Analysis of Information Technology's Role in Barclays Banking

This report delves into the crucial role of Information Technology (IT) within Barclays, a prominent UK-based banking institution. It begins by defining IT and its applications in the context of a business, highlighting its significance in storing, retrieving, transmitting, and manipulating information and data. The report analyzes how IT supports customer relationship management (CRM), enabling Barclays to capture customer interactions, enhance customer experiences, and build loyalty. It examines the use of Management Information Systems (MIS) and data management systems for strategic planning, tracking sales data, and improving operational efficiency. Furthermore, the report addresses the ethical and social issues associated with IT, including privacy concerns, digital ownership, security liabilities, identity theft, and hacking. It then identifies and differentiates between various networking technologies like LAN, MAN, and WAN, outlining their applications within the banking sector. The report also emphasizes the importance of the Internet and Intranet for marketing, communication, net banking, and employee engagement. Finally, it touches upon the stages of the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) in an enterprise context.

Introduction
To Information
Technology

ABSTRACT
Information Technology is the usage of computer systems that helps in storing,
retrieving, transmitting, and manipulating information and data in context of an organisation.
This report is based on Barclays which deals with banking services and it determines the role of
information technology in this enterprise. IT plays an important role in maintaining relationship
with customers by capturing every interaction of a business entity through which an enriched
experience can be achieved. Barclays must keep in make sure that the use of IT is not leading to
any ethical and legal issue such as privacy, identity protection of customers, and so on.
Networking technologies helps the business to exchange information between small and large
information system which is used primary by these banking sectors.

Table of Contents
ABSTRACT.....................................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................4
LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................................4
Role of IT...............................................................................................................................4
Ethical and Social issues of IT...............................................................................................5
Identification and differentiation of among various networking technologies .....................6
Importance of Internet and Intranet in Business.....................................................................7
Stages of System Development Life Cycle ...........................................................................9
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION...................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Information technology can be defined as a use and study of system, particularly in
telecommunications and computers, for sending, storing and retrieving information. This report
is based upon an UK based organisation named Barclays which provides their customers with
retail banking, commercial banking, investment banking and wealth management related
services. The following organisation was founded in the year 1690 and is headquartered in
London, UK. This report covers role of information technology in the success of Barclays. It also
includes social and ethical issues pertaining to the running businesses. Further, identification and
differentiation between various kinds of networking technologies are also given in this report. It
also covers the significance of internet and intranet in this organisation and several stages of life
cycle of system development in an enterprise (Benckendorff, Xiang and Sheldon, 2019).
LITERATURE REVIEW
Role of IT
Information technology is the usage of computers for storing, retrieving, transmitting and
manipulating information and data, in context of a business enterprise (Information Technology
& Its Role in the Modern Organisation, 2019). Nowadays, IT has become the significant part of
a business enterprise that helps the business to grow and succeed in future. In Barclays,
information technology plays a vital role in its business activities. The role of IT in success of
this organisation can be seen in detail in following points-
Customer relationship management- The most important part that is played by IT in a
modern business organization is building relationship with customers. Organisations are utilising
IT for improving the way in which customer relationships are designed and managed.
CRM(customer relationship management) captures each interaction of an enterprise with its
customers by which enriched experience can be attained. In Barclays, a customer service
representative is always available who solves the issues of a customers regarding the services
which have been taken by the customers such as related to the investment or banking related
services (Eason, 2014). This helps in building up healthy relation with customers which will
results in customer loyalty towards this enterprise.
Management Information Systems- This system enables an organisation to utilise data
in an effective manner. It is used by business entities in strategic planning procedure and in
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executing strategies. It helps Barclays in in tracking sales data and productivity and expenses
levels. The information provided by this system is used for tracking profitability, maximising
return on investment, and in identifying areas that requires improvement. It also helps the
managers of Barclays to check the working of organisation such as accounts, audits and other
important information impacting upon the profitability of the organisation (Kiran, Oudshoorn
and Verbeek, 2015).
Data management systems- In a modern business world, most of the organisations use
the digital form to store data rather than traditional way of storing information and data. In
Barclays, data is stored in storage devices and servers and these documents are very easily
available to each person in an organisation. This enables the enterprise in storing and
maintaining historical data economically and by this workers can easily access to the document
they required (Ebert, Fisher and Gaither, 2019). Moreover, data stored in a digital form is more
secured than that stored in hard copies. It plays a vital role in increasing accessibility of data in
an organisation which helps the users in sharing data on rapid basis and effectively across the
business enterprise.
Ethical and Social issues of IT
Ethical Issues- These are the problems which requires an organisation or person to select among
alternatives which are needed to be evaluated as ethical or unethical (Statistical and Security
Issues in Information System, 2019). As IT is becoming an essential part of every business
organisation, there are certain ethical issues that has become equally relevant. There are various
ethical issues that are related to information technology which are elaborated as follows-
Privacy- The first and foremost ethical issue related to information technology is privacy
of employees and customers in an organisation. Things that are needed to be secured like private
accounts and e-mails can also be accessed by various sources. It has threat over protecting data
of customers and employees in an organisation. Managers of Barclays must adopt essential
measures to make sure that the data of its customers and employees are safe (Long, 2018).
