Modular Information Systems and Integrated Software - Essay Example

? Modular Information Systems And Integrated software systems Modular Information Systems and Integrated software systems Organizations are involved in many business activities and this result in the generation of huge amounts of data as the output. The generated data is regarded as raw facts since they are characteristics or attributes of an element. There is need to organize the raw facts to get more value. This is achieved by using computer systems which store, retrieve, analyse and process data to get information. Information is organized data, which contains meaning and can be used by business professionals in their decision making processes. This information is produced to meet a business objective and it is valuable to the company. Information system is a set of elements which collect data, process and give the output data and information (Sommerville 2010). Business information systems are used by businesses and organizations for storing, processing and analysing data. The information systems are useful to the organizations since they enable the employees to recognize new patterns and relationships in the stored data. This enables the companies to make important decisions which ensure that the organization gains a competitive advantage in the market. The information systems ensure that the organizations activities are conducted efficiently and reliably and this improves the overall performance of the business. There are different types of information systems and this leads to variations in the functionalities of business systems. Computer systems are software programs that are developed to capture, store and manipulate data. There are different types of computer systems in the market and this depends mostly on the functionality of the software (Ajmani 2004). There are different processes of developing software programs and this result to different software products with different characteristics. The process of developing that system is crucial to the functionality of the systems. Modular information systems are comprised of different modules that are connected together. The development of this system is done by partitioning the overall system into distinct parts known as modules. The modules have different functionalities and are developed independently. This type of development is preferred by organizations which have different functionalities and require detailed processes in the software systems. The modules are then integrated to form one huge system which can be used by an organization to conduct its business activities. Integrated software systems are developed as single units and the functionality of the system is achieved by the whole system. Most of the integrated software systems are off-the shelf systems which are bought directly from the software dealers (Bass,et al., 2008). The functionality of the system meets the requirements of the organization and there is no need for gathering specific requirements of the organization. Modular information systems are flexible. This is because it is possible to replace or add one component to the system without affecting the other rest of the system. This is useful in organizations that are involved in many activities which are dynamic (Clements and Kazman 2008). The new activities that are carried out by an organization might require the development of a new system to meet the functionality required by the organization. Organizations which have modular systems can easily integrate new modules to meet their requirements. This is effective as there is little interruption to the business activities since one module is only affected. Integrated systems might result to the disruption of the whole system as new functionalities to the existing systems cannot be added without affecting all the system processes. The modular information systems perform better than integrated systems. The modular systems are developed from requirements that have been gathered from the organization. This ensures that the system is developed to perform better in the environment where it will be deployed. The computer systems of the organizations are known during the development of the systems and the software developers develop the system to ensure efficient use and management of the organizations hardware resources. This benefits the company since the productivity of the organization is not compromised by the limited computer resources which reduce the effectiveness of the information system. Integrated systems cannot be developed to adjust to the available resources and it might be costly for the organization to budget for the acquisition of a new software system. There are large and small organizations which require different types of information systems. Large organizations require comprehensive systems that manipulate all the activities. The modular information systems are suitable for the large organizations since they can be developed to meet the various functionalities (Stair 2007). This is because the large organizations are divided into different sections which perform unique tasks. The sections of the organizations can have different modules and these modules can be customised and improved depending on the changes in the business activities. Small organizations do not have many activities. This makes the information systems to have limited functionality and integrated systems can be able to perform most of the activities. Single integrated systems handle all the business requirements and the organization does not need to get a modularised system. This saves the company money since integrated systems are cheaper than modularised systems. The development process of a modular system is complex and might involve many developers (Sommerville 2010). This makes the system to take a longer period to be completed and installed in an organization. Integrated systems make it possible for organizations easily to implement an information system since they can purchase off-the shelf products that have all the required functionalities. Large organizations have complex organizational structures and different information requirements are used at the different levels. The top level group of the organization is comprised of the managers who are responsible for making crucial company decisions. The information systems that are used at this levels are the strategic information systems that help the managers in the decision making process. The modular system can be developed to achieve the top level functionality (Davies 2009). Senior managers use the executive information systems to get valuable information from the analysis of company data. Integrated systems can have some limitations in analysing information and this is a challenge to the senior managers during the decision making process. Enterprise application software is a system that is developed to manage a whole organization. An example is the enterprise resource planning software (ERP) which is used to handle all the activities of a global organization. This ensures that all information can be analysed easily and efficiently. There are economic and competition theories that affect the business markets. Modular systems enable the integration of new theories and social behaviours mechanisms in the existing system (Sommerville 2010). This ensures that the organization gains a competitive advantage in the market and the level of performance is improved. Integrated systems are difficult to modify after implementation and the new trends in the market cannot be incorporated without affecting the business operations of the company. The Microsoft office package is an example of an integrated system. A company can use the application software to perform business activities that require manipulation electronic office documents. Analysis of information for sales forecasting and decision making is difficult by using the Microsoft office package. Modular systems can contain detailed functionalities that are specified by the user and this makes the systems to be expensive than the integrated systems. The ELWIS (Electronic Logistics& Warehouse Information System) is a complete modular system for air cargo ground handling and is used by many countries all over the world. The modular structure of the system enables it to meet the varied demands of the clients. This also ensures that the system can expand with the increasing needs of the clients. Modular systems are responsible for running different activities in organizations. The ELWIS system manages all the processes in the shipment life cycle (Lufthnasa 2010). The system has an invoicing module and a desktop module for controlling the financial transactions. There are modules for tracking the shipments and supervising the flow of the business. Integration of new technologies in the system is possible and this ensures that the system stays up to date. Integrated systems should be used by small organizations which have few processes because these systems use large amounts of computer resources. When the business requires other applications it might cause the organization also to expand its computer resources, which is costly. The modular systems are costly and should be used by large organizations. Large organizations have many activities and require a system which can analyse information at different operational level. This is easily carried out by the modules and the system can also be able to adjust to variations in the market. System support is also important and modular systems have better support than the integrated systems. This is because the system developers keep in touch with their clients to ensure that the system runs smoothly well in the organization. The modular systems are less prone to failures and errors since the developers keep the system up to date with the latest improvements and updates (Bass et. al 2008). This makes the modular systems better and reliable than the integrated systems. The choice of an information system is crucial in the performance of the business. Business and organizations should ensure that they chose the right system to enable them perform better and efficiently. References Bass, Len, Paul Clements, and Rick Kazman. (2008). Software Architecture in Practice. 2nd ed. Addison-Wesley. Beynon Davies (2009). Business Information Systems. Palgrave, Basingstoke. Charlie S. Feld and Donna B. Stoddard (2004). Getting IT Right. Harvard Business Review. Ian Sommerville (2010). Software Engineering. 9th ed. Addison Wesley. Jeanne W.Ross and Peter Weill (2008). Six IT Decisions Your IT People Shouldn't make. Harvard Business Review. Lufthnansa Systems (2010). ELWIS The complete modular IT-System for air cargo handling. Ralph Stair (2007). Principles of Information Systems. 8th ed. Boston: Course Technology Press. Sameer Ajmani (2004). Automatic Software Upgrades for Distributed Systems. MIT Read More