Whether a mobile device is owned by a business, employee, or third party, IT managers must be able to maintain it to ensure a safe and secure user experience. We've gathered together some of the best articles from SearchMobileComputing.Com and included them in this practical guide to introduce you to the key features of mobile device management.

An Introduction to Enterprise Mobility Management

When you look at enterprise-wide mobility use with a fresh eye, you will eventually run into a conflict between enterprise IT's vision and the practical requirements of mobility. This can be called "narrow approach" IT or insufficient coverage of the issue. Whatever you call it, effective mobile infrastructure management is essential to making mobile devices an enterprise computing resource.

Regardless of whether mobile app or not, whether it works only on the territory of the office or "in the field", it certainly requires certain forms of computing resources. And whether the resources are owned by the enterprise, users (employees) or third parties, the IT department must be able to create its own presence on each device and manage certain aspects of it to ensure a safe and reliable user experience.

Since the goal of introducing mobile systems in enterprises is to increase productivity, work efficiency, and improve labor results, this goal should be achieved using appropriate mobile infrastructure management tools. At the same time, users who spend time “playing” with technologies are, of course, less productive. The same applies to users who cannot receive technical support.

While it makes sense to say that we can abstract away the device and make the application available to everyone on the planet, the mechanisms for accessing the application come into play, and we must ask on a case-by-case basis:

• What device is accessing the app?
• Who provides the software?
• Who provides the device? How much does it cost?
• How to ensure security? Is the security level optimal to allow access to the application?
• What connection is being used?
• How can we keep the application in a healthy state?
• How can we ensure the connection of users who are not members of the local network?
• Who is responsible for the user interface and user experience?
• Who is doing the testing?
• Who provides support in case of failures?

These are all issues of IT infrastructure management, and these are problems that the IT industry must solve. Some solutions will come from within IT, others from user groups, communities, and others. internal organizations. And, finally, the third group of solutions will come from hardware and software vendors and mobile operator communities.

This is the first article in a series on enterprise mobility management. The purpose of the series is to identify key features enterprise management in the light of mobile infrastructure and mobile device management. Various organizations claim to have solutions to some or all of the above issues, and we'll look at the difference between their approaches next. At the moment there is no such thing as "all purchases in one store visit" for corporate IT management, which includes the management of mobile infrastructure and mobile devices.

Mobile devices and management problems in the enterprise

It is enough for managers responsible for mobile infrastructure to hear the words " corporate governance' and you'll get a whole range of responses. Some IT managers will roll their eyes and say that in order to deploy mobile infrastructure, they must implement their own own solutions for asset management and devices directly. Others will tell you that they rely on BlackBerry Enterprise Server and tell about it. The third group will tell how they can't find anything close to Active Directory , not speaking about Unicenter , Tivoli , open view , Patrol (select one from the list), etc.

Despite some opinions, the fact is that enterprise management platforms provide a number of services that are essential for a successful deployment of mobile infrastructure. Until now, mobile solutions have not been embraced by these platforms, and as a result, IT departments have had to make do with other technologies. mobile control platforms.

Asset Management

Any mobile device is considered as an asset of the enterprise, and dispose of it, like other assets. Like office computers, servers, routers, storage devices, printers, and more, mobile devices must be tracked, inventoried, and managed. This "asset management" allows the organization's IT services to know what kind of device it is, what software is installed on it, what connection is in use, how to replace the device if it breaks. Asset management is generally not concerned with granting access rights and other user/group functions.

Security management

Like asset management, security management relies primarily on the ability of an organization's IT services to inventory computer resources and know what software, certificates, and other resources are installed on a mobile device. Key components of this inventory are antivirus software updates, firewall status, and (when applicable) intrusion detection tools.

In accordance with the security policies, the security management platform will check and update the software downloaded to the mobile device, as well as the device configuration, before allowing access to the corporate network. Most traditional enterprise management platforms offer this level of security control for office computers, but not for handhelds, PDAs, or smartphones.

Network and connection management

Since computer networks include mobile and wireless components, enterprise management platforms must be able to work with all devices connected to the network. This means that an organization's IT services can manage a Wi-Fi network in the same way that they manage an Ethernet network, an office network, or even widely deployed infrastructure and services.

Mobile connections are a different story, enterprise management platforms are less focused on managing mobile device and mobile user connections. The prospects for the development of the enterprise raise another question: how to manage the connection of a device that is “not visible”. If the device is not connected to the enterprise network, then how to troubleshoot the connection (which is not) - it's like asking what came first the egg or the chicken.

Support tickets and remote management

Oddly, support tickets are an area where mobile integration is rightfully well developed, though not in the direction you might think. Since IT departments use an internal mobile infrastructure, they saw the need to expand support ticket management platforms (for example, BMC/Remedy ) to mobile devices. This has enabled IT managers to use mobile devices to manage support tickets and to remotely configure servers, routers, and other equipment.

However, the ideal scenario for enterprise management platforms is to provide integration between mobile devices and support ticket management platforms so that workers can initiate tickets and receive assistance with problem resolution remotely via mobile devices.

What to do?

Listed below are several ways in which enterprise management platforms can provide services that are useful to all those responsible for mobility solutions. Many IT managers build these internal capabilities, here are a few things to do along the way to build them:

• Ask about opportunities. Talk to all possible suppliers and tell everyone and everyone about what you need. Tell the experts what you have, for example, open view within the organization and that you would like to integrate the two systems. Tell me exactly what it means to you. It's also a good idea to write this down and make sure the request goes from the sales manager to the product manager who is responsible for including the requested features in the upgrade. And remember: it is never harmful to ask;
• Develop parallel processes. Think about the last time you had to go through a merger or acquisition. And then think about how long it took to bring the two organizations together. As you develop a mobile infrastructure management solution, consider developing identical, parallel processes wherever practical. This path will allow you to manage your business's mobile infrastructure in exactly the same way that you manage your fixed infrastructure with a large enterprise management platform, and it will reduce (although not eliminate) integration difficulties;
• Plan for technology integration. Mobility today is seen as something different from the rest of the infrastructure, but the day will come when a system architect or IT manager will look at mobility and ask why this part of the infrastructure is completely separate from the rest of the infrastructure in every aspect, from management to applications. When this happens, some will say that mobility is just one of the characteristics corporate solution, and not vice versa. Get ready for this day.

