The Impact of Information Technology on Business: A Detailed Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the impact of information technology (IT) on businesses, highlighting its role in enhancing operations, addressing ethical and social issues, and leveraging computer networks and artificial intelligence for growth. It discusses the benefits and drawbacks of IT investments, using National Westminster Bank (NetWest) as a case study. The report covers the increasing significance of IT in streamlining banking operations, improving customer support, and enabling data-driven decision-making. It also addresses challenges such as cybersecurity risks and the digital divide, emphasizing the importance of ethical considerations and continuous adaptation to technological advancements. The use of different computer networks such as PAN, LAN, and WLAN is explored, alongside their impact on business productivity and cost. This document is available on Desklib, a platform offering a range of study tools and resources for students.

INTRODUCTION TO
INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY417

ABSTRACT
The current report is highlighting the use of information technology and its impacts on
the businesses. The importance and the use of IT services cannot be ignored and it has become
an important requirement to survive and succeed. The introduction of IT in the business is quite
essential in present context as it comes with a lot of benefits that profits the industries. But along
with the benefits, certain challenges also arise due to these digital advancements. The fact that it
eases the business operations, it also needs to be well maintained to use it at its full potential and
provide maximum benefit to the people.

Table of Contents
ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................................2
Table of Contents.............................................................................................................................3
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................4
LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................................4
Impact of IT in helping businesses in increasing their operations...............................................4
Importance of ethical and social issues that are becoming significant in virtual world..............5
Different types of computer network and their impact on business............................................5
Role of artificial intelligence in growth of businesses.................................................................6
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION...................................................................................................7
The main potential benefits for the bank in investing in the information technology are- .......10
The main drawbacks for NetWest in investing in the information technology are-..................11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Information technology commonly pronounced as IT, can be defined as the use of
technology to manage, store, share and process data. It is one of the fastest growing sector in the
world due to its growing demand to handle a lot of data and making use of that data becomes
quite crucial. The current report discuss the impact of IT in helping businesses to enhance their
operations and the importance of ethical and social issues which are increasingly becoming
significant in the virtual world. The report also highlights different types of computer networks
and the impact of AI in enhancing the businesses. The benefits and drawbacks in the use of
information technology for the organizations as well as the people.
MAIN BODY
LITERATURE REVIEW
Impact of IT in helping businesses in increasing their operations
According to the Zein and et.al., (2021) technology is playing a vital role in banking sector
as it has made its operations easier. In addition, it is stated that banks including Bank of England
uses block chain technology with the main aim of making smooth running of functions and
cutting cost. Online transactions, online passbook entries and online statement checking are some
common examples of technology in banking sector. It has made beneficial to people as they do
not need to visit their banking branch and within timely manner, they can know about their
transactions. Overall, it can be said that information technology is saving time of banking
workers and general people as well.
Pakurár and et.al., (2019) supported above view and stated that information technology is
the main key of success of banking sector nowadays. They cannot even imagine their
professional lives without technology. The biggest revolution came in banking sector is
digitalisation. It has made banking operations faster as well as reliable than before. Workers can
now perform number of tasks by using technology and they can solve customers’ problems
without meeting customers. It saves time and cost of customers and banking workers. Some
authors have argued above view and stated that technology has brought number of positive
changes but along with this, there are number of negative impacts that IT has had on banking
sector. Theft of personal information, misuse of information, cyber security, breaches and others.
Hackers send wrong links to innocent people that looks like real and as soon as people tap on
that link, hackers hack their bank account and by doing so they credit all their balance. So, in this

