Information technology
Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, and data and information processing, and storage.[1] IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT).[2] An information technology system (IT system) is generally an information system, a communications system, or, more specifically speaking, a computer system — including all hardware, software, and peripheral equipment — operated by a limited group of IT users, and an IT project usually refers to the commissioning and implementation of an IT system.[3] IT systems play a vital role in facilitating efficient data management, enhancing communication networks, and supporting organizational processes across various industries. Successful IT projects require meticulous planning, seamless integration, and ongoing maintenance to ensure optimal functionality and alignment with organizational objectives.[4]
"IT" redirects here. For the customer service colloquially referred to as IT, see Tech support. For other uses, see It (disambiguation).
Although humans have been storing, retrieving, manipulating, and communicating information since the earliest writing systems were developed,[5] 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)."[6] Their definition consists of three categories: techniques for processing, the application of statistical and mathematical methods to decision-making, and the simulation of higher-order thinking through computer programs.[6]
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 products or services within an economy are associated with information technology, including computer hardware, software, electronics, semiconductors, internet, telecom equipment, and e-commerce.[7][a]
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 (1450 — 1840), electromechanical (1840 — 1940), and electronic (1940 to present).[5]
Information technology is also a branch of computer science, which can be defined as the overall study of procedure, structure, and the processing of various types of data. As this field continues to evolve across the world, its overall priority and importance has also grown, which is where we begin to see the introduction of computer science-related courses in K-12 education.
Services[edit]
Email[edit]
The technology and services it provides for sending and receiving electronic messages (called "letters" or "electronic letters") over a distributed (including global) computer network. In terms of the composition of elements and the principle of operation, electronic mail practically repeats the system of regular (paper) mail, borrowing both terms (mail, letter, envelope, attachment, box, delivery, and others) and characteristic features — ease of use, message transmission delays, sufficient reliability and at the same time no guarantee of delivery. The advantages of e-mail are: easily perceived and remembered by a person addresses of the form user_name@domain_name (for example, [email protected]); the ability to transfer both plain text and formatted, as well as arbitrary files; independence of servers (in the general case, they address each other directly); sufficiently high reliability of message delivery; ease of use by humans and programs.
Disadvantages of e-mail: the presence of such a phenomenon as spam (massive advertising and viral mailings); the theoretical impossibility of guaranteed delivery of a particular letter; possible delays in message delivery (up to several days); limits on the size of one message and on the total size of messages in the mailbox (personal for users).
Search system[edit]
A software and hardware complex with a web interface that provides the ability to search for information on the Internet. A search engine usually means a site that hosts the interface (front-end) of the system. The software part of a search engine is a search engine (search engine) — a set of programs that provides the functionality of a search engine and is usually a trade secret of the search engine developer company. Most search engines look for information on World Wide Web sites, but there are also systems that can look for files on FTP servers, items in online stores, and information on Usenet newsgroups. Improving search is one of the priorities of the modern Internet (see the Deep Web article about the main problems in the work of search engines).
![U.S. Employment distribution of computer systems design and related services, 2011[50]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/ComputerSystemsEmployment_distribution_.png/120px-ComputerSystemsEmployment_distribution_.png)
U.S. Employment in the computer systems and design related services industry, in thousands, 1990–2011[50]
![U.S. Employment in the computer systems and design related services industry, in thousands, 1990–2011[50]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/EmploymentComputerSystems.png/120px-EmploymentComputerSystems.png)
![U.S. Occupational growth and wages in computer systems design and related services, 2010–2020[50]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1f/ComputerSystemsOccupationalGrowthWages.png/120px-ComputerSystemsOccupationalGrowthWages.png){kind=small}
U.S. projected percent change in employment in selected occupations in computer systems design and related services, 2010–2020[50]
![U.S. projected percent change in employment in selected occupations in computer systems design and related services, 2010–2020[50]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/ProjectedEmploymentChangeComputerSystems.png/120px-ProjectedEmploymentChangeComputerSystems.png)
U.S. projected average annual percent change in output and employment in selected industries, 2010–2020[50]
![U.S. projected average annual percent change in output and employment in selected industries, 2010–2020[50]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/ProjectedAverageAnnualEmploymentChangeSelectedIndustries.png/120px-ProjectedAverageAnnualEmploymentChangeSelectedIndustries.png)
IT projects[edit]
Research suggests that IT projects in business and public administration can easily become significant in scale. Work conducted by McKinsey in collaboration with the University of Oxford suggested that half of all large-scale IT projects (those with initial cost estimates of $15 million or more) often failed to maintain costs within their initial budgets or to complete on time.[53]
