Over the past decades modern information systems have taken on a vital role for business and organisations. For instance;
• Supporting Business Processes & Operations
o Assisting with automating routine processes
• Supporting Decision Making by employees and managers
o By making the right information available to make the right decisions
• Supporting Strategies for Competitive Advantage
o Today very often information systems are the cause or the driver of organization strategy
These three bullets represent how information systems perform a role at different levels – the day to day level, the tactical level and increasingly at the strategic level. At a day to day level, systems assist with making routine tasks automated helping workers perform their roles accurately and reliably. At the tactical level making better information available helps managers to make better decisions. At the strategic level, today information systems are driving corporate strategy, for example by opening up new markets or reducing costs through systems like Supply Chain Management systems (SCM).
While originally information systems simply provided automation functions, they have increasingly taken on a more significant (or strategic) role. This is due to both technology push and business pull effects – i.e. as new technologies are developed, they push their way into being used in organisations, meanwhile businesses are demanding more information systems and investing in their