IT technologies - what is it and where are they used? Information Technology. Information technology concept

21.11.2023

Adviсe

Information Technology

Information Technology (IT, from English information technology, IT) - a wide class of disciplines and areas of activity related to technologies for creating, storing, managing and processing data, including using computer technology. Recently, information technology is most often understood as computer technology. In particular, IT deals with the use of computers and software to create, store, process, limit the transmission and receipt of information. Computer hardware and programming specialists are often called IT specialists.

According to the definition adopted by UNESCO, IT is a complex of interrelated scientific, technological, and engineering disciplines that study methods for effectively organizing the work of people involved in processing and storing information; computer technology and methods of organizing and interacting with people and production equipment, their practical applications, as well as social, economic and cultural problems associated with all this. IT itself requires complex training, high initial costs and high-tech technology. Their implementation should begin with the creation of mathematical software, modeling, and the formation of information repositories for intermediate data and solutions.

The main features of modern IT:

Structured standards for digital data exchange algorithms;
Widespread use of computer storage and provision of information in the required form;
Transfer of information via digital technologies over almost unlimited distances.

Information Technology Discipline

In a broad sense, IT covers all areas of creation, transmission, storage and perception of information and not only computer technology. At the same time, IT is often associated with computer technologies, and this is no coincidence: the advent of computers brought IT to a new level. Just like television once did, and even earlier printing.

Information technology industry

Industry information technologies is engaged in the creation, development and operation of information systems. Information technologies are designed, based on and rationally using modern achievements in the field of computer technology and other high technologies, the latest means of communication, software and practical experience, to solve problems for the effective organization of the information process to reduce the cost of time, labor, energy and material resources in all areas human life and modern society. Information technologies interact and are often an integral part of the service sector, management, industrial production, and social processes.

Story

The development began in the 1960s, along with the emergence and development of the first information systems (IS).

Investments in Internet infrastructure and services sparked rapid growth in the IT industry in the late 1990s.

Technological potential and growth

Gilbert and Lopez note the exponential growth of technological progress (a kind of Moore's law) as the power density of all information processing machines doubling per capita every 14 months between 1986 and 2007; global telecommunications capacity per capita doubles every 34 months; The amount of information contributed in the world per capita doubles every 40 months (that is, every three years), and the transmission of information per capita tends to double approximately every 12.3 years.

Use of information technology in business

The interaction of information technology and business is manifested in the following: 1) IT technologies increase the efficiency and competitiveness of almost any business; 2) currently, all business is moving to the Internet, so any company needs to have a strategy for the new reality; 3) if a company does not have such a strategy, it has no future. .

Information technology as a tool for increasing the efficiency of the core business must be used thoughtfully and carefully. A positive effect is achieved only if the company's management has a clear idea of the goals of future actions. That is, if a tool appears that can benefit a business, it is necessary to foresee several steps ahead how the business itself will develop and how the use of IT technology must be developed to support the successful implementation of the business strategy. Otherwise, this very powerful tool, which is also expensive and difficult to use, will, unfortunately, not bring any benefit to the business, and funds for IT will be wasted. .

Statistics for Russia

According to data collected by Timur Farukshin (Director of Consulting at IDC in Russia and the CIS) for 2010, in terms of monetary expenditures on IT equipment, Russia was among the top ten leading countries in the world, inferior to the developed countries of Western Europe and the United States by 3-5 times. spending on IT equipment per capita. Russia spends significantly less on the purchase of software per capita; in this area of spending, Russia lags behind the United States by 20 times, behind the leading countries of Western Europe by 10 times, and behind the world average by 55%. For the provision of IT services in 2010, Russia took only 22nd place and was 66% behind the world average.

According to IT specialists, the main problem in the development of IT technologies in Russia is the digital divide between different Russian regions. According to 2010 statistics, the lag in this area of such regions as Dagestan and Ingushetia, compared to Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tomsk Region, Khanty-Mansiysk and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, according to certain indicators, even tends to increase. Since the lack of IT specialists and the general educational level of the population in lagging regions compared to advanced ones, in 2010 already reached a ratio of 1/11.2; despite the fact that school access to the Internet in lagging and advanced regions had a smaller ratio - 1/2.2.

Expenditures on information and communication technologies in 2005 as a percentage of the main consumer - USA ($1,096,112,600,000)

Notes

Links

Information technology according to GOST 34 .003-90
UN website Information and communication technologies

The main component of the automated information system is information technology (IT), the development of which is closely related to the development and functioning of IP.

Concept " technology ”translated from Greek means art, skill, skill. Technology, as a process, means a sequence of a series of actions for the purpose of processing something. The technological process is implemented by various means and methods.

The process of material production involves the processing of resources in order to obtain material products (goods). When it comes to information technology, data plays the role of resources.

Information technology is a process that uses a set of tools, methods for collecting, processing and transmitting primary information to obtain new quality information about the state of an object, i.e. information product.

The information product is used, in particular, for decision making. Exists difference between the concepts of “information system” and “information technology” .

Information technology is a process consisting of clearly regulated operations for transforming information (data collection, registration, transfer, storage, processing, use).

A computer information system is a human-machine information processing system for the purpose of organizing, storing and transmitting information. For example, technology that works with text editor, is not an information system.

Information technology consists of stages, each of them includes operations, and the latter consists of elementary actions, such as pressing a key, selecting an item in a menu, etc.

In information technologies of economic systems, office programs have become widespread, including: table processors; word processors; DBMS; integrated packages, etc.

Information technology has gone through several stages. Each stage is determined by the technology, software products that are used, i.e. the level of scientific and technological progress in this area.

The concept currently used is " new information technology " This concept implies:

1. Use of personal computers and PC networks.

2. Availability of communication tools.

3. Availability of dialogue (interactive) work with a computer.

4. Availability of an integration approach.

5. Flexibility of processes for changing data and setting tasks.

6. Organic “integration” of computers into existing management technology at enterprises.

The main goal of automated information technology is to obtain, through the processing of primary data, information of new quality, on the basis of which optimal management decisions are developed. This is achieved through the integration of information, ensuring its relevance and consistency, and the use of modern technical means for the introduction and operation of qualitatively new forms of information support for the activities of the management apparatus.

