The History of Information Systems in Business

Year	Main activities	Skills required
1970s	Mainframe computers were used Computers and data were centralized Systems were tied to a few business functions: payroll, inventory, billing Main focus was to automate existing processes	Programming in COBOL
1980s	PCs and LANs are installed Departments set up own computer systems End-user computing with Word Processors and Spreadsheets makes departments less dependent on the IT department Main focus is automating existing processes	PC support, basic networking
1990s	Wide Area Networks (WANs) become corporate standards Senior management looks for system integration and data integration. No more stand-alone systems. Main focus is central control and corporate learning	Network support, systems integration, database administration
2000s	Wide Area Networks expand via the Internet to include global enterprises and business partners – supply chain and distribution Senior management looks for data sharing across systems. Main focus is efficiencies and speed in inventory, manufacturing, distribution	Network support, systems integration