SOM 301 Information Technology and Business Models

1. SOM 301Information Technology and Business Models Mike Wasserman April 29, 2002 mwasser1@gmu.edu

2. Today’s Agenda Relationship Between Information Technology (IT) and Business Models What is IT? Definitions Why is IT important? Relationship to the Business Model Importance of IT Inside the Organization Linkages With Stakeholders Outside the Firm How is IT changing? IT and Firm Performance Conclusions and Sources for More Information

3. Relationship Between Information Technology (IT) and Business Models: What is IT? Definition of Information Technology Hardware and software that helps collect, interpret, and store data, and facilitate the communication and availability of that data. Supports the conversion of data to information to knowledge. Data – individual pieces of information (not necessary useful, timely, or relevant) Information – multiple pieces of data organized in a way that makes the data useful (comparison over time or across cases) Knowledge – multiple sets of information that are used to solve problems or make decisions

4. What is IT? Classification of Information Technology Infrastructure – Servers (dedicated machines that delivers and stores information to client personal computers) Personal Computers Networking Hardware (cables, routers, switches, hubs – these are the physical parts of the network, the connections between machines) Protocols (PPP, TCP/IP, Ethernet – these are the common languages that the components of the network use to communicate) Storage Mainframes Handhelds Printers, Scanners

5. What is IT? Classification of Information Technology Applications: Network applications – these are programs that facilitate communication between components of the network (http, ftp, print) User applications – user programs designed to improve individual and firm performance – database, email, word processing, data mining, spreadsheets, etc.