Information Systems

An information system is software that helps you organize and analyze data. This makes it
possible to answer questions and solve problems relevant to the mission of an organization.

What Is an Information System?

Many organizations work with large amounts of data. Data are basic values or
facts and are organized in adatabase. Many people think of data as
synonymous with information; however, information actually consists of data
that has been organized to help answers questions and to solve problems.
An information system is defined as the software that helps organize and
analyze data. So, the purpose of an information system is to turn raw data into
useful information that can be used for decision making in an organization.

General Purpose vs. Specialized

Information Systems
There are some general types of information systems. For example,
a database management system (DBMS)is a combination of software and
data that makes it possible to organize and analyze data. DBMS software is
typically not designed to work with a specific organization or a specific type of
analysis. Rather, it is a general-purpose information system. Another example
is an electronic spreadsheet. This is a tool for basic data analysis based on
formulas that define relationships among the data. For example, you can use a
spreadsheet to calculate averages for a set of values or to plot the trend of a
value over time.
In contrast, there are a number of specialized information systems that have
been specifically designed to support a particular process within an
organization or to carry out very specific analysis tasks. For
example,enterprise resource planning (ERP) is an information system used
to integrate the management of all internal and external information across an
entire organization. Another example is a geographic information system
(GIS), which is used to manage and analyze all types of geographical
data. Expert systems are another example of information systems. An

experts system is designed to solve complex problems by following the

reasoning of an expert.

Typical Components of Information

Systems
While information systems may differ in how they are used within an
organization, they typically contain the following components:
1. Hardware: Computer-based information systems use computer
hardware, such as processors, monitors, keyboard and printers.
2. Software: These are the programs used to organize, process and
analyze data.
3. Databases: Information systems work with data, organized into tables
and files.
4. Network: different elements need to be connected to each other,
especially if many different people in an organization use the same
information system.
5. Procedures: These describe how specific data are processed and
analyzed in order to get the answers for which the information system is
designed.
The first four components are part of the general information technology
(IT) of an organization. Procedures, the fifth component, are very specific to
the information needed to answer a specific question.

Different Types
The many different types of information system can be divided into categories
based on the where they are used in the hierarchy of an organization.