<s>
Information	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
(	O
IT	O
)	O
is	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
computers	O
to	O
create	O
,	O
process	O
,	O
store	O
,	O
retrieve	O
and	O
exchange	O
all	O
kinds	O
of	O
data	B-General_Concept
and	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IT	O
forms	O
part	O
of	O
information	B-General_Concept
and	I-General_Concept
communications	I-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
(	O
ICT	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
information	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
(	O
IT	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
)	O
is	O
generally	O
an	O
information	O
system	O
,	O
a	O
communications	O
system	O
,	O
or	O
,	O
more	O
specifically	O
speaking	O
,	O
a	O
computer	O
system	O
—	O
including	O
all	O
hardware	B-Architecture
,	O
software	O
,	O
and	O
peripheral	O
equipment	O
—	O
operated	O
by	O
a	O
limited	O
group	O
of	O
IT	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
humans	O
have	O
been	O
storing	O
,	O
retrieving	O
,	O
manipulating	O
,	O
and	O
communicating	O
information	O
since	O
the	O
earliest	O
writing	O
systems	O
were	O
developed	O
,	O
the	O
term	O
information	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
in	O
its	O
modern	O
sense	O
first	O
appeared	O
in	O
a	O
1958	O
article	O
published	O
in	O
the	O
Harvard	O
Business	O
Review	O
;	O
authors	O
Harold	O
J	O
.	O
Leavitt	O
and	O
Thomas	O
L	O
.	O
Whisler	O
commented	O
that	O
"	O
the	O
new	O
technology	O
does	O
not	O
yet	O
have	O
a	O
single	O
established	O
name	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
We	O
shall	O
call	O
it	O
information	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
(	O
IT	O
)	O
.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
is	O
commonly	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
synonym	B-Application
for	O
computers	O
and	O
computer	B-Architecture
networks	I-Architecture
,	O
but	O
it	O
also	O
encompasses	O
other	O
information	O
distribution	O
technologies	O
such	O
as	O
television	O
and	O
telephones	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
products	O
or	O
services	O
within	O
an	O
economy	O
are	O
associated	O
with	O
information	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
,	O
including	O
computer	B-Architecture
hardware	I-Architecture
,	O
software	O
,	O
electronics	O
,	O
semiconductors	O
,	O
internet	O
,	O
telecom	O
equipment	O
,	O
and	O
e-commerce	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Information	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
is	O
also	O
a	O
branch	O
of	O
computer	B-General_Concept
science	I-General_Concept
,	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
defined	O
as	O
the	O
overall	O
study	O
of	O
procedure	O
,	O
structure	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
processing	O
of	O
various	O
types	O
of	O
data	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ideas	O
of	O
computer	B-General_Concept
science	I-General_Concept
were	O
first	O
mentioned	O
before	O
the	O
1950s	O
under	O
the	O
Massachusetts	O
Institute	O
of	O
Technology	O
(	O
MIT	O
)	O
and	O
Harvard	O
University	O
,	O
where	O
they	O
had	O
discussed	O
and	O
began	O
thinking	O
of	O
computer	O
circuits	O
and	O
numerical	O
calculations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
time	O
went	O
on	O
,	O
the	O
field	O
of	O
information	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
and	O
computer	B-General_Concept
science	I-General_Concept
became	O
more	O
complex	O
and	O
was	O
able	O
to	O
handle	O
the	O
processing	O
of	O
more	O
data	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Giving	O
them	O
such	O
credit	O
for	O
their	O
developments	O
,	O
most	O
of	O
their	O
efforts	O
were	O
focused	O
on	O
designing	O
the	O
first	O
digital	B-General_Concept
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Along	O
with	O
that	O
,	O
topics	O
such	O
as	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
began	O
to	O
be	O
brought	O
up	O
as	O
Turing	O
was	O
beginning	O
to	O
question	O
such	O
technology	O
of	O
the	O
time	O
period	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
