Module 1: Role of IT in the Key Functions of Business

Information technology (IT)

Information technology is all about storing, manipulating, distributing and processing information. Over the past few
years, IT has replaced the conventional modes of businesses with innovative technological tools.
What are business functions?
Business functions are the high-level groupings of a company's capabilities and processes that describe its work. Business
functions ensure an organization runs properly and does well for its customers, employees, leaders and shareholders.
Technology as a Business Necessity
~~~ Business has always existed since the early times of man. Even though it only began with the simplistic barter
system, business would not be the same as it is today without the advancements in technology. All the major industries
would fall into a catastrophic collapse if one were to take away technology from business, since majority of business
operations and transactions somehow involve the use of technology.
The role of technology in business caused a tremendous growth in trade and commerce. Business concepts and models
were revolutionized as a result of the introduction of technology. This is because technology gave a new and better
approach on how to go about with business. It provided a faster, more convenient, and more efficient way of performing
business transactions.
Some of actions of technology in business include accounting systems, management information systems, point of sales
systems, and other simpler or more complicated tools. Even the calculator is a product of technology. It is indeed
unfathomable to summon the idea of going back to the days where everything was done manually, which basically means
starting all over again from scratch.
~~~ Technology in business made it possible to have a wider reach in the global market. The basic example is the
Internet, which is now a common marketing tool to attract more consumers in availing products and services offered by
various businesses.
~~~ Research from the last two decade has proved that those organizations that do invest in technology and choose the
path of innovation increase their market share, financial figures and overall competitiveness.
Information technology is the only technology that provides opportunity to analyze specific data and plan for business
journey accordingly.
It also provides many tools which can solve complex problems and plan the scalability (future growth) of the business.
In the modern age, it is proved that digital marketing is a great tool that promotes products or services to the global market
while sitting in the comfort of remote office or home. Cloud computing and modern communication which enable us to
form a global organization, manage and monitor its virtual offices all over the world. A successful business depends upon
many factors one of the important factors in choosing the right technology. An essential use of technology in business for
more success and communicate through a platform like software, E-mail, video chat, and different internet technologies as
well.
~~~ Information technology has become very helpful in the business field. Whatever the business is small or big. In all
the organizations and companies IT is helpful for the manager and employees to work in a more efficient way, solve all
the rising problems in an easy way. Recover the entire problem and teach how to manage all complexity and how to get
more success. Information technology makes this all world like a global village. It allows the organization to make a
virtual meeting with clients through video chat, which saves lots of time and effort of the company. They have no need to
waste lots of money on traveling. All the employees can access and share all information at the same time when the
company makes a meeting with another client in another city. All employees can also work remotely so the company may
save lots of costs. The company easily solves lots of problems using IT technologies.

Role of IT in the Key Functions of Business

The rise of the internet, companies have found ways to improve major business functions to save money, get access to
helpful information, boost performance and collaborate across borders. Along with using the internet to find information,
communicate, make purchases and sell products, companies can take advantage of tools for accounting, marketing, supply
chain management, human resources and staff management. Knowing the uses of the internet in business can help you
make sure you take full advantage of the benefits this technology can offer your company.
a. Management and Administration including research and Development
~~ Improved Decision-Making Ability
Speed and accuracy are at the heart of making the right decision for your business. Every successful organization has to
go through a comprehensive market research process that enables management to make the right decision. Market
research can be done in many ways through online surveys, forums, blogs, group discussions using the World Wide Web
and of course through in-person interviews as well. Currently, Big data, Google Analytics and Microsoft CRM Dynamics
are also great tools to extract useful information which can impact decision making. These online tools not only provide
real-time responses from the potential audience but also ensure the accuracy of data by minimizing the risk of human
errors.
IT plays an important role in decision making. There is a software ERP and decision support system that helps the
company to improve its performance and provides great help in making complex decisions. This type of software has a
dashboard that provide information about finance, customer sales, and marketing trends, etc. This all information is really
helpful for the manager of the company; he used this information to make a decision about new products, supply, and
material order.
~~ Helping the company be more productive. “Time=money”
Technological applications, such as relational database technology, computer-aided designing, word processing,
spreadsheets and other software programming, increase productivity of businesses.
~~Improved Company Communication.
One important use of IT in business is to improve communication. Through the IT technology, the company used different
technologies such as E-mail, Video chat, Conferencing software. All these facilities make the company make a meeting
with employees and other clients in any city and even out of the country; they easily make a virtual meeting with clients
and also share information with them. It saves lots of effort and money of the company that will be waste on traveling.
b. Accounting and Finance
~~Analyze data
Information technology is able to analyze specific data and help to plan the business journey accordingly using the trends
and information presented in data. IT can also efficiently equip businesses with plentiful tools which can solve
challenging business obstacles and help to plan the future growth of the company. MIS (Management Information
System) should be used by the company to track sales data, daily expenses, and products well. This information provide
help to calculate profits from time to time, how to maximize return on investment and recognize areas of improvement.
c. Marketing and Sales with Customer Service
~~ Marketing and Business Growth.
The heart of the business success lies in its marketing which enables the management to identify its target audience first
and then observe their trends and needs. The overall marketing covers public relation, advertising, promotion and sales
which subsequently impact business growth. Many types of marketing can help you reach your potential customers.
Digital marketing was the dream in the past without Internet technology. Digital Marketing is a modern phenomenon that
let you promote your products or services all over the world. It is a broad term that includes many concepts like search
engine optimization (SEO), pay per click (PPC), blogging, discussion forum, email shot, SMS, MMS, social media
marketing and Smartphone app advertisement etc. Currently web market is booming at a very fast pace because most
entrepreneurs have understood that long term success in business is not possible without a digital presence on the internet.
Millions of new websites are being added to the internet every year.

