Information Systems

In a general sense, the term information system (IS) refers to a system of persons, data records and activities that process the data and information in an organization, and it includes the organization's manual and automated processes. In a narrow sense, the term information system (or computer-based information system) refers to the specific application software that is used to store data records in a computer system and automates some of the information-processing activities of the organization. Computer-based information systems are in the field of information technology. The discipline of Business process modelling describes the business processes supported by information systems.

The term "information system" has different meanings:

• In computer security, an information system is described by the following components (Aceituno, 2004):
  • Structure:
    • Repositories, which hold data permanently or temporarily, such as buffers, RAM, hard disks, cache, etc. Usually, a computer-based information system involves a Information processor
    • Interfaces, which exchange information with the non-digital world, such as keyboards, speakers, scanners, printers, etc.
  • Channels, which connect repositories, such as buses, cables, wireless links, etc. A Network is a set of logical or physical: an introduction to informatics in Organisations.
• The common view of an information system is that of an Information processor, that involves Input-Process-Output.

The study of information systems originated as a sub-discipline of computer science in an attempt to understand and rationalize the management of technology within organizations. It has matured into a major field of management, that is increasingly being emphasized as an important area of research in management studies, and is taught at all major universities and business schools in the world. Börje Langefors introduced the concept of "Information Systems" at the third International Conference on Information Processing and Computer Science in New York in 1965.

Information technology is a very important malleable resource available to executives.[3] Many companies have created a position of Chief Information Officer (CIO) that sits on the executive board with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Chief Technical Officer (CTO).The CTO may also serve as CIO, and vice versa. The Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), which focuses on information security within an organization, normally reports to the CIO.

Information Systems has a number of different areas of work:

• Information Systems Strategy
• Information Systems Management
• Information Systems Development

Each of which branches out into a number of sub disciplines, that overlap with other science and managerial disciplines such as computer science, pure and engineering sciences, social and behavioral sciences, and business management.

There are a wide variety of career paths in the information systems discipline. "Workers with specialized technical knowledge and strong communications skills will have the best prospects. People with management skills and an understanding of business practices and principles will have excellent opportunities, as companies are increasingly looking to technology to drive their revenue."