Digital Ownership- Digital mediums has allowed free flow of data and information in a
business enterprise. But this idea of information technology also comes up with a ethical and
legal issue as it is very easy to copy and paste things online, that has made the intellectual
property difficult to control (Law, Buhalis, and Cobanoglu, 2014). Barclays must ensure that the
information transferred to the right person and at the right time.
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Security Liability- Digital security has become a complicated task to execute in an
organisation. In digital systems, security system are computerised for protecting necessary
information and significant assets. These systems come up with risks associated with them and it
is very important to manage these risks in order to achieve success. In Barclays, it is very
important for IT professionals to maintain balance between these risks for developing a security
system which is effective, efficient and ethical at the same time (Rajaraman, 2018).
Social Issues- It is a problem which influence various individuals existing within a society that
arises due to a specific thing. Information technology has impact over society through better
communication and innovation that results in both positive as well as negative aspects
(Marchewka, 2014). The negative impact of technology over society are known as social issues
and these issues are mentioned as follows-
Identity Theft- It takes place when cyber criminal uses other person's identity for
practising malfunction through accessing personal details and information of someone else.
These details usually includes passport numbers, credit card and debit card numbers, date of
birth, and so on. Once the information is acquired by these cyber criminals, than it can be utilised
for making purchases online in the name of the other person. It is very important for the
managers of Barclays to keep an eye over each transactions made by customers and ensure the
security of their banking details (Baylis, 2018).
Hacking- This is the most common social issue that is arising due to increase in the
advancement of information technology. By hacking a system, hacker can easily install such
programmes that allow them to control a particular system and use the data in it for their own
advantage. It can be done by stealing necessary data and information by using techniques like
SQL injection. Managers of Barclays need to ensure that the data related to organisation and
customers are not hacked and use appropriate techniques to avoid it (Knezek and Christensen,
2018).
Identification and differentiation of among various networking technologies
Networking technologies helps the organisation in exchanging data between small and
large information system that is used primary by educational institutions and businesses
(Mehlman and Li, 2014). There are various types of networking technologies that can be used by
Barclays which are mentioned as follows-
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LAN- This is the basic and common network type which is a local area network. It helps to
connect group devices in “local” area, in a same building. Such connections are powered by
usage of Eternal cables that has length limitations because the connection speed will degrade
beyond a specific length (Knezek and Christensen, 2018).
MAN- It is a network which interacts users with computers resources in an geographical area
which is larger like a metropolitan area. (Neuhofer, Buhalis and Ladkin, 2014). An example that
can be taken for MAN is citywide Wi-Fi network.
WAN- It can be defined as a telecommunication network which extends in a large geographic
area for the purpose of computer networking.
Differentiation between network technologies
These networks are somehow differentiated from each other on various basis which is
elaborated in detail as follows (Differences Between LAN, MAN and WAN, 2019)
LAN MAN WAN
This network technology helps
in connecting groups of
computers in a limited
geographical area.
It usually covers larger
geographic regions like cities,
towns,etc.
It helps in connecting all
countries together.
Its expansion is limited to local
area network.
It is expanded in metropolitan
network.
It has the large expansion and
is expanded to worldwide.
This network technology is
owned by private.
It is owned by either private or
public.
It can be owned by private or
public.
LAN allows single devices
pair for communicating.
In this, multiple computer
system can interact
simultaneously.
As this is wide area
networking, it allows the
communication of large group
of computers at same time
period (Nieves, Quintana and
Osorio, 2014).
Importance of Internet and Intranet in Business
Internet- It is a global system that provides necessary information and communication
technologies, consists of interconnecting networks by using standardised protocols of
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communication. Internet plays an important role in an organisation to grow and achieve its
overall objectives by indulging in promotional activities (Pardo and Siemens, 2014). In Barclays,
internet plays a significant role as follows-
Marketing and Promotion- The major role played by internet in a business is to market
its products and services by using online promotion techniques such as social media sites,
websites, and so on. In service organisations such as Barclays, its services are promoted and
targeted to customers by using social media platform and its official website. The most used
internet technology is search engine like google that helps in promoting and advertising an
organisation (Gewald, Vogel and Bozan, 2018).
Communication- Another important role played by internet in a business enterprise is
forming communication between an organisation and customers. It helps in making
communication cost efficient, instant and fast. service organisations such as Barclays uses
technologies of internet like video calls, Skype, emails, conferencing, that helps in building a
healthy communication among workers, managers and customers. Moreover, it gives an
opportunity to its customers to share their views and opinions about its products in its official
website (Richesson, Andrews and Hollis, 2019).
