Basic information technologies: concept, types and functions

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

In the process of development, society in any field of activity consistently passed certain stages from manual labor to industrial high-tech production. First of all, efforts were directed towards facilitating physical labor. The information sphere for many years was considered the lot of mental labor. Every year it required more labor resources. The creation of computers and information transmission networks contributed to the processes of a revolutionary plan in the field of informatization. This allowed the transition to the industrial level of tools and technologies. In our article we will talk about basic information processes and technologies. Consider their varieties, features and functionality.

The concept of basic information technology

Information technology should be understood as a process that uses a set of techniques and tools for collecting, processing and subsequent transmission of data in order toobtain information about the state of an object, phenomenon or process with fundamentally new qualitative characteristics. The purpose of basic and applied information technologies is the production of information. It is analyzed by a person, after which the latter makes the most beneficial decision related to the performance of a particular action.

New stage in core IT development

The introduction of PS into the information sphere and the use of telecommunication tools for communication - this is what determined a new stage in the development of basic knowledge of information technology. It is interesting to note that information technology today has a "friendly" user interface. It uses telecommunications and personal computers. The Core Information Technology category is based on the following key principles:

1. Dialogue (interactive) mode of work with a personal computer.
2. Integration with other software products.
3. Ultimate flexibility in setting goals and changing data.

Let's consider the basic means of information technology. The most common types of software products are used as tools here. We are talking about word processors, spreadsheets, publishing systems, electronic calendars, database management systems, functional information systems.

Category classification

To the main types of basic informationtechnologies it is advisable to include the following:

1. Information technology related to data processing. It is worth noting that it is intended for solving well-structured tasks, the ways and algorithms for solving which are clearly known and for overcoming which there are all the necessary data of the input plan. This technology is used, as a rule, in the performance activities of low-skilled employees in order to automate some routine, constantly recurring operations of managerial work.
2. Basic information technology of managerial type is needed for information services for the personnel of enterprises, which is associated with the adoption of major decisions. In this case, the information is presented as regular or special reports of a managerial type and contains information about the possible future, present and past of the enterprise.
3. Automated office technology is needed to complement the existing communication system for employees of the structure. Office automation implies the organization and subsequent support of communication plan processes both within the company and with the external environment based on computer networks and other modern tools designed to transfer information and work with it.
4. Basic information technology associated with decision support is necessary for the development of management decisions that occur as a result of an iterative process, where the decision support system takes part (this is the control object and thea link that sets the input data and evaluates the result).
5. Technology of expert systems is based on the use of artificial intelligence. It is worth noting that expert systems assume that managers have the opportunity to receive advice from leading experts on various problems, about which these systems have accumulated knowledge.

Basic and applied information technologies

For a full understanding of the basic technologies, it is advisable to consider them in relation to applied ones. So, basic information technologies are designed for almost any process. They are largely determined by the requirements of the so-called "architectural" level, in other words, by the principles of von Neumann. It should be taken into account that the processing of information that is heterogeneous in terms of form, which is represented by heterogeneous data, in any case predetermines the appropriate pool of tools and technologies. The latter are focused on the form of presentation of information and types of operations. This should include:

• number processing systems;
• technologies and systems for processing text information (text recognition systems, word processors);
• means for processing multimedia information (for example, vector or raster graphics, video, sound).

Typically, these technologies are implemented in the form of function-oriented application products, which are associated with the term "end user technologies".

Types of basictechnologies

Today, the following models of basic information technology are known:

• Multimedia technology.
• Information security technologies.
• Office automation.
• Telecommunication technologies.
• Information technology related to computer-aided design.
• Information technology in the economy and industry.
• Artificial intelligence.
• CASE-technologies.
• Information technology of the statistical plan.
• Geoinformation technologies.
• Information Management Technology.
• Information Educational Technology.
• Corporate technologies. These basic information technologies are designed for organizational management.
• Accounting Information Systems (BAIS).

Composition and structure of typical IT

It is important to note that the initial steps in the development of automated control systems showed that for several decades it was not possible to introduce standard automated control systems, since it was not possible to further typify existing standard industrial enterprises. IT is rather favorably distinguished by the fact that it has a complex composition of elements, the totality of which works regardless of the conditions of existence.

