The IS that is currently used within the company.

There are several types of information systems in VADS which this several
approaches is to solve and to overcome specifc problems, besides trying to
fulfll the user's requests in general !n a large organi"ation such as VADs,
solving business problems such as the management of sta# salaries,
processing of business data and others is normally done by the use of large
computers with internal and e$ternal networ%s
&very type of information system has a role to play !n VADS, when we loo% at
the functions and the scope of usage, information systems can be divided into
si$ main categories such as those provided in below fgure'(
)igure ' *ategories of information system
Details of above information system categories can be details up in table
below'(
System
*ategory
&$planation
Transaction +rocessing
System
, -etter %nown as T+S and is one of the frst
systems to be automated
, *an access and record information about all
transactions related to the organi"ation
, Transactions occur whenever there e$ist
activities involving sales order processing,
accounts receivable, accounts payable, inventory
and ordering as well as payroll
, These transactions involve credit and debit in
the company ledger account
, The output from this transaction is the account
statement, which is used to generate fnancial
reports
, T+S now uses the latest technology which uses
the &(commerce concept This is a new challenge
in the feld of transaction processing which begins
to shift to the on(line transaction processing
system
&$ecutive !nformation System , A decision support system specifcally used by
the e$ecutive management in ma%ing strategic
decisions
, !t is a tool that provides online access directly to
the relevant information, in the format that is
useful and can be browsed
, .elevant information is timely, precise and
useful in business aspects, according to the
interest of certain managers
, /seful format, and can be browsed easily0 will
mean that the system has been specially built for
the use of individuals who have little time to
spare, are less s%illful in using the %eyboard and
less e$perienced with computers
, This system can be surfed easily so that
managers can identify strategic issues and can
then e$plore information for getting the sources
about those issues
, !t is also an information system that combines
the features of information reporting system and
decision support system !t focuses on fulflling
the strategic information needs of the top
management
Decision Support System , The main focus of this information system is for
the e#ectiveness of the manager in analy"ing the
information and ma%ing a decision
, !t is used for handling decisions that are not
structured, ie decisions which are made when
an emergency happens
, This system uses a database management
system, query language, fnancial modeling,
electronic spread sheet, statistical analysis
program, report generator or graphic software for
supplying the information needed
12ce
!nformation
System
, 12ce automation is wider than word processing
and form processing
, This information system covers activities in the
o2ce, which can improve wor% 3ow and
communication among wor%ers, whether inside
or outside the o2ce
, The focus of this system is on the collection of
information for whoever needs it
, The functions of this system are word
processing, e(mails, wor%group programming,
wor% group scheduling, facsimile processing, e(
document, imaging and management of wor%
3ow
&$pert System , !t is a program that produces a decision which is
almost similar to decisions made by an e$pert in
a certain discipline
, This information system can imitate the way
humans thin% and consider in ma%ing a decision
, An e$pert system will combine the use of
%nowledge, facts and techniques to ma%e a
decision
, An e$pert can always give a certain decision
which is accurate as well as ensuring ma$imum
beneft to all the people concerned
/nfortunately, the sources for e$pert services are
limited
, .eali"ing the high value of %nowledge and the
e$pertise owned by the e$pert, researchers have
tried to transfer and save in the computers the
%nowledge and e$pertise owned by the e$perts
, Through this wor%, the e$pert system is made
4 Transaction +rocessing System
!n general term, Transaction +rocessing System 5 T+S 6 is collection of
information, used to process the data at the time of transaction in database
system !t is used to monitor the transaction program such as predefned
program for the output )or e$ample, &lectronic +ayment is made to withdraw
money from one account and added the same to the other or none at all,
li%ewise transaction made in shopping, car rental, po%er, tic%et reservation are
also the e$amples of Transaction +rocessing System !f the transaction is failed
or partially completed, it must be rolled bac% 5undo the recent changes6 by this
Transaction +rocessing System 1ther transaction monitoring functions li%e
deadloc% 5two or more process competing for each other to release the
resources in circular chain6
VADS networ%s can generate a vast amount of transactions, each transaction
containing information about a particular subscriber's activity VADS networ%
also consist of various interacting devices and platforms, any transaction done
by a subscriber if often recorded in multiple devices as it passes through the
networ% VADS organi"ations need to be able to e$tract transaction information
from these various networ% elements in order to correctly bill subscribers for
the usage on the networ% Transaction processing system is a subset of
information systems, and in the telecommunications industry, forms an integral
part of the management information system T+S can be regarded as the lin%
between the various networ% elements and platforms and the information
management uses to drive the business
7 &$ecutive !nformation System
An Executive Information System can be defined as a specialized Decision Support System.
This type of the system generally includes the various hardware software data procedures
and the people. !ith the help of all this the top level executives get a great support in ta"ing
and performing the various types of the decisions. The executive information system plays a
very important role in obtaining the data from the different sources then help in the
integration and the aggregation of this data. After performing these steps the resulting
information is displayed in such a pattern that is very easy to understand.
