Transaction processing systems (TPS) are computerized systems that perform and record daily routine transactions necessary in conducting business; they serve the organization’s operational level. The principal purpose of systems at this level is to answer routine questions and to track the flow of transactions through the organization.
• At the operational level, tasks, resources, and goals are predefined and highly structured.
• Managers need TPS to monitor the status of internal operations and the firm’s relationship with its external environment.
• TPS are major producers of information for other types of systems.
• Transaction processing systems are often so central to a business that TPS failure for a few hours can lead to a firm’s demise and perhaps that of other firms linked to it.