Let's focus on our goals. We know what corporate governance gives. We know we need many of its features. And we also know that we need to create a lot with tools that are different from existing corporate governance platforms. We can look at the state of the business today, but we also need to start preparing for when we can expand our enterprise management platform to include mobile services.

Best Examples of Enterprise Mobile Governance

Employees require an increasing number of mobile services provided by the enterprise's IT service. There are two fundamentally different ways to get these services. The first approach is to choose a single mobile platform and associated software for management, messaging and application deployment. The second method is based on using many types of devices from different vendors and accessing services using several different application platforms. The single supplier strategy pays off as it is safe and cost effective. However, this approach has its limitations, one of the main limitations is the inability to provide services mobile phones, handhelds and any other devices that are not considered "smartphones".

IT managers using smartphone-style solutions from a single vendor have already answered questions about mobile device management, policies, and data handling. Mobile middleware provides management tools. The device comes from a vendor and all data is transferred over a secure connection to the vendor.

Companies that expect to support many types of devices from multiple vendors face a wide range of issues in managing their enterprise mobility infrastructure. In this model, devices are provided mobile operators, users and IT managers. We're already getting inquiries from company VPs and senior executives that they want to use their Apple iPhone at work, and we're guessing what lies ahead.

• (Mobile) workers. We talk a lot about "mobile workers", but in reality every worker is mobile in one way or another, so the term is redundant. It's time to get rid of the word "mobile" in our vocabulary and start just saying "employee" or "user".

  When discussing the types of workers involved in a mobile solution, it is also helpful to talk about the number of contacts users have. For example, technical support engineers spend most of their working day interacting with users. The number of clients and the time spent on each saves the investment. After all, if a senior manager recognizes mobile email, then it's pretty easy to use a similar solution for employees who spend time with ten different clients every day.

• Services are the goal. The goal of enterprise mobility management is to create the infrastructure necessary for the organization's IT services to provide employees with mobile services. What are these services? And why are they so important?

  The fact that services are always available prevents you from postponing important things. Some mobile solutions do not require a permanent connection, and this greatly simplifies the situation for IT management. If you can get far with Wi-Fi, infrared, Bluetooth, or even if you're only using dock sync, there aren't many things that need to be constantly managed.

• Plan of technical re-equipment. The time will come soon and there will be no such thing as a separate mobile infrastructure, instead the majority of enterprise computing resources will become mobile. Datacenters are here to stay, and most offices will remain, but the idea of ​​keeping mobile infrastructure separate from the overall enterprise management system and outside of the overall architecture has an extremely limited lifespan. IT managers must prepare for the day when they will have to integrate mobile infrastructure into a common enterprise management platform.
• Be the leader. It is a common practice in many organizations that IT managers rely on vendors for mobile infrastructure management, management policies, and work organization. This is a big mistake, as vendor priorities are different from yours. Plus, it's your job to define exactly what you want and how your company wants to organize mobile.

  For example, let's say your company already has laptop management policies in place. If you add mobile devices here, you have three alternatives: (a) manage mobile devices in the same way as laptops; (b) implement a new set of processes that take into account existing management experience in the enterprise; (c) do nothing. This is an important choice, and every IT manager in your company needs to understand the policy and decision being made, and the rationale behind that decision.

• Ask, ask, ask. Supplier managers mobile solutions did an excellent job of generating requests to add new features to their platforms, but they had to do this because there were few requests from enterprise managers, device manufacturers and mobile operators. Now is the time to start asking.

  What form the question takes is as important as the question itself, and there are two areas to focus on: moving beyond the world mobile providers and look for a solution among suppliers. The first direction is for the enterprise management team to participate in the discussions led by the mobility team (if they are two different teams) and the enterprise managers start asking their suppliers about mobility solutions. It will also facilitate joint meetings with mobile solution providers and discussion at these meetings of the integration of various systems and future plans of providers.

  According to the second direction, you need to ask questions in such a way as to integrate deeper into the supplier community. Most IT managers know their subject area well, but when the time comes and you need to understand the internal organizational structure supplier, few understand the difference between the responsibilities of a sales manager, a development manager, a marketing manager, and a product manager. Just because someone works for a supplier doesn't mean they can answer your questions and guide your next steps. The goal is for Product Managers to look at new features (for example, incorporating wireless configuration of mobile devices into an existing platform) and for Product Managers to reach out to a group of Development Managers who, in turn, move things forward. dead center in relations with mobile operators.

  And remember, you won't get anything if you don't ask for it.

• Clear intentions. Another group of questions to platform providers, mobile operators and even equipment manufacturers relates to their development plans. Ask each party about how they plan to work in the future. Ask where the boundaries are for them. Ask what they will do in the worst case.

  The important thing about clear intentions is that no one asks about it. So vendors have never heard of this and they don't think it's a potential problem. However, IT managers concerned with managing mobile infrastructure can improve the quality of service if they know exactly who is doing what in the areas of mobile devices, software and value-added services.

• standard agreements. The goal of the IT department of any organization should be to develop standard agreements that define the distribution of roles and responsibilities for managing mobile devices between the enterprise and the mobile operator. The best way to address this issue for the various mobile device organizations is to come together and define a standard contract that will be used by each organization and mobile operators. This has not happened with service agreements, and it seems that mobile infrastructure management will also evolve in a piecemeal fashion. Managers in charge of mobile infrastructure must prioritize the task of creating standard agreements over other corporate governance tasks, and it's time to finally support Apple iPhone users in remote offices.