~~ Customer Support and Satisfaction/ Quick and effective communication

Higher level of customer satisfaction is the key to success which cannot be achieved without a real-time customer support
process. Business success depends on knowing its customer needs, trends, behaviors and satisfaction level. Effective
communication is the best tool to understand the customer demands, problems and their solutions. The Internet
Technology has enabled us to communicate with millions of potential or existing customer in real-time. IT provides many
channels to communicate with the customer without going out in snow or rain. Some of these channels are email, webinar,
social media, member portals, online newsletters and text or multimedia messaging through the smartphone. Enterprise
organizations normally use customer relationship management systems (CRM) to hold valuable data for understanding
customer behaviors and future needs. CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is used to capture each and every
relation a company has with a customer, through this more experience gain. If a customer has any issue, he makes a call to
center and reports an issue, the customer relations officer will be able to view all customer’s shopping information, what
he purchased, call up the training manual for that item and effectively respond to the issue.
d. Production
~~ Monitoring
IT is used for monitoring areas of the company that are not utilizing resources efficiently. For instance, Dell made use of
real-time inventory and supply monitoring to produce only that number of computer systems that were demanded by Dell
customers, reducing the cost of overproduction. IT also aids the industrial sector in automating and streamlining the
manufacturing process.
~~ Inventory Management
All companies need to maintain more socks to fulfill the requirements without any delay. The Inventory management
systems are helpful to identify the quantity of each product a company and make a list for the additional stock by using a
way of inventory management. It becomes more important for the company because the organization needs to maintain
enough stock to meet customer requirements. By using IT in inventory management, it also will also provide help to the
company to maintains, triggering when it comes to managing inventory.
e. Operations
IT automates particular operations; it assists in accelerating the workflow by reducing or eliminating delays and
duplications. IT ensured that organizations are able to reduce cost, improve the delivery process, standardize and improve
quality and focus on customization, thereby, creating value for customers. It makes the company more productive. It also
helps the company to expand globally.
Advantages of IT in business
1. It improves the communication of organizations.
2. It provides great help in making decisions through different software tools.
3. It improved Manufacturing Productivity
4. Improved Finance Performance
5. Improves customer relationships with the organization.
6. It provides a great platform for employees to improve their experience.
7. It saves lots of effort and money for organizations.
8. It provides great virtual and coloration.
9. It provides a vast amount of data sharing.
10. Improved customer’s services by solving their problems on time.
11. It allows different companies to store data in a database or in the cloud. It reduces the use of papers.
12. It provides easy backup of data. It provides great help to save data and do not loss confidential data.
13. Internet able the company to use a system like wireless cameras to improve security and reduce the chances of
risk.
14. It is helpful for people to search for different companies for jobs and easily allay online through company
websites.
15. Through the IT, business is improved because the company can finish their tasks more easily and in a cheaper
way.
16. All the data is stored on a centralized database.
17. It enhances the capability of decision making.
18. It is also helpful for the employee to improve their performance.
19. It provides staff access to company information whatever and whenever they need it.
Disadvantages of IT in Business
1. It is really difficult for the company to train staff for new technologies.
2. There are lots of security issues. By providing too many communications that it may result in some important
personal information being leaked to the public.
3. Many software and hardware are more expensive.

References:
https://realbusiness.co.uk/role-information-technology-business
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/functions-of-businesses
https://bizfluent.com/info-7794503-do-companies-use-internet.html
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/role-information-technology-business-success-abid-afzal-butt
https://medium.com/@peafranciaramosseruma/the-role-of-information-technology-in-business-sector-a33ec4d83c61
https://t4tutorials.com/role-of-it-in-business/