Introduction
The efficiency of information systems is a key factor in the achievement of organization’s goals and objectives. Currently, the information system in the sales department is inefficient and in great need of improvement. As we speak, the organization is utilizing Microsoft Excel to manage its data. Microsoft Excel only supports flat databases. A migration to a relational database is proposed. This paper is a proposal highlighting the process of implementing the new information system.
Essentially speaking, the proposed new system surpasses the existing system in many ways. The new system ensures the following: security, data security, multi-user collaboration, data storage, and data analysis. The provision of the above-stated functions shall go a long way in ensuring the data integrity of the organization and improve the system’s performance. Holistically, this is a step in the right direction of achieving efficiency in the organization. We shall also propose the significance of collaborative software to improve communication within the organization and help streamline the sales department business process.
The new information system
Microsoft Access is a database application that supports relational databases, contrary to Microsoft Excel, that can only hold flat databases. The difference between relational and flat databases is that flat database can only organize data in a single table while relational database can support data in multiples tables. This means that relational databases have a bigger capacity to hold data.
The ability to access different data sources is a primarily consideration of the new system. Microsoft Access has the ability to connect to data from several external data sources. This system comes with inbuilt features for connecting to existing data, this features include dBase, Microsoft SQL Server, and Microsoft Outlook Folder. According to Grauer, et al. (2011), after accessing the data, it becomes easier to do the necessary manipulation such as to edit, view and edit.
Data integrity is the other factor to be considered. Data integrity can briefly be defined as the ability to maintain the correctness of data. Microsoft Access has a facility called Unique Identifiers. This facility basically is used to ensure that no two similar data can be entered in the same record. It has a constraint feature.
Microsoft Access provides excellent data analysis capabilities. These include querying, modeling and pivoting and charting. Querying is enabled using Structured Query Language (SQL) that performs queries to retrieve rows and columns as requested by the user. Modeling is done by ‘what-if-analysis’ functions to predict the expected outcome of a model. According to Grauer, et al. (2011), charting and pivoting are critical tools for preparation of graphs and other data presentation forms.
Lastly, security is a fundamental factor of the new information system. Data security is the process of preventing unauthorized access of data and protection against data loss. Microsoft access, through encryption and password, provides the following security features: data loss protection, data protection at user-level and file-level, and restricting access to data. This means that the organization data are safely safeguarded.
Collaborative software
The newest and most efficient collaborative software is Microsoft Lync. Implementation of Microsoft Lync will help the organization save on its data bandwidth consumption and also, save on telephone call bills. This is because most of these services can be provided on one platform, thanks to Microsoft Lync. Microsoft Lync provides the following services: instant messaging, chatting, resources sharing, remote access of other computers, sharing of desktop, and teleconferencing. Using this collaborative software, sales department shall streamline operations and at the same time improve communications.
Reference
Grauer, R. T., Poatsy, M. A., Mulbery, K., Hulett, M., Krebs, C., & Mast, K., (2011). Microsoft® Office 2010: Volume 1. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.