The Eighth Edition includes significant changes to the Seventh Edition’s content that update and improve its coverage, many of them suggested by an extensive faculty review process. Highlights of key changes for this edition include:
• Bigger Real World Cases: A new two-page format allows greater depth and detail for each case, and a combination of Case Study Questions and new Real World
Activities allows you to engage students on a variety of levels.
• More new Real World Cases: Two-thirds of the cases are new to the Eighth Edition. These up-to-date cases provide students with in-depth business examples of the successes and challenges companies are experiencing in implementing the information technology concepts covered in each chapter.
• Improved Analysis Exercises at the end of each chapter allow you to cover in class or assign as homework a wide variety of interesting projects that promote analysis and critical thinking.
• Chapter 1: Foundations of Information Systems in Business provides a discussion of the relationship between general systems theory and information systems. An expanded discussion on IT/IS careers has been added to Section I.
• Chapter 2: Competing with Information Technology has an expanded discussion of Porter’s five force model of competition and provides added clarification of support versus primary processes and a more in-depth explanation of differentiation versus innovation.
• Chapter 3: Computer Hardware includes significant discussions of the history of computing and of Moore’s law. It also provides a discussion of flash drives and new coverage on RFID technology, including a new in-depth blue box example.
• Chapter 4: Computer Software expands the discussion of open-source development and of Microsoft’s .NET. A completely new discussion on weblogs has also been
added.
• Chapter 5: Data Resource Management provides additional information about relational databases, a comparison of dynamic and static data, and a significant discussion on issues related to distributed databases.
• Chapter 6: Telecommunications and Networks now includes discussions of technologies such as Bluetooth and VoIP. Significant discussion of the difference between analog and digital technologies, as well as treatment of the last-mile problem, has also been added.
• Chapter 12: Developing Business/IT Solutions has a substantially improved presentation of the development of business/IT solutions, including expanded coverage of preliminary feasibility assessment of new projects; additional discussion of project management processes, tools, and techniques; new material on data conversion and system conversion strategies; and new coverage of change management and user involvement.
• Chapter 13: Security and Ethical Challenges expands coverage of security and ethics to include the latest developments: opt-in versus opt-out privacy legislation, HIPPA and Patriot Act compliance challenges, adware and spyware, and cyber law.
• Chapter 14: Enterprise and Global Management of Information Technology provides new in-depth coverage and business examples of outsourcing and offshoring.