Introduction
Communication is essential for any business. To survive in the global market a business must communicate digitally using data, voice and video. Designing a well functioning local area network and selecting appropriate devices to support the network specification is a fundamental step when implementing information systems in an organization (Stair, Reynolds & Reynolds, 2008). An information system is a computer based system that collects, transform and disseminate information to support an organization’s operations, management and decision making. While a local area network is an interconnection of programmable devices that handle data to facilitate information and resource sharing within an organization (Stair, Reynolds & Reynolds, 2008).
Discussion
The organization will need information systems like management information system, decision support system, electronic meeting system, transaction processing system and an office automated system. A management information system produces routine reports from transaction processing system records (Stair, Reynolds & Reynolds, 2008). The management information system will aid management in controlling, decision making and planning in the organization. A decision support system use both internal and external data to serve the management level of an organization through user friendly interfaces. The decision support system will combine data and analytical tools to support non-routine decision-making for future planning (Stair, Reynolds & Reynolds, 2008). Electronic meeting systems will also be necessary given the fact that the organization has branches spread across the world. These are systems that enable electronic office telecommunication. They eliminate geographical barriers to communication and save time and resources used in travelling while attending meetings. The electronic meeting systems use video and audio communication to allow meetings to be held with participants scattered in different locations. The systems thus promote effective and efficient decision making by a group of people (Stair, Reynolds & Reynolds, 2008). A transaction processing system will serve the operational level of the organization by performing and recording daily routine transactions in the branch. The transaction processing system will also be used by management to monitor the status of internal operations and the branch’s relation with the external environment (Stair, Reynolds & Reynolds, 2008).
An office automated system is a computer based system that collect, store and transmit electronic information to various stakeholders of an organization. Office automation system will be essential in bringing about growth and development because it will enable services to be delivered effectively and efficiently at reasonable costs (Stair, Reynolds & Reynolds, 2008). The first step in implementing the office automated system will be building a scalable network capable of expanding to accommodate the needs of the organization as it grows. Additionally, the network should be able to support diverse applications like electronic commerce, video-on-demand and voice over internet protocol.
Therefore, in designing the local area network, a hierarchical network design model will be used because it is easier to manage and expand. This design model involve dividing a network into discrete layers each providing specific functions so as to make the network modular. Modular networks are scalable, redundant, more secure, and easy to manage. The local area network will be converged. That is, voice, video and data will run on a single set of network cabling. Converging voice, video and data will result in a single network that is easer and cheaper to implement and manage.
Users will be grouped according to their job functions in the office building to ease access to resources and applications. A user community analysis will be conducted to identify various user groups and how they will influence network performance. User groups affect port density and traffic flows. Thus, when selecting a switch for a work group, care will be taken to ensure that the switch is powerful enough to support the traffic generated by devices in the user group and have enough ports to support all users in the workgroup. The network design will also factor in the growth of each department by ensuring that there are open switch ports that can be utilized before a planned network upgrade. Finally the local area network will be connected to the networks of other branches using a router (Stair, Reynolds & Reynolds, 2008).
When an organization’s data is stored electronically, the data is vulnerable to threats like computer malfunction. An organization should thus protect its information assets. For this to happen, the application of effective security policy is necessary. A security policy establishes measures to be taken and resources to be used to protect an organization’s information resources from security threats. Compromising the security of information systems can result into serious consequences, for example loss of privacy and theft of information. Attacks such as denial of service can bring down an organizations business leading to loss of revenue and customers. For example when an attacker disables or corrupts networks, and other systems such as servers to the point that they are unusable the branch will be unable to carry out its business processes until the corrective measures are taken which might take time. Riordan Manufacturing will therefore protect its information systems from security threats to protect privacy of its stakeholders, protect its information assets and avoid legal liabilities (Stair, Reynolds & Reynolds, 2008).
Conclusion
Information is an important resource in the operation of organizations and should be protected to ensure the availability of relevant information as this is vital in management and planning. Information technology plays an important role in reengineering business processes to enhance efficiency and effectiveness of business operations. Information systems can be used to open up new markets and gain competitive advantage over competitors. The Riordan Manufacturing will strive to implement a network infrastructure that can support the information needs of the organizations to enable it compete effectively in the global market.
References
Stair, R. M., Reynolds, G., & Reynolds G. W. (2008). Fundamentals of Information Systems. New York, NY: Cengage Learning.