Conclusion

How the corporate management of mobile infrastructure will evolve depends on our common choice. We know that we will have to manage mobile infrastructure in certain ways. We also know what services we want to provide to users. In the meantime, we know that investing in over-the-air (OTA) device control technologies potentially leads to conflict between control approaches. We are drawn into a risky process of constant updates in an endless battle for control of mobile devices. The question is whether we, as IT managers in charge of mobile infrastructure, will work together to arrive at the divide and conquer strategy that we know vendors will use when defining mobile governance principles. Will standardized features and interfaces be used, or will we spend endless amounts of money negotiating and contracting mobile device services with every operator providing such services. The choice is ours.

About the Author: Daniel Taylor is Managing Director of Mobile Enterprise Alliance, Inc. (MEA) (Mobile Industrial Alliance), he is responsible for the alliance's international development, programs, marketing and communications with alliance members. He has over 14 years of experience in high technology fields and is well known as an expert in various aspects of mobile technology, including wireless networking, security, industrial applications and communication services. Prior to joining MEA, Daniel held a number of product marketing and development positions in the communications industry.

course work

Information technology in the enterprise

Introduction……………………………………………………........................... ......................3

IDirections for the use of information technology in the enterprise...........6

1.1 Workflow automation ………………………..…..….……………………….8

1.2 Communications…………………………………………………………………………………9

1.3 Production technology management………………………………………………………9

1.4 Automation of accounting and planning. Decision-making systems………………….10

1.5 Automation of banking operations…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

2Technical means of implementing information technologies…..………………...……11

3 Strategy for the implementation of information technology in the enterprise………………..….12

IIMain classes of information systems…………………………………..………14

1 Characteristics of ERP systems………………………………………………………..……….14

1.1 Financial management……………………………………………………………………….16

1.2 Production management……………………………………………………….………19

2. Characteristics of MRP: purpose, application, elements, advantages…………....23

3. Characteristics of CRM: purpose, application, benefits…... …………………..27

IIIInformation technology market in Russia……………….……………………...28

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………..………......................31

Literature……………………………………………………………………....................... ....33

Introduction

The creation of a modern enterprise is a complex and lengthy process, which can be conditionally divided into two interrelated stages. The first is the formation of a production and management structure that generates powerful flows of information. The second is the formation of a structure that manages these flows. This is commonly called complex automation, because in order to work, you need a tool. This is equally true in relation to large enterprises, and in relation to small organizations - representatives of small businesses. The main object of an automated control system should be a management decision.

Management activity acts in modern conditions as one of the most important factors in the functioning and development of the organization. Effective management is a valuable resource of an organization, along with financial, material, human and other resources. This activity is constantly being improved in accordance with the objective requirements of the production and sale of goods, the complication of economic relations, the increasing role of the consumer in the formation of technical, economic and other product parameters. Consequently, increasing the efficiency of management activities becomes one of the directions for improving the activities of the enterprise as a whole. The most obvious way to increase the efficiency of the labor process is to automate it.

Changes in the conditions of production activity, the need to adequately adapt the management system to it, affect not only the improvement of its organization, but also the redistribution of management functions according to levels of responsibility and forms of their interaction. First of all, we are talking about such a management system (principles, functions, methods, organizational structure), which is generated by the organizational necessity and regularity of management associated with the satisfaction of individual needs, ensuring the interest of employees in the highest final results, the growing incomes of the population, the regulation of commodity monetary relations, the widespread use of the latest achievements of the scientific and technological revolution. All this requires organizations to adapt to new conditions, overcome emerging contradictions in economic, scientific and technical processes.

In conditions market economy information support has become an important area, which consists in collecting and processing information to use the results of its analysis in the course of their activities, making informed management decisions. At the same time, ensuring the efficiency and reliability of information is of particular importance.

One of the significant factors of competitiveness today is the use of modern information technologies in enterprise management; in many activities without these technologies it is impossible to carry out successful activities. Therefore, their effective use has become a decisive factor in the success of enterprises in the market. Development of information computer technologies, improvement of the technical platform and the emergence of fundamentally new classes software products led in our days to a change in approaches to automation of production management.

Relevance of the topic. The current scale and pace of introduction of management automation tools in the national economy with particular urgency poses the task of conducting comprehensive research related to a comprehensive study and generalization of the problems that arise in this case, both practical and theoretical.

Formation tThe theory of information management systems spans several decades. The first works in this area date back to the 1950s–1960s, when the so-called automated control systems were developed, implemented and operated in domestic and foreign theory and practice.

Among the Russian scientists who developed this topic, it should be noted Yu. Alekseev, V. Dudorin, V. Zherebin, I. Karakoz, M. Korolev, T. Kokorieva, V. Maltsev, M. Sovalov, V. Samborsky and others.

Further development of this topic took place in the context of modern opportunities computer science and telecommunications. The national school is represented here by the names of O. Vershinina, A. Granberg, A. Gaponenko, O. Grigoriev, S. Ermolaev, Kapralov, E. V. Kostyuk, A. Nanavyan, N. Prokhorov, G. Ryabov, E. Sedykh, G Smolyan, S. Supitsina, D. Fateeva, N. Fedorenko, V Firsova, D. Chereshkina, E. Schukina, and others.

There are a large number of foreign publications devoted to the problems of using information technology in the management of organizations. Among them are the works of B. Gates, R. Kaplan, G. Means, D. Norton, D. Schneider and others.

At the same time, in scientific papers mainly technical and technological issues of information management systems are considered. The prevalence of technological approaches leaves in the shadow the economic and managerial aspects of this problem.

The purpose of this work is to study the conceptual foundations for the use of information technology in the economy as a factor in improving the efficiency of enterprises in modern conditions.

In accordance with this goal, the following tasks are set and sequentially solved in the work:

Reveal the features of the use of information technology;

Explore the concept of enterprise management using IT;

An attempt to generalize the accumulated experience in the implementation of integrated information systems and the formation general principles organization of choice and strategy for the implementation of IT in enterprise management;

Explore intra-company difficulties, problems when using IT;

- conduct an overview of the main information systems offered on the market.

