🔖 Topic- 3: Why are systems for collaboration and social business so important?

In all but the smallest of firms, the information systems department is the formal organizational unit responsible for information technology services. The information systems department is responsible for maintaining the hardware, software, data storage, and networks that comprise the firm’s IT infrastructure.

The information systems department consists of specialists, such as programmers, systems analysts, project leaders, and information systems managers. Programmers are highly trained technical specialists who write software instructions for computers. Systems analysts constitute the principal liaisons between the information systems groups and the rest of the organization. It is the systems analyst’s job to translate business problems and requirements into information requirements and systems. Information systems managers are leaders of teams of programmers and analysts, project managers, physical facility managers, telecommunications managers, or database specialists. They are also managers of computer operations and data entry staff. Also, external specialists, such as hardware vendors and manufacturers, software firms, and consultants, frequently participate in the day-to-day operations and long-term planning of information systems.

In many companies, the information systems department is headed by a chief information officer (CIO). The CIO is a senior manager who oversees the use of information technology in the firm. Today’s CIOs are expected to have a strong business background as well as information systems expertise and to play a leadership role in integrating technology into the firm’s business strategy. Large firms today also have positions for a chief security officer, chief knowledge officer, chief data officer, and chief privacy officer, all of whom work closely with the CIO.

The chief security officer (CSO) is in charge of information systems security for the firm and is responsible for enforcing the firm’s information security policy. (Sometimes this position is called the chief information security officer [CISO] where information systems security is separated from physical security.)

Information systems security and the need to safeguard personal data have become so important that corporations collecting vast quantities of personal data have established positions for a chief privacy officer (CPO). The CPO is responsible for ensuring that the company complies with existing data privacy laws.

The chief knowledge officer (CKO) is responsible for the firm’s knowledge management program. The CKO helps design programs and systems to find new sources of knowledge or to make better use of existing knowledge in organizational and management processes.

The chief data officer (CDO) is responsible for enterprise-wide governance and utilization of information to maximize the value the organization can realize from its data. The CDO ensures that the firm is collecting the appropriate data to serve its needs, deploying appropriate technologies for analyzing the data, and using the results to support business decisions.