Specialized Information System

Specialized information systems are both for organizational and individual use. The specialized systems help organizations and individuals achieve their goals.

Expert Systems

· Artificial Intelligence (AI) system is the people, procedures, hardware, software, data, and knowledge needed to develop computer that display the characteristics of intelligence. For certain types of well-defined problems, AI systems can replicate the human decision making. AI systems mimic the functions of the human brain.

· Expert system is an applied area of AI. An expert system is a knowledge-based system having two main components—knowledge base and inference engine. It uses the knowledge base to store relevant information, data, rules, cases, and relationships, and, the inference engine gets information and relationships from the knowledge base, and, provides answers and predictions the way a human expert does.

· Expert systems are used in areas where there is a need to capture and preserve irreplaceable human expertise, provide expertise that is expensive or rare, and to provide expertise needed for training and development to share the wisdom of human experts with a large number of people.

· The expert systems are used to explore new business possibilities, increase overall profitability, and reduce costs.

· Expert systems are used to provide information for problems related to classification, diagnosis, process control, scheduling and planning etc. They are used in products like antilock braking system, television, plant layout and manufacturing, credit granting and loan analysis, and stock picking.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

· ERP system is a computer software system that manages and coordinates all the resources, information, and functions of a business from shared data stores.

· ERP systems are integrated programs that manage all business operations. For example, they coordinate the planning, inventory control, production, and ordering.

· ERP systems integrate functions such as human resources, supply chain management, customer relations management, financial, manufacturing functions, and warehouse management functions.

· Since ERP systems are integrated systems, they help to streamline different processes and workflows, allow data to be easily shared across various departments in an organization, improve the efficiency and productivity levels, and improves customer service.

· SAP is an example of ERP system. SAP stands for Systems, Applications and Products.

Electronic-Commerce (E-Commerce)

E-commerce involves any business transaction executed electronically between parties. It uses Internet and Web for doing the business. It uses services like e-mail, workflow software tools, Intranet, and, the e-payment services.

E-commerce involves buying and selling of products and services, electronically..

The parties involved in e-commerce may be of the following kinds: o Companies and Companies (B2B). A data processing company handling data services for a company.

· Companies and Consumers (B2C).

· Consumers and Consumers (C2C). A customer selling goods to another customer, like in e-bay.com.

· Business and the public sector, and, consumers and the public sector.

E-commerce web sites are like on-line market places where you can sell and buy items, and facilitate it by advertising your product, establishing newsgroups and blogs, posting job-oriented resumes etc.

The on-line shopping is a fast-growing segment as consumers are becoming more confident to use it, with the widespread use of the Internet.

An e-commerce web site prepared by students