Let's consider the composition and structure of a typical IT. Further, typical IT will be called basic when it is focused on a specific area of use. Basic IT forms models, methods, and tools for solving problems. It is created on the basis of standard hardware and software plan. It should be noted that Russian basic information technologies are subject to a specific goal. We are talking about solving functional problems in the relevant subject area (problems of design, management, testing, scientific experiment, and so on).

The input of the information technology of the plan under consideration, which is considered a system, receives a set of tasks for which basic solutions must be found within a specific time frame using tools and methods specific to IT. Let's analyze the application of basic IT at the logical, conceptual and physical levels.

Parse

So, at the conceptual level of the basic technology of information systems, the ideology of a pre-automated solution of the tasks ahead is set. It must be borne in mind that a typical sequence can be represented in the form of an algorithm. The initial stage is the formulation of the problem. If this task relates to automated control, then it is considered a set of interrelated algorithms that provide control. PP should be understood as the content characteristics of the task: purpose, economic and mathematical model and solution methodology, as well as informational and functional relationship with other tasks. Documented, that is, in methodological materials, the "Problem Statement and Solution Algorithm" is drawn up. At this stage, the correctness of the characteristic from the point of view of the indicatedcriteria.

The next step is the task formalization. Here the development of a mathematical model is relevant. If the latter is established, the next stage is algorithmization of the problem. Under the algorithm should be considered the process of converting data of the original type into the desired result in a certain number of steps.

Implementation of the algorithm based on specific computational tools is implemented at the stage of problem programming. This is a rather voluminous task, but it is usually implemented on the basis of information technology software. If there is a program, then problems are solved and, of course, specific indicators are obtained for input type data and accepted restrictions.

What follows is nothing more than an analysis of the solution. Here you can refine the task formalization model. It should be noted that the stages of setting and formalizing tasks are considered the most creative, complex and voluminous. The concept of the initial task hides a deep understanding of the processes taking place in the subject area.

In the context of the technology under consideration, a global task should be understood as the development of a domain model. In the process of implementing IT, one can often meet poorly formalized tasks. This is where expert plan systems come to the rescue. They are based on the knowledge of leading experts in the subject area. The developer of such systems collects all existing methods for formalizing a particular task. The user is the recipient of the solution options. This process is called IT design automation.

Appliedtechnology

The main task of applied technologies is the rational organization of some kind of information process. This is done by adapting one or a number of standard information technologies to a specific use, which allow the best implementation of individual fragments of the entire process. Thus, the key scientific problems in the field of applied technology research are the following:

1. Development of methods for analysis, optimization and synthesis of applied inf. technologies.
2. Development of design theory inf. technologies of various types and diverse practical purposes.
3. Development of methods for comparative evaluation of different options for creating information technologies in quantitative terms.
4. Formation of requirements for hardware and software tools for automating information technology processes.

Let's consider an example of applied technology

For example, the work of a specialist in the credit department of a banking institution using a computer in one way or another involves the use of a set of banking-type technologies designed to assess the creditworthiness of a borrower, create term obligations and a loan agreement, calculate a payment schedule and other technologies implemented in that or other information technology: word processor, DBMS, and so on. Transformation of providing IT in its purest form into functional (i.e. modification of commonly used tools into special ones)can be done both by the designer and directly by the user. The alignment depends on whether such a transformation is complex, in other words, on how accessible it is to the user himself. The presented opportunities are expanding more and more, as the enabling technologies become friendlier every year.

Final part

So, we have fully considered the main aspects of the category of basic information technology. It turned out that the main functions of modern information technologies in the management plan are the following procedures: search, collection, processing, storage of data, development of new information, as well as solving optimization problems. At the same time, the task is considered relevant not only to automate regularly recurring, labor-intensive, in a word, routine operations for processing an entire pool of data, but also, through this processing, to obtain new information in a fundamental way, which is necessary for making the most effective decisions regarding management.

It is worth remembering that the creation of information technology in any case is preceded by a detailed analysis and examination of the object of management, as well as management tasks and structure, the content of information and its flows. Based on this analysis, the development of an information model for managing the structure is carried out, fixing the relationship between data processing tasks and new information flows. Then the choice of technic altools and related IT is being developed.