct it to achieve their organizational target. If some results are not tracked, an organization can use MIS to evaluate the situation and develop adequate measures to fix it.
Approaches in Information System
For an information system to work, it needs to ensure that all technical and behavioral issues are considered; a multidisciplinary approach is required.
The technical approach emphasizes the normative model, mathematical-based, formal competence of the system, and physical technology.
On the other hand, the behavioral approach tends to focus more on non- technical solutions. This approach emphasizes more on the response and their behavior impact on an organization. The system emphasizes motivation as it believes that this tends to make employees work even harder in an organization.
The other approach is the socio-technical approach.
This approach in-cooperates both the technical and behavioral processes. It is very crucial as it improves the performance of an organization as a whole.
Advancement in technology has enabled many forms of communication and collaboration and partnering with different organizations. There have emerged different types of technology that have helped organizations improve their communication effectiveness. Some of these emerging technologies include extensions LANs and WANs, increasing wireless communication, software that enables team building, and virtual meetings. The above technology has made it easy for an organization to conduct conferences and seminars fast and efficiently no matter the distance. Several technologies have come up for collaboration and partnership, such as teleconferencing, electronic data exchange, mail technologies, and intelligent agents.
Emerging trends in information technology
Information technology has become an integral part of our lives in this century. According to America’s information technology association, they defined information technology as the study of design, use, progress, application, and managing of computer-based information systems. Information technology is a significant change to the business industry and has led to stiff competitive advantage. One of the emerging trends in MIS technology is cloud computing.
Cloud computing is one of the talked concepts when it comes to information technology. Clouding computing refers to a network of resources an organization can have access to. The use of digital drives increases the efficiency of an organization. Cloud computing generally means delivering hosted services through the internet. The services offered as categorized as infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and finally, software as a service (SaaS).
Cloud computing is a useful concept in an organization. This is because an organization can free its space from local hard drives by transferring it to the clouds. Cloud storage is a popular trend that many organizations are adopting and implementing to ensure employee interactions.
Cloud computing is an emerging trend in Information technology as it is replacing large corporate data centers. Secondly, it is replacing expensive private servers’ infrastructure, and finally, it has to eliminate capital investment in building a facility and hardware; hence, in the long run, reducing active labor.
Key characteristics
Some of the characteristics of cloud computing include shared or standard service, which means that it is efficient and meant for a bigger pool and not an individual. Another attribute is that it is self-service in that it incorporates a user-friendly administration of application and also infrastructure. It is elastic and can be scaled to the preferences of the user. Another attribute is that a client is charged based on their usage rate. And finally, it is a standard user interface.
Services models
Services offered by cloud computing depending on the amount of control of information one might want. These services include software as a service (SaaS). In this model, a consumer can access to te running application in cloud infrastructure. He or she can access the application through a client’s device through an interface such as web browsers. However, the consumer has no control over the infrastructure, such as the server, hardware, and memory.
Cloud computing in MIS
Cloud computing has changed MIS service providers’ way and how their employees are doing business and performing their essential functions. Cloud computing has significantly affected the business industry positively by providing MIS with development services. MIS is currently undergoing a paradigm shift, while cloud computing is shifting business models and processes. It is attributed that cloud technologies are changing the traditional information system hence leading to system development for the service providers. Moving to cloud computing has been seen to have a significant impact on an organization’s operation, especially the ones having budget constraints. As days go by, cloud computing is gaining relevance in the running of day to day business. This is because of its robustness, cost-saving abilities, and scalability. On the other hand, the management information system helps companies adapt to any future operating strategy and help businesses analyze some of their financial data.
Implementing a cloud computing system in MIS will help an organization handle various management activities competently and effectively. Secondly, it will help an organization provide accurate information to the management that they can use to aid them in the decision-making process. Unlike other computing models, cloud computing allows users to either increase or decrease their computing resources as they may want.
Benefits of cloud computing to an organization
One of the benefits of cloud computing to an organization is that an organization can avoid upfront costs associated with the complexity of owning and running its own IT infrastructure. With cloud computing, an organization pays to pay that use.
Another benefit an organization can have from using cloud computing is that they can save on buying servers, updating the operating system, and disposing of this hardware if they are outdated as their service providers take this cost care.
Another benefit of using cloud computing as storage is that one can access the information he or she wants anywhere with any devices provided is connected to the internet. The pros of cloud computing are that it removed the need for one to be in a physical location where the hardware is accessed.
Another advantage of using cloud computing to an organization is that it shifts their investment from a capital expense to now operating cost; this then allows an organization to put more focus on creativity and operation instead of building IT facilities.
One of the disadvantages of using cloud computing to store your information is security risks. An organization should be cautious of the information they hold in clouds and now who will be in charge of accessing it and which measures they can implement to ensure that it is protected. Other limitation of cloud computing includes access to the internet, possibilities of data leakage or even loss and many more.
Software to help businesses overcome challenges
Business management software can is a set of programs that help businesses automate and improve their companies. Every business must know which area they want to enhance to select appropriate software. Software is essential as they help reduce errors; they allow a company to complete its tasks and increase its overall efficiency.
There are several factors to consider to determine which software will be significant. These factors include the organization’s size, the task to complete, and the needs to improve. One software that helps an organization solve problems is customer relationship management (CRM) software. This software can e used by an organization that wants to impr0ove their relationship with there clients.
CRM software is essential as it synchronizes communication between customers and the business. With this software, a company can track, analyze, and computerize and improve customers’ experience. Another benefit of using this software is that it increases customers’ satisfaction as their needs are considered. Thirdly, this software increase operational efficiency, and finally, it helps an organization have a better understanding of its sales, marketing, and how their consumers are responding.
Conclusion
In summary, MIS plays an essential role in the success of every business. With the advancement in technology, various trends are emerging up in MIS, such as cloud computing. Cloud computing can be referred to as an on-demand service where a person or an organization pays for its services. It also provides services to clients that they may need, such as storage, operation system, and memory. Cloud computing is changing paradigm; hence it is becoming significant and efficient for businesses to adopt it to ensure that they stay relevant and operate from anywhere.