Benefits of information systems There are numerous benefits of information systems. An information system provides its users with an array of information that allows them to do their job more effectively. The benefits of an information system may not be noticed right away. A company may start with a database and as they expand they will add a system due to needs and economic benefits. “Information systems are rarely out-of-the-box solutions, they are something that grows with you. It is therefore very important that your systems technology allows you to have this path to build upon. You must be able to control the technology and not be locked into a standard boxed solution that only its manufacturers control. You get no assurance that their upgrades will be in line with your business needs of the future.”(Benefits,2010) To get the greatest benefit out of an information system, a business really needs to consider it as an adaptable tool that will change as the business changes. A business needs to use a system that offers flexibility and if they do not, they will not be able to capitalize on their growth.
Challenges of information systems When you take a look at challenges of information systems, there are really three main issues to look at. Those issues are accuracy, usability, and time. As far as the issue of accuracy, which is probably the most important issue, one needs to make sure that when they give information, that this information is precise and 100% correct. If the information is not correct, huge mistakes can be made. If it is not accurate, it can be considered useless and no decisions should be made off of it. When you look at usability, you need to have software that makes the system easy to use. Everyone in the company should be able to operate the software and system with ease. Any information and reports from the system should also be easy to understand and have value to the user. The last aspect to look at is time, time is probably the most significant challenge with information systems. As we all know, things in technology change rapidly. In order to stay or become a successful business, you need to keep pace with new technology. That is not always easy for a business to do, especially in times of a bad economy, but usually when a business expands its system, the technology is a few steps ahead of what is being used today.
Risks of Information systems A main concern for any company with an information system is whether or not they are secure. Security of a system is huge and if a system is not secure the company is taking a huge risk by not only having their data stolen but their customers as well. There have been many examples of companies having their customer’s data stolen, the most common one is the theft of credit card information. “We can classify compromises in three ways: manifest risk, inherent risk and contributory risk” (Lindstrom, 2005) Manifest risk is an event that happens within the computing environment. There are common things that are measured for this risk such as flows, sessions, commands and transactions. “ From common events we get unwanted compromises: a breach of confidentiality, integrity, availability or liability.”(Lindstrom, 2005) It is known when one of these compromises occurs. One example of this would be a worm within the system. It can be detected but sometimes it cannot be prevented.
Inherent risk is dealing with the unknown whereas manifest risk is dealing with actual activity. “Every organization has a different volume and distribution of activity throughout the environment. In the case of inherent risk, our total population set is the total number of possible event combinations. We calculate possible event combinations by determining the total number of potential sources of activity and multiplying by the total number of possible targets.”(Lindstrom, 2005)
The last risk is contributory risk, this risk is associated with the overall process. It deals with identifying the errors and omissions within the system. Errors are considered simple flaws, while omissions are more difficult to deal with. With an error, something didn’t go as planned and with an omission, something changed within the environment that was not under control of the system itself.

References
Lindstrom, P. (2005, February 17). Three techniques for measuring information systems risk. Retrieved from http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/tip/0,289483,sid14_gci1060169,00.html

Unknown, . (n.d.). The Benefits of an information system. Retrieved from http://www.the-database.co.nz/information-system.html