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Information Technology

Networked Desktop Computers. Desktop computers can acquired. IT is reliant upon items to electronically input,
be wired together in various ways to produce a network, output, process, store, and retrieve data. Data may
sometimes called a local area network. In a network, include, but are not limited to, text, graphics, sound, and
devices and information can be shared by desktop users. A video. Although IT is a complex entity, it makes daily
main desktop computer, called a server, maintains traffic tasks easier and more efficient.
over the writing schemes to make sure that documents, e- Computers, networks, satellites, robotics, videotext,
mail, and other communications arrive at the designated television, e-mail, electronic games, and automated office
destination computer intact. A system of servers can be equipment are some of the many tools used in IT. The IT
used for added capacity or for distinct purposes, such as e- industry uses hardware and equipment such as computers,
mail and printing. telephones, World Wide Web sites, transaction machines,
The information systems described here are all tech- and office equipment to transfer information. Specific
nological mechanisms tailored to meet both enterprise- software and services are used to ensure rapid processing
wide and specific-need missions, goals, and objectives. of information that is reliable and secure.
SEE ALSO Information Processing; Software
HISTORY OF INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Jones, Gareth, and George, Jennifer (2004). Essentials of contem- Although the term information technology first appeared in
porary management. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. the 1970s, the basic concept can be traced to much earlier
Stair, Ralph M., and Reynolds, George W. (2003). Principles of times, when the abacus (c. 1400), the movable press
information systems (6th ed.). Boston: Thomson/Course Tech- (1450s), and slide rule (1600s) were considered the first
nology. “computers.” Although these tools may seem primitive,
Stair, Ralph M., and Reynolds, George W. (2006). Fundamentals these “analog” computers provided valuable information
of information systems (3rd ed.). Boston: Thomson/Course for their users.
Technology.
IT then took a huge leap as military and business
Turban, Efraim, McLean, Ephraim, Wetherbe, James, et al.
(2002). Information technology for management: Transforming industries combined their efforts in the early 1900s.
business in the digital economy (3rd ed.). New York: Wiley. Together they were a major force in IT research and devel-
opment. Punched cards and electrical pulses quickly gave
way to vacuum tubes and electronic digital computers.
Douglas C. Smith The first electronic digital computer was designed at
the University of Pennsylvania by John Presper Eckert, Jr.
(1919–1995) and John W. Mauchly (1907–1980) in
1945. The electronic numerical integrator and computer,
INFORMATION or ENIAC, was designed to discover, monitor, and predict
TECHNOLOGY flight paths of weapons. ENIAC was designed using
Information technology (IT) turns arduous chores into 18,000 vacuum tubes that provided a week’s worth of
efficient tasks and corporate activities into achievable information in one hour, but was laden with maintenance
accomplishments. Online banking, electronic mail (e- problems.
mail) communications, ATM transactions, and Internet- The first commercial computer was the Universal
based research are possible because of IT. IT has evolved Automatic Computer (UNIVAC), developed by Eckert
into an essential component of everyday life. and Mauchly in 1951. The UNIVAC I was used by the
The Information Technology Association of America Census Bureau to predict the outcome of the 1952 presi-
(ITAA) provides a concise definition of IT as, “the collec- dential election. The development of ENIAC and UNI-
tion of products and services that turn data into useful, VAC I prompted an increase in IT research and
meaningful, accessible information.” Tony Gunton pro- development that continues into the twenty-first century.
vides a more comprehensive definition of IT as “electronic Computers are designed for a variety of purposes and are
technologies for collecting, storing, processing, and com- divided into four categories: supercomputer, mainframe
municating information … separated into two main cate- computer, microcomputer, and minicomputer. The cate-
gories (1) those which process information, such as gories are defined by size, cost, and processing ability.
computer systems, and (2) those which disseminate infor- Supercomputers are developed for use in science and
mation, such as telecommunication systems” (1993, p. engineering, for designing aircraft and nuclear reactors,
150). Specific equipment (computers) and software are and for predicting worldwide weather patterns. These
needed to process data so that information can be computers are of significant size and cost millions of dol-

388 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BUSINESS AND FINANCE, SECOND EDITION