Microsoft and Google: Using Information Systems and IT
At Microsoft, information systems are used to develop custom solutions that may be used to promote cross-referencing and create additional data entries. The company seriously benefits from a comprehensive data model and exclusive insights into customer behavior and sales prediction. One of the most prominent areas of information systems implementation at Microsoft is the company’s opportunity to customize its software solutions and generate in-depth reports that touch upon the whole organization (Laudon & Laudon, 2015). Another area where Microsoft utilizes information systems is the development of database software. The Office applications are also in line with the IT initiatives of the company because they create room for surveys and questionnaires that can be carried out to gain more insight into the existing strengths and limitations of the company’s strategy. All the data collected by Microsoft may be easily exported and imported.
Google, on the other hand, utilizes its information systems to spark ingenuity and imagination in all employees. The process of encouragement helps employees spend more time working independently and contributes to a positive working environment where leisure time and hard work go hand in hand. Every digital project established within Google is an attempt to meet extensive objectives and improve the quality of life for all employees, managers, stakeholders, and end-users (Stair & Reynolds, 2015). Information systems at Google are perceived as a tool that can aid in developing personal versatility and focusing on corporate objectives. Access to information on different organizational levels is efficiently monitored by artificial intelligence instruments that protect Google’s intranet from breaches. Every move that the corporation makes to improve its information systems is required to coordinate activities across Google and introduce new perspectives and ideas.
Microsoft and Google: Competitive Advantages of Information Systems
The biggest advantage that may be associated with the information system applied at Microsoft is the ability of the management to deal with internal affairs quickly. Owing to the existence of an Office Automation System, every manager gets assess to the data on productivity and existing trends within the organizational environment (Pearlson et al., 2019). Not only do information systems help Microsoft process all the data correctly, but they also seem to improve the team’s productivity on a bigger scale. Many of the corporation’s employees had a chance to work from the comfort of their homes even before COVID-19, which is a serious advantage that not all IT companies possessed. Another competitive advantage that Microsoft gets when implementing information systems is the ability to generate automated decisions via decision-support systems. It helps the company reduce the level of uncertainty and helps it to focus on essential problems that yet have to be resolved.
For Google, the key benefit of utilizing information systems is that the company gets a chance to collect all relevant data about its online presence and then implement new techniques for data analysis. This process provides the IT mogul with a variety of alternatives when it comes to situations where they do not have enough relevant information, meaning that the management has a chance to make informed decisions even when the most up-to-date insights are unavailable. The biggest advantage that Google possesses to date is the option of building high-performance systems that respond to the more efficient cost-performance ratio (Laudon & Laudon, 2015). The company’s competitors do not have access to the same advantages in terms of cost because Google’s teams are also much more productive due to a friendlier organizational environment and culture.
Strategic and Innovative Directions within the IT Industry
As for the strategic and innovative directions that the IT industry could investigate within the next five years, it would be safe to highlight the Internet of Things (IoT) and Blockchain. The digital transformation that the IoT could bring to the table may be outlined with the help of large-scale deployments connecting many digital assets under one roof. One of the most potent examples of using the IoT is the deployment of Smart City initiatives that significantly improve administrative control over numerous infrastructures ranging from transportation to medicine (Mohanty et al., 2016). The gradual improvements introduced by the IoT specialists make it easier to conclude that the future of the IT industry significantly depends on the growing popularity of solutions that unite numerous technologies and secure all the existing data. The two assets that require the most attention from researchers in the field are machine learning and artificial intelligence.
As for Blockchain, this technology took over the IT industry by storm even though it was one of the side-shoots of the cryptocurrency crusade. The evolution that the Blockchain experienced over the years shows that the objectives of this technology become clearer. It also means that the immense initial impact of Blockchain is going to become even more potent within the next five years, as the technology penetrates different fields from medicine to banking (Banerjee et al., 2018). Due to the evident decentralization that Blockchain praises, many companies get a better chance to increase the cost of this technological asset and interpret all the obtained data differently. Limitless actionable insights may be utilized to improve the state of affairs across numerous areas of practice, with a special focus on transactional businesses.
References
Banerjee, M., Lee, J., & Choo, K. K. R. (2018). A Blockchain future for Internet of Things security: A position paper. Digital Communications and Networks, 4(3), 149-160.
Laudon, K. C., & Laudon, J. P. (2015). Management information systems. Pearson.
Mohanty, S. P., Choppali, U., & Kougianos, E. (2016). Everything you wanted to know about smart cities: The Internet of Things is the backbone. IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine, 5(3), 60-70.
Pearlson, K. E., Saunders, C. S., & Galletta, D. F. (2019). Managing and using information systems: A strategic approach. John Wiley & Sons.
Stair, R., & Reynolds, G. (2015). Principles of information systems. Cengage Learning.