Information Management & Systems

1. Information Management & Systems A Brief History of Information Management

2. Definitions • Information Meaning derived from study, experience, and instruction. • Information System An organized combination of people, hardware, software, communication networks, and data resources. • Information Technology Electronic systems and components comprising an information system.

3. Definitions • Information Management (IM) • Management of information resources. • Design of information technology components. • Analysis of information processing procedures. • Deriving knowledge from the information corpus. cor·pus   (kôr p s) A large collection of writings of a specific kind or on a specific subject

4. A Brief History of IM • 1940’s – 1950’s • First electronic computers invented • Code-breaking (German/Japanese codes in WWII) • Nuclear weapons design (Manhattan Project) • Ballistic firing tables • Weather forecasting • Computer Science invented • Alan Turing, John von Neumann • IBM starts producing electronic computers • Vacuum tubes, transistors • ENIAC more info at http://ftp.arl.mil/~mike/comphist/eniac-story.html

5. A Brief History of IM • Early 1960’s • Computer Programming invented • BASIC, COBOL, FORTRAN, ALGOL • Operating Systems invented • VMS, System 60 • Punch Cards, paper tape • Mainframe computers • Remote Job Entry, batch processing

6. A Brief History of IM • Late 1960’s • Interactive terminals • Mouse, keyboard, screen • Applications • Spreadsheets, word processing, email • Microcomputers • Small operating systems • “C” programming language • Solid state electronics, microelectronics • ARPANet (first computer network) - it is how the Internet started. More info at http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/experience/technology/inventions.timeline/arpanet.html

7. A Brief History of IM • 1970’s • Minicomputer revolution • Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) • PDP (16 bit computer, specs at http://ed-thelen.org/comp-hist/pdp-11.html#Photo), VAX computer, VMS operating systems • Microcomputer revolution • Personal computers (Sinclair, Apple, Atari) • Embedded computers • Software Engineering • “Structured” programming • “Functional Decomposition” • Pascal, Ada

8. A Brief History of IM • 1970’s • Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle, Apple • Database technology • Interactive terminals • Unix operating systems • Multitasking operating systems • Robotics • Automated process control

9. A Brief History of IM • Before the 80’s • Mainframe systems (centralized data processing) • No desktop data processing (DP) • Limited number of employees in a company doing data processing • No personal experience with computers • Little “interactive” computing • Few graphical user interfaces (GUI) • Everything is done on paper (even DP)

10. A Brief History of IM • 1980’s • Microcomputer/Personal computer revolution • A computer on every desktop at work • WYSIWYG computing (desktop metaphor) • Digital telephone systems, faxes, digital copiers • Networking… connecting all the desktop computers together • Object-Oriented Paradigm • Highly decentralized information storage

11. A Brief History of IM • 1990’s • The Internet revolution (World Wide Web, Browsers) • Global networking • Corporate Websites • e-Business and e-Commerce • e-mail, instant messaging • “knowledge management”, “information management” • Portals, intranets, extranets

12. A Brief History of IM • Today • Every company uses computer technology • Almost every employee uses a computer or produces/consumes computer information • Every household may contain a computer • Most people have used personal computers • Most people own personal computer-based devices (cell phones, pagers, CD/MP3/iPod, game devices) • Many people do business/commerce online

13. A Brief History of IM • Tomorrow • “On-demand” digital services • Pervasive connectivity (“always online”) • Smart and connected appliances • Electronic paper (flexible screens) • Wearable computers (BlueTooth using our bodies to transmit wireless signals) • Ubiquitous computing (embedded in the environment, and unnoticable) • Nanotechnology (nano-memory and electronics)

14. Today’s Information Corpus • Files Most sizeable companies have huge stores of electronic files scattered throughout the enterprise (a legacy of desktop networking). Letters, memos, reports, spreadsheets, database files, presentations, etc. • Databases Companies usually maintain a number of databases on several different hardware and software platforms.

15. The Information Corpus • Email Most employees communicate with email and much of an enterprise’s internal and external business communication is done via email (and attachments). • Instant Messaging (IM) This is becoming the way employees talk to one another in real-time. Ad-hoc discussions, routine “chatter”.

16. The Information Corpus • Electronic Publishing Most companies produce printed material such as catalogs, brochures, flyers, contact sheets, product specification sheets, newsletters, business reports, etc. Also, an increasing amount of information exists only in electronic format (e.g. Web pages, PDF documents, Intranets).

17. The Information Corpus • Physical Files and Artifacts Even though much of an enterprise’s information processing is done via electronic means, every organization possesses some degree of physical paperwork and other artifacts. Being able to index these artifacts so they may be searched electronically is important.

18. Information Management • IM allows companies to make use out of what they already know • IM is an essential part of any business • Only in recent years has “information management” specialists been identified as a job title • IM makes better use of existing IT and also plans/directs future IT initiatives • Any company that mismanages its information management and technology resources is likely to lose in today’s competitive market

19. IM Applications Information Management Information Corpus Applications IM applications allow companies to know what they know.

20. IM Applications – “The Big M’s” • KM: Knowledge Management • CM: Content Management • PM: Project Management • HRM: Human Resources Management • ERM: Enterprise Resources Management • FM: Financial Management

21. IM Applications – Case Study • Scenario A large oil company maintains many offshore drilling platforms. Operations of a platform, when idle, cost $250,000 per day. Lost revenue when not drilling exceeds $1 million per day. Therefore, it is imperative to fixed problems interrupting production as soon as possible. Almost every problem encountered in the field has been encountered and solved in the past. However, the experts that know these solutions are scattered all over the world.

22. IM Applications – Case Study • Problem Identifying a problem, finding and collaborating with the experts, and implementing the solution takes 3-5 days making every problem cost millions of dollars. Needed, is a better way to locate and bring people together. Problems need to be resolved in a day.

23. IM Applications – Case Study • Solution • Problem knowledge base • Skills database (mapping personnel to skills) • People locator • Collaborative groupware • Shared Files • Threaded Discussions • Group Calendar • Real-time video conferencing

24. KM – Knowledge Management • Easy access to the information corpus • Search capabilities into archival file systems • Information filtering • Based on user’s identity (personal filtering) • Based on user’s job title (occupational filtering) • Based on groups user is a member of • Based on project or task • Based on “point of view” selection • Integrated with e-mail system • Integrated with company’s Intranet • Customizable user interface – “portal”

25. History of IM Summary • Processing information has become a critical function of businesses worldwide • Computer technology has become pervasive in the business world • IM has become an essential component of business • IT is an important job skill in today’s companies • Current IM applications are the way they are because of the evolution of computer technology and information processing