Lesson 9 system, providing a graphical environment.

It
was quite limited and had little commercial
SOFTWARE source Information System for success.
Business and Beyond
• It was not until the 1990 release of Windows
Types of Software 3.0 that Microsoft found success with a
graphical user interface. Because of the hold of
Operating systems - manage the hardware and
IBM and IBM-compatible personal computers
create the interface between the hardware and
on business, it was not until Windows 3.0 was
the user.
released that business users began using a
Application software - is the category of graphical user interface, ushering us into the
programs that do something useful for the user. graphical-computing era.

Operating Systems Features such as multitasking, virtual memory,

and voice input have become standard features
The operating system provides several essential of both operating systems.
functions, including:
A third personal-computer operating system
1. managing the hardware resources of the family that is gaining in popularity is Linux
computer; (pronounced “linn-ex”).
2. providing the user-interface components; •Linux is a version of the Unix operating system
3. providing a platform for software developers that runs on the personal computer.
to write applications. •Unix is an operating system used primarily by
All computing devices run an operating system. scientists and engineers on larger
For personal computers, the most popular minicomputers.
operating systems are Microsoft’s Windows, Mac vs. Windows
Apple’s OS X, and different versions of Linux.
Ever since its introduction in 1984, users of the
Smartphones and tablets run operating systems Apple Macintosh have been quite biased about
as well, such as Apple’s iOS, Google’s Android, their preference for the Macintosh operating
Microsoft’s Windows Mobile, and Blackberry. system (now called OS X) over Microsoft’s.
The most popular of the early operating systems When Microsoft introduced Windows, Apple
was IBM’s Disk Operating System, or DOS, which sued Microsoft, claiming that they copied the
was actually developed for them by Microsoft. “look and feel” of the Macintosh operating
system. In the end, Microsoft successfully
In 1984, Apple introduced the Macintosh defended themselves.
computer, featuring an operating system with a
graphical user interface. Though not the first While Microsoft has always had the larger
graphical operating system, it was the first one market share, Apple has been the favorite of
to find commercial success. artists, musicians, and the technology elite.

In 1985, Microsoft released the first version of Why Is Microsoft Software So Dominant in the
Windows. This version of Windows was not an Business World?
operating system, but instead was an If you’ve worked in the world of business, you
application that ran on top of the DOS operating may have noticed that almost all of the
computers run a version of Microsoft’s Windows For the personal computer, the killer application
operating system. Why is this? was the spreadsheet. In 1979, VisiCalc, the first
personal-computer spreadsheet package, was
As we have learned, almost all businesses used
introduced. It When the IBM PC was released,
IBM mainframe computers back in the 1960s
another spreadsheet program, Lotus 1-2-3, was
and 1970s. These same businesses shied away
the killer app for business users.
from personal computers until IBM released the
PC in 1981. Productivity Software - allow office employees
to complete their daily work. Many times, these
When executives had to make a decision about
applications come packaged together, such as in
purchasing personal computers for their
Microsoft’s Office suite.
employees, they would choose the safe route
and purchase IBM. The saying then was: “No Word processing: This class of software
one ever got fired for buying IBM.” So over the provides for the creation of written documents.
next decade, companies bought IBM personal Functions include the ability to type and edit
computers (or those compatible with them), text, format fonts and paragraphs, and add,
which ran an operating system called DOS. DOS move, and delete text throughout the
was created by Microsoft, so when Microsoft document. by far, the most popular word-
released Windows as the next iteration of DOS, processing package is Microsoft Word, which
companies took the safe route and started saves its files in the DOCX format. This format
purchasing Windows. can be read/written by many other word-
processor packages.
Microsoft soon found itself with the dominant
personal-computer operating system for Spreadsheet: This class of software provides a
businesses. way to do numeric calculations and analysis.
The working area is divided into rows and
“No one ever got fired for buying Microsoft.”
columns, where users can enter numbers, text,
Application Software - software that allows the or formulas. The most popular spreadsheet
user to accomplish some goal or purpose. For package is Microsoft Excel, which saves its files
example, if you have to write a paper, you might in the XLSX format. Just as with word
use the application-software program Microsoft processors, many other spreadsheet packages
Word. If you want to listen to music, you might can read and write to this file format.
use iTunes. To surf the web, you might use
Presentation: This class of software provides for
Internet Explorer or Firefox. Even a computer
the creation of slideshow presentations.
game could be considered application software.
Harkening back to the days of overhead
The “Killer” App projectors and transparencies, presentation
software allows its users to create a set of slides
When a new type of digital device is invented, that can be printed or projected on a screen.
there are generally a small group of technology Users can add text, images, and other media
enthusiasts who will purchase it just for the joy elements to the slides. Microsoft’s PowerPoint is
of figuring out how it works. A “killer” the most popular software right now, saving its
application is one that becomes so essential files in PPTX format.
that large numbers of people will buy a device
just to run that application.
Comparison of office application software a problem with the software causes harm to
suites your business, you cannot hold Microsoft or the
supplier responsible for damages.