Executive information system is #a computer based system that serves the information that is
needed by the various top executives. It provides very rapid access to the timely information
and also offers the direct access to the different management reports.$
Executive Information System is very user friendly in the nature. It is supported at a large
extent by the graphics. Executive support system can be defined as the comprehensive
executive support system that goes beyond the Executive Information System and also
includes communications office automation analysis support etc.
According to !atson Executive Information System % executive support system depends on
some of the factors that can be summarized as the follows
1. Internal factors
i. &eed for the timely information.
ii. &eed for the improved communications.
iii. &eed for the access to the operational data.
iv. &eed for the rapid status updates on the various business activities.
v. &eed for the access to the corporate database.
vi. &eed for very accurate information.
vii. &eed for the ability to identify the various historical trends.
2. External Factors
i. Increasing and intensifying the global competition.
ii. 'apidly changing the business environment.
iii. &eed to be more pro active.
iv. &eed to access the external database.
v. Increasing the various government regulations.
Characteristics of the Executive support system/ Executive Information System
1. Informational characteristics
i. (lexibility and ease of use.
ii. )rovides the timely information with the short response time and also with the *uic"
retrieval.
iii. )roduces the correct information.
iv. )roduces the relevant information.
v. )roduces the validated information.
2. User interface/orientation characteristics
i. +onsists of the sophisticated self help.
ii. +ontains the user friendly interfaces consisting of the graphic user.
iii. +an be used from many places.
iv. ,ffers secure reliable confidential access along with the access procedure.
v. Is very much customized.
vi. Suites the management style of the individual executives.
3. Manaerial / executive characteristics
i. Supports the overall vision mission and the strategy.
ii. )rovides the support for the strategic management.
iii. Sometimes helps to deal with the situations that have a high degree of ris".
iv. Is lin"ed to the value added business processes.
v. Supports the need% access for% to the external data% databases.
vi. Is very much result oriented in the nature.
3. Decision Support System
A Decision Support System 5DSS6 is a computer(based information
system that supports business or organi"ational decision(ma%ing activities
DSSs serve the management, operations, and planning levels of an
organi"ation 5usually mid and higher management6 and help to ma%e
decisions, which may be rapidly changing and not easily specifed in advance
5/nstructured and Semi(Structured decision problems6 Decision support
systems can be either fully computeri"ed, human or a combination of both
8hile academics have perceived DSS as a tool to support decision ma%ing
process, DSS users see DSS as a tool to facilitate organi"ational processes
94:
Some authors have e$tended the defnition of DSS to include
any system that might support decision ma%ing
97:
Sprague 54;<=6 defnes DSS
by its characteristics'
4 DSS tends to be aimed at the less well structured,
underspecifed problem that upper level managers typically face0
7 DSS attempts to combine the use of models or analytic techniques with
traditional data access and retrieval functions0
> DSS specifcally focuses on features which ma%e them easy to use by
noncomputer people in an interactive mode0 and
? DSS emphasi"es 3e$ibility and adaptability to accommodate changes in
the environment and the decision ma%ing approach of the user
DSSs include %nowledge(based systems A properly designed DSS is an
interactive software(based system intended to help decision ma%ers compile
useful information from a combination of raw data, documents, and personal
%nowledge, or business models to identify and solve problems and ma%e
decisions
Typical information that a decision support application might gather and
present includes'
inventories of information assets 5including legacy and relational data
sources, cubes, data warehouses, and data marts6,
comparative sales fgures between one period and the ne$t, pro@ected
revenue fgures based on product sales assumptions
4. 12ce !nformation System
There are various types of information e$isting in the o2ce applications
simultaneously including paper documents, video information, voice
information, electronic information, etc 8ith the rapid development of
information technology and constant upgrade of o2ce applications, the total
volume of information is also e$ploding with more and more formats and
increasingly diversifed contents, while the information management is
moving gradually towards electronic, intensive, process(based and
integration directions To improve the e2ciency of information management
and transfers, saving management costs and increase the application
e2ciency of information in enterprise o2ces, we need to integrate the highly
e2cient o2ce information system solutions in a bid to ma%e centrali"ed
management over( various information +lease refer to the following
diagram'
The o2ce information system solutions and services are mainly referring to
total solutions comprised of relevant hardware and software as well as
services targeting those government and business corporations, aiming to
improve the processing and management of paper documents, video
information, voice information and electronic information, optimi"ing relevant
o2ce processes, helping customers to save costs and increase e2ciency
The o2ce information system solution and service mar%et is still a newly
emerging mar%et where people can fnd three types of applications, namely,
document management outsourcing service, enterprise(level video
conferencing solutions and o2ce application software +lease refer details to
the following chart'
Application
Description
Document manage
ment outsourcing
service
!t means that one customer outsources its document
processing equipments, part or whole of document
processing business to a speciali"ed service provider