Information technology copes with a significant increase in the volume of processed information and leads to a reduction in the time it takes to process it. IT is the most important component of the process of using information resources in management. Automated information systems for information technology are the main environment, the constituent elements of which are tools and methods for data transformation. Information technology is a process consisting of clearly regulated rules for performing operations on information circulating in the information system.

Information technology depends on many factors, which are systematized according to the following classification criteria (Table 1.1):

degree of centralization of the technological process;

subject area type;

degree of coverage of management tasks;

class of technological operations being implemented;

user interface type;

way to build a network.

By degree of centralization of the technological process IT in management systems is divided into:

Centralized,

Decentralized and

Combined technologies.

Centralized technologies are characterized by the fact that information processing and the solution of the main functional tasks of an economic object are carried out in an IT processing center - a central server organized at a computer network enterprise or in an industrial or territorial information and computing center.

Decentralized technologies are based on the local use of computer technology installed at user workstations to solve a specific specialist problem. Decentralized technologies do not have a centralized automated data storage, but provide users with means of communication for exchanging data between network nodes.

Table No. 1.1 – Classification of information technologies

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

CONCEPT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Definition of information technology

Technology when translated from Greek (techne) means art, skill, skill, and these are nothing more than processes. A process should be understood as a certain set of actions aimed at achieving a set goal. The process must be determined by the strategy chosen by the person and implemented using a combination of various means and methods.

Material production technology is understood as a process determined by a set of means and methods of processing, manufacturing, changing the state, properties, form of raw materials or materials. Technology changes the quality or original state of matter in order to obtain a material product:

Information is one of the most valuable resources of society, along with such traditional material types of resources as oil, gas, minerals, etc., which means that the process of its processing, by analogy with the processes of processing material resources, can be perceived as technology. Then the following definition is valid.

Information technology- a process that uses a set of means and methods for collecting, processing and transmitting data (primary information) to obtain new quality information about the state of an object, process or phenomenon (information product).

The purpose of material production technology is to produce products that satisfy the needs of a person or system.

The purpose of information technology is the production of information for human analysis and decision-making based on it to perform any action.

It is known that by applying different technologies to the same material resource, it is possible to obtain different products. The same will be true for information processing technology.

Example To complete a test in mathematics, each student uses his own technology for processing initial information (initial task data). The information product (results of solving problems) will depend on the solution technology that the student chooses. Manual information technology is usually used. If you use computer information technology that is capable of solving such problems, then the information product will have a different quality.

Introduction of the personal computer into information sphere and the use of telecommunications determined a new stage in the development of information technology and, as a consequence, a change in its name by adding one of the synonyms: “new”, “computer” or “modern”.

The adjective "new" emphasizes the innovative rather than evolutionary nature of this technology. Its implementation is an innovative act in the sense that it significantly changes the content of various activities in organizations. The concept of new information technology also includes communication technologies that ensure the transfer of information by various means, namely telephone, telegraph, telecommunications, fax, etc.

New information technology- information technology with a “friendly” user interface, using personal computers and telecommunications.

The adjective “computer” emphasizes that the main technical means of its implementation is a computer.

Remember! Three basic principles of new (computer) information technology:

Interactive (dialog) mode of working with a computer;

Integration (interconnection, interconnection) with other software products;

Flexibility in the process of changing both data and task statements.

Note. The term NIT, which appeared relatively recently, is gradually beginning to lose the word “new”, and information technology is beginning to be understood as the meaning that is put into NIT. In the further presentation, for simplicity, we will omit the adjective “new”, giving its meaning to the term “information technology”.

Information technology tools,

Information Technology Toolkit- one or more interrelated software products for a specific type of computer, the operating technology of which allows the user to achieve the goal set by the user.

The following common types of software products for a personal computer can be used as tools: word processor(editor), desktop publishing systems, spreadsheets, database management systems, electronic notebooks, electronic calendars, functional information systems (financial, accounting, marketing, etc.), expert systems, etc.

TYPES OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY OF DATA PROCESSING

Characteristics and purpose

Information technology for data processing is designed to solve well-structured problems for which the necessary input data is available and algorithms and other standard procedures for their processing are known. This technology is used at the level of operational (executive) activities of low-skilled personnel in order to automate some routine, constantly recurring operations of managerial work. Therefore, the introduction of information technologies and systems at this level will significantly increase the productivity of personnel, free them from routine operations, and perhaps even lead to the need to reduce the number of employees.

Example Examples of routine operations:

The operation of checking for compliance with the standard stock level of the specified goods in the warehouse. When the stock level decreases, an order is issued to the supplier indicating the required quantity of goods and delivery time;

The operation of selling goods by a company, as a result of which an output document is generated for the buyer in the form of a check or receipt.

An example of a control report, a daily report on cash receipts and withdrawals by a bank, generated in order to control the cash balance. Example of a query: a query to a personnel database that will allow you to obtain data on the requirements for candidates for a specific position

There are several features related to data processing that distinguish this technology from everyone else:

Performing data processing tasks required by the company. Every firm is required by law to have and maintain data on its activities, which can be used as a means of establishing and maintaining control within the firm. Therefore, any company must have an information processing system and develop the appropriate information technology;

Solving only well-structured problems for which an algorithm can be developed;

Perform standard processing procedures. Existing standards define standard data processing procedures and require their compliance by organizations of all types;

Performing the bulk of work automatically with minimal human intervention;

Using granular data. Records of the company's activities are detailed (detailed) in nature, allowing for audits. During the audit process, the company's activities are checked chronologically from the beginning of the period to its end and from the end to the beginning;

Emphasis on the chronology of events;

Requiring minimal assistance in solving problems from specialists at other levels.

Main Components

Let us present the main components of information technology for data processing and give their characteristics.

