Information Systems Management
Experts are forecasting a trend toward increased spending on technology after a cyclical drop soon after Y2K concerns passed. With antiquated legacy systems getting more and more expensive to fix, old computers breaking down, and the benefits of mobile computing continually being realized, new technology is expected to enter the business world with renewed speed. As is often the case with the gradual diffusion of technological innovation into the marketplace, telecom and storage services are simultaneously decreasing in cost.
According to Michael J. Miller, editor-in-chief of PC magazine, the biggest growth opportunity for management information systems
technology is in Web services. He predicts that emerging Web service standards will promote integration and let companies tie together existing applications within an organization, connect to outside applications, and create applications that are entirely new. Due to the increasing number of applications in the corporate world, Miller also does not see that just one player (such as Microsoft or Sun Microsystems) will dominate the market.
Mimicking the security issues discussed earlier, Miller sees that security is the biggest obstacle for continued growth in the sector and that both consumers and businesses will need to address issues of security better.
Another trend in MIS is what is referred to as business process management (BPM). As has been illustrated in this chapter, there are
myriad applications and packages that can be used for the IT enthusiast. A new trend that is emerging in the area, however, is business process management. BPM is recognized as one of the fastest growing technologies in the software world with a market value of over $400 million in 2003 (according to an analyst in the Delphi Group). The innovation of the technology finds its roots in automating the processes that involve people. It includes capabilities derived from process modeling, process monitoring, application integration, and rapid application development tools.
Additionally, there is a trend toward integrating different technologies. As mentioned earlier, PDAs can now include telephones and cameras, but there has also been the creation of “palmtops” and Web phones. These innovations in technology are going outside the communication realm and now migrating toward regular household appliances such as washers, refrigerators, and even microwaves.
One of the greatest trends in the world of information systems, however, is a shortage of the people who can help integrate, install,
and run these information systems. Companies are finding it increasingly difficult to stay current with the latest technologies and are facing a shortage of IT personnel. This can be seen as an excellent opportunity for the technologically inclined, but can be a competitive hindrance to a company that simply can’t access the resources needed to keep up in its industry, and to its clients as well. In the future, the trend toward IT outsourcing will continue and most likely make the reliance on consultants even greater.