Applications for the Enterprise

As the personal computer proliferated inside

organizations, control over the information
generated by the organization began splintering.
Say the customer service department creates a
customer database to keep track of calls and
problem reports, and the sales department also
creates a database to keep track of customer
Utility Software and Programming Software information. Which one should be used as the
master list of customers? As another example,
Two subcategories of application software : someone in sales might create a spreadsheet to
calculate sales revenue, while someone in
Utility software - includes software that allows
finance creates a different one that meets the
you to fix or modify your computer in some way.
needs of their department. However, it is likely
Examples include antivirus software and disk
that the two spreadsheets will come up with
defragmentation software. These types of
different totals for revenue. Which one is
software packages were invented to fill
correct? And who is managing all of this
shortcomings in operating systems.
information?
Programming software - is software whose Enterprise Resource Planning
purpose is to make more software. Most of
In the 1990s, the need to bring the
these programs provide programmers with an
organization’s information back under
environment in which they can write the code,
centralized control became more apparent. The
test it, and convert it into the format that can
enterprise resource planning (ERP) system
then be run on a computer.
(sometimes just called enterprise software) was
I Own This Software, Right? Well . . . developed to bring together an entire
organization in one software application. Simply
When you purchase software and install it on
put, an ERP system is a software application
your computer, are you the owner of that
utilizing a central database that is implemented
software?
throughout the entire organization.
Technically, you are not! When you install
Let’s take a closer look at this definition:
software, you are actually just being given a
license to use it. • “A software application”: An ERP is a software
application that is used by many of an
liability. Again, from Microsoft: “Limitation on
organization’s employees.
and exclusion of damages. You can recover from
Microsoft and its suppliers only direct damages • “utilizing a central database”: All users of the
up to the amount you paid for the software. You ERP edit and save their information from the
cannot recover any other damages, including data source. What this means practically is that
consequential, lost profits, special, indirect or there is only one customer database, there is
incidental damages.” What this means is that if only one calculation for revenue, etc.
• “that is implemented throughout the entire and two more distributors, then you have 4 x 2 x
organization”: ERP systems include functionality 4 = 32 links to manage.
that covers all of the essential components of a
A supply chain management (SCM) system
business. Further, an organization can purchase
manages the interconnection between these
modules for its ERP system that match specific
links, as well as the inventory of the products in
needs, such as manufacturing or planning.
their various stages of development. A full
ERP systems were originally marketed to large definition of a supply chain management system
corporations. However, as more and more large is provided by the Association for Operations
companies began installing them, ERP vendors Management: “The design, planning, execution,
began targeting mid-sized and even smaller control, and monitoring of supply chain
businesses. Some of the more well-known ERP activities with the objective of creating net
systems include those from SAP, Oracle, and value, building a competitive infrastructure,
Microsoft. leveraging worldwide logistics, synchronizing
supply with demand, and measuring
In order to effectively implement an ERP system
performance globally.” Most ERP systems
in an organization, the organization must be
include a supply chain management module.
ready to make a full commitment. All aspects of
the organization are affected as old systems are
replaced by the ERP system. In general, Mobile Applications
implementing an ERP system can take two to
Just as with the personal computer, mobile
three years and several million dollars. In most
devices such as tablet computers and
cases, the cost of the software is not the most
smartphones also have operating systems and
expensive part of the implementation: it is the
application software. In fact, these mobile
cost of the consultants!
devices are in many ways just smaller versions
So why implement an ERP system? If done of personal computers. A mobile app is a
properly, an ERP system can bring an software application programmed to run
organization a good return on their investment. specifically on a mobile device.
By consolidating information systems across the
These days, most mobile devices run on one of
enterprise and using the software to enforce
two operating systems: Android or iOS. Android
best practices, most organizations see an overall
is an open-source operating system purchased
improvement after implementing an ERP.
and supported by Google; iOS is Apple’s mobile
Supply Chain Management operating system. In the fourth quarter of 2012,
Android was installed on 70.1% of all mobile
Many organizations must deal with the complex
phones shipped,
task of managing their supply chains. At its
simplest, a supply chain is the linkage between followed by 21.0% for iOS. Other mobile
an organization’s suppliers, its manufacturing operating systems of note are Blackberry (3.2%)
facilities, and the distributors of its products. and Windows (2.6%).
Each link in the chain has a multiplying effect on
As organizations consider making their digital
the complexity of the process: if there are two
presence compatible with mobile devices, they