Data collection. As a firm produces products or services, each action is accompanied by corresponding data records. Typically, a firm's actions that affect its external environment are specifically identified as operations carried out by the firm.

Data processing. To create information from incoming data that reflects the activities of the company, the following typical operations are used:

Classification or grouping. Primary data is usually in the form of codes consisting of one or more characters. These codes, expressing certain characteristics of objects, are used to identify and group records.

Example When calculating wages, each entry includes the code (personnel number) of the employee, the code of the department in which he works, his position, etc. In accordance with these codes, different groupings can be made.

Sorting, which arranges a sequence of records;

Calculations involving arithmetic and logical operations. These operations performed on data make it possible to obtain new data;

Consolidation or aggregation, which serves to reduce the amount of data and is implemented in the form of calculations of totals or averages.

Data storage. Much data at the operational level must be stored for later use, either here or at another level. Databases are created to store them.

Creation of reports (documents). In information technology for data processing, it is necessary to create documents for the management and employees of the company, as well as for external partners. In this case, documents can be created either upon request or in connection with a transaction carried out by the company, or periodically at the end of each month, quarter or year.

Characteristics and purpose

The goal of management information technology is to satisfy the information needs of all employees of the company, without exception, who deal with decision making. It can be useful at any level of management.

This technology is focused on working in the environment of a management information system and is used when the problems being solved are less structured when compared with problems solved using information data processing technology.

Management information systems are ideal for meeting similar information needs of employees of different functional subsystems (divisions) or levels of company management. The information they provide contains information about the past, present and probable future of the company. This information takes the form of regular or special management reports.

To make decisions at the level of management control, information must be presented in an aggregated form so that trends in data changes, causes of deviations and possible solutions can be seen. At this stage, the following data processing tasks are solved:

Assessment of the planned state of the control object;

Assessment of deviations from the planned state;

Identification of causes of deviations;

I analysis of possible decisions and actions.

Management information technology is aimed at creating various types of reports,

Regular reports are generated according to a set schedule that determines when they are generated, such as a monthly analysis of a company's sales.

Special reports are created at the request of managers or when something unplanned happens in the company.

Both types of reports can take the form of summative, comparative and emergency reports.

In summary reports, data is combined into separate groups, sorted and presented as subtotals and final totals for individual fields.

Comparative reports contain data obtained from various sources or classified according to various characteristics and used for comparison purposes.

Emergency reports contain data of an exceptional (extraordinary) nature.

The use of reports to support management is particularly effective when implementing so-called variance management.

Deviation management assumes that the main content of the data received by the manager should be deviations of the state of the company's economic activities from some established standards (for example, from its planned state). When using the principles of deviation management at a company, the following requirements are imposed on the reports created:

A report should only be generated when a deviation has occurred;

The information in the report should be sorted by the value of the indicator critical for a given deviation;

It is advisable to show all deviations together so that the manager can grasp the connection between them;

The report must show a quantitative deviation from the norm.

Main Components

The main components of management information technology are shown in Fig. 3.13.

Input information comes from operational level systems. The output information is generated in the form of management reports in a form convenient for decision-making.

The contents of the database, using appropriate software, are converted into periodic and special reports that are sent to specialists involved in decision-making in the organization. The database used to obtain this information must consist of two elements:

1) data accumulated based on the assessment of operations carried out by the company;

2) plans, standards, budgets and other regulatory documents that determine the planned state of the management object (division of the company).

OFFICE AUTOMATION

Characteristics and purpose

Historically, automation began in manufacturing and then spread to the office, with the initial goal only of automating routine secretarial work. With the development of communications technology, the automation of office technologies became of interest to specialists and managers, who saw in it an opportunity to increase the productivity of their work.

Office automation is not intended to replace the existing traditional personnel communication system (with its meetings, phone calls and orders), but only to complement it. Used together, both of these systems will provide rational

automation of managerial work and the best provision of managers with information.

An automated office is attractive to managers at all levels of management in a company not only because it supports intra-company communication between staff, but also because it provides them with new means of communication with the external environment.

Automated office information technology - organization and support of communication processes both within the organization and with the external environment based on computer networks and others modern means transmission and work with information.

Office automation technologies are used by managers, specialists, secretaries and clerical workers, and are especially attractive for group problem solving. They can increase the productivity of secretaries and office workers and enable them to cope with an increasing volume of work. However, this benefit is secondary to the ability to use office automation as a problem-solving tool. Improving the decisions made by managers as a result of their improved communication can ensure the economic growth of the company.

Currently, there are several dozen software products for computers and non-computer hardware that provide office automation technology: word processor, spreadsheet processor, e-mail, electronic calendar, audio mail, computer and teleconferencing, video text, image storage, as well as specialized management programs: maintaining documents, monitoring the execution of orders, etc.

Non-computer means are also widely used: audio and video conferencing, fax, copier and other office equipment.

Main Components

Database. A mandatory component of any technology is a database. In an automated office, the database concentrates data about the company's production system in the same way as in data processing technology at the operational level. Information in the database can also come from the external environment of the company. Specialists must be proficient in basic technological operations for working in a database environment.

Example The database collects information about daily sales transmitted by the company's sales agents to the main computer, or information about weekly deliveries of raw materials.
Information on exchange rates or securities quotes, including shares of this company, which are adjusted daily in the corresponding database array, can be received daily by e-mail from the exchange.

Information from the database is input to computer applications (programs), such as word processors, spreadsheet processors, e-mail, computer conferences, etc. Any automated office computer application provides workers with communication with each other and with other companies.

Information obtained from databases can also be used in non-computer technical means for transmission, replication, storage

Word processor. This is a type of application software designed to create and process text documents. It allows you to add or remove words, move sentences and paragraphs, set format, manipulate text elements and modes, etc. When the document is ready, the employee copies it into external memory, and then prints it out and, if necessary, transmits it over a computer network. Thus, the manager has an effective form of written communication at his disposal. Regular receipt of letters and reports prepared using a word processor allows the manager to constantly assess the situation in the company.