Net Banking- The another effective role which is played by internet is net banking and
online payment solutions. It is not only convenient but it also saves time by not going outside
and using the banking services from home. Barclays allows its customers to do online banking
from its official mobile application which is available in both apple store and play store. It makes
it convenient for customers to shop online by online payment solutions (Richesson, Andrews and
Hollis, 2019).
Intranet- It is known as a computer network that is used to share corporate information,
operational systems, computing services, and collaboration tools within an enterprise. Intranet
plays an important role in business as follows-
Improve employee engagement- When employees are engaged in an enterprise than it
will motivate them towards working in an organisation. (Sampson and Makela, 2014). In
Barclays, intranet can help employees by inspiring them to contribute towards achieving the
projects. By keep on logging into a same space each day, workers are easily connected towards
each other and organisational objectives.
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Remote work capabilities- Many organisations nowadays allowing its employees to work
from home, specially businesses dealing on multinational level, whose workers are located in
different areas across the globe. Software of social intranet helps in allowing employees to
collaborate and achieve the overall objectives of an enterprise. In Barclays, workers are free to
work from home and all necessary data and information are provided to them by intranet
(Hatakka, Wickramasinghe and Qureshi, 2018).
Stages of System Development Life Cycle
It is a multi step procedure which is utilised to provide a framework for both non-
technical and technical activities for delivering a quality system that meets expectations of
business (Alexander, John and Pettit, 2018). There are seven stages in a system development
cycle that demonstrates actions to achieve organisational goals and objectives-
Planning- The first step of this cycle is planning and it is formulated for a purpose to
identify scope's problems and than determining solutions. In this step, resources, benefits, costs,
and time are considered (Hills, 2018).
System analysis and requirements- In this, teams considers functional need of project
and solution. In this system analysis takes place, and analyse the end user's need for ensuring that
the new system meet their expectations (Piercy, 2018).
Systems design- In this third stage of system development life cycle, the essential
specifications, operations and features that will provide satisfaction to functional needs and
requirements of proposed system that will be in place (Dexter, 2018).
Development- It helps in marking the initial section's end of the procedure. It is the start
of a production which is characterized by change and instillation (Im, Gui and Yong, 2019).
Integration and Testing- It includes the testing and integration of system for assuring
quality with a purpose of determining whether the proposed design meets the business goals set
at initial stage (Rosen and Barnett, 2018).
Implementation- It is that phase of a project in which theory of a project is turned into a
practice . This phase includes installing hardware and software, conversion, user training and
documentation.(Santoro, 2015).
Operations and Maintenance- In this stage, end users can fine tune a specific system, if
they want to enhance performance by adding on new capabilities for meeting additional
requirements of users (Schwalbe, 2015).
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ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
From this report, it has been analysed that information technology is very important and
significant for all organisations. In Barclays, IT plays a vital role in customer relationship
management by capturing each interaction of it with its customers. Management information
system technology helps this service organisation by tracking its sales and productivity. Data
management systems helps in securing data of customers digitally in a more appropriate way.
Information technology has various benefits for Barclays such as it helps in enhancing overall
productivity of an organisation by providing quick and information on rapid basis and more
effectively (Bretthauer and Savin, 2018.). It also provides a benefit to Barclays by updating
employees on critical business projects and in connecting business customers and business
partners.
Some of the drawback which Barclays can face while using information technology are
ethical and social issues such as privacy, identity theft, hacking, digital ownership and security
liability are needed to be evaluated for effective performance of Barclays. This enterprise need to
make sure that the private data of customers must be secured and appropriate measures must be
taken regarding the same. (Wang and et. al, 2016).
Ethical and social issues such as privacy, identity theft, hacking, digital ownership and
security liability are needed to be evaluated for effective performance of Barclays. This
enterprise need to make sure that the private data of customers must be secured and appropriate
measures must be taken regarding the same. Further, it has been analysed that there are three
types of networking technologies such as LAN, MAN and WAN. They help in connecting
various computer systems all together locally, regionally and worldwide (Madon and Krishna,
2018).
Internet helps the business organisation in promoting and marketing its products and
services by using social media platform, online websites, and so on. Barclays has a mobile
application named Barclays application which is mobile friendly which makes it convenient for
customers to change their pin, view it or freeze customer's card. Intranet also helps the Barclays
in improving the employees performance by inspiring and motivating them to contribute to
projects (Eason, 2014). System development cycle is a framework that is taken into
consideration by an organisation to deliver quality system for achieving organisational goals and
objectives. It helps in maintaining and building a information system which is computer based.
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CONCLUSION
From the above report, it has been concluded that information technology is very
important component for organisations dealing in different sectors and it provides a basis for
business to grow in an effective manner. IT helps the organisation in forming communication
between customers and managers. Technologies has both positive and negative impact over
society and ethics and an organisation need to maintain a balance between them. Internet helps
the organisation to promote and market its products and services in a digital platform such as
social media applications, search engines like google, websites, and so on. System development
cycle is developed to make sure that high quality system is delivered.
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