ICT
Module 1: Introduction to ICT Management
1. Introduction to ICT Management
1.1 Importance of ICT Management
Information systems are everywhere: business, hospital, car, power plant, …
So no matter where u end up in your profession/career, you will be affected, or you will have to rely
on information system. -> important to learn how to manage them (for economy)
In general: ICT is the output and input of an organisation and the translation between.
- Translating input to output through a business function
- Business functions are composed out of business processes
- Business processes are composed out of activities
- Business functions:
o Marketing and sales; function
o Research and development; function
o Production
o Financial management and administration
o Human resources management
- Business process: happens at a certain time to reach a certain goal
o Financial management
▪ Make budget book payment
▪ Manage accounts
▪ General ledger
▪ Receivable account ledger
o Marketing and sales; function
▪ Create customer offer
▪ Accept customer order
▪ Enter order
▪ Make invoice
o Human resources management
▪ Selection and recruitment
▪ Payroll administration
▪ Employee data management
▪ Employee evaluation
- Activity: usually part of business process (needs time, space, resources)
o Create customer offer
▪ Fix prices
▪ Determinate configuration
1
, ▪ Determinate discount
▪ Make financial report on offer
▪ Approve financial report
▪ Send offer to customer
▪ Present offer to customer
o Selection and recruitment
▪ Place job advertisements
▪ Receive applications and input applications into system
▪ First assessment applications
▪ Contact applicant
▪ Inform applicant
▪ Contract proposal
▪ Hire
1.2 Information technology in business
Three ways to use ICT in business.
1. Data processing
a. Cash books supporting accounting
b. The use of PC with a text processor application to create a report
c. The elaboration of a business plan using a spreadsheet program (word, excel…)
2. Task automation
a. Makes business processes more efficient
i. Ordering online and the payment/order/shipping is performed
automatically
3. Integrated information system
a. Complete business processes along the value chain/value system/supply chain
i. Stock management
ii. Order processing
iii. Documentation
iv. Logistics
More complex system ➔ Need for structure, overall design and a vision. (Support for the whole
organisation)
Phased and planned approach needed to handle those organisations.
Whole process involves ICT users and makers, so it meets the business needs.
Benefits of information systems
- Operational benefits
o Daily business process more efficiently E.g., time savings, better supply
management, lower communication costs, …
- Tactical benefits
o Organization can better realize its goals E.g., marketing campaigns, on-line
knowledge databases, on-line parcel tracking
- Strategic benefits
o The business develops a better strategy E.g., internet companies
2
,Not all benefits can be expressed in terms of money
- Quantifiable benefits
o Represent and amount of money
o Can be estimated in advance
o Can be compared to the cost
▪ Stock decreases
▪ Personnel savings
- Non-quantifiable benefits
o Can’t (or can hardly) be expressed in money
o May however be important
o Should also be weighed in against the cost
▪ Better customer service
▪ High tech image
ICT and competitive advantage
- Status
- Image
Can only be gained when ICT is complete with experts that have proper skills to use it
- It is temporary: the same technology or skills can be acquired by other terms or firms
o Invest in website to have best selling products but if we won’t invest in good
delivery services the gain of competitive advantage will be difficult
o Delivery companies that track their deliveries (= competitive advantage)
o First banks that gave access to banking online
1.3 Main components of ICT Management
It handles a lor of components.
Primarily with system information
- Information system domains: hardware and software complex
o Business process
o Data
o Application
o Infrastructure
- ICT Strategy: relationships business – IT Ensures that IT does
the right thing
- Concerns: stakeholders worries and issues
o Stakeholder = user of the system
- Life cycle: from requirements to decommission
- Business process
o What happens in the organisation
o Creating goods in manufacture process
o Needs resources to be carried out (digital or human)
o With certain rules (ex. Only gold members can get … discount)
o Business processes use business data, often customer data (for orders or discounts)
3
, - Application data
o Generated by the software applications
o To support business with documentation
- Infrastructure
o It needs a system to run on
o Hardware
o Software
o Communications (networks)
o Data needs infrastructure as well
- Information system domains run with each other
o Business process <-> (business) data
o Business process <-> applications
o Applications run on infrastructure
o Applications manipulate (application) data
o Data is stored in infrastructure
System lifecycle
- Requirements
o Starting point
o Role of system in business
o General vision
o Global requirements
- Design
o Overall description
o Subsequent models
- Development
o Build system
o Use methodology
o Assemble and test
- Roll-out
o Make system operational
o Install and configure
o Conversion from old to new
o Training
- Operations
o Use system
o Support and maintenance
- Decommissioning
o End of useful life
o Remove system
o Replaced by new system
4
Module 1: Introduction to ICT Management
1. Introduction to ICT Management
1.1 Importance of ICT Management
Information systems are everywhere: business, hospital, car, power plant, …
So no matter where u end up in your profession/career, you will be affected, or you will have to rely
on information system. -> important to learn how to manage them (for economy)
In general: ICT is the output and input of an organisation and the translation between.