Email. Electronic mail (E-mail), based on the network use of computers, allows the user to receive, store and send messages to their network partners. Here only unidirectional communication takes place. This limitation, according to many researchers, is not too important, since in fifty cases out of a hundred, official telephone conversations are aimed only at obtaining information. To ensure two-way communication, you will have to repeatedly send and receive messages via email or use another method of communication.

Email can provide different experiences to the user depending on the software used. To make the sent message available to all users Email, it should be posted on a computer bulletin board, if desired, you can indicate that this is private correspondence. You can also send the item with notification of its receipt by the addressee. When a company decides to implement e-mail, it has two options. The first is to buy your own technical and software and create your own local network of computers that implements the email function. The second option is related to the purchase of an e-mail service, which is provided by specialized communications organizations for a periodic fee.

Audiomail. This is mail for sending messages by voice. It's similar to email, except that instead of typing a message on a computer keyboard, you send it through your phone. You also receive sent messages over the phone. The system includes a special device for converting audio signals into digital code and back, as well as a computer for storing audio messages in digital form. Audio mail is also implemented online.

Audio mail can be successfully used for group problem solving. To do this, the sender of the message must additionally indicate the list of persons to whom the message is intended. The system will periodically call all specified employees to send them a message.

The main advantage of audio mail compared to email is that it is simpler - when using it, you do not need to enter data from the keyboard.

Table processor. It, like the word processor, is a basic component of the information culture of any employee and automated office technology. Without knowledge of the basic technology of working in it, it is impossible to fully use a personal computer in your activities. The functions of modern spreadsheet processor software environments allow you to perform numerous operations on data presented in tabular form. Combining these operations according to common characteristics, we can identify the most numerous and used groups of technological operations: I data entry both from the keyboard and from databases; data processing (sorting, automatic generation of totals, copying and transferring data, various groups of calculation operations, data aggregation, etc.);

Output of information in printed form, in the form of imported files into other systems,

directly to the database; w high-quality design of tabular forms for presenting data;

Multifaceted and high-quality presentation of data in the form of charts and graphs;

Carrying out engineering, financial, statistical calculations;

Carrying out mathematical modeling and a number of other auxiliary operations.

Any modern spreadsheet environment has a means of sending data over the network.

Electronic calendar. It provides another opportunity to use a network version of a computer to store and manipulate the work schedule of managers and other employees of the organization. The manager (or his secretary) sets the date and time of a meeting or other event, views the resulting schedule, and makes changes using the keyboard. The hardware and software of the electronic calendar is fully consistent with similar components of email. Moreover, calendar software is often an integral part of email software.

The system additionally makes it possible to access the calendars of other managers. It can automatically coordinate meeting times with their own schedules.

The use of an electronic calendar turns out to be especially effective for managers at senior management levels, whose working days are scheduled long in advance.

Computer conferences and teleconferences. Computer conferencing uses computer networks for the exchange of information between members of a group solving a specific problem. Naturally, the circle of people with access to this technology is limited. The number of participants in a computer conference can be many times greater than in audio and video conferences.

In the literature you can often find the term teleconference. Teleconferencing includes three types of conferences: audio, video and computer.

Videotext. It is based on the use of a computer to display text and graphic data on a monitor screen. There are three options for decision makers to receive information in the form of video text:

Create video text files on your own computers;

Enter into an agreement with a specialized company to obtain access to video text files developed by it. Such files, specifically intended for sale, may be stored on the servers of the company providing such services, or delivered to the client on magnetic or optical disks;

Enter into agreements with other companies to gain access to their video text files.

The exchange of catalogs and price tags (price lists) of their products between companies in the form of video text is now becoming increasingly popular. As for companies specializing in the sale of video text, their services are beginning to compete with printed products such as newspapers and magazines. Thus, in many countries it is now possible to order a newspaper or magazine in the form of video text, not to mention current stock exchange information.

Image storage. Any company needs to store a large number of documents for a long time. Their number can be so large that storing them even in the form of files causes serious problems. Therefore, the idea arose not to store the document itself, but its image (image), and store it in digital form.

Image storage (imaging) is a promising office technology and is based on the use of a special device - an optical pattern recognizer, which allows you to convert the image of a document or film into digital view for further storage in the external memory of the computer. An image saved in digital format can be displayed in its real form on a screen or printer at any time. Optical disks with huge capacities are used to store images. Thus, about 200 thousand pages can be recorded on a five-inch optical disc.

It should be recalled that the idea of storing images is not new and was previously implemented on the basis of microfilm and microfiche. The creation of this technology was facilitated by the emergence of a new technical solution - an optical disk in combination with digital image recording.

Audio conferences. They use audio communication to maintain communications between geographically remote employees or departments of the company. The simplest technical means of implementing audio conferencing is telephone communications, equipped with additional devices that allow more than two participants to participate in a conversation. Creating audio conferences does not require a computer, but only involves the use of two-way audio communication between its participants.

The use of audio conferencing facilitates decision making, is cheap and convenient. The effectiveness of audio conferencing increases when the following conditions are met:

· the employee organizing the audio conference must first ensure that all interested parties have the opportunity to participate in it;

· the number of conference participants should not be too large (usually no more than six) in order to keep the discussion within the framework of the problem being discussed;

· the conference program must be communicated to its participants in advance, for example, using fax;

· before speaking, each participant must introduce himself;

· recording of the conference and its storage must be organized;

· the conference recording must be printed and sent to all participants.

Video conferencing. They are intended for the same purposes as audio conferencing, but using video equipment. They also do not require a computer. During a video conference, participants who are located at a considerable distance from each other can see themselves and other participants on the television screen. Sound is transmitted simultaneously with the television image.

Although videoconferencing can reduce transportation and travel costs, most firms use it for other reasons than this. These firms see them as an opportunity to involve the maximum number of managers and other employees geographically remote from the main office in solving problems.

