IT (definition):
The Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) defines Information Technology as:
"The study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware."
In simple words IT deals with the use of electronic computers and computer software to convert, store, protect process, transmit, and securely retrieve information.
Applications of Information Technology:
• Application of IT in banking:
1). Technology has opened up new markets, new products, new services and efficient delivery channels for the banking industry. Online electronics banking, mobile banking and internet banking are just a few examples.
2). Information Technology has also provided banking industry with the wherewithal to deal with the challenges the new economy poses. Information technology has been the cornerstone of recent financial sector reforms aimed at increasing the speed and reliability of financial operations and of initiatives to strengthen the banking sector.
3). The IT revolution has set the stage for unprecedented increase in financial activity across the globe. The progress of technology and the development of world wide networks have significantly reduced the cost of global funds transfer.
4). It is information technology which enables banks in meeting such high expectations of the customers who are more demanding and are also more techno-savvy compared to their counterparts of the yester years. They demand instant, anytime and anywhere banking facilities.
5). IT has been providing solutions to banks to take care of their accounting and back office requirements. This has, however, now given way to large scale usage in services aimed at the customer of the banks. IT also facilitates the introduction of new delivery channels--in the form of Automated Teller Machines, Net Banking, Mobile Banking and the like. Further, IT deployment has assumed such high levels that it is no longer possible for banks to manage their IT implementations on a stand alone basis with IT revolution, banks are increasingly interconnecting their computer systems not only across branches in a city but also to other geographic locations with high-speed network infrastructure, and setting up local area and wide area networks and connecting them to the Internet. As a result, information systems and networks are now exposed to a growing number.
Technology Products:
(1). Net Banking
(2). Credit Card Online
(3). One View
(5). Mobile Banking
(7). e-Monies Electronic Fund Transfer
(8). Online Payment of Excise & Service Tax
(9). Phone Banking
(10). Bill Payment
• Application of IT in Railways:
Computers and Information Technology are widely used in the railway system and railway industry.
e.g.
1. Tracking, scheduling, monitoring and reporting railway traffic.
2. Design of railway track systems and railway vehicles.
3. Managing Railway construction projects.
4. Pricing and ticketing.
Administration, such as
1. Accounting and financial controls
2. Statutory records and reports
3. Financial reports and taxation requirements
4. Letter writing, staff records, payroll.
Managing carriage of goods, such as
1. Recording and tracking movement of goods, pricing, invoicing.
2. Accident and incident records and statistical analysis.
Customer relations: Analysis of customer questionnaires etc
Daily operations: monitoring lines and enabling control of signals and track-switching.
• Application of IT in Business:
Computers in Business One of the first and largest applications of computers is keeping and managing business and financial records. Most large companies keep the employment records of all their workers in large databases that are managed by computer programs. Similar programs and databases are used in such business functions as billing customers, tracking payments received and payments to be made, and tracking supplies needed and items produced, stored, shipped, and sold. In fact, practically all the information companies need to do business involves the use of computers and information technology.
How Information Technology involved in Retailing Operations
* Forecasting: Forecasting is the process of estimation in unknown situations. It's an essential and very important process in any business organization. Business leaders and economists are continually involved in the process of trying to forecast, or predict, the future of business in the economy. Business leaders engage in this process because much of what happens in businesses today depends on what is going to happen in the future.
* Retail Demand Forecasting: Modern demand-forecasting systems provide new opportunities to improve retail performance. Although the art of the individual merchant may never be replaced, it can be augmented by an efficient, objective and scientific approach to forecasting demand.
Large-scale systems are now capable of handling the mass of retail transaction data – organizing it, mining it and projecting it into future customer behavior. This new approach to demand forecasting in retail will contribute to the accuracy of future plans, the satisfaction of future customers and the overall efficiency and profitability of retail operations.
* Inventory Management: Inventory can be either raw materials, finished items already available for sale, or goods in the process of being manufactured. Inventory is recorded as an asset on a company's balance sheet.
To optimize the deployment of inventory, retailers need to manage the uncertainties, constraints, and complexities across their global supply chain on continuous basis. This allows them to improve their inventory forecasting ability and accurately set inventory targets. An IT solution is a proven and market leading solution for determining optimal time-varying inventory targets for every item, at every location throughout supply chain. This allows retailers you to significantly reduce inventory without adversely affecting service levels.
* Store Management: Another example where Information technology can be beneficial is a store management. That alerts out-of-place or stock-out items. A store, commonly a shop or stall for the retail sale of commodities, but also a place where wholesale supplies are kept, exhibited, or sold. A place where something is deposited for safekeeping is called store.
• Application of IT in Marketing:
MARKETING Computer applications for marketing have surged in recent years. Whereas computer applications for other business needs have been a part of the picture for a decade or two now, the widespread use of computers to shape a company's marketing strategies and campaigns is a relatively new development. "Firms …are gathering tremendous amounts of information about customers, markets, and industries by using an array of relatively inexpensive software and computerized databases," wrote Tim Mc-Collum in Nation's Business. "These resources can help entrepreneurs increase their effectiveness in targeting markets, cultivating leads, and closing sales.…Whether it's called database marketing, smart marketing, or target selling, it boils down to using technology to delivery information that can boost sales."
Many consultants and business experts contend that it is particularly important for small business enterprises to make maximum use of this still-developing computer technology. Small business entities typically have fewer clients than do larger firms, which makes the search for new customers an essential component of future success. As analyst Martha Rogers noted in Nation's Business, information technologies like business and customer databases and sales force automation systems can be effective tools for small business owners looking to develop profitable and lasting relationships with customers. Indeed, smaller firms often need good customer information simply to keep pace with larger competitors.
Of course, reliable customer information is a major key to any effective marketing campaign. Consequently, database service providers such as Dun & Bradstreet Information Services (DBIS) and American Business Information Inc. (ABI) have become enormously popular with businesses of varying shapes and sizes. "These businesses," wrote McCollum, "have accumulated vast amounts of data on companies throughout the United States and Canada. Customers can buy the records on firms in specific locations or industries or of certain sizes or sales volumes. The databases make it easy to generate lists of potential customers for direct mail or telemarketing campaigns." In addition, DBIS, ABI, and other companies that provide similar services have made their information available via CD-ROMs (with regular updates). Another favorite site for finding business leads is the expanding group of CD-ROM products that provide business and residential telephone listings for various geographic regions of the United States.
Ultimately, however, Nation's Business magazine noted that although computers can be a valuable marketing resource for small firms, "technology itself won't boost sales…. For sales to climb, information must be carefully integrated into a total marketing strategy." The magazine thus made the following recommendations to companies looking to apply computer resources to marketing efforts:
• Build a database of customers and prospective customers, and update it regularly.
• Decide what marketing information is needed, and establish a plan to obtain it.
• Use demographic and geographic data to put together a profile of current customer base, which can then be used to identify potential new markets.
• Use data to identify long-term interests and buying habits of clients.
• Involve sales force (if any) in introduction of new technologies; "If salespeople don't think the automated system will benefit them, they won't use it."
• Share information throughout the company.
• Use computer resources to personalize and coordinate direct mailings and other campaigns.
• Arrange so that pertinent customer information is available to those who need it.