The Protection of Business Information System - Assignment Example

Essay Question One Info Technology Businesses Employing Information System Integration of information system with the businessoperations facilitates the development of a design that improves and maintains a business processes. In fact, this integration has become a complex technical product, which is intensely disheveled with the operations of the business. Moreover, this has led to a significant dependence between businesses and information system; thus, when a problem in the information system, the business is affected significantly. Nevertheless, there are some forms of businesses are highly dependent on the information systems such as financial institutions, multinationals, assurance companies, and travel businesses. On the other hand, integration of information system with the information systems causes need for expertise in order to deal with challenges faced during the business operations. Conceptualization of the business information systems establishes three divisions, which include Transactional Processing Systems (TPS), Management Information Systems (MIS) and Expert systems. MIS is divided into other sub-divisions, which include Decision Support System (DSS) that refers to a business application that analyzes and presents data in order to assist in business decision-making process. Therefore, through DSS the business utilizes the integration of business with information systems. In this case, the business uses the information systems to make informed decisions rationally in a timely manner. Businesses employ different categories of Information System to present data that are gathered from transactions, and for making decisions on certain areas of the business. For example, the business uses the information systems to record the sales transaction on account, which is used to determine the customers that are credit worthy. Therefore, Information system is applicable in numerous levels of business organization. On the other hand, DSS is use by the management in making strategic decisions in departments that deal with sales and marketing, supply and procurement. In addition, business applies IS in making tactical decisions, especially by the supervisors who are involved in daily operational decisions. In this case, the most significant reason for integrating the business with information system is to provide relevant information to be applied in decision-making, which is needed for the achieving a competitive advantage. Information System is applied as a tool in order to institutionalize decision, and this facilitates intelligent decision-making. Therefore, Information systems in the business create a platform of good decision-making since there would be many difficulties in gathering information relevant for making necessary decisions. Lack of information system in the present business environment can result to poor decision-making processes since the information lacks confirmation. Therefore, the business uses the information system to gather and analyzed by research and development department. In this case, the business establishes a firm foundation through systematic tool, which makes a substantial contribution to implementation of policies in the organizations. Furthermore, the information system can be considered a statue offering guidelines in order to implement policies and strategies formulated to achieve business objectives. Managers are the decision makers in the business, and they have been seeking to overstep their boundaries in the environment. Therefore, they have identified that information system can assist them in keeping their business checked and balancing the decision that has been made in the business. Furthermore, use of information system has established ways of improving the accuracy of handling information in departments such as Finance and Accounting in a company. In this case, the owners of the business have significantly reduced the cases of fraud due to the level of integrity attained using an information system in the business. In other cases, information system is integrated with the business for improving the effectiveness of marketing strategies, through the use of Marketing Information Systems. These systems are designed to gather, filter, sort, send and decode information regarding the businesses transactions. Therefore, the businesses are able to connect with suppliers and customers in order to facilitate the flow of information and monitoring of stock. In this case, the information system has made a significant contribution to improving the supply chain and sustenance strategies formulation and implementation. Similarly, application of Information system in marketing strategies is for the reason of supporting the decision-making process in various levels. For instance, these systems are able to disseminate internal report, marketing intelligent system and relevant models that can be applied for marketing. Moreover, a model developed through the information systems establishes an internal design that can be used in addressing problems faced by business. In addition, the business information system entails different subsystems that can be used for various functions in the business. Therefore, the business uses information system for a vital role in the businesses, which include support for decision-making, implementation of the strategies and developing business models to improve the business performance. Question Two Intranets and Extranets Description There is no great difference between intranets and extranet; thus, these terms are used to differentiate web sites that are meant for public and private consumption. The main difference between the two is derived from the intended consumer of the data presented; in intranet, the availability of data is limited to members of the organization or institution, while in extranet, data is availed to the persons associated with the organization, though monitored by members of the organization. In this regard, intranet is observed to be more secure than extranet because the number of people who can manipulate the information is low, members are knowledgeable and the system can easily be monitored by the administrator (Newman 117). To enhance security, firewalls and login privileges are availed to the members for improved monitoring and personal responsibility. Intranets are applicable to different organizations irrespective of their location and size; thus, they can be designed to meet the specific needs of any institution. Extranet is mainly used to share confidential information between an institution and various persons and institutions allied to it. In this regard, it integrates various aspects of information technology, which include the internet and communication technologies among others. Therefore, extranet can be viewed as an expounded intranet, which allows additional though related members to share and access an organizations confidential information. The main purpose of intranet and extranet is to enhance communication between various organs of the business fraternity, as well as ensure that the information conveyed is secure to avoid insecurity issues, which may hamper the business from achieving its long and short term goals. How Intranet and Extranet Work The working principle of both the both intranet and extranet is the same, with the main difference being persons having access to the data. In this case, intranet does not make information available to other institution, contrary to extranet where external organizations have access to data. The two methods use similar technology and platform for sharing information although some difference might be evident. Uses by Companies to Improve their Performance There is a new way of operating businesses, which has been established by use of Intranet and Extranet in terms of serving the customers, connecting with suppliers and enhancing communication in the organization. Moreover, they offer a way of transmitting information like sharing documents, assigning projects to employees and facilitating efficiency in communication. Therefore, use of both intranet and extranet facilitates accessibility of different resources in the organization and other resources from different part of the world through the internet. In this case, there is a significant contribution made by the intranet and extranet in the process of increasing efficiency and accuracy offering customer services. Businesses use intranet and extranet to access Web technologies through private computers network, and this facilitates secure sharing of information among different parts of the organization by their employees. Moreover, intranet has been identified make more contribution to the company other than maintaining an electronic book of contacts and manuals for human resource. In this case, intranet and extranet makes a substantial contribution to the growth in the strategies formulated to support the business processes. Intranet facilitates the connection among the employees in the company while extranet offers accessibility by the outsiders such as suppliers, business associates and customers to the network. Extranets are closed networks within an organization that are web-enabled in order to add value to the companies by enhancing the communication and collaboration with customers and partners. However, accessibility by customers and other outsiders needs provisions that facilitate security of the network such as use of authorization, permission and authentication. Therefore, the extranet offers a chance for customers to accesses company information that will enable them place orders, conduct online transactions such as payments, and order processing. In this case, companies focuses on implementing strategies that depend on the use of extranet and intranet in order to achieve a competitive advantage, save their money through reduction of operational costs and reducing wastage of other resources. Moreover, extranet is used for making sales of company products and services through the internet, whereby they are able to disseminate data in order to collaborate electronically such as use of electronic data transfer. In this case, they can share immediate catalogs with their customers in order to initiate order processing for products and services available in the company. On the other hand, extranet and intranet are used for development of new strategies that can facilitate association among businesses. Furthermore, the business is able to offer training programs to their customer and employees through the intranet and extranet. In other cases, the businesses in the same industry are able to share information and new regarding issues affecting their businesses. Works Cited Newman Robert. Computer Security: Protecting Digital Resources: Protecting Digital Resources. Sudbury: Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2009, Print Work Cited Read More