Academic literature on the topic 'Technology of the information'

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2003.<br>ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The study project examines the concept of information technology (IT) outsourcing to external service providers. It is a relatively new concept in the South African scenario and there are many risks associated with the process that can cause a company to loose large amounts of money if outsourcing is not done right. The study project will aim to examine the most important aspects regarding IT outsourcing in order to reduce the risks associated with the process. The definition of IT outsourcing is the practice of transferring an organisation's computer centre operations, telecommunications networks, or applications development to external vendors of these services. There are different variations of outsourcing applicable to IT, for example: contracting out, outsourcing, in sourcing and co-sourcing. Companies have different reasons for outsourcing and the risks associated with the process have to be taken into account when embarking on an outsourcing initiative. With IT outsourcing there are different services that can be outsourced, for example: mainframe services, desktop computer services, security services and different application services. The decision to outsource a specific area of IT is a strategic issue and the risks, costs, and selection of the service provider are all very important factors to take into account. One of the main factors that any company should take into account when embarking on a big initiative is of course costs. The aim is the reduction of costs of the specific outsourced area. Therefore the necessary measures need to be in place to measure costs before and after the outsourcing process. It could happen that the outsourcing process do not provide the reduced cost benefits envisaged initially. This could be due to hidden costs that were not taken into account when the outsourcing initiative was planned. Normally the outsourcing process is driven by a structured project and numerous important factors need to be taken into account when managing the whole process. The factors include: the vendor evaluation process, setup of the service level agreement, the request for proposal, relationship with the supplier, communication of the whole process inside the company, the contract between the two parties, and the transition period with the measuring of results thereafter. The current IT skills shortage in South Africa is causing companies to rethink their IT strategies and make use of external service providers to supply them with the necessary skills to get the job done. The research illustrates this fact that IT consulting has one of the highest adoption rates currently and with regard to the future. Full blown outsourcing is still a relatively new concept in South Africa and companies will only adopt the concept as soon as it has proved to be successful and cost effective. As mentioned it is important that a structured methodology should be used to drive an outsourcing process. It is important that the approach is structured around proven project management principles with the correct measures in place to support and sustain the whole process. Outsourcing of IT services is a strategic decision that a company must take and the risks associated with the process mean that it must be planned and executed very carefully. Outsourcing has various risks associated with it like the appointment of the wrong service provider. However, the outsourcing process can also have its merits and the most important of these are most probably lower costs, new IT skills, and better service. The shortage of IT skills in South Africa makes the idea of outsourcing more and more attractive because of the fact that companies can now "buy" the skills without having to commit to long term permanent employment contracts for permanent staff.<br>AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die navorsingsverslag handel oor die konsep van uitkontraktering van inligtingstegnologie(IT) dienste aan eksterne diensverskaffers. Aangesien dit 'n relatiewe nuwe tendens in Suid Afrika se IT bedryf is, en die risiko bestaan dat 'n maatskappy groot geldelike verliese kan ly indien dit nie reg aangepak word nie, word daar gepoog om na die belangrikste aspekte van uitkontraktering te kyk om die risikos daaraan verbonde so laag as moontlik te hou. Die definisie van IT uitkontraktering is die oordrag van 'n organisasie se rekenaar sentrum operasies, telekommunikasie netwerk, of toepassing ontwikkeling na 'n eksterne verskaffer van hierdie dienste. Daar is verskillende variasies van uitkontraktering van toepassing op IT soos byvoorbeeld: uitkontraktering, inkontraktering, en gesamentlike kontraktering. Maatskappye het verskillende redes om 'n diens uit te kontrakteer en die risikos verbonde aan die proses moet sorgvuldig in gedagte gehou word wanneer die uitkontrakteringsproses aangepak word. Met IT uitkontraktering is daar verskillende dienste wat uitgekontrakteer kan word soos byvoorbeeld: hoofraam dienste, persoonlike rekenaar dienste, sekuriteitsdienste en verskeie rekenaar applikasie dienste. Die besluit om 'n spesifieke area van IT uit te kontrakteer is 'n strategiese kwessie vir die maatskappy en die risikos, kostes en keuse van eksterne diensverskaffer is almal baie belangrike faktore wat in gedagte gehou moet word. Een van die vernaamste faktore wat enige maatskappy in ag behoort te neem wanneer 'n groot inisiatief aangepak word, is natuurlik kostes. Die doel van uitkontraktering is om die kostes van die spesifieke area te verlaag. Daarom moet die nodige maatreëls in plek wees om die kostes vooraf en na die uitkontrakteringsproses te meet. Die uitkontraktering inisiatief kan die maatskappy egter baie duur te staan kom en glad nie die koste voordele bied wat aanvanklik beplan is nie. Dit kan wees as gevolg van verskuilde kostes wat nie met die beplanning van die proses in ag geneem is nie. Gewoonlik word die uitkontrakteringsproses gedryf deur 'n gestruktureerde projek en verskeie belangrike faktore moet in ag geneem word vir die hele proses. Die faktore sluit in: die evaluasieproses om die regte diensverskaffer aan te stel, die opstel van die regte dokumentasie in terme van die diensvoorstel voorlegging, verhouding met die diensverskaffer, die opstel van die diensvlak ooreenkoms, kommunikasie oor die hele proses binne die maatskappy, die kontrak tussen die twee partye, oorgangstadium en die meting van voordele daarna. Die huidige tekort aan IT vaardighede in Suid Afrika veroorsaak dat maatskappye hul IT strategie moet herdink en die opsie van eksterna diensverskaffers wat die nodige vaardighede kan verskaf, oorweeg word. Die studie illustreer hierdie feit dat IT konsultasie een van die hoogste vlakke van ingebruikneming tans en vir die toekoms het. Volledige IT funksie uitkontraktering is nog 'n relatiewe nuwe konsep in Suid Afrika en maatskappye sal slegs die idee aanneem sodra uitkontraktering as suksesvol en koste effektief bewys is. Soos reeds genoem is dit belangrik dat 'n gestruktureerde metodologie gebruik word om 'n uitkontrakteringsinisiatief te dryf. Dit is belangrik dat die aanslag geskoei is rondom bewese projekbestuursbeginsels en dat die regte maatreëls getref is om die proses te ondersteun. Uitkontraktering van IT dienste is 'n strategiese besluit wat 'n maatskappy moet neem. Die risikos daaraan verbonde veroorsaak dat die beplanning en aanpak van die proses baie deeglik en noukeurig gedoen moet word. Uitkontraktering het verskeie risikos soos om die verkeerde eksterne diensverskaffer te kies, maar kan ook voordelig vir die maatskappy wees en die grootste voordele wat 'n maatskappy kan verwag is verlaagde kostes en nuwe IT vaardighede. Die probleem van 'n tekort aan goed opgeleide IT personeel in Suid Afrika maak die idee van uitkontraktering al meer aanlokliker omdat dit 'n goeie manier is om goeie vaardighede in te "koop".

