Information Management System (IMS) – Components, Uses

Information Management System (IMS) – Components, Uses

“What is Information Management System (IMS)” is the today topic of discussion in this tutorial.

We can define the IMS in two different ways;

What is Information Management System (IMS) – Actual Definition

Information Management System (IMS) is a general term that is used for specific purpose software. So, we can say that IMS is a software that is designed to facilitate the data and information in such a way that it can help to;

  1. Store the data efficiently
  2. Organize the data efficiently
  3. Retrieve the information efficiently

What is Information Management System (IMS) –  Academic Definition

Information Management System (IMS) is a study of the followings;
1. How to Store the data efficiently?
2. How to Organize the data efficiently?
3. How to Retrieve the information efficiently?

difference between Information Management System IMS VS MIS Management Information SysteM
Figure: the difference between Information Management System IMS VS MIS Management Information System

Components of Information Systems

Let’s see the six major components of a typical information management system;

  • Data
  • Hardware
  • Software
  • Communication
  • People
  • Procedures

Data: Data is the collection of raw facts and figures.

Hardware: Physical parts of the computer to which we can touch;

computers, Motherboard, Memory, storage devices and other input and output devices, etc.

Software: Software is the set of instructions given to the computer to perform a given specific task. The instructions follow the rules and algorithms. All these collectively tell the hardware how to process, store and display the data.

Communication: the telecommunication devices that transmit the data in the form of text, pictures, and sound.

Examples of some communication devices are given below;

  • MODEM
  • Router
  • Gateway
  • Bridges and many more.

People: People are the producers and consumers of information. Examples of some common Information producers are mentioned below;

  • Data entry operators
  • Data Administrators
  • Systems analysts
  • Computer programmers

Example of  Information consumer is the end-user of the IMS.

Procedures: Procedures are the processes and rules required to optimize the security of the data and information in the IMS. Procedures help to prioritize the timeliness of the information that is generated after processing on the data.

Uses of Information Management System (IMS) in the industry)

IMS is very helpful in the industry in the following functional areas;

  • Production
  • Marketing
  • Sales
  • Accounting
  • Finance
  • Operations
  • Human Resource Management
  • Business Intelligence
  • Decision-Making and similarly very useful in many other functional areas.

What is the difference between Information Management System and Management Information System? IMS VS MIS

 

difference between Information Management System IMS VS MIS Management Information SysteM
Figure: the difference between Information Management System IMS VS MIS Management Information System

Information Management System focus is to just manage all activities that involve in storing, organizing and retrieving the data and information. IMS is a specialized term that is famous among Computer Science students and other computer professionals. However, IMS is a superset of MIS.

Management Information System focus is to just focus to manage the information system to facilitate the management activities. Its specialized term that is famous among the Management Sciences students and business professionals. However, MIS is a subset of IMS.