Information systems are vital to the success of many businesses in todays world. But what are they?
Information systems are a set of interrelated components that collect, process, store,
and distribute information. This information is then used by the company to aid
in decision making and control. Information systems are implemented in order to
meet the companies future goals, enhance their process/service, solve internal
and external problems and to take advantage of new opportunities. However, the
complexity of setting up information systems are often overlooked.
Firstly, a lack of
time management often leads to an unsuccessful information system
implementation. In the NHS case study completed in this module, Health
Secretary Jeremy Hunt hoped to have the NHS paperless by 2023, however deeply underestimated
the volume of work involved in the project, resulting in a 40% reliance on
paper still (Chetty, 2023).
Lack of suitable
budgets is another reason for businesses struggling to successfully set up a
new information system. Implementing an information system is extremely costly.
Bloch et al. found that half of large IT projects end up going over budget. As
a result, businesses are left with an information system that is not fully
capable of meeting their needs and no further budget to mend this.
Finally, a severe
lack of specialist resources and support causes companies to struggle significantly
with the implementation of a new information system. In order to set up an
information system, an educated team must implement the system, employees must
then be correctly trained, and support must be available for any system crashes
or confusion. In the NHS case study, it is explained that health organisations
would need to change their business procedures, as well as convert all physical
information to digital, taking up to 20 hours of a doctors time for training.
This high time constraint is likely to face deep opposition from medical
professionals, causing a struggle for the organisations to be successful with
their new system.
Overall,
information systems, if implemented correctly, can bring many benefits for
organisations. However a poor management of this implementation can cause deep
struggles or complete failure of the project.
I hope you enjoyed
this weeks blog, please let me know your views on the topic!
