INTERNET AND INFORMATION SYSTEM MANAGERS

Author : Boon How Keng, E-Mail : bhkeng@ihug.co.nz.
This essay was written and presented on 29th Of April 1996.
Written as an assignment for the first semester paper Management Information Systems
Paper number 636.323 at the University Of Auckland, New Zealand.

Topic
Introduction
Background
1) Connection And Communication Costs
2) Marketing, Human And Social Issues
3) Non Business Use By Employees Of Internet
4) Demand Of Customers For Online Service
5) Cost Of Developing Software and Services
6) Security And Maintaining Security
Conclusion
References

TOPIC:

There is no question that the Internet provides organisations with tremendous opportunity to reach new markets and provide new services. However changes have been so rapid managers generally struggle to cope with this new technology. They grapple with problems such as maintaining security, communications costs, non-business use by employees, increasing demands from customers for on-line service, not to mention the costs of developing software and services which support the Internet. Discuss these and other related problems. Explain how an IS Manager could effectively address these problems - what options are open to him or her? What recommendations do you have for IS Managers of medium sized New Zealand businesses today?

Introduction

The Internet is redefining business on a global scale, creating a revolution that is impacting all industry sectors. Its rapid spread into companies and organisations around the world, the exponential growth of the traffic it carries, and the overflowing reservoir of its information and data resources makes it an extremely valuable tool to have. By incorporating telecommunications, computer and software technologies, electronic commerce, and multimedia applications, the "Net" is changing the way companies do business. The Internet provides the companies with tremendous opportunities to reach new markets and provide new services. Managers need to view the Internet in the context of other forces affecting the future of its business. We have entered a period in which the old formulas for corporate success are no longer viable, and new solutions seem to have an ever-decreasing shelf life. Even the most advanced technology cannot offer a competitive advantage for very long these days without skillful and forward looking management. An Internet connection can provide many crucial benefits for any company. It offers a head start in the race to integrate high speed networks into all aspects of business. With all the benefits that the Internet can offer there are many problems associated with it as well. Managers must be able to recognise and address these problems. For example type of connections and communications costs, how and what type of connection is most cost effective? The Internet is growing at an enormous pace and changes to it have been so rapid, it can deliver important information resources and awareness of the world directly to the desktops of all the employees connected to the Internet. Access to this much information all at once can be overwhelming. Management must support the users to be able to understand and cope with this. The manager must also tackle the issue of non-business use by employees of the Internet and meeting the demands of customers for on-line services. There are also the costs involved in whether to develop software and services in-house or outsourcing it. Other problems that the manager must recognise are issues such as maintaining security. They have to realise that by connecting the organisation onto the Internet they are also connecting the Internet to their organisation as well, that means anybody on the Internet can access the organisation's data if no proper security is maintained. The aim of this essay is to discuss these problems facing an Information Systems Manager and offer some solutions that could address these problems. The solutions and recommendations offered will be specifically targeted at Information Systems Managers of a medium sized New Zealand businesses today but it should be realised that all the problems mentioned will affect managers of any business both large or small, contemplating becoming part of the Internet.

Background

Before going on to address the problems in more detail, let's first explain what is the Internet. There is an old story of seven blind men trying to describe an elephant based on parts of the elephant they are touching. Describing the Internet is almost as problematic. The Internet itself is a conglomeration of thousands of computer networks utilising a common set of technical protocols to create a worldwide communications medium. The Internet is experiencing incredible growth in terms of the number of users, number of computers, and number of networks connected to it. The Internet is estimated to have over 20 million users. The growth rate of the Internet is predicted to be at 10% of its total base of users every month! Dr. Vinton Cerf, one of the creators of the TCP/IP protocols (protocols which the Internet uses to communicate with), has predicted that in 10 years, the Internet will have over a hundred million regular users. According the Charles Catlett in the Internet Systems Handbook, the commercial sector of the Internet is by far the most rapidly growing area. Commercial organisations on the Internet have overtaken the research and educational sector and now forms nearly two-thirds of the entire population. While the commercial sector of the Internet is the most rapidly growing sector, the World Wide Web (WWW) or Web has become the fastest growing protocol. It allows the user to use other parts of the Internet seamlessly. What can you do on the Net? You can search for, obtain or read millions of files stored on computers worldwide, use most of the tools of the Internet such as Electronic Mail and Electronic News, get binary files such as software, pictures, sound files..etc, you can also search databases covering thousands of subjects and most importantly for businesses, provide data and services, and market and sell products using Web pages. There are many types of tools available to fully browse the Web and keep up with all net related business activities and communicate with other. Access to these tools will also permit a WWW marketeer to integrate WWW activities into a larger business presence.

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