Introduction to information systems T. Cornford, M. Shaikh is1 060 2013

part of the local system. All of these machines in the bank are linked through a 
computer network to the head office’s computer centre, where the main database 
of customer records is held.
The bank’s operations are based round the computer record kept for each customer 
and their transactions. This record consists of:
• the name and address of the account holder
• the balance of the account (positive or negative)
• a record of any allowed overdraft 
• a record of all transactions for the past 10 years.
Taken overall, this arrangement can be seen as an information system – the 
customer accounts information system. In other words, it collects, processes and 
stores various items of data as individual transactions take place, and it allows 
various types of information to be provided for various classes of people.
If I am interested in the balance on my account and whether my salary has been 
paid in, I can go to the cash dispenser and ask for a mini-statement, which is 
printed while I wait. Alternatively, I can go inside to a cashier and ask a person 
for the same information or I can log on to the bank’s website to access this 
information. 
The manager of the branch may want to see some details of my account as well. 
They are more likely to be interested in an overall summary of information on all 
accounts – perhaps the sum of the balances in all accounts in order to compare it 
with the same figure for last year, and a graph, may be the best way to do this. The 
manager may also want a list of all the people who have exceeded their overdraft 
limit, so that a friendly letter can be sent to them. Well, once upon a time it worked 
like that, but today this is probably a task that is programmed and requires no 
human intervention. 
Both the manager and I need some information – we are each looking for particular 
items stored on the computer or a summary of items. We both want the information 
to be displayed in an appropriate format. On the basis of the information we receive, 
we will be able to take some actions or make some decisions. The raw material of 
this process is the stored records on the computer – which we refer to as data – but 
what both the manager and I require is information.
Remember: computers hold data. People seek and use information. When we 
talk about information technology rather than computers, we are acknowledging 
that people are central to the overall task we seek to accomplish by using this 
technology.

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IS1060 Introduction to information systems
40
Activity 
Look through various textbooks and reference sources (for example, Wikipedia, a 
dictionary) and make a note of their definitions of information. How much variety is there 
to be found? Do you prefer some definitions to others?
A recent publication from the Royal Society offered the following 
definitions of Data, Information and Knowledge.