regard, it can be said that technology is increasing risk for people. There are number of people
who lives in rural areas and are older do not have much knowledge about using technology. They
find difficulties in banking transaction and performing banking related activities. They are the
one who become victim of privacy issues and hacking issues. Overall, it can be said that there is
critical impact of IT in banking sector.
Importance of ethical and social issues that are becoming significant in virtual world
As per the view of Nizam and et.al., (2019) there are number of issues that are affecting
overall performance of banking sector. One of the main ethical issue that is rising concern is:
manipulating credit rating. In regard to this, it can be said that credit ratings are being set by
credit rating agencies and their main aim is to access financial products so that they can provide
important information that required to access about fair price and risks associated with it. It is
paid by issuer of rated securities.
Different types of computer network and their impact on business
According to, Thubert, (2020) companies while working and running ventures within
specific sector such as banking and other utilized varied forms of computer networks. The
utilization of each computer network enable them to work in productive and progressive manner,
which is quite essential for a company to do so. Personal Area network is the best example of a
system that use in the corporate world.
In the view of, Kudratkhonova and Axmedov, (2021) PAN as computer network may put
positive impact on ventures, in term of eliminating reasons behind additional space that a firm
and their management require saving big data, which they may utilize further. It is the best
source of interconnection between several devices like tablet, smartphone and computer.
Personal area network may not need extra space or wire, for purpose of connecting two or more
devices together in the business world within an organization. On the other hand, Joshi and
Mohapatra, (2019) stated that PAN may affect negatively upon businesses because of having
some disadvantages. It may have less distance range that create issue to make a good connect
between other devices. It affects productivity and performance of individuals who are
performing their roles in the firms of banking sector.
According to, Thummaluru, Kumar and Chaudhary, (2019) local area network is the best
computer system that use by experts, for varied reasons. It is usually used network that connect
computers together via a basic and effective communication path. It may affect in positive

manner up companies in form of providing chance to connect with those who may utilize the
information that they have. The best thing about LAN is that it is inexpensive and use to high
data transmission rates.
Hannibal and Knight, (2018) contradict that LAN may put negative impact on companies,
whether they are public or private in term of emerging requirements related to cost of local area
network as computer system. The initial cost of this system is expensive and also while setting
up the same the extra cost is required, more than the expectation or might be budget of a
company. The main reason behind this cause is requirement of a particular software that help to
make server appropriate and connectivity as well.
Wu and Han, (2019) defines that wireless local area network is also included in the
category of effective computer networks that varied firms uses to make their work appropriate
according to stakeholders expectations, which is important for management to fulfil
appropriately. It also put direct impact on ventures practices and activities in positive manner in
form of increasing reliability, which help to achieve set organizational aims and objectives.
Singh, Sharma and Arora, (2022) stated that wireless local area network affect negatively
on companies because of requiring licences and renewal the same, after a specific time period,
which might be expensive and time-consuming too. There are some wireless Lan issues by using
this network companies may face that hamper their ventures productivity and performance, in
competitive business world where competition level is high.
Role of artificial intelligence in growth of businesses
According to Kumar and et.al., (2019), artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming
essential in the daily life and the marketing and promotion of these technological assets by
various companies is changing the perception of the people of today. From responding gadgets
like Siri and Alexa to self driving vehicles, the AI is revolutionizing the business rapidly. In the
fast growing business world, the use of high tech gadgets can make the business operations easy
and more convenient. Businesses that use the artificial technology have a greater access to
creative ideas that can bring out better results for them and can improve their work flow.
Automation drives businesses through more effective and coordinated path. It helps the
companies to carry out consistence results and handle bulk of data.
In the view of Gregory and et.al. (2021), with the help of advance technology and
analysing more information, the companies can improve their various functions such as customer

support and identify issues with greater accuracy and make effective decisions. AI plays a big
role in collecting data of the customer insights and analyse it to plan strategies accordingly and in
quick succession. Artificial intelligence improves the business and marketing strategies by
predicting risky circumstances and accentuate more on areas that need more attention. The AI
support helps easing the recruitment processes by identifying the required skills by analysing a
wide range of resumes. It can also help in assessing and improving the skills of the staff that
works in side by clearing drafts.
Obschonka and Audretsch, (2020), states that Different technologies such as biometric
attendance and cameras help in tracking the employees and their behaviour in the fairest way. It
minimizes the chance of any unfair means and anything that can disrupt the work environment. It
enhances employee engagement and improves communication between different functions of the
business organization. Virtual support may not be able to boost the productivity of the business
and can improve the customer relationship and interaction with large number of customers. It
ensures that the customers are constantly supported by the systems and are responded time to
time with their queries. Various chatbots, automated questions and answers and live information
links are employed to advance the customer support system and create human like conversations
to while responding to the queries of the Clients and provide a better support.
As per the observation of Goralski and Tan, (2020), since the covid 19 pandemic has
pushed everyone to stay indoors due to the strict lock downs all over the world, the people
started to shift their interest towards the digital interactions. With the use of advanced
technologies, it has become easier to understand customer demands and deliver to their
expectations. AI is capable of collecting bulk of data and analyse it to figure out the pros and
cons of the business and create a personalized solution for its clients, promote and convince more
customers towards the company. Making strategies become more personalized than being
general that results in satisfying the clients at the individual level.
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
National Westminster Bank, popularly known as NetWest is one of the major commercial
banks of the United Kingdom headquartered in London. Established in 1968, it is one of the
oldest banks of UK ans has comfortably gone through various challenging phases through its
business over the years. One such change or revolution in the present context is the rising IT

