Centralized Information Systems Services: Managing the Transition to Decentralization
| Pages | 8-12 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000001449 |
| Date | 01 August 1993 |
| Published date | 01 August 1993 |
| Author | Kenton B. Walker |
| Subject Matter | Economics,Information & knowledge management,Management science & operations |
8 INDUSTRIAL MANAGEMENT &
DATA SYSTEMS
93,8
Centralized
Information
Systems
Services:
Managing the Transition
to Decentralization
Kenton
B.
Walker
Industrial Management & Data Systems,
Vol.
93
No.
8,
1993,
pp. 8-12
© MCB University Press Limited, 0263-5577
Based on a composite of several companies'
experiences, an approach is presented.
Senior management in many firms continue to have
difficulty in constructing long-range objectives for
Information Systems Services (ISS) because of rapidly
changing technology and lack of experience and
understanding of the field. More user-friendly software
products
are available
which permit
users to
exert greater
control over their information processing needs. The
situation is further complicated by the trend towards
distributed and decentralized processing, end user
computing, and the growing demand for open systems;
developments which centralized information systems
directors have resisted because they regard
decentralization as a loss of control.
Senior managers need to answer the questions, what is
data processing, and what should be our strategy for the
growth of computers? The purpose of this article is to
discuss important issues facing top managers of firms
with strong centralized
ISS
functions
to help
answer these
questions. This article outlines a mission for ISS,
discusses important trends affecting
the
provision of
ISS,
and provides a view of
the
future roles of
ISS.
Based on a
composite of several companies' experiences, an
approach is presented to evaluate an organization's
computing environment. The article concludes with a
framework for addressing problems and developing ISS
which has been followed in practice.
Missions of Information Systems Services
ISS
may
be
regarded
as the
integration of data processing
technologies, office
technologies,
and telecommunications
to provide the organization with communication tools
intended to improve overall work efficiency and decision-
making capabilities.
The primary missions of ISS should be to:provide data
technology services including collecting, storing,
processing and distributing data to administrative and
clerical personnel; plan for and develop new services and
applications for other departments; consult with
all
levels
of management concerning their needs and use of
information and information technology; provide central
control and co-ordination for achieving compatibility of
computer hardware and software.
Current ISS Industry Trends
Computer users face a common set of problems and
opportunities. On one hand dramatic improvements in
technology are lowering hardware costs, but companies
are spending more on ISS. Some computerized
applications currently
in
use are inflexible and difficult to
change because of old technologies. Other applications
are obsolete and need replacing while present resources
are overcommitted. The proliferation of software and
hardware capabilities continues, and customers demand
more.
The typical large computer system being planned and
installed today is not a mainframe or minicomputer, but
consists of networked personal computers and
workstations, with maybe a minicomputer acting as a file
server and, sometimes, a mainframe and one or more big
disk drives providing large-scale storage. The growth
rate for hardware has declined over the past five years.
The medium to long-term market for minis seems
doubtful, particularly as the top PCs (running
Unix)
now
deliver about
70-80
per cent of a small
mini's
performance
for
30
per cent of the cost. Growth in the services areas
and applications and systems software
continues
at about
the same rate as for the last few years.
The shift to distributed processing is because of cost
savings. In some cases a distributed system is half the
cost of a minicomputer and one third the cost of
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