Module 1: Information Technology Application Tools in Business

Information Technology ( functions, applications & Importance ) - Information

Technology has gained popularity in the past few years. It has become an integral part of
an organization. The reason behind it is not a mystery.

The use of technology has increased over the years eventually leading to an increase in
demand for Information technology. Nowadays, the IT department is a must for every
organization. The IT industry was not a sector that attracted people towards it but the
notion changed and it has changed drastically. Now, people prefer IT as a career option.
“The number one benefit of information technology is that it empowers people to do what
they want to do. It lets people be creative. It lets people be productive. It lets people
learn things they didn't think they could learn before, and so in a sense, it is all about
potential.” -Steve Ballmer, American Businessman

What is Information Technology (IT)? - Information Technology is the use of computers

to store, retrieve, share, and manipulate data or information. For some people, IT may be
just the people they seek help from to get their technical problems resolved. We can also
call Information Technology an entreaty of technology to figure out administrative issues.
The word IT has gained popularity in the area of business and computing. Today, every
organization has its IT department which helps the organization to deal with all kinds of
technical issues.

Information Technology Functions - The IT department contributes significantly to an

organization’s success that has three broad functions to perform within an organization.
They are:
1. Governance - It alludes to the execution of operational boundaries for working units
and people's utilization of IT frameworks, engineering, and organizations. In layman's
terms, they authorize the principles about how you and your group can utilize the
organization's innovation and what you can utilize it for.
2. Infrastructure - It refers to all physical components essential for an IT system. It
includes hardware, network, and circuitry of equipment according to the needs and size of
the organization.
3. Functionality - It perhaps is the most important and viable task an IT department
performs and this is the reason an IT department is recognized and remembered by
others in an organization. It refers to creating and maintaining operational applications;
developing, securing, and storing electronic data that belongs to the organization; and
assisting in the use of software and data management to all functional areas of the
organization.
4. Network Contingencies - A network failure can have significant repercussions- not
just within the organization but also on the outside entities that take services of
the organization.
5. Application Development - Regularly, organizations see the principal part of the IT
division as making applications that serve its center business needs. The correct
applications allow a business to be imaginative, more gainful, productive, and to push
forward of its rivals.
6. Communication - A great many people know that the IT division is liable for the
achievement of PC activities and other data advancements inside a business. This
incorporates highlight point-to-point phone calls, conference calls, and video and web
conferences, just as less immediate types of electronic correspondence like organization
drives, email frameworks, and secure workers.
7. Company Website - The IT department is responsible, partially if not fully, for
creating and maintaining the company’s website. We are saying partially because the
content displayed on the website is mostly handled by the Marketing department. It makes
the crisis reaction intend to shield the business from unexpected issues and continually
attempts to improve the whole organization's capacity to work proficiently and
successfully.

Why is Information Technology important for Businesses? - Simply put, the functioning
of an organization would slow to a crawl without the contribution of the IT department.
Information technology (IT) benefits the business world and it allows organizations to
work more efficiently and maximize productivity and so on, following are the ways by
which IT helps in business;

1. Developed Information Technology increases productivity - In business, people look

to complete more tasks in a shorter duration and this can be achieved only if the business
has a well-developed information Technology.
❖ Faster communication, electronic storage, and protection of valuable records are
the advantages that IT gives an enterprise.
❖ Developments in IT are driven by new demands in the competitive business
environment on one hand and profound changes in the nature of computers on the
other.
 ❖ Information Technology frameworks come looking like numerous mechanically
progressed gadgets that help convey significant data to administrators and hence
they utilize this data to settle on vital choices with respect to the tasks of their
organization.
❖ IT has to do with PC applications, on which practically every workplace is needy.
2. IT provides electronics storage systems - Information Technology facilitates
electronic storage systems that are used by companies to protect their valuable records.
They use computers and software to ensure that their businesses run smoothly.
3. IT security engineering systems - Storage systems, for example, virtual vaults,
protect data by just permitting certain clients inside an organization to get to, pull out,
add or change the records.
4. IT makes remote working possible - IT systems give remote access to an
organization's electronic network so that their employees can work from their homes or
any remote places. Such that,
➢ This availability permits the organization to build profitability since the employees
can, in any case, complete work, in any event, when they aren't truly in the
workplace.
➢ Correspondence is basic to the business world, and information technology gives an
organization the assets it needs to impart rapidly and adequately.
➢ The IT division can connect with representatives via email, video conferencing
hardware, and internal chat rooms, so they generally have a proficient method to
lead business and impart.

Applications of Information Technology - Since this technology is so widespread, and its

use is not limited to businesses only, IT has some significant applications in other areas of
society as well.
Technology is being leveraged in different sectors and so is the role of IT. Let's look
at the role of IT in other areas of society.
1. Education - Using technological innovations, teachers can set up their understudies for
a future overwhelmed with electronic devices including tablets, cell phones, PCs, thus
considerably more. Information Technology is assisting with forestalling all the more high
school and college dropouts also.
2. Finance - Without information technology, online purchases would be unthinkable, and
it would be inconceivable for banks to keep these buys secure. Information Technology has
likewise made it quicker and simpler to send or receive money online than any time in
recent memory.
3. Healthcare - Improvements in information technology have taken into account
extraordinary changes in medical care. As,
➔ Most clinical workplaces would now be able to send and get computerized clinical
data from specialists you’ve had previously.
➔ Changes like this permit expenses to be brought down and increment in the measure
of time specialists can spend on patients contrasted with administrative work.
4. Security - With endless exchanges done on the web thus much data accessible on the
web, it’s critical to keep the entirety of that safe.
★ Information Technology makes it workable for your online information to remain
secure until you get to the correct channels.
★ Utilizing passwords and encryption, information technology conceals your own
advanced information away, and the only way it can be accessed by companies who
have permission from you.
5. Communication - With upgrades in information technology, globalization has expanded.
The world is brought nearer, and the economy of the universe is rapidly turning into a
solitary reliant framework. Data can be shared rapidly and effectively from everywhere
the globe, and obstructions of phonetic and geographic limits can be neglected as
individuals share thoughts and data with one another.