sector. Investing in IT sector may come with its own benefits and drawbacks for the NetWest
considering the present environment.
Investing in the technology to make these customers related processes easier and
convenient can benefit NetWest a lot against its competitors in the market with lower digital
benefits (Garg and et.al., 2021). NetWest can address these demands by investing and installing
higher levels of information technology and take the banking process to entirely new heights.
The banking process are under a serious evolution in the 21st century. The technology and has
changed the entire matrix of and the art of operations by bringing ease and efficiency in the
process and brought huge productivity in the system. These digital enhancements are capable to
make the essential process easier such as electronic signatures, applications channels of
interactions, fast transactions and performing operations without being physically present at the
banks (De la Mano and Padilla, 2018). Investment in the information technology has enhanced
the banking sector a lot in the recent years.
The banking sector seems to have reached a significant level with the help of essential
data and technology that empowers that data (Moşteanu and et.al., 2020). Without the use of
these technologies, the banking sector would never change and the AI still has the potential to
make the business even more efficient in the future. Big data can be handled with ease and the
system can be made more personalized with the help of AI data solutions. In the traditional
banking system arranging and storing large chunks of data was a complex task but with the help
of digitalization, this burden of the staff is reduced to the lowest levels. It has proven that, with
the help of digitalization, the works can still go on with fluency and it is an instruction for the
NetWest to invest in the information technology and identify practices that can drive the
attention of the customers. It has also connected the world successfully in terms of money
transactions all over the globe.
Banking these days has become a lot more desirable and simple. It confirms that the
influence of the information technology on the banking sector has become undeniable after
considering the behaviour of the people, spending criteria and preferences. The data is
transformed from a well studied demographic by considering more factors related at once. In the
era of rising technology, many companies have emerged to help banks to make better decisions
with the help of advanced technologies. Therefore, it becomes necessary for the banks to keep
themselves up to date with the current trends and technological features (Buch and Goldberg,

2020). Due to fast accurate process, the banks can eliminate cost effective elements such as table
staff, cash machineries, hardcopy storage, printing function and anything that adds for the
intermediary fees.
There are a lot of fraud activities that takes place every now and then. Preventing these
activities sometimes becomes headache for the banks and any illegal activity that they fail to stop
can put them in serious legal troubles (Mbama and et.al., 2018). The cyber crime index is rapidly
progressing and access use of information technology becomes a big challenge. Maintaining and
protecting these issues is a difficult task for the banks. If an unauthorized hackers have a better
quality of technology and are able to hack the systems, it can completely destruct the bank and
its operations. There are already a lot of cases in the past where the big data of companies was
hacked completely destroying the security. It will create big trouble for the clients of the bank
that are not used to these modern techs to access the banking. The introduction of information
technology comes along with a lot of risks and complex structure of use and handle data that
may not be adequate for all people.
NetWest is an old bank that consists of clients that are way too irrelevant to be forced to
adopt the digital features.The introduction of adequate information technology and digitalization
will make the banking process quite difficult for them and learning these processes will not be
possible for them. The cash transactions will die and the bill payment systems will be effected
heavily.
There is a lot of chance of theft risk for the bank as it is difficult to monitor the online
transactions and create barriers (Vives, 2019). The traditional cash transaction are comparatively
less risky that the modern digital transactions. The servers of the banking systems may be down
at times due to technical issues and during updates may stuck the transaction process in between.
It might take days to resolve these issues and the user's money becomes a free agent that cannot
be used. The data is always prone to risks as the users often compromise with the security
guidelines and due to this unhealthy use of the information technology, it is criticized constantly
with the trust issues and adequate securities (Samimi, 2020).
The use of digital technology grew rapidly during and after the covid 19 phase. A lot of
people have started to rely heavily on the digital systems for their works, purchases and
transactions. It is the safest and the quickest way to keep the works going even from homes. The
traditional old banking system is quite outdated and time- consuming. The handling of

