The uses of computers have evolved over time. Early computers were quite cabable of "number crunching" therefore book-keeping and accounting were logical areas of business where computers were introduced.

These early applications of computer systems in business involved finding, organising, and displaying data. Systems such as these are known as Low Power Main Frame systems. High power main frame systems involve processes such as modelling and predicting. This is much more complex than simply displaying data and requires much more processing power than is present in Low Power Main Frame systems.

As hardware became smaller and cheaper, the application of desktop PCs in business became more common. Management is able to use technology to aid their decision making as well as speeding up the work they need to do.

Problems occur within businesses that employ programmers to develop application software to be used throughout the business. Often, the businesses become dependant upon the programmers for support and maintenance of the systems. These employees often leave or move jobs after a few years. It is not uncommon for hardly any documentation to be left behind which leads to problems. Those left to run and operate the system do not know how it works.

The typical reason for a lack of documentation for systems is that the development of it was rushed. Getting the system up and running in the short term would have been the priority whereas producing documentation for its long-term maintenance would have been left as something unnecessary.

Management within a business has the following functions:

• Planning (setting goals / policies etc...)
• Organising
• Controlling Resources
• Directing
• Controlling

Management information has to be entered into the system as raw data initially. It is important that the information is correct or at least valid. Entries into a system can often be checked on entry for validity. Users can be prompted to check the data they entered is correct on entry (opposed to after the data has been saved).

Information and data

Data is a raw, unprocessed, collection of values with no real meaning on its own. Information is processed data that has been selected, summarised, and organised for a purpose. Information can be good or poor depending on whether it fits the context or whether it is useful to a decision maker.

Good information needs to be:

• up-to-date
• from a reliable source
• accurate
• relevant to the application
• easy to understand
• from a balanced range of data
• complete

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