Introduction to Information Technology

Introduction to
Information Technology

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Literature Review.............................................................................................................................3
Role of IT in success and failure of business...............................................................................3
Ethics and Privacy........................................................................................................................4
Types of Network........................................................................................................................4
Social Media................................................................................................................................5
Stages of software development life cycle...................................................................................5
Analysis............................................................................................................................................6
Role of Technology in Barclay's Plc............................................................................................6
Ethics and Privacy in Barclay's Plc..............................................................................................7
Networking Technology at Barclay's Plc.....................................................................................8
Social Media at Barclay's Plc.......................................................................................................9
Recommendations ...........................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Information technology can be defined as computer based technology that is used to
create, store, change and retrieve data in electronic format. This is mainly used in context of
business activities and is also considered as subset of Information and Computer Technology.
This report aims at discussion information technology and different aspects of information
technology in Barclay's Plc. It is British multinational investment bank and financial service
company. It was founded in 1690 it is headquartered at London, England, UK. Barclay's Plc
provides several services including retail banking, commercial banking, investment banking,
wholesale banking, wealth management and private banking services. Barclay's Plc employs
around 83,500 employees to provide all these services. This report will include role of IT in
success and failure, ethics and privacy, types of networking technology, social media in business
and system development life cycle. In this firstly literature review and then analysis will be
carried out.
Literature Review
Role of IT in success and failure of business
As stated by Ashley Donohoe (2019) Information Technology has very important role
in success and failure of businesses. This is because IT has affected all areas of business and its
functioning. It has become very important for businesses to consider application of IT in its
operations so that they can stay strong in competition and also become able to cope with
changing trends and demand. Some roles that IT is playing in success of business are-
Improved organisational communication- This is very important that communication in and
outside organisation is effective. Effective communication within organisation ensures flow of
work and communication outside organisation ensures it attracts customers and stay connected
with other stakeholders. This is why role of IT is very important in success of businesses.
Effective business decision-making- Decisions taken by organisation are very important for its
success and failure. Inappropriate decisions can lead organisation towards failure and right and
appropriate decisions according to situation can contribute in success of organisation.
Information Technology can help in effective decision-making through availability of data and
market information.
Customer experience- Customer experience has become very important for success of
businesses and in order to avoid failure for business, emphasis on customer experience is must.

IT can help businesses to improve customer experience by staying connected with customers and
providing them easy access to business.
Ethics and Privacy
In words of Stahl and Wright, (2018) there are several ethical issues with running
businesses and application of information technology in business. Ethics issues in relation with
running business and using Information Technology in business. In this Access Right is one of
the very important ethical issue. This means that when businesses operate using information
technology, they have ethical issue that who can access information in IT systems. Unauthorised
access to system is very important ethical issue that businesses face. Unauthorised access refers
to situation in which employees in organisation might access information technology system they
have not been authorised for. Maintaining security of trade secrets is another ethical issue, in this
issue it becomes very difficult for businesses to maintain privacy and protect their trade secrets
when they are stores in systems. There are several unethical ways in which external parties and
individuals can access trade secrets that are developed and stored in system. This is a very
important ethical challenge for businesses using information technology. Copyright is another
ethical issue for businesses. Copyright is a law that enables creator of a work to have exclusive
rights on work and this is a very powerful tool for protecting software. In this breach of security
can cause mishandling and misuse of data. This means that there are several ways in which
privacy of businesses is at risk when they use information technology.
Types of Network
As per Hanes, D and et.al., (2017) networking technology is that enables two or more
devices to connect with each other. There are different types of networking technology and these
technologies differentiate on the basis of area of their range and on the basis of their ability to
connect devices in terms of number of devices. Types of networking technology are-
Personal area network (PAN)- This is a networking technology in which network is formed
around a person. This is a network that generally consist of a computer, mobile and personal
digital assistant. This type of network has most limited range and can only be used by one person
within limited range. In this, devices can be connected through two means one is wired personal
area network and another is wireless personal area network.
Local area network (LAN)- This type of networking technology allows group of computers to
connect in a small or limited range that is larger than PAN and smaller than WAN. LAN can be