information and accessing it is also a complex system. This inconvenience in the traditional
banking system also goes in favour of the digital banking. However, easy banking solution and
access to the banking details has increased the customers in the banking sectors.
The main potential benefits for the bank in investing in the information technology are-
 Digitalization attracts a lot of customers to any sector. The main reason behind this is the
improved communication channels and easy processes that the technology provides. The
number of people relying on the online banking solutions are increasing day by day. The
current trend is about making maximum online payments that are easy to access and
handle information on the tips of the fingers (Stulz, 2019).
 One of the biggest benefits of the advanced technology is that it enhances efficiency in
the work process. Efficiency is very advantageous in answering the complex problems
with more accuracy and more understanding. The demand of today's world is fast
answers and quick solutions with greater efficiency.
 A user- friendly experience- If we look at the artistic side of the digitalized banking, a
user- friendly environment is experienced with unique features that never existed before
in the traditional banking environment. The banking before was a time- consuming
activity that required a schedule to be adjusted to work things out but with the help of
technology, these operations can be performed with few simple clicks in the mobile
applications and does nor require a long schedule.
 Information technology has brought some serious reasonable and advanced
improvements in the sectors that it has been installed. In context of the banking sector,
that technology is used in making significant data driven decisions. The main advantage
of the data driven decisions is that they are pretty accurate as it analyses deep data and
hence, less likely to fail.
 The biggest benefit that the digital technology can provide in the future are free
transactions in the form of digital currency that may be accessible all over the world.
 Digital transformation have been very beneficial for the bank in the recent years in terms
of cost efficiency. The fast cashless transactions has helped to cut down a lot of banking
charges as the customers rarely rely on the physical currency.

The main drawbacks for NetWest in investing in the information technology are-
 In case of failure on the internet connection, the access to online banking becomes
completely denied. It is completely dependent on the internet services and hence, it may
become useless during serious situations and urgent transaction if the internet stops or the
device malfunctions due to any technical problem (Saeidi and et.al., 2019).
 Sometimes the users access the banking information on multiple devices and making the
data on severe risks. The security of transaction becomes big issues and in cases where
the OTP's and passwords are shared, the account information becomes vulnerable and
may get hacked by unauthorized hackers over the internet. The risk of viruses also
becomes frequent.
 With a lot of use of the digital technology, people often come across various links and
websites that can create trouble to manage and annoy with pop- ups and notifications. Big
brands often monitor the financial activities and constantly make disturbances with e-
mails, updates and offers.
 To understand the use of these advanced features is not easy for the senior group of
citizens that have very low interaction with technology inn their life. They heavily rely
on the traditional style of banking (Li and et.al., 2021).
 There are a lot of financial processes that require paper works and cannot be done
through digital means and mobile applications such as calculation on taxes, acquiring
governmental benefits and making legal agreements. These functions require face to face
interaction and it is a hard copy process that cannot be done through internet and virtual
presence.
CONCLUSION
It has been concluded from the above report that the information technology and and its
applications and services to businesses are an essential requirement to survive and succeed in the
transforming world. IT increases productivity of a company or an organization with more
efficiency and accuracy. However, the introduction of IT in business comes with a range of
benefits as well as challenges. The benefits of investing in the information technology includes
higher productivity, saves effort, maintain a bulk of data with greater accuracy and saves the
valuable time and money. On the other hand, with the use of information technology, various

