Exam 22: Using Technology to Manage Information

Initially, the very-high-speed Internet2 network service was set up to connect government supercomputer centers with a select group of universities.

Today the role of the chief information officer is to help the business use technology to communicate better with others while offering better service and lower costs.

Steve has convinced top management at his company that they can use data-mining techniques to develop new marketing strategies. One of the keys to the success of his suggestion is

A(n) ________ serves as an entry point to a variety of resources on an organization's information network.

Mini-Case Cy Burspace first began working for Epic Electronics in the mid-1970s as a business technology specialist. Today, he is the department head for the company's information systems department. Cy is well known and respected by everyone in the company, and his coworkers recently threw a party to honor his 30th year with Epic. Cy did a lot of reminiscing at the party, telling the newer employees how things were done in the "old days," and comparing them to newer methods. "I'm still amazed at how things have changed. When I first came to Epic, we had a central computer to handle everything. It took up a whole room, but all it really did was generate financial reports for management," said Cy. "Today, employees have their own personal computer, and all are hooked up to a network. All of this connectivity has led to big improvements in our operations. For example, if a production worker wants to find out how many units of a particular component we have in inventory, or wants the name and address of a particular supplier who sells us that component, he or she can get the information in the blink of an eye. In fact, we have even given our suppliers and customers access to our network so that we can share information and provide them with better service. That change has really helped us compete against the bigger firms." "Now," Cy continued, "most of the workers in my department don't even have to be at the office to be connected. We have smartphones and laptops so we can do much of our work from home or while we are on the road." A new employee asked Cy if he was ready to retire. "No way," he said. "I'm in the middle of a major project right now. We're trying to design a single entry point for people to use when logging on to the Epic network. We want to set it up so that the log-on procedure identifies different types of users and automatically gives them access to the types of resources they need. For example, customers who logged on would be allowed to place orders, check on the status of previous orders, and interact with our technical support staff, but would not have access to other, more proprietary parts of our network. We think this approach will be more convenient for everyone. And," he continued, "once I finish that project, the marketing department has asked me to work on developing better ways to store and analyze the vast amounts of data we collect. So my work is cut out for me for quite a while yet." -Cy's new project to provide a single entry point to his company's network that identifies users and allows them access to the areas of the network they need indicates that he is working on a(n)

Tee Time Golf Resorts currently has an intranet, and is considering making use of an extranet. One of the main reasons Tee Time may want an extranet is to allow a select group of outside customers to have access to information on its intranet.

Two of the characteristics of useful information are

Because cloud computing is often too expensive for small businesses, it is rarely used.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, businesses began to emphasize finding ways to employ new technologies to improve existing methods of doing business.

When ransomware holds your data hostage, what is most likely to happen?

The Internet has greatly slowed the spread of computer viruses by making it possible to share programs and files by downloading them from online sources rather than sharing diskettes.

Subjectivity is one of the four characteristics of useful information.

________ is raw, unanalyzed, and unorganized facts and figures.

Users of Internet2 each pay the same fee for their connection and share bandwidth equally.

Ronald is the CIO for a major corporation. His job requires him to have an extensive knowledge of the hardware and software his company uses, but he will seldom be concerned about the methods and procedures used by specific departments.

It is illegal for companies to scan e-mails written by their employees at work unless the employees have given permission in advance or the firm has received approval from a federal judge.

The Critical Infrastructure Protection Board was established after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, as part of the Office of Homeland Security.

A(n) ________ is a private data network that creates secure connections over regular Internet lines.

Information is data that has been processed and organized so that it can be used for managerial decision making.

Homegrown Design, a company that publishes home design software, wants to set up a temporary link with another firm to collaborate and share data on a short-term basis. Homegrown wants to keep the cost of setting up this connection reasonable, but is concerned about hackers and wants to make sure its link is secure. The best way for Homegrown to achieve its goal is to set up an extranet with dedicated lines.