The most popular three configurations for creating video conferences are:

· one-way video and audio communication. Here, video and audio signals go only in one direction, for example from the project manager to the performers;

· one-way video and two-way audio communication. Two-way audio communication allows conference participants receiving the video image to exchange audio information with the participant transmitting the video signal;

· two-way video and audio communication. This most expensive configuration uses two-way video and audio communication between all conference participants, usually of the same status.

Fax communication. This communication is based on the use of a fax machine that can read a document at one end of the communication channel and reproduce its image at the other.

Facsimile contributes to decision making by quickly and easily distributing documents to members of a problem-solving team, regardless of their geographic location.

Characteristics and purpose

Decision support systems and the corresponding information technology appeared mainly through the efforts of American scientists in the late 70s - early 80s, which was facilitated by the widespread use of personal computers, standard application software packages, as well as successes in the creation of artificial intelligence systems.

Main feature decision support information technology is of high quality new method organization of human-computer interaction. Developing a solution, which is the main goal of this technology, occurs as a result of an iterative process (Fig. 3.15), which involves:

Decision support system as a computing link and control object;

A person as a control link that sets input data and evaluates the resulting result of calculations on a computer.

The end of the iteration process occurs at the will of man. In this case, we can talk about the ability of the information system, together with the user, to create new information for decision making.

In addition to this feature of decision support information technology, a number of its distinctive characteristics can be indicated:

Focus on solving poorly structured (formalized) problems;

Combining traditional methods of accessing and processing computer data with the capabilities mathematical models and methods for solving problems based on them;

Targeted at the non-professional computer user;

High adaptability, providing the ability to adapt to the features of existing hardware and software, as well as user requirements.

Decision support information technology can be used at any level of management. In addition, decisions made at different levels of management often must be coordinated. Therefore, an important function of both systems and technologies is the coordination of decision makers both at different levels of management and at the same level.

Main Components

Let's consider the structure of the decision support system (Fig. 3.16), as well as the functions of its constituent blocks, which determine the main technological operations.

Software control subsystem

A decision support system includes three main components: a database, a model base and a software subsystem, which consists of a database management system (DBMS), a model base management system (MBMS) and a user-computer interface management system.

Database. It plays an important role in decision support information technology. The data can be used directly by the user for calculations using mathematical models. Let's look at data sources and their features.

1. Some of the data comes from the operational level information system.

To be used effectively, this data must be pre-processed.

There are two possibilities for this:

· use a database management system, which is part of the decision support system, to process data on the company’s operations;

· do processing outside the decision support system by creating a special database for this. This option is more preferable for companies that carry out a large number of commercial transactions. The processed data about the firm's operations forms files that are stored outside the decision support system to improve reliability and speed of access.

2. In addition to data on the company's operations, the functioning of the decision support system also requires other internal data, such as personnel movement data, engineering data, etc., which must be collected, entered and maintained in a timely manner.

3. Data from external sources are important, especially for supporting decision-making at upper levels of management. Required external data should include data on competitors, national and global economies. Apart from internal data, external data is usually purchased from organizations that specialize in collecting it.

4. Currently, the issue of including another source of data in the database is being widely studied - documents, including records, letters, contracts, orders, etc. If the content of these documents is recorded in memory and then processed according to some key characteristics (suppliers, consumers, dates, types of services, etc.), the system will receive a new powerful source of information.

The data management system must have the following capabilities:

Compiling combinations of data obtained from various sources through the use of aggregation and filtering procedures;

Quick addition or exclusion of one or another data source;

Construction of a logical data structure in user terms;

Using and manipulating anecdotal evidence to experimentally test the user's work alternatives;

Ensuring complete logical independence of this database from other operational databases operating within the company.

Model database. The purpose of creating models is to describe and optimize some object or process. The use of models ensures analysis in decision support systems. Models, based on the mathematical interpretation of the problem, with the help of certain algorithms help to find information useful for making the right decisions.

Example 3.28. The linear programming model makes it possible to determine the most profitable production program for the production of several types of products under given resource restrictions

2.1.Definition of information technology

Technologywhen translated from Greek (techne) means art, skill, skill, and these are nothing more than processes.

A process should be understood as a certain set of actions aimed at achieving a set goal. The process must be determined by the strategy chosen by the person and implemented using a combination of various means and methods.

The concept of technology means a complex of knowledge about methods, techniques of labor, sets of material and technical factors, methods of combining them to create a product or service.

In relation to industrial production, the concept of industrial production technology is used.

The application of the concept of technology to information processes led to the emergence of the concept of information technology as a body of knowledge about methods of automated processing of information using a computer to automate management activities.

In modern society, the main technical means of information processing technology is the personal computer, which has significantly influenced both the concept of constructing and using technological processes and the quality of the resulting information. The introduction of the personal computer into the information sphere and the use of telecommunications have determined a new stage in the development of information technology and, as a consequence, a change in its name by adding one of the synonyms: “new”, “computer” or “modern”.

Information technology (IT), like any other technology, can be divided into two distinct components:

Hardware. This part of information technology includes the physical structure, configuration of computer technology, systems and other equipment.

Software. It is a set of rules, guidelines and algorithms necessary to ensure the performance of technical equipment. This also includes programs, agreements, standards and rules of use aimed at coordinating individual tasks and the process as a whole.

The so-called algorithmic (intelligent) software plays a significant role. It, depending on the intentions, expected results and goals, should justify the advisability of using and deploying hardware and software, as well as its configuration in each specific case.

Information technology is a set of methods and software and hardware combined into a technological chain that ensures the collection, processing, storage, distribution and display of information in order to reduce the labor intensity of the processes of using information resources, as well as increase their reliability and efficiency.

2.2.Evolution of information technology

Information processing has a long history of development, dating back to the invention of the first abacus and printing device. The modern term information technology arose in the late 1970s. and began to denote the processing of information using computer technology. The development of computer technology occurred in several stages, each of which was the result of innovative technological solutions and led to the creation of a new generation of computers. Evolutionary processes have affected both hardware and software. Advances in information technology undoubtedly affected their use in the economy. And if at the stages of development of computer technology their use was limited to scientific and technical calculations, mainly in the military field, then as information technologies improved, various areas of the economy, and then the entertainment sector, became areas of use.