challenges in arise in the business operations as well. These challenges include risk of online
threat, ransomware attack, viruses, security threats etc. Fraud activities also becomes challenges
during the use of digital channels in the form of unauthorized hackers. Hence, the use of
information technology needs to maintained in an adequate manner to prevent serious troubles.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Buch, C.M. and Goldberg, L.S., 2020. Global banking: Toward an assessment of benefits and
costs. Annual Review of Financial Economics. 12(1). pp.141-175.
De la Mano, M. and Padilla, J., 2018. Big tech banking. Journal of Competition Law &
Economics. 14(4). pp.494-526.
Garg, P. and et.al., 2021. Measuring the perceived benefits of implementing blockchain
technology in the banking sector. Technological forecasting and social change. 163.
p.120407.
Goralski, M.A. and Tan, T.K., 2020. Artificial intelligence and sustainable development. The
International Journal of Management Education. 18(1). p.100330.
Gregory and et.al. 2021. The role of artificial intelligence and data network effects for creating
user value. Academy of Management Review. 46(3). pp.534-551.
Hannibal, M. and Knight, G., 2018. Additive manufacturing and the global factory: Disruptive
technologies and the location of international business. International Business Review.
27(6). pp.1116-1127.
Joshi, A. and Mohapatra, A. K., 2019. Authentication protocols for wireless body area network
with key management approach. Journal of Discrete Mathematical Sciences and
Cryptography. 22(2). pp.219-240.
Kudratkhonova, M. and Axmedov, N., 2021. COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF WIRELESS
PERSONAL AREA NETWORK PROTOCOLS. In ИННОВАЦИОННЫЕ ПОДХОДЫ
В СОВРЕМЕННОЙ НАУКЕ (pp. 93-99).
Kumar, V. and et.al., 2019. Understanding the role of artificial intelligence in personalized
engagement marketing. California Management Review. 61(4). pp.135-155.
Li, F. and et.al., 2021. Customer satisfaction with bank services: The role of cloud services,
security, e-learning and service quality. Technology in Society. 64. p.101487.
Mbama, C.I. and et.al., 2018. Digital banking, customer experience and financial performance:
UK bank managers’ perceptions. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing.

Moşteanu, D. and et.al., 2020. Digital technologies’ implementation within financial and banking
system during socio distancing restrictions–back to the future. International Journal of
Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology. 11(6).
Nizam, E. and et.al., 2019. The impact of social and environmental sustainability on financial
performance: A global analysis of the banking sector. Journal of Multinational Financial
Management. 49. pp.35-53.
Obschonka, M. and Audretsch, D.B., 2020. Artificial intelligence and big data in
entrepreneurship: a new era has begun. Small Business Economics. 55(3). pp.529-539.
Pakurár, M. and et.al., 2019. The impact of supply chain integration and internal control on
financial performance in the Jordanian banking sector. Sustainability. 11(5). p.1248.
Saeidi, P. and et.al., 2019. The impact of enterprise risk management on competitive advantage
by moderating role of information technology. Computer standards & interfaces. 63.
pp.67-82.
Samimi, A., 2020. Risk management in information technology. Progress in Chemical and
Biochemical Research. 3(2). pp.130-134.
Singh, H., Sharma, R. and Arora, R., 2022, February. A Novel Dual-band filtenna for 2.4 and 5.8
GHz Wireless Local Area for Network Applications. In 2022 Interdisciplinary Research
in Technology and Management (IRTM) (pp. 1-6). IEEE.
Stulz, R.M., 2019. Fintech, bigtech, and the future of banks. Journal of Applied Corporate
Finance. 31(4). pp.86-97.
Thubert, P., 2020. IPv6 over low-power wireless personal area network (6LoWPAN) selective
fragment recovery. Internet Requests for Comments, RFC Editor. RFC. 8931.
Thummaluru, S. R., Kumar, R. and Chaudhary, R. K., 2019. Isolation and frequency
reconfigurable compact MIMO antenna for wireless local area network applications.
IET Microwaves, Antennas & Propagation. 13(4). pp.519-525.
Vives, X., 2019. Digital disruption in banking. Annual Review of Financial Economics. 11(1).
pp.243-272.
Wu, Y. and Han, C., 2019, December. Interference and coverage analysis for indoor terahertz
wireless local area networks. In 2019 IEEE Globecom Workshops (GC Wkshps) (pp. 1-
6). IEEE.

Zein, A.E. and et.al., 2021. Effect of Servant Leadership on Organization Productivity: A Case
Study Depicting the Lebanese Banking Sector. International Journal of Scientific and
Management Research. 3(4). pp.1-20.

16