Week 1

Week 1

1. What are the characteristics of the modern business environment?
Very dynamic environment and subject to change.
Competition and globalization are strong.
Need for telecommunications to attempt to access the electronic market

2. What is meant by a web-based, global platform, what does it provide, and how has it affected business?
The global, web-based platform is best represented by the Internet and the functionality of the World Wide Web.
The platform provides individuals with the opportunity to connect, communicate, and compete anytime; to access limitless amounts of information, services, and entertainment; to exchange knowledge; and to produce and sell goods and services.
This has affected business by increasing the competitiveness of businesses and enabling rapid advances in information technology along with an increase of global business or e-business.

3. What are the main pressures that characterize the modern global business environment?
Examples of three main pressures that characterise global business environment are:
Market pressures: global economy and strong competition, the changing nature of the workforce, and powerful customers.

Technology pressures: technological innovation and obsolescence, and information overload

Societal/political/legal pressures: social responsibility, compliance with government regulations and deregulation, protection against terrorist attacks, ethical issues

4. What are/discuss some of the common, IT oriented organizational responses to these pressures?
Strategic systems are being built to know who their customers and competitors are.

Customer focus through adapting new practices which aim to satisfy the customer – online vehicle registration etc.

5. How are IT architecture and IT infrastructure interrelated.
The people are the input and processes which interrelate with the architecture and infrastructure

6. Is the Internet an infrastructure, an architecture, or an application program? or something else. Why?
The Internet is part of the infrastructure because it is a communication technology that offers a platform for all of an organisations information systems.