First generation computers, created on the basis of vacuum tubes, had low performance and, as a result, limited application. The invention of transistors and their mass production led to the emergence of second generation computers. The high performance of such computers, as well as significant advances in the field of software development, have made it possible to use them in economic activities for processing and storing economic information.

Since the mid-1960s. Electronic circuits of medium and high degrees of integration began to be used for the production of computers, which marked the beginning of the third stage in the development of computer technology. New technical solutions based on microprocessors served as the basis for the creation of the first personal computers, which were characterized by their small size and low cost. The production of computers acquired an industrial scale during this period, and the development operating systems and software helps to increase the number of users of computer technology and expand the scope of its application. High functionality and affordable price ensured the introduction of computer technology into almost every department of enterprises to solve such local problems as accounting and data processing.

The modern generation of computers originated in the mid-70s. XX century and still exists today. The basis of these computers were large and ultra-large integrated circuits (LSI and VLSI) and microprocessors.

In parallel with the hardware, software was also formed, both system and application, which also went through several generations in its evolution. The first generation of software were basic programming languages that only computer scientists could master. The procedurally oriented languages FORTRAN, COBOL, ALGOL of the second generation of programming languages allowed scientists and specialists from various fields of science and technology to join the development of application programs. The third stage in software development is characterized by the use of developed operating systems (OS), database management systems (DB) and structured programming languages such as Pascal. The fourth generation is marked by the development and use of object-oriented languages, software for distributed computer systems, an improved graphical interface and integrated programming environment, as well as advanced software tools for working with databases. The fifth generation is focused on knowledge processing, support for network architectures and technologies.

Widespread use of computer technology, the need to exchange data between remote computers became the impetus for the creation and development of computer networks. At the initial stage, a variety of non-standard devices were used, capable of providing connections only to those computers for which they were designed, and in the mid-1980s. Standard technologies for connecting computers into a network have been established - Ethernet, Arcnet, Token Ring, which has significantly simplified the process of creating network structures.

Models for organizing calculations and information processing have also been improved. Since the 1950s. a centralized computing model was used, when non-intelligent terminals were connected to a powerful computer, and users worked in a time-shared mode. Subsequently, the centralized model could also include personal computers as intelligent terminals. In the 1980s The distributed computing model has become widespread, one of the most popular versions of which is called the “client-server” architecture.

All advances in the field of IT have been used in managing business processes in enterprises and organizations. At the same time, integrated with organizational decisions and aimed at meeting business needs, they formed a class of economic information systems for managing economic entities (enterprises, banks, trade organizations, government agencies etc.).

Economic information systems have also undergone significant changes in their development. If in the 50s. Computer technology was used mainly for processing significant amounts of information, then in the 60s. marked by the beginning of comprehensive automation of enterprise management and integration of information support based on databases. The full-scale use of automated control systems dates back to the 70s, when, based on electronic computers third generation it became possible to create computer systems with a distributed terminal network. 80s marked by the widespread use of personal computers by management workers and the creation of a large set of automated workstations. However, it should be noted that this kind of local (“island”) automation did not contribute to increasing the efficiency of management in enterprises and organizations. Only in the 90s. the development of telecommunication technologies has led to the creation of flexible local and global networks and, as a consequence, to the development and implementation of integrated systems that have provided a real opportunity for collective work of both direct executors of business operations and managers making management decisions.

2.3.Structure of information technologies

Structure of information technology includes the following procedures: data collection and registration; preparation of information arrays; processing, accumulation and storage of data; generation of resultant information; transfer of data from sourcesoccurrence to the place of processing, and the results (calculations) - to consumers of information for acceptance management decisions.

As a rule, economic information is subject to all transformation procedures, but in some cases some procedures may be missing. The sequence of their implementation also varies, and some procedures may be repeated. The composition of the transformation procedures and the features of their implementation largely depend on the economic entity conducting automated information processing. Let's consider the features of performing basic procedures for converting information.

Collection and registration of information occur differently in different economic entities. This procedure is most complex in automated management processes industrial enterprises, firms where primary accounting information is collected and registered, reflecting the production and economic activities of the facility. This procedure is no less complex in financial authorities, where the flow of cash resources is processed.

Particular importance is attached to the reliability, completeness and timeliness of primary information. At an enterprise, the collection and registration of information occurs when performing various business operations (reception of finished products, receipt and release of materials, etc.), in banks - when performing financial and credit transactions with legal entities and individuals. Accounting data can arise at workplaces as a result of counting the number of processed parts, assembled units, products, identification of defects, etc. In the process of collecting factual information, measurements, calculations, weighing of material objects, counting banknotes, obtaining temporary and quantitative characteristics of the work of individual performers are carried out. The collection of information is usually accompanied by its registration, i.e. fixing information on a material medium (document, machine medium), entering it into a personal computer. Recording in primary documents is mainly carried out manually, so collection and registration procedures remain the most labor-intensive, and the process of automating document flow is still relevant. In the context of automation of enterprise management, special attention is paid to the use of technical means of collecting and recording information, combining operations quantitative measurement, registration, accumulation and transmission of information via communication channels, input directly into a computer to generate the necessary documents or accumulate the received data in the system.

Transfer of information carried out in various ways: using a courier, sending by mail, delivery by vehicles, remote transmission via communication channels using other means of communication. Remote transmission via communication channels reduces data transmission time, but its implementation requires special technical means, which increases the cost of the transmission process. It is preferable to use technical means of collection and registration, which, automatically collecting information from sensors installed at workplaces, transfer it to a computer for subsequent processing, which increases its reliability and reduces labor intensity.

Can be transmitted remotely as primary information from its locations emergence , and the result in the opposite direction. In this case, the resulting information is recorded by various devices: displays, scoreboards, and printing devices. Information flows through communication channels to the processing center mainly in two ways: on computer media or directly entered into a computer using special software and hardware.

