Introduction to Information Technology

What is information Technology?

Information technology (IT) is the application of computers and telecommunications

equipment to store, retrieve, transmit and manipulate data, often in the context of a business
or other enterprise. The term is commonly used as a synonym for computers and computer
networks, but it also encompasses other information distribution technologies such as
television and telephones.

Information Exchange Centre enabled by Information Technology

The Internet including Telecommunication tools as part of the Information Technology

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 Tele/Video Conferencing made possible by Information Technology

In a business context, the Information Technology Association of America has defined

information technology as "the study, design, development, application, implementation,
support or management of computer-based information systems". The responsibilities of
those working in the field include network administration, software development and
installation, and the planning and management of an organization's technology life cycle, by
which hardware and software is maintained, upgraded and replaced.

Information Technology facilities ensure that information is available even during disaster

Humans have been storing, retrieving, manipulating and communicating information since
the Sumerians in Mesopotamia developed writing in about 3000 BC, but the term
information technology in its modern sense first appeared in a 1958 article published in the
Harvard Business Review; authors Harold J. Leavitt and Thomas L. Whisler commented that
"the new technology does not yet have a single established name. We shall call it information
technology (IT)." Based on the storage and processing technologies employed, it is possible
to distinguish four distinct phases of IT development: pre-mechanical (3000 BC – 1450 AD),
mechanical (1450–1840), electromechanical (1840–1940) and electronic (1940–present).
We shall look at some of the inventions associated with these periods in our next chapter.

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But in the entire course the focus will mainly be on the most recent period (electronic), which
began in about 1940.

Mobilephone Technology

In the 1960s and 1970s, the term information technology (IT) was used by those who worked
in places like banks and hospitals to describe the processes they used to store information.
With the paradigm shift to computing technology and "paperless" workplaces, information
technology has come to be a household phrase. It defines an industry that uses computers,
networking, software programming, and other equipment and processes to store, process,
retrieve, transmit, and protect information.

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Servers and their terminals ensure information and other resources are shared

In the early days of computer development, there was no such thing as a college degree in
IT. Software development and computer programming were best left to the computer
scientists and mathematical engineers, due to their complicated nature. As time passed and
technology advanced, such as with the advent of the personal computer in the 1980s and its
everyday use in the home and the workplace, the world moved into the information age.
By the early 21st century, nearly every child in the Western world, and many in other parts
of the world, knew how to use a personal computer. Businesses' information technology
departments have gone from using storage tapes created by a single computer operator to
interconnected networks of employee workstations that store information in a server farm,
often somewhere away from the main business site. Communication has advanced, from
physical postal mail, to telephone fax transmissions, to nearly instantaneous digital
communication through electronic mail (email).
Great technological advances have been made since the days when computers were huge
pieces of equipment that were stored in big, air conditioned rooms, getting their information
from punch cards. The information technology industry has turned out to be a huge employer
of people worldwide, as the focus shifts in some nations from manufacturing to service
industries. It is a field where the barrier to entry is generally much lower than that of
manufacturing, for example. In the current business environment, being proficient in
computers is often a necessity for those who want to compete in the workplace.
Jobs in information technology are widely varied, although many do require some level of
higher education. Positions as diverse as software designer, network engineer, and database
administrator are all usually considered IT jobs. Nearly any position that involves the
intersection of computers and information may be considered part of this field.

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Data Processing
Data are raw facts and figures that, on their own, may not have any meaningful value to the
user. When processed they yield information, a product that is used to make decisions.
Therefore information is processed, refined or meaningful data.
Data is an integral part of all business processes. It is the invisible backbone that supports
all the operations and activities within a business. Without access to relevant data, businesses
would get completely paralyzed. This is because quality data helps formulate effective
business strategies and fruitful business decisions
The fundamental role of any information system that is using Information Technology is to
process data into meaningful information. Data Processing is a set of activities that is
undertaken to manipulate data so that information is got from it. It can also be seen as the
process of converting data from one format to another. It transforms plain data into valuable
information and information into data. Clients can supply data in a variety of forms, be it
.xls sheets, audio devices, or plain printed material.
When companies and organizations have access to useful information, they can utilize it for
strategizing powerful business moves that would eventually increase the company revenue
and decrease the costs, thus expanding the profit margins. Data processing ensures that the
data is presented in a clean and systematic manner and is easy to understand and be used for
further purposes.
Here are the 5 steps that are included in data processing:
Editing
There is a big difference between data and useful data. While there are huge volumes of
data available on the internet, useful data has to be extracted from the huge volumes of the
same. Extracting relevant data is one of the core procedures of data processing. When data
has been accumulated from various sources, it is edited in order to discard the
inappropriate data and retain relevant data.

Coding
Even after the editing process, the available data is not in any specific order. To make it
more sensible and usable for further use, it needs to be aligned into a particular system.
The method of coding ensures just that and arranges data in a comprehendible format. The
process is also known as netting or bucketing.

Data Entry
After the data has been properly arranged and coded, it is entered into the software that
performs the eventual cross tabulation. Data entry professionals do the task efficiently.

Validation
After the cleansing phase, comes the validation process. Data validation refers to the
process of thoroughly checking the collected data to ensure optimal quality levels. All the
accumulated data is double checked in order to ensure that it contains no inconsistencies

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and is utterly relevant.

Tabulation
This is the final step in data processing. The final product i.e. the data is tabulated and
arranged in a systematic format so that it can be further analyzed.

All these processes make up the complete data processing activity which ensures the said
data is available for access.
Methods of Data Processing
Batch Processing: Data is collected accumulated and then processed at a later date.
Examples include processing in water billing and electricity billing systems

KEYBOARD
BATCH OF
INPUT
TRANSACTIO
SORTED
NS OLD
TRANSACTION MASTER
FILE
VALIDATE AND FILE
UPDATE

ERROR NEW
REPORT REPOR MASTER
S TS FILE

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On-Line Processing: Processing of data takes place immediately it is entered into the
system. Examples include money transaction using the ATM machines and hotel and flight-
Ticketing reservation systems.

TRANSAC
TIONS
PROCESS /
MASTE
KEYBOAR UPDATE
R FILE
D MASTER
FILE
IMMEDIAT IMMEDIAT IMMEDI
E INPUT E ATE
PROCESS FILE
ING UPDATE

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