ISA 235 Exam 2: Chapters 5-8 Terms and Concepts

MIS infrastructure

The plans and technology a business uses to build, deploy, use, and share its data, processes, and information systems.

Three MIS infrastructure types

Information infrastructure supports operations; agile infrastructure supports change; sustainable infrastructure supports environmental goals.

Information MIS infrastructure

Protects and maintains the information needed for daily business operations through backup, disaster recovery, and continuity planning.

Backup

A copy of system information kept so lost or damaged data can be restored.

Recovery

Restoring a failed system and its information so it can operate again.

Fault tolerance

The ability to continue service when a component fails, often by automatically using a backup component.

Failover

Automatically switching users or processing from a failed primary system to a redundant backup system.

Failback

Returning operations to the primary system after it has recovered.

Disaster recovery plan

Procedures for restoring IT systems and data after a major disruption such as a fire or flood.

Disaster recovery cost curve

Compares the cost of downtime with the cost of recovery over time to help select a recovery strategy.

Hot site

A fully equipped alternate location that can resume operations immediately after a disaster.

Warm site

An alternate location with equipment that still needs configuration or installation before operations resume.

Cold site

An alternate location with space for employees but without the computer equipment needed to resume operations immediately.

Business continuity planning (BCP)

Planning how to restore critical business functions within an established time after a disruption; includes people, processes, communications, and technology.

Business impact analysis

Identifies critical business functions and evaluates how a disruption would affect them.

Agile MIS infrastructure

Technology infrastructure that adapts to changing business needs and supports organizational growth.

Seven agile infrastructure characteristics

Accessibility, availability, maintainability, portability, reliability, scalability, and usability.

Accessibility

The permissions that determine what a user can view, access, or do in a system.

Availability

When a system is accessible for use; high availability means very little downtime.

Maintainability

How quickly and easily a system can be changed to meet business needs.

Portability

How easily an application can operate on different devices or operating systems.

Reliability

Whether a system functions correctly and produces accurate information.

Scalability

How well a system handles increased demand, such as more customers or transactions.

Usability

How easily users can learn and operate a system.

Sustainable MIS infrastructure

Increasing computing capabilities while reducing dependence on hardware and energy consumption.

Grid computing

Combining processing resources from many computers to work on a shared problem.

Virtualization

Running multiple virtual computers on one physical computing device to use hardware more efficiently.

Cloud computing

Obtaining computing resources and services over the Internet instead of operating all infrastructure locally.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

Cloud delivery of infrastructure resources such as servers, networking, and storage, typically priced by usage.

Software as a Service (SaaS)

Using provider-hosted software applications through the cloud instead of installing and managing them locally.

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

A cloud platform for developing and deploying applications with underlying infrastructure managed by the provider.

Data granularity

The level of detail in data: individual transactions are fine-grained; monthly totals are more aggregated.

Transactional data

Data used to perform daily business activities, such as recording an order or processing a withdrawal.

Analytical data

Data used for managerial analysis and decisions, such as comparing sales trends or forecasting growth.

Five characteristics of high-quality data

Accuracy, completeness, consistency, uniqueness, and timeliness.

Data integrity

The quality and correctness of data; integrity problems include incorrect, inconsistent, or duplicate values.

Data governance

Policies and management practices controlling data availability, usability, integrity, and security.

Data steward

A person responsible for implementing and enforcing data policies and procedures across the organization.

Master data management (MDM)

Keeping shared business data about customers, suppliers, products, and other key entities uniform, accurate, complete, and consistent across systems.

Database management system (DBMS)

Software that lets users create, read, update, and delete data in a database.

Relational database

A database organized into related tables, linked using keys.

Entity

A person, place, thing, transaction, or event about which a database stores data.

Attribute

A characteristic of an entity, represented by a field or column, such as CustomerName.

Record

A related set of field values describing one instance, typically one row in a table.

Primary key

A field or combination of fields that uniquely identifies each record in a table.

Foreign key

A field or group of fields that refers to a key in another table, establishing a relationship between tables.

Metadata

Information describing data, such as a field's name, meaning, format, or allowed values.

Data dictionary

A reference containing metadata about the data elements in a database or data model.

Data redundancy

Storing the same data in multiple places, increasing storage needs and the chance of inconsistent updates.