- Translating input to output through a business function
- Business functions are composed out of business processes
- Business processes are composed out of activities
- Business functions:
o Marketing and sales; function
o Research and development; function
o Production
o Financial management and administration
o Human resources management
- Business process: happens at a certain time to reach a certain goal
o Financial management
▪ Make budget book payment
▪ Manage accounts
▪ General ledger
▪ Receivable account ledger
o Marketing and sales; function
▪ Create customer offer
▪ Accept customer order
▪ Enter order
▪ Make invoice
o Human resources management
▪ Selection and recruitment
▪ Payroll administration
▪ Employee data management
▪ Employee evaluation
- Activity: usually part of business process (needs time, space, resources)
o Create customer offer
▪ Fix prices
▪ Determinate configuration
1
, ▪ Determinate discount
▪ Make financial report on offer
▪ Approve financial report
▪ Send offer to customer
▪ Present offer to customer
o Selection and recruitment
▪ Place job advertisements
▪ Receive applications and input applications into system
▪ First assessment applications
▪ Contact applicant
▪ Inform applicant
▪ Contract proposal
▪ Hire
1.2 Information technology in business
Three ways to use ICT in business.
1. Data processing
a. Cash books supporting accounting
b. The use of PC with a text processor application to create a report
c. The elaboration of a business plan using a spreadsheet program (word, excel…)
2. Task automation
a. Makes business processes more efficient
i. Ordering online and the payment/order/shipping is performed
automatically
3. Integrated information system
a. Complete business processes along the value chain/value system/supply chain
i. Stock management
ii. Order processing
iii. Documentation
iv. Logistics
More complex system ➔ Need for structure, overall design and a vision. (Support for the whole
organisation)
Phased and planned approach needed to handle those organisations.
Whole process involves ICT users and makers, so it meets the business needs.
Benefits of information systems
- Operational benefits
o Daily business process more efficiently E.g., time savings, better supply
management, lower communication costs, …
- Tactical benefits
o Organization can better realize its goals E.g., marketing campaigns, on-line
knowledge databases, on-line parcel tracking
- Strategic benefits
o The business develops a better strategy E.g., internet companies
2
,Not all benefits can be expressed in terms of money
- Quantifiable benefits
o Represent and amount of money
o Can be estimated in advance
o Can be compared to the cost
▪ Stock decreases
▪ Personnel savings
- Non-quantifiable benefits
o Can’t (or can hardly) be expressed in money
o May however be important
o Should also be weighed in against the cost
▪ Better customer service
▪ High tech image
ICT and competitive advantage
- Status
- Image
Can only be gained when ICT is complete with experts that have proper skills to use it
- It is temporary: the same technology or skills can be acquired by other terms or firms
o Invest in website to have best selling products but if we won’t invest in good
delivery services the gain of competitive advantage will be difficult
o Delivery companies that track their deliveries (= competitive advantage)
o First banks that gave access to banking online
1.3 Main components of ICT Management
It handles a lor of components.
Primarily with system information
- Information system domains: hardware and software complex
o Business process
o Data
o Application
o Infrastructure
- ICT Strategy: relationships business – IT Ensures that IT does
the right thing
- Concerns: stakeholders worries and issues
o Stakeholder = user of the system
- Life cycle: from requirements to decommission
- Business process
o What happens in the organisation
o Creating goods in manufacture process
o Needs resources to be carried out (digital or human)
o With certain rules (ex. Only gold members can get … discount)
o Business processes use business data, often customer data (for orders or discounts)
3
, - Application data
o Generated by the software applications
o To support business with documentation
- Infrastructure
o It needs a system to run on
o Hardware
o Software
o Communications (networks)
o Data needs infrastructure as well
- Information system domains run with each other
o Business process <-> (business) data
o Business process <-> applications
o Applications run on infrastructure
o Applications manipulate (application) data
o Data is stored in infrastructure
System lifecycle
- Requirements
o Starting point
o Role of system in business
o General vision
o Global requirements
- Design
o Overall description
o Subsequent models
- Development
o Build system
o Use methodology
o Assemble and test
- Roll-out
o Make system operational
o Install and configure
o Conversion from old to new
o Training
- Operations
o Use system
o Support and maintenance
- Decommissioning
o End of useful life
o Remove system
o Replaced by new system
4
