Information technology (IT), as defined by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), is “the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware.”[1] IT deals with the use of electronic computers and computer software to convert, store, protect, process, transmit, and retrieve information.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to information technology:
Different names
There are different names for this during the ages or through fields. Some of theses names are:
ICT:- Information, Communication and Technology;
IT:- Information technology;
DCT:- Data Communication & technology;
CDT:- Creative digital technology;
DT:- Design & technology;
IDCT:- Department of information & software technology;
Infocomm:- Communication technology;
TelCo (phones) & CompBusiness (HW+SW) & development (SW):- sets of professions as referenced within Human Resources departments; and many more…
Branches of information technology
Computer Science
Information Technology – Refers to the application of computer science, that is, its use by mankind.
Computing is usually defined as the activity of using and developing computer technology, computer hardware and software. It is the computer-specific part of information technology. Computer science (or computing science) is the study and the science of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their implementation and application in computer systems.
In a general way, we can define computing to mean any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computers. Thus, computing includes designing and building hardware and software systems for a wide range of purposes; processing, structuring, and managing various kinds of information; doing scientific studies using computers; making computer systems behave intelligently; creating and using communications and entertainment media; finding and gathering information relevant to any particular purpose, and so on. The list is virtually endless, and the possibilities are vast.
Definitions
The term computing has sometimes been narrowly defined, as in a 1989 ACM report on Computing as a Discipline[2]:
The discipline of computing is the systematic study of algorithmic processes that describe and transform information: their theory, analysis, design, efficiency, implementation, and application. The fundamental question underlying all computing is ‘What can be (efficiently) automated?’
Computing Curricula 2005[1] also recognizes that the meaning of computing depends on the context:
Computing also has other meanings that are more specific, based on the context in which the term is used. For example, an information systems specialist will view computing somewhat differently from a software engineer. Regardless of the context, doing computing well can be complicated and difficult. Because society needs people to do computing well, we must think of computing not only as a profession but also as a discipline.
The term computing is also synonymous with counting and calculating. In earlier times it was used in reference to mechanical computing machines.
A computer is a electronic device that performs certain arithmatic and logical operations without any errors.
Information technology (IT), as defined by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), is “the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware.”[1] IT deals with the use of electronic computers and computer software to convert, store, protect, process, transmit, and securely retrieve information.
Today, the term information technology has ballooned to encompass many aspects of computing and technology, and the term has become very recognizable. The information technology umbrella can be quite large, covering many fields. IT professionals perform a variety of duties that range from installing applications to designing complex computer networks and information databases. A few of the duties that IT professionals perform may include data management, networking, engineering computer hardware, database and software design, as well as the management and administration of entire systems.
When computer and communications technologies are combined, the result is information technology, or “infotech”. Information technology is a general term that describes any technology that helps to produce, manipulate, store, communicate, and/or disseminate information. Presumably, when speaking of Information Technology (IT) as a whole, it is noted that the use of computers and information are associated.
The term information technology is sometimes said to have been coined by Jim Domsic of Michigan in November 1981. Domsic, who worked as a computer manager for an automotive related industry, is supposed to have created the term to modernize the outdated phrase “data processing”. The Oxford English Dictionary, however, in defining information technology as “the branch of technology concerned with the dissemination, processing, and storage of information, esp. by means of computers” provides an illustrative quote from the year 1958 (Leavitt & Whisler in Harvard Business Rev. XXXVI. 41/1 “The new technology does not yet have a single established name. We shall call it information technology.”) that predates the so-far unsubstantiated Domsic coinage.
In recent years ABET and the ACM have collaborated to form accreditation and curriculum standards for degrees in Information Technology as a distinct field of study separate from both Computer Science and Information Systems. SIGITE is the ACM working group for defining these standards.
Adelman, C. (2000). A Parallel Postsecondary Universe: The Certification System in Information Technology. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education.
Allen, T., and M.S. Morton, eds. 1994. Information Technology and the Corporation of the 1990s. New York: Oxford University Press.
Shelly, Gary, Cashman, Thomas, Vermaat, Misty, and Walker, Tim. (1999). Discovering Computers 2000: Concepts for a Connected World. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Course Technology.
Webster, Frank, and Robins, Kevin. (1986). Information Technology—A Luddite Analysis. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