Integrity constraint

A rule that prevents invalid data from being stored in a database.

Business intelligence (BI)

Combining and analyzing data to produce information that supports business decisions.

Data mining

Analyzing data to uncover useful relationships, patterns, and trends.

Collaborative filtering

Generating recommendations using similarities between users and their preferences or behaviors.

Recommendation engine

An algorithm that uses customer behavior or purchases to suggest relevant or complementary products.

Data warehouse

An integrated repository of data from multiple operational sources designed for analysis and decision making.

Extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL)

Extract source data, standardize and transform it using shared definitions, then load it into a warehouse.

Data mart

A smaller subset of warehouse data focused on a particular department or subject.

Data lake

A repository holding large amounts of raw data in its original format until needed.

Data cleansing or scrubbing

Finding and correcting, standardizing, or removing flawed data before it undermines analysis.

BI dashboard

A visual display of key business measures, often with interactive tools for exploring performance.

Digital ecosystem

An interconnected network of people, organizations, platforms, technology, and data that collaborate and create value.

Digital business platform

The technological foundation that enables ecosystem participants to exchange information, goods, or services.

Application programming interface (API)

A defined set of tools and rules that lets software applications interact.

Local area network (LAN)

A network connecting devices within a limited area, such as a home, office, or school building.

Wide area network (WAN)

A network spanning a large geographic region, such as multiple states or countries.

Bandwidth

The maximum amount of data a connection can carry per unit of time.

Latency

The delay before data is transferred or a response arrives; lower latency improves responsive applications.

5G

Fifth-generation cellular technology supporting faster connections, lower delay, and large numbers of connected devices.

Wi-Fi 6

A generation of local wireless networking designed for faster, more efficient connections, including environments with many devices.

Augmented reality (AR)

Overlays digital information or objects on a view of the physical world, such as displaying furniture in a real room.

Virtual reality (VR)

Immerses the user in a computer-generated interactive environment, such as a simulated training facility.

Mixed reality (MR)

Combines virtual and physical environments so digital objects appear anchored in and interact with real surroundings.

Radio frequency identification (RFID)

Uses radio communication with electronic tags to identify and track nearby objects.

Global positioning system (GPS)

A satellite-based system supplying location, time, and movement information.

Geographic information system (GIS)

Technology that combines geographic data with maps for displaying and analyzing location-based information.

Enterprise mobility management (EMM)

An organization-wide approach to enabling mobile work while enforcing corporate security and usage policies.

Mobile device management (MDM)

Managing and securing mobile devices through controls and remote support.

Bring your own device (BYOD)

Employees use personally owned devices for work under organizational policies.

Choose your own device (CYOD)

Employees choose a work device from an organization's approved options.

Company-issued, personally-enabled device

An organization provides the device and permits personal use under its policies.

Mobile application management (MAM)

Administering and enforcing company policies for applications on mobile devices.

Mobile information management (MIM)

Protecting mobile business data through encryption and limiting access or transmission to approved applications.

Forward integration

Sending information entered into one system automatically to downstream systems and processes.

Backward integration

Sending information entered into one system automatically to upstream systems and processes.

Enterprise application integration (EAI)

The approaches and tools used to connect separate enterprise applications.

Supply chain management (SCM)

Coordinating information across supply chain activities to improve the whole chain's effectiveness and profitability.

Supply chain visibility

The ability to see activities and information across upstream and downstream supply chain operations in real time.

Customer relationship management (CRM)

Managing customer interactions and information to increase loyalty, retention, and profitability.

Customer touchpoint

An interaction between a customer and the business, such as a service call, website order, email, or social media message.

RFM analysis

Evaluating customers using recency of purchase, frequency of purchase, and monetary purchase value.

Operational CRM

Supports daily front-office activities that interact directly with customers, including marketing, sales, and service.

Analytical CRM

Uses customer data, BI, and warehouse analysis to support customer-related strategy and decisions behind the scenes.

Cross-selling

Offering a related or complementary product, such as a laptop case to someone buying a laptop.

Up-selling

Encouraging a higher-priced or upgraded version, such as a premium laptop instead of the basic model.

Sales force automation

Automatically tracking and coordinating steps in the sales process.

Supplier relationship management (SRM)

Evaluating, selecting, and managing suppliers to improve collaboration and supplier relationships.

Partner relationship management (PRM)