Object of study are information technologies as a factor in increasing the efficiency of enterprises.

Subject of study is a set of economic and managerial relations that arise in the process of using information technology.

The main directions of using information

technologies in the enterprise

The transfer of information about the position and activities of the enterprise to the highest level of management and the mutual exchange of information between all mutual divisions of the company are carried out on the basis of modern electronic computers and other technical means of communication.

by object and quality - brevity and clarity of wording, timeliness of receipt;

by purposefulness - the satisfaction of specific needs;

in terms of accuracy and reliability - the correct selection of primary information, the optimal systematization and the continuity of the collection and processing of information.

Large companies (corporations, holdings), which are characterized by a complex structure associated with the diversification of divisions, their territorial distribution and differences in production potential, as a rule, face such problems as:

> Lack of organizational unity among the divisions of the enterprise, in particular, the same understanding of the essence of business processes, a single methodology accounting, unification of reference information.

> Difficulties in planning activities for all horizons (long-term, current, operational) at all levels of the management vertical, bringing specific tasks to each of the departments, monitoring the current execution and analyzing the implementation of these tasks.

> Insufficient timeliness (relevance) of data on the financial and economic activities of divisions, branches and the corporation as a whole.

> High labor intensity of collecting and summarizing (consolidating) data from territorially distributed areas, in particular, accounting departments, each of which maintains its own, "incomplete" from the corporation's point of view, balance sheets; a large number of errors in such data, their heterogeneity and inconsistency.

> Lack of timely and reliable information on mutual settlements (mutual offsets) with external suppliers and consumers, as well as branches of the enterprise, and, as a result, the difficulty of managing receivables - payables. The solution to this problem is much more complicated when the status of the counterparty changes (for example, when a corporation purchases a firm that was previously an external counterparty).

The only solution to these problems is the development and implementation of so-called information technologies, i.e. technologies based on the use of computers and electronic means of communication.

According to the definition adopted by UNESCO, information technology is a complex of interrelated, scientific, technological, engineering disciplines that study methods for the effective organization of the work of people involved in the processing and storage of information; computer technology and methods of organizing and interacting with people and production equipment, their practical applications, as well as the social, economic and cultural problems associated with all this.

In modern society, information technology is a universal tool in the management of organizations of all types, operating in all areas. The main functions of modern information technologies for enterprise management are the collection, storage, search, systematization and processing of the necessary data for all spheres of public life, the development of new information, and the solution of certain optimization problems. The task is not only to select and automate labor-intensive, regularly repeated routine operations on large data arrays, but also to obtain fundamentally new information that is necessary for making effective management decisions.

Among the main directions of development of modern information technologies in ensuring effective functioning and development are:

Workflow automation

Communications

Pharmaceutical production technology management

Automation of accounting and planning

Development of decision making systems

Automation of banking operations

Creation of workstations

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   Abstract >> Informatics, programming

   The situation with the prospects for the introduction of modern information technologies on the enterprise. It should also be emphasized that...

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   Stage in the study of the discipline " Informational technology on the transport". The basis for doing... on the enterprises industry, and is called resource planning enterprises(MRP, manufacturing resource planning). Implementation information technologies on the ...

3. Informational technology on the production of OAO OGK-1 branch Iriklinskaya GRES

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   Sectors and Markets Practice Report on the topic: Informational technology on the production of JSC "OGK-1" branch ... of the generating company wholesale market power industry. Informational technology and systems on the enterprise Financial Performance Management Process...

Today we are experiencing a boom in mobile solutions. They are so deeply rooted in our daily lives that we can no longer imagine how to do without them. At the Corrugated Packaging Production, 22 mobile data collection terminal(TSD). All of them are connected to a single industrial network WiFi. In addition to enhanced security properties, mobile terminals are equipped with a barcode and NFC tag scanner, a camera, built-in data transmission modules, and a high-resolution display. The number of operations performed using TSD is five so far.

The first step towards the use of mobile technologies in production was the introduction repair management systems and maintenance equipment(MRO). Today, with the use of TSD, several operations are performed: bypassing the equipment by duty personnel, fixing deviations in work, and receiving and transferring shifts by machinists.

Deputy Director of Corrugated Packaging Production, Sergey Neklyudov: “The main thing is to prevent breakage and prevent an emergency. For this purpose, we organized rounds of the equipment by the on-duty employees of the repair services using the TSD. Highly important point here is the formalization of processes: a description of each node, how often it needs to be checked, maintained, repaired. Work was carried out to provide barcodes for all major equipment components, route lists were drawn up, equipment maintenance standards were revised. The appearance of employees at control points and the performance of their duties are systematically monitored. During the bypass, the employee makes a note that there are no problems or notes a malfunction and, having taken a photo, sends it to the system. If earlier it was possible to ignore the detour at night and make a record of the absence of problems, now this is not possible without passing a certain route. By receiving fault reports in a timely manner, maintenance personnel take action to prevent equipment downtime. In the future, this system will save up to 12% of time on scheduled equipment repairs and up to 30% on total operating costs, as well as avoid accidents in 70% of cases.”

One of the TSD functions is the ability to view the availability of spare parts in the warehouse of the Corrugated Packaging Production. Repair personnel can check the availability of equipment in the warehouse without leaving the equipment, which increases the speed of decision-making on troubleshooting. Any expectation in the production process is a loss, a waste of time. Therefore, the reduction various kinds losses that do not add value to the product is an important task for manufacturers.

One of the stages of the technological process is to check the quality of products after setting up the order and launching into production. To improve the efficiency of work during the delivery of a box to the BTC, it was developed mobile application DTMS PCBK (Down-Time Management System). Step-by-step recording of data makes the process transparent, allows you to identify time losses and eliminate them, detect problems when setting up an order for each driver, and take measures to improve the professionalism of technological personnel.