Quando si parla di green information technology si fa riferimento a un nuovo filone di ricerche focalizzate sulle tecnologie ecologiche o verdi rivolte al rispetto ambientale. In prima battuta ci si potrebbe chiedere quali siano le reali motivazioni che possono portare allo studio di tecnologie green nel settore dell’information technology: sono così inquinanti i computer? Non sono le automobili, le industrie, gli aerei, le discariche ad avere un impatto inquinante maggiore sull’ambiente? Certamente sì, ma non bisogna sottovalutare l’impronta inquinante settore IT; secondo una recente indagine condotta dal centro di ricerche statunitense Gartner nel 2007, i sistemi IT sono tra le maggiori fonti di emissione di CO2 e di altri gas a effetto serra , con una percentuale del 2% sulle emissioni totali del pianeta, eguagliando il tasso di inquinamento del settore aeromobile. Il numero enorme di computer disseminato in tutto il mondo assorbe ingenti quantità di energia elettrica e le centrali che li alimentano emettono tonnellate di anidride carbonica inquinando l’atmosfera. Con questa tesi si vuole sottolineare l’impatto ambientale del settore verificando, attraverso l’analisi del bilancio sociale ed ambientale, quali misure siano state adottate dai leader del settore informatico. La ricerca è volta a dimostrare che le più grandi multinazionali informatiche siano consapevoli dell’inquinamento prodotto, tuttavia non adottano abbastanza soluzioni per limitare le emissioni, fissando futili obiettivi futuri.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Political Science, 2011.<br>Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.<br>Includes bibliographical references (p. 519-544).<br>Militaries have long been eager to adopt the latest technology (IT) in a quest to improve knowledge of and control over the battlefield. At the same time, uncertainty and confusion have remained prominent in actual experience of war. IT usage sometimes improves knowledge, but it sometimes contributes to tactical blunders and misplaced hubris. As militaries invest intensively in IT, they also tend to develop larger headquarters staffs, depend more heavily on planning and intelligence, and employ a larger percentage of personnel in knowledge work rather than physical combat. Both optimists and pessimists about the so-called "revolution in military affairs" have tended to overlook the ways in which IT is profoundly and ambiguously embedded in everyday organizational life. Technocrats embrace IT to "lift the fog of war," but IT often becomes a source of breakdowns, misperception, and politicization. To describe the conditions under which IT usage improves or degrades organizational performance, this dissertation develops the notion of information friction, an aggregate measure of the intensity of organizational struggle to coordinate IT with the operational environment. It articulates hypotheses about how the structure of the external battlefield, internal bureaucratic politics, and patterns of human-computer interaction can either exacerbate or relieve friction, which thus degrades or improves performance. Technological determinism alone cannot account for the increasing complexity and variable performances of information phenomena. Information friction theory is empirically grounded in a participant-observation study of U.S. special operations in Iraq from 2007 to 2008. To test the external validity of insights gained through fieldwork in Iraq, an historical study of the 1940 Battle of Britain examines IT usage in a totally different structural, organizational, and technological context.<br>(cont.) These paired cases show that high information friction, and thus degraded performance, can arise with sophisticated IT, while lower friction and impressive performance can occur with far less sophisticated networks. The social context, not just the quality of technology, makes all the difference. Many shorter examples from recent military history are included to illustrate concepts. This project should be of broad interest to students of organizational knowledge, IT, and military effectiveness.<br>by Jon Randall Lindsay.<br>Ph.D.