suppliers, one manufacturing facility, and two
will have to decide whether to build a mobile
distributors, for example, then there are 2 x 1 x
app. A mobile app is an expensive proposition,
2 = 4 links to handle. However, if you add two
and it will only run on one type of mobile device
more suppliers, another manufacturing facility,
at a time. For example, if an organization • No software to install or upgrades to maintain.
creates an iPhone app, those with Android
• Available from any computer that has access
phones cannot run the application. Each app
to the Internet.
takes several thousand dollars to create, so this
is not a trivial decision for many companies. • Can scale to a large number of users easily.
One option many companies have is to create a • New applications can be up and running very
website that is mobile-friendly. A mobile quickly.
website works on all mobile devices and costs
about the same as creating an app. • Services can be leased for a limited time on an
as-needed basis.
Cloud Computing
• Your information is not lost if your hard disk
Historically, for software to run on a computer, crashes or your laptop is stolen.
an individual copy of the software had to be
installed on the computer, either from a disk or, • You are not limited by the available memory
more recently, after being downloaded from the or disk space on your computer.
Internet. The concept of “cloud” computing Disadvantages of Cloud Computing
changes this, however.
• Your information is stored on someone else’s
To understand cloud computing, we first have to computer – how safe is it?
understand what the cloud is. “The cloud”
refers to applications, services, and data storage • You must have Internet access to use it. If you
on the Internet. These service providers rely on do not have access, you’re out of luck.
giant server farms and massive storage devices • You are relying on a third-party to provide
that are connected via Internet protocols. Cloud these services.
computing is the use of these services by
individuals and organizations. Cloud computing has the ability to really impact
how organizations manage technology. For
You probably already use cloud computing in example, why is an IT department needed to
some forms. For example, if you access your e- purchase, configure, and manage personal
mail via your web browser, you are using a form computers and software when all that is really
of cloud computing. If you use Google Drive’s needed is an Internet connection?
applications, you are using cloud computing.
While these are free versions of cloud Virtualization
computing, there is big business in providing
One technology that is utilized extensively as
applications and data storage over the web.
part of cloud computing is “virtualization.”
Salesforce (see above) is a good example of
Virtualization is the process of using software to
cloud computing – their entire suite of CRM
simulate a computer or some other device. For
(Customer relationship management)
example, using virtualization, a single computer
applications are offered via the cloud. Cloud
can perform the functions of several computers.
computing is not limited to web applications: it
Companies such as EMC provide virtualization
can also be used for services such as phone or
software that allows cloud service providers to
video streaming.
provision web servers to their clients quickly
Advantages of Cloud Computing and efficiently. Organizations are also
implementing virtualization in order to reduce
the number of servers needed to provide the Open-source software - is software that makes
necessary services. the source code available for anyone to copy
and use. For most of us, having access to the
source code of a program does us little good, as
we are not programmers and won’t be able to
Software Creation do much with it. The good news is that open-
source software is also available in a compiled
Modern software applications are written using format that we can simply download and install.
a programming language. A programming
language consists of a set of commands and The open-source movement has led to the
syntax that can be organized logically to execute development of some of the most-used
specific functions. software in the world, including the Firefox
browser, the Linux operating system, and the
This language generally consists of a set of Apache web server.
readable words combined with symbols. Using
this language, a programmer writes a program
(called the source code) that can then be
Some benefits of the open-source model are:
compiled into machine-readable form, the ones
and zeroes necessary to be executed by the • The software is available for free.
CPU.
• The software source-code is available; it can
Examples of well-known programming be examined and reviewed before it is installed.
languages today include Java, PHP, and various
• The large community of programmers who
flavors of C (Visual C, C++, C#). Languages such
work on open-source projects leads to quick
as HTML and JavaScript are used to develop
bugfixing
web pages.
and feature additions.

Some benefits of the closed-source model are:

Open-Source Software
• By providing financial incentive for software
This led to a new business model of restrictive
development, some of the brightest minds have
software licensing, which required payment for
software, a model that is still dominant today. chosen software development as a career.
This model is sometimes referred to as closed
source, as the source code is not made available • Technical support from the company that
to others. developed the software.

There are many, however, who feel that

software should not be restricted. Just as with
those early hobbyists in the 1970s, they feel
that innovation and progress can be made much
more rapidly if we share what we learn. In the
1990s, with Internet access connecting more
and more people together, the opensource
movement gained steam.