Remote transmission of information using modern communication means is constantly developing and improving. This method of information transfer is of particular importance in multi-level intersectoral systems, where the use remote transmission significantly speeds up the passage of information from one management level to another and reduces total time data processing.

Machine coding - a procedure for computer representation (recording) of information on computer media in codes adopted in a personal computer. This encoding of information produced by transferring data from primary documents to magnetic disks,information from which is then entered into the PC for processing.

Recording information on computer media is carried out on a PC as an independent procedure or as a result of processing.

The storage and accumulation of economic information is caused by its repeated use, the use of semi-permanent, reference and other types of information, and the need to compile primary data before processing it. Storage and accumulationinformation is carried out in information databases, on computer media in the form of information arrays, where the data is arranged according to the order established during the design process.

Directly related to storage and accumulation data search, those. selecting the necessary data from stored information, including searching for information to be corrected or replaced. The information search procedure is performed automatically based on a request for the required information compiled by the user or PC.

Processing of economic information produced on a PC, as a rule, in a decentralized manner, in places where primary information arises, where automated workstations for specialists of one or another management service (department) are organized financially - technical supply and sales, chief technologist department, design department, accounting department, planning department, etc.). Processing, however, can be carried out not only autonomously, but also in computer networks, using a set of PCs software environments stv and information arrays for solving functional problems.

IN In the course of solving problems on a computer, in accordance with the machine program, result summaries are generated, which are printed by machine on paper or displayed on the screen.

Printing summaries may be accompanied by a replication procedure if a document with the resulting information needs to be provided to several users.

Decision-making in an automated organizational management system, as a rule, is carried out by a specialist with or without the use of technical means, but in the latter case, based on a thorough analysis of the resulting information obtainedon a PC. The decision-making task is complicated by the fact that a specialist has to look for the most acceptable solution from a variety of feasible solutions, minimizing the loss of resources (time, labor, material, etc.). Thanks to the use of personal computers and terminal devices, the analytics of the processed information is increased, and a gradual transition to automation of the development of optimal solutions in the process of user dialogue with the computer system is ensured. This is facilitated by the use of new technologies of expert decision support systems.

2.4.Technological support of information technologies

Meaningful The aspect of considering the elements of AIT allows us to identify the subsystems that provide the operating technology.

TechnologicalAIT support consists of subsystems that automate information services for users, solving problems using computers and other technical controls in established operating modes.

Mandatory elements of information technology support are information, linguistic, technical, software, mathematical, legal, organizational and ergonomic.

Information support (IS) is a set of design decisions regarding the volume, placement, and forms of organizing information circulating in the AIT. It includes a set of indicators, reference data, classifiers and codifiers of information, unified documentation systems specially organized for automatic maintenance, arrays of information on appropriate media, as well as personnel ensuring the reliability of storage, timeliness and quality of information processing technology.

Linguistic support (LS) combines a set of language tools for formalizing natural language, constructing and combining information units during communication between AIT personnel and computer technology. With the help of linguistic support, communication between a person and a machine is carried out. LO includes information languages for describing structural units information base AIT (documents, indicators, details, etc.); control and manipulation languages data AIT information base; language tools of information retrieval systems; language tools for automated design of AIT; special-purpose dialog languages and other languages; a system of terms and definitions used in the process of development and operation of automated control systems.

Technical support (TS) is a complex of technical means (technical means of collection, registration, transmission, processing, display,information reproduction, office equipment, etc.) that ensure the operation of AIT. The central place among all technical means is occupied by the PC. Structural elements of technical support, along with technical means, are also methodological and guidance materials, technical documentation and personnel servicing these technical means.

Software includes a set of programs that implement the functions and tasks of AIT and ensure the stable operation of complexes of technical means. Included in the softwaresupport includes system-wide and special programs, as well as instructional and methodological materials on the use of software tools and personnel involved in its development and maintenance for the entire period life cycle AIT.

General-system software includes programs designed for a wide range of users and designed to organize the computing process and solve frequently encountered information processing problems. They allow you to expand the functionality of the computer, automate planning of the sequence of computational work, monitor and manage the process processing data, as well as automate the work of programmers. Special software is a set of programs developed during the creation of AIT for a specific functional purpose. It includes packages of application programs that organize data and process it when solving functional problems.

Mathematical software (MS) is a set of mathematical methods, models and information processing algorithms used in solving functional problems and in the process of automating AIT design work. Mathematical security includes tools for modeling management processes, methods and means for solving typical management problems, methods for optimizing the management processes under study and making decisions (methods of multi-criteria optimization, mathematical programming, mathematical statistics, queuing theory, etc.). Technical documentation for this type of AIT support contains descriptions of problems, tasks for algorithmization, economic and mathematical models of problems, textual and test examples of their solution. The staff consists of specialists in the organization of facility management, management problem setters, specialists in computational methods, and AIT designers.

Organizational support (OS) is a set of documents regulating the activities of AIT personnel in the operating conditions of AIS. In the process of solving management problems, this type of support determines the interaction of workersmanagement services and AIT personnel with technical means and among themselves. Organizational support is implemented in various methodological and guidance materials on the stages of development, implementation and operation of AIS and AIT, in particular, when conducting a pre-project survey, forming terms of reference for design and feasibility studies, development of design solutions in the design process, selection of automated tasks, standard design solutions and application programs (APP), implementation of the system into operation.

Legal support (LBS) is a set of legal norms regulating legal relationswhen creating and implementing AIS and AIT. Legal support at the stage of development of AIS and AIT includes regulations related to the contractual relationship between the developer and the customer in the process of creating AIS and AIT, with the legal regulation of various deviations during this process, as well as those caused by the need to provide the development process of AIS and AIT with various types of resources. Legal support at the stage of operation of AIS and AIT includes the determination of their status in specific sectors of public administration, the legal position on the competence of AIS and AIT units and the organization of their activities, the rights, duties and responsibilities of personnel, the procedure for creating and using information in AIS, procedures for its registration, collection, storage, transfer and processing, the procedure for acquiring and using electronic computers and other technical means, the procedure for creating and using mathematical and software.

