Information technology (IT) is the application of computers and telecommunications equipment to store, retrieve, transmit and manipulate data,[1]often

in the context of a business or other enterprise.[2] The term is commonly used as a synonym for computers and computer networks, but it also encompasses other information distribution technologies such as television and telephones. Several industries are associated with information technology, such as computer hardware, software, electronics, semiconductors, internet, telecom equipment, ecommerce and computer services.[3][4] In a business context, the Information Technology Association of America has defined information technology as "the study, design, development, application, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems".[5] The responsibilities of those working in the field include network administration, software development and installation, and the planning and management of an organisation's technology life cycle, by which hardware and software is maintained, upgraded, and replaced. Humans have been storing, retrieving, manipulating and communicating information since the Sumerians in Mesopotamia developed writing in about 3000 BC,[6] but the term "information technology" in its modern sense first appeared in a 1958 article published in the Harvard Business Review; authors Harold J. Leavitt and Thomas L. Whisler commented that "the new technology does not yet have a single established name. We shall call it information technology (IT)."[7] Based on the storage and processing technologies employed, it is possible to distinguish four distinct phases of IT development: pre-mechanical (3000 BC 1450 AD), mechanical (14501840), electromechanical (1840 1940) and electronic (1940present).[6] This article focuses on the most recent period (electronic), which began in about 1940.

A system is a set of interacting or interdependent components forming an integrated whole[1] or a set of elements (often called 'components' ) andrelationships which are different from relationships of the set or its elements to other elements or sets.[citation needed] Fields that study the general properties of systems include Systems science, systems theory, cybernetics, dynamical systems, thermodynamics, and complex systems. They investigate the abstract properties of systems' matter and organization, looking for concepts and principles that are independent of domain, substance, type, or temporal scale.[citation needed] Some systems share common characteristics, including:[citation needed]

A system has structure, it contains parts (or components) that are directly or indirectly related to each other; A system has behavior, it contains processes that transform inputs into outputs (material, energy or data); A system has interconnectivity: the parts and processes are connected by structural and/or behavioral relationships. A system's structure and behavior may be decomposed via subsystems and sub-processes to elementary parts and process steps.

The term system may also refer to a set of rules that governs structure and/or behavior. Alternatively, and usually in the context of complex social systems, the term institution is used to describe the set of rules that govern structure and/or behavior. The majority of systems share the similar regular characteristics. These common characteristics comprise the following

Systems are concepts of reality. Systems have arrangement which is described by its parts as well as their composition. Systems have performance involving inputs, processing and outputs of material, energy or data. The different parts of a system have functional as well as structural relationships between each other.

Following are considered as the elements of a system in terms of Information systems: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Inputs and outputs Processor Control Environment Feedback Boundaries and interface

Systems are classified in different ways: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Physical or abstract systems. Open or closed systems. 'Man-made' information systems. Formal information systems. Informal information systems. Computer-based information systems. Real-time system.

Physical systems are tangible entities that may be static or dynamic in operation. An open system has many interfaces with its environment. i.e. system that interacts freely with its environment, taking input and returning output. It permits interaction across its boundary; it receives inputs from and delivers outputs to the outside. A closed system does not interact with the environment; changes in the environment and adaptability are not issues for closed system. A system model is the conceptual model that describes and represents a system. A system comprises multiple views such as planning, requirement (analysis), design, implementation,deployment, structure, behavior, input data, and output data views. A system model is required to describe and represent all these multiple views.

The system model describes and represents the multiple views possibly using two different approaches. The first one is the non-architectural approach and the second one is the architectural approach. The non-architectural approach respectively picks a model for each view. For example, Structured Systems Analysis and Design Method (SSADM), picking the Structure Chart (SC) for structure description and the Data Flow Diagram (DFD) for behavior description, is categorized into the non-architectural approach. The architectural approach, instead of picking many heterogeneous and unrelated models, will use only one single coalescence model. For example, System architecture, using the Architecture Description Language (ADL) for both structure and behavior descriptions, is categorized into the architectural approach.