Martin DRO-1628 line machinist Vladimir Shafikov: “The process of presenting a box to the BTK is important, but it can be delayed for various reasons. By attaching the terminal to the label on the line, the system generates a task for the acceptance of the corrugated box. The system records the time spent on the transition from the line to the BTK and back, the time of direct acceptance of the box. The reasons why the box is not accepted are recorded in the system and form the data necessary for further analysis, including the condition of the equipment and the qualifications of the driver. It's very disciplined."

Mobile technologies are very flexible and allow solving various types of production tasks. For TSD Corrugated Packaging Production, a separate application RMS PCBK (Roll-control Management System), which provides order-by-order accounting of the use of rolled raw materials in the production of corrugated cardboard.

Galina Doroshenko, shift supervisor: “Requirements for product quality dictate the need for end-to-end accounting of the production process at every stage, from control and accounting of incoming raw materials to the release of products to the warehouse. The new system makes it possible to record the process of installing a roll on a corrugator and removing it in real-time mode, to quickly write off raw materials, print labels on the remaining rolls, and also monitor compliance with the use of raw materials in accordance with the approved selection.”

The listed list of TSD functions is not exhaustive. The plans include the implementation of a system for prompt response of repair personnel, the ability to view 3D models of equipment units and assemblies, receive ideas for improvements and rationalization proposals from employees through a mobile application and others. These solutions turn data into actionable information that is essential to running a business efficiently. A well-built business process helps to establish interaction between employees of different departments, to make well-founded correct decisions. A good pace has been set for automation, which, with an integrated approach, will allow the enterprise to work even more efficiently.

Information technology (IT) is the most important component of the process of using the information resources of society. To date, IT has gone through several evolutionary stages, the change of which was determined mainly by technical progress, the emergence of new technological tools for searching and processing data. The last stage, often referred to as new, is characterized by a change in the direction of IT from the development of technical means to the creation of a strategic advantage in business.
^

Prerequisites for the rapid development of information technology

Rice. 3.1. IT Development Preconditions

Globalization and integrated development of industrial economies significantly expands business opportunities. Information technology and Information Systems(IT/IS) provides mobile access and analytical power that meet the needs of trade and business management across countries and continents. This poses a threat to national and regional firms: global communications and management systems deliver information to the consumer about offers, quality and prices and allow transactions and orders to be completed within 24 hours a day anywhere with internet access.

Table 3.1 summarizes the fundamental factors that irreversibly changed the business environment by the end of the 20th century.

2nd stage(until the end of the 70s) is associated with the spread of computers of the IBM / 360 series. The problem of this stage is the possibility of using large universal computers (Mainframe) only by powerful corporations due to their high cost and complexity of operation.

3rd stage(since the mid-80s) - the computer becomes a tool for a non-professional user (the first personal computers), and simple information systems (IS) become a decision support tool. Problems - the need to meet the needs of the user to the maximum and create an appropriate interface for working in a computer environment, developing applications for corporate and individual use.

4th stage(since the beginning of the 90s) - the development of the creation of large IS, local, regional and global networks. The problems of this stage are very numerous. The most significant of them are:

• 
  development of agreements and establishment of standards, protocols for computer development and telecommunications;
• 
  the need to develop distributed IS;
• 
  organization of access to strategic information;
• 
  organization of protection and security of corporate information.

2nd stage(80s - present) - the creation of IT aimed at solving strategic objectives and implementation of process management information systems (PMIS) and business decision support (BDS).
^

Benefits of using computer technology

Implementation of the principle of obtaining information "in one place and now".

2nd stage(since the mid-80s) is associated with the appearance personal computers. The approach to creating IS has changed - the orientation is shifting towards the individual user to support his decisions. The user is interested in the ongoing development, contact is established with the developer, and mutual understanding arises between both groups of specialists. At this stage, both centralized data processing, typical for the first stage, and decentralized, based on solving local problems and working with local databases at the user's workplace, are used.

Implementation of the principle "in one place and at any time".

3rd stage(since the beginning of the 90s) is associated with an understanding of the strategic advantages in an informatized business and is based on the achievements of telecommunication technologies and distributed information processing. The purpose of IS is not just to increase the efficiency of data processing and help the manager, but to create highly efficient production. The applied IT should help the company to stand out in the competition and gain an advantage.

Implementation of the principle "anywhere and anytime".
^

Instrumental technological means

2nd stage(late 19th century - 40s of the 20th century) - "mechanical" technologies: typewriter, arithmometer, telegraph, telephone, voice recorder, mail equipped with more advanced means of delivery. The main goal of technology is to present information in the right form by more convenient means, to reduce the cost of correcting losses and distortions.

3rd stage (40s - 60s of the XX century) - "electric" technologies: mainframe computers and related software, electric typewriters, teletypes (telex), photocopiers, portable voice recorders. Organization of delivery of information at a given time. The purpose of the technology is changing. The emphasis in IT is beginning to shift from the form of information presentation to the formation of its content.

4th stage(70s - mid 80s) - "electronic" technologies, the main tools of which are large computers and automated control systems (ACS) and information systems created on their basis search engines(IPS), equipped with a wide range of basic and specialized software systems. The "center of gravity" of technologies is shifting even more to the formation of the content side of information for the management environment of various spheres of public life, especially to the organization of analytical work. Experience is being gained in the formation of the content side of management information and a professional, psychological and social base has been prepared for the transition to new stage technology development.

5th stage(since the mid-80s) - "computer (new)" technology, their main tool is a personal computer with a wide range of standard and customized software products for a wide range of purposes. At this stage, the process of personalization of automated control systems (ACS) takes place, which manifests itself in the creation of decision support systems at various levels of management. Such systems have built-in elements of analysis and artificial intelligence, are implemented on personal computer and use network technologies and telecommunications to operate in the network.

6th stage(since the mid-90s) - "Internet/Intranet (latest)" technology. Distributed systems, global, regional and local computer networks are widely used in various fields of science, technology and business. E-commerce is developing. In connection with the transition to a microprocessor base, a significant change is technical means communications, means of household, cultural and other purposes.
^

IT Development Trends

Rice. 3.2. Changing the style of doing business in a modern company

The use of IT allows you to radically change the management style and business processes themselves and significantly improve the key performance indicators of the company ( rice. 3.2). The old rules of doing business are rapidly becoming obsolete. Companies that fail to "see" the significance of these changes risk falling far behind ( tab. 3.2).

