Confirming Pages
Confirming Pages

Hardware and
Software Basics

B
Introduction
Managers need to determine what types of hardware and software will satisfy their current and future business needs, the right time to buy the equipment, and how to protect their IT investments. This does not imply that managers need to be experts in all areas of technology; however, building a basic understanding of hardware and software can help them make the right IT investment choices.
Information technology (IT) is a field concerned with the use of technology in managing and processing information. Information technology can be an important enabler of business success and innovation. Information technology can be composed of the Internet, a personal computer, a cell phone that can access the Web, a personal digital assistant, or presentation software. All of these technologies help to perform specific information processing tasks. There are two basic categories of information technology: hardware and software. Hardware consists of the physical devices associated with a computer system. Software is the set of instructions that the hardware executes to carry out specific tasks. Software, such as Microsoft
Excel, and various hardware devices, such as a keyboard and a monitor, interact to create a spreadsheet or a graph. This appendix covers the basics of computer hardware and software including terminology, characteristics, and the associated managerial responsibilities for building a solid enterprise architecture. B.1

bal76736_app-B_B1-B16.indd B.1

7/26/08 11:31:21 AM

Confirming Pages

LEARNING OUTCOMES
B.1. Describe the six major categories of hardware and provide an example of each.
B.2. Identify the different computer categories and explain their potential business uses.
B.3. Explain the difference between primary and secondary storage.
B.4.