- SlideShare Inc. (2011) http://www.slideshare.net/joelogs/general-systems-theory-and-systems-analysis-presentation
- Wikipedia. (2011) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System
Kenneth Stengel

Table
SaaS
In today’s computer world, there are three different types of services used by companies to deliver web-based business applications. [1] The different types are Software as a Service (SaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), and Platform of a Service (PasS). [2]
I chose to focus on the Software as a Service, which is described as “a service that allows businesses to subscribe to Web-delivered business application software by paying a monthly service charge or a per-use fee.” [1] A popular accounting software is Quicken by Intuit. “SaaS accounting software helps you keep your finances organized and properly tracked, without needing a finance degree”. [3] This program can be used efficiently to manage the financial aspect of your company in four different packages, from deluxe to home and business. Of course one of the most popular SaaS is Microsoft Word. This word processing application is the application I am using right now to write this task. It allows you to document thoughts and documents and file them away in a neat and orderly fashion so you can call upon them whenever they are needed. The third type of SaaS, is of the project management kind, and its called Time Line by Symantec. This program allows you to “track employee hours, hire more intelligently, schedule more effectively, and automate payroll”. [3] This is perfect for the human resource department.
Common challenges faced when dealing with SaaS are; design and development, revenue models, sales and compensation, partners and distribution, customer service, product support and maintenance, research and development, legal, valuation and funding, exits and liquidity, SaaS pure play vs. dual environment, and finally deciding if SaaS is right for you. [4]
The competitive advantage is quite simply, if you can master all the challenges above, you have most likely created a successful company. If you are successful at those simple steps, it would be extremely difficult to fail, considering these are most of the steps of running a business in general.
Not knowing much about how these computer systems actually work, it’s a little difficult for me to sit here and critique such intricately made computer programs, and try to improve upon them. But if I had to pick a key issue, I’d say to keep up on the security of the systems. Computer hackers and viruses are constantly evolving and getting more dangerous, the last thing a computer system needs is for someone to get into the system and steal valuable data. No one wants to trust a system that could give up personal information at any point. Just look at what recently happened to Sony and the PS3 accounts being stolen. That was a huge problem for the company involved, and a business owner you want no part in a problem that possibly catastrophic. To prevent hackers from breaking the system, you have to keep creating new systems, so that when they finally get a hold of your old system you are already onto a new one.
1. Fundamentals of Information Systems
2. http://www.cloudave.com/9239/the-confusions-of-iaas-paas-and-saas/
3. http://enterprisefeatures.com/2011/08/most-popular-types-of-saas-and-cloud-software/
Memory Software Capacity
T3.3
T2.4
Overall, a system is “a set of components that interact with one another and serve for a common purpose or goal.” [1] Inside the system there are two different basic types. There are abstract and physical systems. An abstract system comes from the human mind, and can not be seen. They can be studied and examined though. A physical system, on the other hand, can be drawn, photographed, or pictured because has it has material substance.
Both types of systems have pretty basic characteristics. First there are the environment and boundaries. [2] The boundary is pretty simple to understand, it’s where the sections fall within. It is the simple definition of a boundary, it describes the outline of the module. Next, is the environment in which the system operates. This environment is simply what’s outside the boundaries. Like a literal environment, the system takes place within this environment, being affected by it, and it affecting it back. The point where the boundary meets the environment is called the interface.
A subsystem, or a component, is the system within a system. This can be greatly useful to a system. Having a working subsystem, leads to smaller broken pieces to be fixed individually without having to fix the system as a whole. This allows systems to be worked on without interfering with the system’s processes as a whole. This is called being interrelated. The SlideShare website has a great example of this, “in the Store system, the work of one component, such as producing a daily report of customer orders, may not progress successfully until the work of another component is finished, such as sorting the customers orders by date of receipt.” I think this example is a simple to understand comparison.
Next the process and transformation process is another characteristic of the systems. This simply makes inputs into outputs. The input enters the system, while the output is what leaves the system. The outputs are sometimes returned to the system to normalize the activity of the system, this is called feedback. [3] As you can see a lot goes into a system, but upon breaking it down, its quite simple to master the basics of what makes a system tick.
T2.3
T2.1
For T2.1 I decided to choose the Management Information System, or the MIS. The reading describes the MIS as the organized collection of people, procedures, software, databases, and devices that provide routine information to managers and decision makers. Originally, business computers were very basic, only consisting of things like payroll figures and other simple data. As computer systems got more intricate however, so did the information getting put into these computers. Over time the management information system was created to give management more control over important, confidential files that were not suitable for the company to see. The MIS supply managers with info about inventories, other data, and sales that would help in running the business. The most important thing about the MIS is user permission. A manager doesn’t want everyone through out the company to be able to access everything on the network. Security is one of the most important issues in a business infrastructure. With out security, an important product layout can be taken and used by other competitive companies. As a business manager, this could be disastrous, and could ultimately lead to the end of the company. The important business diagrams should only be accessible by the managers. The receptionist certainly should have access to the company’s sensitive material. Examples of this sensitive material could be competitor analysis or product development. Another important issue the MIS brings up is that it allows the system to be organized for the managers, and it creates a system that can be synchronized so that communication can be smooth and concise. If managers within the company can not communicate thoroughly and easily, it makes the whole operation less effective. The communication through out the levels of a company should run like a well-oiled machine, glitch free. The MIS allows for this to happen.