• 
  business needs began to put more and more pressure on analytical departments and IT departments in order to increase their contribution to the overall result of the company's activities;
• 
  the computer paradigm of computing work, focused on large computers and powerful computing centers with huge staff, is becoming obsolete and replaced by a new paradigm - distributed computing (networks and clusters), which, in turn, leads to the creation of new IT;
• 
  reorientation from technology to consumer led to the need for a psychological restructuring of the manager and the formation of a new discipline - strategic planning for the development of corporate IT to combine business strategy and information strategy.

^ Strategic role IT in modern world- contribute to management, adequately respond to market dynamics, create, maintain and deepen a competitive advantage (Competitive Advantage) in order to extract the maximum benefit!

The current state of IT can be characterized following provisions:

• 
  the presence of a large number of software and hardware systems and platforms for effective management and maintenance of production, industrially functioning databases and large volume knowledge repositories containing information in all areas of the company's activities;
• 
  availability of technologies providing interactive access of any user to information and resources - technical basis this is done by open (Free) and corporate information retrieval systems (IRS), state and commercial communication systems, global (Global Network Systems), national (NNS) and regional (RNS) information and computing networks; international agreements, standards and protocols for data exchange;
• 
  expanding the functionality of IT, ensuring the distributed operation of databases and data warehouses with data of various structure and content, multi-object documents, hypermedia; creation of local and integrated problem-oriented IS for various purposes based on powerful servers and local area networks;
• 
  inclusion in the IS of specialized user interfaces for interacting with expert systems (Expert System - ES), decision support systems (Decision Support System - DSS), execution support systems (Executive Support System - ESS), machine translation systems (Translating Computer System - TCS ) and other technologies and tools.

1. 
   Globalization. Companies can use IT to conduct business in the global market, anywhere, with immediate access to comprehensive information. There is an internationalization of software and information product market. Benefiting from a continuous distribution of information costs over a wider geographic region becomes a necessary element of the strategy.
2. 
   Convergence. Differences between industrial products and services, information product and means of obtaining it, their professional and domestic use are being erased. The transmission and reception of digital, audio and video signals are combined in the same devices and systems.
3. 
   ^ The increasing complexity of information products and services . An information product in the form of software and hardware, databases and data storages, maintenance services and expert support tends to constantly develop and become more complex. At the same time, the interface part of IT, with all the complexity of the tasks being solved, is constantly being simplified, making the interactive interaction between the user and the system more and more comfortable.
4. 
   ^ Interoperability (Interoperability). The problems of optimal data exchange between computer information systems, between the system and users, the problems of data processing and transmission and the formation of the required information have acquired the status of leading technological problems. Modern software and hardware and data exchange protocols make it possible to solve them in an increasingly complete volume.
5. 
   ^ Elimination of intermediate links (disintermediation). The development of interoperability unequivocally leads to a simplification of the delivery of an information product to the consumer. The chain of intermediaries becomes unnecessary if it is possible to place orders and receive what is required directly with the help of IT.

• 
  implementation of distributed data processing, when there are enough resources at the workplace to obtain and analyze information;
• 
  creation advanced systems communications, when workplaces are combined to send messages as quickly as possible;
• 
  elimination of interference in the system of integration "organization - external environment", direct access to the world's information flows;
• 
  creation and development of systems of electronic orders and trade;
• 
  support for social networks.

The rapid integration of local system networks with regional and even international structures leads to the rejection of the classical working fields of informatics and the widespread use of telecommunications. Organizationally, this leads to the "blurring" of the information boundaries of the enterprise. It becomes increasingly difficult to determine where it begins and where it ends. The creation and operation of an appropriate communication structure for such "virtual enterprises" is an information management task, just like the classic function of supporting a production process or developing IT-based goods and services. This is not only about information processing, but also about in the rational distribution and use of knowledge. Knowledge should be profitable and, if possible, today!

In addition, employees and managers of the enterprise should take into account professional level all new and important aspects for IT. An example is the question of the technological and economic significance of Internet/Intranet technologies. It is the information technology service that is responsible for creating a platform on which corporate management will become possible, including qualified training (including psychological) of personnel.
^

Decentralization and the growth of information needs

The use of IT is designed to level the organizational complexity of the enterprise. Previously, this was achieved by putting computers on complex calculations and processing very large volumes of documentation. Now it is a question of how ever more complex horizontal and vertical models of interconnections (whose structures, in turn, are constantly changing) are improved with the help of new communication technology.

Previously, enterprises installed powerful computer centers that prepared a huge number of digital reports, on the basis of which management was subsequently carried out. economic activity. Now the task of the company's IT departments is to develop a technology that can be used to constantly keep up to date with the developments of managers and their partners who make decisions in a decentralized environment. New information technology systems should provide not some abstract economic system, but specific partners who participate in the economic process in various forms.
^

Integration of decentralized systems

Setting a similar goal is necessary for top management for real change management. The organizational lever in achieving it can be virtual, project and working groups united by common interests in the implementation of current projects and solving long-term tasks. It may even be possible for such groups to effectively manage the functions of the company's distributed departments and the IT that accompanies them. The goal in this case could be an integration approach to interrelated technological, social, functional and business processes companies.
^

Investments and risks

Information technology manufacturers and integration teams must learn to make proposals in more than just technical terms. In negotiations, the partner will raise issues that are of fundamental importance to senior management in his company. It is important here that both sides reach a new negotiating level when parties would speak the same language. In this case, it is rather not about the quality of technology, but about the quality of IT services. Technique, of course, should work well, be at a high level. At the same time, its manufacturer should feel like a manager who, with the help of IT, seeks to achieve competitive advantage. The "net seller" in the IT sales system is a thing of the past. A similar situation should develop at the enterprise itself, especially when it comes to diversified production or the provision of various services. The ability of an IT manager to find a common language with department managers should cease to be an art of loners, and turn into a daily practice.
^

IT development and organizational changes in enterprises

Table 3.5 contains the results of organizational changes in the company under the influence of IT.

