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systems just provided reports, mostly once a month, a few once a week, and a small
number once a day.
Organizations have come to realize that information is a key asset to be care-
fully managed and used for greater profitability. In summary, demand for informa-
tion by today's enterprises contains the following attributes:
•
More information
•
Newer purposes
•
Different information types
•
Integrated information
•
Information to be shared
•
Faster access to information
Waves of Evolution
As we have seen so far, information technology, along with and because of the esca-
lating demand for information, has made giant strides in the past few decades. Evo-
lution to higher levels is evident in every aspect of information technology. The
evolution has taken place in distinct waves. Refer to Figure 1-2.
Note carefully the evolution of information technology in the three major areas.
First note how the very methods of computing technology have progressed from
mainframes to client/server architecture. The centrally administered mainframes
have made room for the client/server configuration in which each set of machines
can perform specialized tasks.
What about the way in which humans interface with computers? In earlier days,
we punched data on cards and fed them to be read by the early computers. Then
came the CRTs (cathode-ray terminals) where textual data could be typed into the
computer through the use of keyboards. Point-and-click GUIs (graphical user inter-
faces) proved to be a major improvement. Now, interfacing with computers through
Computing Technology
Mainframe
Mini
PCs/Networking Client/Server
Human/Machine Interface
Punch Card
Video Display
GUI
Voice
Processing Options
Batch
Online
Networked
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
Figure 1-2
Information technology: waves of evolution.
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