who will ma%e optimi"ation over the customer's
equipments, implementing professional operation and
management services, deploying document
management software in accord with customer's
needs so as to reali"e secure and e2cient
management of customer's documents in the various
document life cycle including collection, distribution,
storage, retrieving, processing, sharing and output
&ventually, it will help reduce document processing
costs and increase o2ce e2ciency This application
focuses more on the Ahighly e2cient managementA of
paper documents and electronic documents
&nterprise video
conferencing
solution
!t means that enterprise customers will use special
video equipments to transfer to each other the video,
voice, etc information through internet and dedicated
transmission cables, reali"ing real(time and interactive
communication e#ects to increase communication
e2ciency This application emphasi"es on the Areal(
time transfer and e$changeA of video, voice and
electronic information
12ce application
software
!t refers to the o2ce software applied in the
government and business corporations for the
purpose of enhancing automation levels in the regular
o2ce wor%, approval of wor%ing process,
management of o2ce resources, 12ce collaboration,
etc so as to increase o2ce e2ciency in the
consequence This application focuses more on the
automation of o2ce process
The development background o o!ce inormation system solution
and service market"
The o2ce information system solution and service mar%et is a newly emerging
sector with the rapid development of information technology and constant
intensifcation of demands for modern o2ce applications !t is a complete
upgrade from traditional o2ce to modern o2ce and also from traditional
service segment to a totally new type of service orientation

The diversifcation and comple$ity of information According to a research
report by the American mar%et research company )orrester .esearch, the
information content volume of worldwide companies are increasing by about
7==B each year with fast growth in the number of paper documents and
electronic information Coreover, the information management is also getting
more and more complicated with demanding requirements for the
management of whole document life cycles including collection, distribution,
storage, retrieving, processing, sharing and output The traditional way of
document management can no longer meet the requirements for modern
o2ces !n addition, more and more government and enterprises are using
remote communication methods to replace centrali"ed meetings, raising new
demand over the high speed processing of ever increasing video info, voice
info and electronic info The o2ce information system solutions and services
will help government and enterprises to adopt more advanced methodologies
to handle the volumes of information, reali"ing speedy communications and
e$changes, integrating information with business process so as to reali"e
eventually the information's e2cient collection, secure management and fast
inquiries, and reinforce the functions of %nowledge management, remote
communications and 12ce collaboration
The sociali"ed @ob distribution and intensive management 8ith the ever
intensifying mar%et competition and gradual ac%nowledgement of service
outsourcing models, the companies are wishing to outsource the non(core
businesses on their value chain to speciali"ed companies for management,
while they focus on the core businesses for the purpose of reducing costs,
increasing e2ciency and strengthening core competencies Additionally, the
social and economic development are also forcing the company decision
ma%ers to see% intensive management and enterprises are also trying to use
more advanced management methods and o2ce facilities to lower their o2ce
costs and increase o2ce e2ciency
The asset management is changing towards e$penditure management 8ith
the steady progress in management by government and enterprises, there has
been a more and more obvious tendency of changing from complicated asset
management on the !T related equipments towards much easier e$penditure
management Core companies are changing their original ways of investing
and managing all by themselves, instead they are trying to outsource their
non(core business or assets and let those speciali"ed vendors to manage
The development of !T technologies The developments of !T technologies are
driving the advancement of o2ce information systems )irst of all, the
development of !T technologies are enabling companies to conduct highly
e2cient management over various paper documents and electronic
information, steadily improving the remote communication e#ects represented
by video conferencing witnessed by the lowering of usage costs and fast
e$pansion of application ranges Secondly, the hardware equipments and
software performances are steadily getting better with improved
functionalities, ma%ing it possible for original o2ce hardware and software
systems to be optimi"ed The optimi"ation wor% done by speciali"ed
outsourcing service providers will bring the customers with economic and
highly e2cient values Thirdly, the enhancement of software and hardware
system functions are driving the systems to become more comple$ in the
actual applications, thus the customers are requiring to have the assistances
from professional service providers )or e$ample, the modern AV o2ce
communication system that is getting more and more popular as a %ind of
converged communication applications, the user itself can hardly ensure the
full use and e2cient operations of the system Dowever, the speciali"ed service
providers are able to help them do better in the system's management,
operations and utili"ation and ultimately generate greater value
#. &$pert System
An e$pert system is a computer program that simulates the @udgment and
behavior of a human or an organi"ation that has e$pert %nowledge and
e$perience in a particular feld Typically, such a system contains a %nowledge
base containing accumulated e$perience and a set of rules for applying the
%nowledge base to each particular situation that is described to the program
Sophisticated e$pert systems can be enhanced with additions to the %nowledge
base or to the set of rules