Ergonomic support (ES) as a set of methods and tools used at different stages of the development and operation of AIT, is intended to create optimal conditions for highly efficient and error-free human activity in AIT, for its fastest development. The ergonomic support of AIT includes: a set of various documentation containing ergonomic requirements for workplaces, information models, operating conditions for personnel, as well as a set of the most appropriate ways to implement these requirements and carry out ergonomic examination of the level of their implementation; a set of methods, educational and methodological documentation and technical means that provide justification for the formulation of requirements for the level of personnel training, as well as the formation of a system for selecting and training AIT personnel; a set of methods and techniques that ensure high efficiency of human activity in AIT.

AIS and AIT implement the solution of functional management problems, the totality of which constitutes the so-called functional part of the economic activity object as systems. The composition, order and principles of interaction of functional subsystems, tasks and their complexes are established based on and taking into account the achievement of the functioning goal facing the economic object. The basic principles of decomposition - the identification of independent functional subsystems of complexes of tasks - are: the relative independence of each of them, i.e. the presence of a specific control object; the presence of an appropriate set of functions and functional tasks with a clearly defined local purpose of operation; minimizing the composition of elements included in the subsystem; the presence of one or more local criteria that contribute to the optimization of the operating mode of the subsystem and are consistent with the global criterion for optimizing the functioning of the AIS and the system as a whole.

2.5.Classification of information technologies

Information technologies can currently be classified according to a number of criteria, in particular by:

method of implementation in AIS;
degree of coverage of management tasks;
the class of technological operations being implemented;
user interface type;
method of constructing a computer network;
subject areas served.

According to the method of implementing AIT in AIS, traditional and new information technologies are distinguished. If traditional AIT existed in conditions of centralized data processing, before the mass use of PCs, and were focused mainly on reducing labor intensity in the generation of regular reporting, then new information technologies are associated with information support for the management process in real time.

New information technology is a technology that is based on the use of computers, the active participation of users (non-professionals in the field of programming) in the information process; high level friendly user interface; widespread use of general and problem application software packages, the ability for the user to access remote databases and programs thanks to computer networks.

According to the degree of coverage of management tasks by AIT, electronic data processing is distinguished, when data is processed using a computer, without revising the methodology and organization of management processes, individual economic problems are solved, ensuring partial automation of management activities. In the second case, computing tools, including supercomputers and personal computers, are used to comprehensively solve functional problems, generate regular reports and work in information and reference mode for preparing management decisions. This may also include AIT decision support. They provide for the widespread use of economic and mathematical methods, models and PPP for analytical work and the formation of forecasts, drawing up business plans, informed assessments and conclusions on the studied processes of production and economic practice. This group also includes the currently widely implemented AIT, called electronic office and expert decision support. These two AIT options are focused on using the latest achievements in the field of integrating the latest approaches to automating the work of specialists and managers, creating for them the most favorable conditions for performing professional functions, high-quality and timely information services using a full automated set of management procedures implemented in a specific workplace and the office in general.

The electronic office provides for the availability of integrated application software packages, including specialized programs and information technologies that provide a comprehensive implementation of the tasks of the subject area.

Currently, electronic offices are becoming increasingly widespread, the equipment and employees of which can be located in more than one room. The need to work with documents, materials, databases of a specific organization or institution at home, in a hotel and in vehicles has led to the emergence of AIT virtual offices. Such AIT are based on the operation of a local network connected to a territorial or global network. Thanks to this, the subscriber systems of the institution’s employees, regardless of where they are located, are included in the network common to them.

Automated information technologies for expert support form the basis for automating the work of analysts. These workers, in addition to analytical methods and models for studying situations developing in market conditions for the sale of products, services, and the financial situation of an enterprise, firm, financial and credit organization, are forced to use the experience of assessing situations accumulated and stored in the system, i.e. information that makes up the knowledge base in a specific subject area. Information processed according to certain rules allows you to prepare informed decisions for behavior in financial and commodity markets, and develop a strategy in the areas of management and marketing.

According to the class of technological operations being implemented, AIT is considered essentially in a software aspect and includes: word processing, spreadsheets, automated data banks, processing of graphic and audio information, multimedia systems, expert systems and artificial intelligence, online search for information in external databases, hypertext systems , automation of programming technology, etc.

Based on the type of user interface, AIT can be considered from the point of view of the user’s ability to access information and computing resources. Thus, batch AIT excludes the user’s ability to influence the processing of information while it is being reproduced automatically. This is explained by the organization of processing, which is based on performing a programmatically defined sequence of operations on data previously accumulated in the system and combined into a package. Unlike batch, interactive AIT provides the user with an unlimited opportunity to interact with information resources stored in the system in real time, while receiving all the necessary information to solve functional problems and make decisions. The network AIT interface provides the user with means of teleaccess to geographically distributed information and computing resources thanks to developed communication means, which makes such AIT widely used and multifunctional everywhere.

There is currently a trend towards consolidation various types information technologies into a single computer-technological complex, which is called integrated. A special place in it belongs to means of communication, which provide not only extremely broad technological capabilities for automating management activities, but also form the basis for the creation of various network options for automated information technology (local, multi-level distributed, global computer networks, e-mail, digital networks of integrated services). All of them are focused on the technological interaction of a set of objects formed by devices for transmitting, processing, accumulating, storing and protecting data, and are integrated computer systems processing data of great complexity with practically unlimited operational capabilities for implementing management processes in the economy.

Integrated computer data processing systems are designed as a complex information technology and software complex. It supports a unified way of presenting data and user interaction with system components, and provides the information and computing needs of specialists that arise in the course of their professional work. Particular importance in such systems is given to the protection of information during its transmission and processing.

The most widely used methods for protecting economic information are hardware and software methods, in particular the use of a communication system selected for its protective properties and quality of service, guaranteeing the safety of information during transmission and delivery to its recipient; encryption and decryption of data by subscribers of public networks (telephone, telegraph) with the agreement of users on common technical means, encryption algorithms, etc.