The most common form of organizational change through IT is Business Process Automation (BPA). The first applications developed with the help of IT affected financial transactions and workflow, as this is the most formalized part of a company's business processes. Settlement and execution of payments, control of transactions and movement of documents, direct access of clients to their deposits - these are standard examples of early automation. The risk of introducing these technologies was minimal, the gain was very large.

Rice. 3.3. Levels of structural changes in the company

A deeper form of organizational change, already affecting the structure of production - rationalization of work procedures or process improvement (Business Process Improvement - BPI). To restore order in complex and distributed procedures and processes, it is necessary to change the order of their execution. The essence of the changes is the rational alignment of technological procedures, saving process space and time. Rationalization also does not introduce much additional risk, since it can start with local procedures and processes and only after obtaining an economic effect, spread to the entire enterprise.

New IT is ultimately designed to change the nature of the entire organization, transforming it goals and strategic aspirations (Paradigm Shift - PS): for example, the development of a fundamentally new market niche, the opening of company branches in other countries, the acquisition of another company, a merger with a partner company, etc. Such organizational changes have the highest risk, but they carry highest return. The company's management must consciously approach changes of this type, understanding the full measure of responsibility for the global decisions made.

AT table 3.6 the characteristics of companies are given in accordance with the success of the introduction and application of new IT technologies.

1. 
   Name the main prerequisites for the rapid development of information technologies and systems for their application in enterprise management in the late XX - early XXI centuries.
2. 
   What are the main stages in the development of information technology?
3. 
   On the basis of what computing devices were the first information systems based?
4. 
   What kind managerial tasks solved with the help of IP in the 70s of the twentieth century?
5. 
   Describe the main trends in the development of IT / IS.
6. 
   How does the business style of a modern company change with the effective use of IT / IS?
7. 
   What factors lead to the need for enterprise reengineering?
8. 
   What organizational changes in companies occur under the influence of IT?
9. 
   Which of the organizational changes in the informatization of enterprises has the greatest risk and why?
10. 
    How are decentralization and integration combined in the informatization of an enterprise?
11. 
    How can companies be characterized in accordance with the success of the implementation and application of IT technologies?
12. 
    Why should an IT manager be able to find a common language with managers of the company's management and production departments?

The growth of competition in the field of medium and small businesses makes companies increasingly think about using affordable modern IT solutions to optimize business processes and increase their own competitiveness. In recent years, this trend has forced software developers to reconsider their usual approach to product implementation and enter a new era of supporting business processes of companies using affordable mobile technologies.

Back to the Future

Not many people will remember that in 1968 the film "A Space Odyssey 2001" was released in the West, directed by Stanley Kubrick, and received many enthusiastic responses from fans of this genre. It is noteworthy, but even then a certain tablet was illustrated in the film - N ewspad, used to read articles, news, and more in the media mass media. We can say that already at that time the idea of ​​mobile technologies existed.

However, today, when mobile devices are approaching the power of desktop computers, and their displays in terms of resolution and color reproduction can be compared with a good monitor or TV, the trend of mobility and visualization has become quite obvious.

Mobile devices we use Everyday life, are often far superior in functionality to most specialized industrial devices, where security and reliability have always been at the forefront.

With the advent of lines of household devices that are protected from moisture, dust, and work even under water, most technical specialists Increasingly, the question began to arise: do these “reliability” criteria reflect the real requirements of the business? Is it possible to use a mass product, for example, in operational logistics, where industrial radio data collection terminals (TSDs) are widely used?

Technology Development

The market of software products in the field of logistics in Russia originated more than 10 years ago, in 1998-99, which for the segment high technology- a very significant value. At the same time, Russian developers had unique opportunity get acquainted with the pros and cons of foreign solutions that have come a long way in several decades. That is why, today, in an average tender for the supply of software solutions, expensive Western, European products, and inexpensive, but no less high-quality Russian systems, can successfully compete with each other.

Today, a number of categories of software products can be distinguished - these are accounting and management systems that offer to optimize the work of warehouse employees, warehouse workflow or warehouse activities in general.

This range includes complete WMS (from English WarehouseManagementSystem - warehouse management system), modules of large ERP -products, systems of the claimed "boxed" level c pre-configured capabilities that a number of vendors are positioning as adaptable WMS , regardless of the inherent functionality, as well as a number of cloud services with a limited set of technical and technological capabilities.

In addition, to the class WMS even separate applications for radio terminals began to be attributed, which simply allow the use of address storage and automatic identification of goods.

In this regard, the differences between accounting and management systems for the end user have become extremely incomprehensible. In addition, developers rarely communicate with each other, and do not make any effort to form industry standards.

Such misunderstanding is also often used by suppliers of foreign software solutions, who call little-known systems in their homeland “the market leader”, trying to sell technology twenty years ago at an inflated price.

In this turmoil, the end user becomes completely disoriented, and sometimes the choice of a warehouse management system turns into a multi-month exercise involving a large number of external experts and consultants, which can cost the company much more than a standard implementation project.

In fact, everything is quite simple. Products available on the market can be divided into classes and functionality. From point of view general classification, there are accounting systems and management systems.

If the former only allow recording operations, and require mandatory familiarization of personnel with the workflow regulations, then the latter (management systems) independently give instructions to employees at the level of elementary operations: which zone of the warehouse to go to, what and how much to take, where to put.

In other words, real WMS should provide automation and control of all warehouse processes in an end-to-end mode, including the work of personnel, equipment and specialized warehouse equipment.

Othe main purpose of the classic warehouse accounting system is to maintain automated accounting for the movement of inventory items. The basic functionality of such systems provides support for the processes of acceptance, release of goods, inventory of balances and the formation of reports on the movement of goods.

