Donn Christian R.
Agra August 19, 2019
IT-1
Management information system
A management information system (MIS) is an information system[1] used for decision-
making, and for the coordination, control, analysis, and visualization of information in an
organization.
The study of management information systems examines people, processes and
technology in an organizational context.
In a corporate setting, the ultimate goal of the use of a management information system
is to increase the value and profits of the business.
History of Management Information System
There are 5 eras:
First Era – Mainframe and minicomputer computing
Second Era – Personal computers
Third Era – Client/server networks
Fourth Era – Enterprise computing
Fifth Era – Cloud computing
The first era (mainframe and minicomputer computing) was ruled by IBM and their
mainframe computers for which they supplied both the hardware and software. These
computers would often take up whole rooms and require teams to run them. As
technology advanced, these computers were able to handle greater capacities and
therefore reduce their cost. Smaller, more affordable minicomputers allowed larger
businesses to run their own computing centers in-house / on-site / on-premises.
The second era (personal computers) began in 1965 as microprocessors started to
compete with mainframes and minicomputers and accelerated the process of
decentralizing computing power from large data centers to smaller offices. In the late
1970s, minicomputer technology gave way to personal computers and relatively low-
cost computers were becoming mass market commodities, allowing businesses to
provide their employees access to computing power that ten years before would have
cost tens of thousands of dollars. This proliferation of computers created a ready market
for interconnecting networks and the popularization of the Internet. (The first
microprocessor — a four-bit device intended for a programmable calculator — was
introduced in 1971 and microprocessor-based systems were not readily available for
several years. The MITS Altair 8800 was the first commonly known microprocessor-
based system, followed closely by the Apple I and II. It is arguable that the
microprocessor-based system did not make significant inroads into minicomputer use
until 1979, when VisiCalc prompted record sales of the Apple II on which it ran. The IBM
PC introduced in 1981 was more broadly palatable to business, but its limitations gated
its ability to challenge minicomputer systems until perhaps the late 1980s to early
1990s.)
The third era (client/server networks) arose as technological complexity increased,
costs decreased, and the end-user (now the ordinary employee) required a system
to share information with other employees within an enterprise. Computers on a
common network shared information on a server. This lets thousands and even millions
of people access data simultaneously on networks referred to as Intranets.
The fourth era (enterprise computing) enabled by high speed networks, consolidated
the original department specific software applications into integrated software platforms
referred to as enterprise software. This new platform tied all aspects of the business
enterprise together offering rich information access encompassing the complete
management structure.
Database
A database is an organized collection of data, generally stored and accessed
electronically from a computer system. Where databases are more complex they are
often developed using formal design and modeling techniques.
The database management system (DBMS) is the software that interacts with end
users, applications, and the database itself to capture and analyze the data. The DBMS
software additionally encompasses the core facilities provided to administer the
database. The sum total of the database, the DBMS and the associated applications
can be referred to as a "database system". Often the term "database" is also used to
loosely refer to any of the DBMS, the database system or an application associated with
the database.
Computer scientists may classify database-management systems according to
the database models that they support. Relational databasesbecame dominant in the
1980s. These model data as rows and columns in a series of tables, and the vast
majority use SQL for writing and querying data. In the 2000s, non-relational databases
became popular, referred to as NoSQL because they use different query languages.
