INFORMATION SYSTEM COMPONENTS
A system is a set of related components that produces specific
results. For example, specialized systems route Internet traffic,
manufacture microchips, and control complex entities like the
Mars Rover shown in Figure 1-7. A mission-critical system is one
that is vital to a company’s operations. An order processing system,
for example, is mission-critical because the company cannot
do business without it.
Every system requires input data. For example, your computer
receives data when you press a key or click a menu command. In
an information system, data consists of basic facts that are the
system’s raw material. Information is data that has been transformed
into output that is valuable to users.