The Future of Information Technology

Management Information Systems

Fall 2013

The Future of Information Technology (IT)

        To understand where information technology (IT) has been and where it is going, we need to understand and define: What is IT?  The explanation by the authors of our text book, Laudon and Laudon, Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm (2012) defines IT “… as the shared technology resources that provide the platform for the firm’s specific systems applications.  IT infrastructure includes investment in hardware, software, and services – such as consulting, education, and training – that are shared across the entire firm or across entire business units in the firm’ (165).  Just a few of the many purposes for using an IT platform in business is to manage the firm’s data information, business processing, vendors, customer information, and employee information.

        Over the past 50 years there have been huge strides in the advancement of computers, IT processing, and the ability to connect with the world through the internet’s World Wide Web.  This all started with the introduction of mainframe computers in 1959.  The mainframe computer was the size of a room, was very sensitive to air temperature, and moisture conditions.  The mainframes had the ability to be connected to remote online terminals within the business.  In 1965 the advent of minicomputers enabled the prices to be lowered, become more affordable for businesses, along with the ability to make the minicomputers more specialized for the firm’s different departments. (Laudon and Laudon, 2012, p. 168)  

As we learned in the business residency, the software has changed from being very limited with the use of punch cards to access the information to the ability to run the multi-functions of a business worldwide.   Our software programs once only handled data to be entered and retrieved.  Now software programs are so advanced we can add pictures, make power point presentations, use programs to manipulate data using access and excel, process orders, collect payments, track information on our clients and employees, attract new customers, have electronic newsletters,  and even publish e-books. Our information storage has expanded from punch cards, to magnetic tapes, to large floppies, to small floppies and all the way to very small thumb drives and multiprocessing computer chips which can hold so much more information as to become mind boggling.

        The 1970s had PCs with limited distribution.  However, in 1981 the IBM personal computers exploded onto the scene.  Everyone wanted one.  It was the latest and hottest commodity, but not everyone could afford it. Over the years, with the reduction of prices, more and more people have personal computers in their homes. The software of these PCs consisted “at first using the DOS operating system, at text –based command language, and later the Microsoft windows operating system” (Laudon and Laudon, 2012, p. 168).  This became Wintel, a use of the Intel microprocessor combined with Microsoft’s windows operating systems.  The majority of personal computers around the world now use Wintel. Each of the PCs, whether it is a laptop or a desktop, is termed as client/server computing.  The computer is called the client which is connected to the server.  A server provides the processing; stores shared data and manage the networking activities. “The term ‘server’ refers to both the software application and the physical computer on which the network software runs” (168).  We have advanced from the storage of information on each computer’s hard drive or a business’s main server to that of cloud computing.  More and more businesses are joining cloud computing including PC users. Your personal projects and the business’s information can now be accessed from any device from anywhere in the world.  Using the internet, we have the ability to use public cloud computing such as Google, and EBay, or as an employee of a business using private cloud computing where only authorized users can access the information.