The functionality of some accounting systems can be expanded, but, in any case, they will not be able to provide management of technological processes in the warehouse, adapt and optimize them, depending on the tasks facing the warehouse complex, as well as plan and issue tasks to performers. This is due to the fact that the main purpose of such solutions is accounting, not management.

The differences here lie not only in the presence or absence of specific functions, but also in the technological component of the platform, which allows managing the simultaneous work of several hundred employees without delays in data processing.

Since the functional "chasm" between accounting systems and WMS quite large, there rational question about the existence of an intermediate class of software solutions that will allow not only to record operations or manage every step of an employee, but also provide an opportunity to supply employees useful information to make a decision from several possible options.

This approach is the most optimal for warehouse complexes where a small number of employees work, each of which has a specific area of ​​responsibility. At the same time, each employee can perform a wide variety of functions, being both a receiver, and a picker, and a controller, and an operator of handling equipment.

In addition, the implementation of such a system in an affordable price segment for small and medium-sized businesses does not add up in any way with reference to expensive radio terminals, on the screen of which, moreover, it is unlikely that a large amount of various information will be presented.

Classic resolution for many data collection terminals, which is about 320 x 320 pixels, and a three-inch screen do not allow you to realize a full and comfortable workplace. Thus, the implementation of a new class of software solutions ideally matches the current state of the market for mass-use mobile devices that have a large number of various accessories and allow providing an employee with a user-friendly interface for work.

The first such solution was announced last year as a system BIGLit class WAS Warehouse Assistance SystemRussian company Klevers , which is part of the group of companies LogistiX , a domestic system integrator in the field of logistics. System class WAS just represented an intermediate link between the usual WMS and accounting solutions, where the software product does not indicate, but helps the employee, providing him with the necessary data in a convenient form.

Pilot project

A pilot project to launch a new software solution BIGLit WAS using mobile technologies became the warehouse complex of the group of companies"Rogneda" in the Moscow region. The system was implemented in a warehouse with a total area of ​​3,000 sq. m., processing 1,200 active nomenclature positions. At the same time, work is carried out not only with fixed packages, but also with weight loads, there are different hazard classes, serial and batch accounting.

Deploying the Class System Infrastructure WAS was the installation of software as a service with an embedded DBMS (database management system) on a server, which, by and large, could be desktop computer or laptop (minimum requirements: CPU (64-bit, 2 cores); clock speed: 1.5 GHz; RAM: 2 GB; 2 GB HDD; Microsoft Windows 7 / 8 / 8.1), that in the case of the introduction of the usual class systems WMS simply impossible, due to the significantly higher system requirements.

It was decided to use tablet computers as working tools for warehouse employees. To connect the "tablets" with the server, the network already deployed in the warehouse was used WiFi . To support barcoding technologies, portable scanners connected to tablets via an interface are used. bluetooth. Communication BIGLit WAS c the main accounting system of the enterprise was installed using web -services. The protection of tablet computers was implemented using specialized covers purchased from one of the online stores.

If we talk about costs, then the implementation BIGLit WAS cost about 10 times cheaper than the implementation of the average wms.

Wherein , the use of mobile devices as a working tool allows you to work with the system BIGLit via mobile data transmission LTE or 3G connections in case problems occur c WiFi network. Note that the vast majority of data collection radio terminals do not have a mandatory 3 G/LTE module, and most tablets and smartphones have it.

Warehouse employees independently decide what task to take on and what tools to use to solve it, based on the provided system information.On the one hand, in this way it was possible to avoid the excessive complexity of the algorithms and settings inherent in WMS -systems, and on the other hand, to a certain extent, the ability of employees to work using the already familiar technology of work without automation tools has been preserved.

To date WAS supports the automation of basic warehouse operations (acceptance, placement, movement, work with orders, collection and shipment, recalculation), storage of up-to-date data on warehouse balances, informing the user about possible options for current actions when performing cargo handling operations in the warehouse, taking into account certain rules, restrictions or criteria, as well as obtaining a number of reporting information and printing documents. The system also allowsmaintain batch, serial records and other parameters, including production dates and product expiration dates, hazard classes and cargo quality categories.

Landmarks

By and large, end users of class systems WAS can already determine where it is possible to use such systems. These are warehouses of online stores, regional warehouse complexes, remote sites and other options where you want to put things in order, but there is no desire or financial opportunities to invest serious funds in this very “order”.

However, many users WMS are already expressing a desire to have tablets and smartphones at some workplaces, since in most warehouses of the class “ A » Operating conditions are quite forgiving for this equipment, and the capabilities and ergonomics cannot be compared with typical industrial devices.

Even though the system BIGLit WAS is capable of supporting standard processes common to many warehouses, it must still be understood that it is focused on warehouses of low and medium intensity with basic cargo handling procedures. If we are talking about high-intensity warehouse complexes, where it is necessary to support unique business processes, taking into account the specifics of the enterprise, with large quantity employees, effective communications between which are not established, then in this situation it is better to think about the use of professional WMS solutions. Such control systems will make it possible to adapt their functionality to individual processes, and, moreover, to eliminate possible difficulties in the communication of a large number of personnel among themselves due to the developed functionality of automatic dispatching.

findings

According to experts, such affordable systems are promising in logistics. Despite the fact that the first such solution appeared on the market relatively recently, it is already in demand by business.

“These solutions have a wide range of applications for logistics companies, and, indeed, are developed according to the most modern standards. And, of course, we, as a vendor that operates with a large number of companies offering innovative solutions, including mobile ones, are very pleased to see that partners in Russia are developing world-class solutions,” said Irina Ratina, Director of the Department of Transport , Retail and Distribution" company in Russia Samsung Electronics.

Demand creates supply. It is obvious that small companies also strive to optimize business processes as well as largest enterprises in various industries, which is a significant incentive to develop innovative solutions. The only question is the availability of software products in combination with their functionality. And if we talk about small companies, then mobile technologies in close integration with modern IT solutions today have great potential.

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