<p>Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs) constitute the backbone of many economies in the world today. This is because they are creating new jobs and contributing positively to their respective economies in which Sweden is not an exception and par-ticularly the municipality of Jonkoping. SMEs invest in IT to gain access to integration of transactions oriented data and business processes.</p><p>This thesis, motivational factors for growth in SMEs – (IT perspective) give an overview of how SMEs grow as a result of the introduction and implementation of IT. Information Technology (IT) is seen to be a motivational factor for the growth of SMEs. This is because it acts like an enabler to their businesses and the current business environment.</p><p>To answer the research question, I conducted an empirical study of some companies in Jonkoping that are using IT as a motivational factor for growth. Interviews were con-ducted through the use of a structured questionnaire and to a lesser extent, unstructured questionnaire.</p><p>Results from studies portrayed that, these companies introduced and implemented IT as a motivational factor for similar reasons though with different objectives.</p>

Thesis (S.M.)--Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, 2010.<br>Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.<br>Includes bibliographical references (p. 56-58).<br>In this thesis I have developed a map of Healthcare Information Technology applications used in the United States for care delivery, healthcare enterprise management, clinical support, research and patient engagement. No attempt has previously been made to develop such a taxonomy for use by healthcare policy makers and on-the-spot decision makers. Using my own fifteen years of experience in HIT, along with an extensive set of literature reviews, interviews and on-site research I assembled lists of applications and organized them into categories based on primary workflows. Seven categories of HIT systems emerged, which are Practice Tools, Advisory Tools, Financial Tools, Remote Healthcare Tools, Clinical Research Tools, Health 2.0 Tools and Enterprise Clinical Analytics, each of which have different operational characteristics and user communities. The results of this pilot study demonstrate that a map is possible. The draft map presented here will allow researchers and investors to focus on developing the next generation of HIT tools, including software platforms that orchestrate a variety of healthcare transactions, and will support policy makers as they consider the impact of Federal funding for HIT deployment and adoption. Further studies will refine the map, adding an additional level of detail below the seven categories established here, thus supporting tactical decision making at the hospital and medical practice level.<br>by William Charles Richards Crawford.<br>S.M.

This study proposes a new model for the assessment of information technology (IT) use in public and private companies, which is called ITMEM- Information Technology Management Enhancement Model. This model aims to assist decision making processes in information technology management. For this purpose, a tool is developed to explore strengths and weaknesses of a company in IT use. The model was developed upon a three-folded structure including (1) academic studies in technology management, (2) best practices which are developed for control over operations and processes including COBIT, CMMI and ITIL, and (3) standards about IT management and IT security. The conceptual framework of ITMEM is based on technology management process assessment model of M.J. Gregory. Methodological triangulation approach is adopted for the model for retrieving valid and reliable results. Triangulation consists of (1) semi structured interview, (2) presented company documents and (3) questionnaire developed upon relevant academic researches, best practices and standards. ITMEM was practiced on ten domestic and experienced companies in software &amp<br>development and manufacturing industries which were appraised in or in progress of being appraised in CMMI. The study revealed the benefits and deficiencies of IT use in the company. It also provided information for decision makers about IT value within companies, and demonstrated the effects of best practices and standards over IT use.The reported findings should be valuable assets to researchers studying on IT management and IT use in organizations.