electromechanical	O
Zuse	B-Device
Z3	I-Device
,	O
completed	O
in	O
1941	O
,	O
was	O
the	O
world	O
's	O
first	O
programmable	B-General_Concept
computer	O
,	O
and	O
by	O
modern	O
standards	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
machines	O
that	O
could	O
be	O
considered	O
a	O
complete	O
computing	O
machine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
Second	O
World	O
War	O
,	O
Colossus	B-Device
developed	O
the	O
first	O
electronic	O
digital	B-General_Concept
computer	O
to	O
decrypt	O
German	O
messages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
it	O
was	O
programmable	B-General_Concept
,	O
it	O
was	O
not	O
general-purpose	O
,	O
being	O
designed	O
to	O
perform	O
only	O
a	O
single	O
task	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
recognizably	O
modern	O
electronic	O
digital	B-General_Concept
stored-program	O
computer	O
was	O
the	O
Manchester	B-Device
Baby	I-Device
,	O
which	O
ran	O
its	O
first	O
program	O
on	O
21	O
June	O
1948	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
development	O
of	O
transistors	B-Application
in	O
the	O
late	O
1940s	O
at	O
Bell	O
Laboratories	O
allowed	O
a	O
new	O
generation	O
of	O
computers	O
to	O
be	O
designed	O
with	O
greatly	O
reduced	O
power	O
consumption	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
commercially	O
available	O
stored-program	O
computer	O
,	O
the	O
Ferranti	B-Device
Mark	I-Device
I	I-Device
,	O
contained	O
4050	O
valves	O
and	O
had	O
a	O
power	O
consumption	O
of	O
25	O
kilowatts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
other	O
breakthroughs	O
in	O
semiconductor	O
technology	O
include	O
the	O
integrated	O
circuit	O
(	O
IC	O
)	O
invented	O
by	O
Jack	O
Kilby	O
at	O
Texas	O
Instruments	O
and	O
Robert	O
Noyce	O
at	O
Fairchild	O
Semiconductor	O
in	O
1959	O
,	O
the	O
metal	B-Architecture
–	I-Architecture
oxide	I-Architecture
–	I-Architecture
semiconductor	I-Architecture
field-effect	I-Architecture
transistor	I-Architecture
(	O
MOSFET	B-Architecture
)	O
invented	O
by	O
Mohamed	O
Atalla	O
and	O
Dawon	O
Kahng	O
at	O
Bell	O
Laboratories	O
in	O
1959	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
microprocessor	B-Architecture
invented	O
by	O
Ted	O
Hoff	O
,	O
Federico	O
Faggin	O
,	O
Masatoshi	O
Shima	O
,	O
and	O
Stanley	O
Mazor	O
at	O
Intel	O
in	O
1971	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
important	O
inventions	O
led	O
to	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
the	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
(	O
PC	O
)	O
in	O
the	O
1970s	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
emergence	O
of	O
information	B-General_Concept
and	I-General_Concept
communications	I-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
(	O
ICT	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
year	O
of	O
1984	O
,	O
according	O
to	O
the	O
National	O
Westminster	O
Bank	O
Quarterly	O
Review	O
,	O
the	O
term	O
information	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
had	O
been	O
redefined	O
as	O
"	O
The	O
development	O
of	O
cable	O
television	O
was	O
made	O
possible	O
by	O
the	O
convergence	O
of	O
telecommunications	O
and	O
computing	O
technology	O
(	O
…	O
generally	O
known	O
in	O
Britain	O
as	O
information	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
)	O
.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Early	O
electronic	O
computers	O
such	O
as	O
Colossus	B-Device
made	O
use	O
of	O
punched	O
tape	O
,	O
a	O
long	O
strip	O
of	O
paper	O
on	O
which	O
data	B-General_Concept
was	O
represented	O
by	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
holes	O
,	O
a	O
technology	O
now	O
obsolete	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Electronic	O
data	B-General_Concept
storage	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
used	O
in	O
modern	O
computers	O
,	O
dates	O
from	O
World	O
War	O
II	O
,	O
when	O
a	O
form	O
of	O
delay-line	O
memory	O
was	O
developed	O
to	O
remove	O
the	O
clutter	O
from	O
radar	B-Application
signals	O
,	O
the	O
first	O
practical	O
application	O
of	O
which	O
was	O
the	O
mercury	O
delay	O
line	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
random-access	B-Architecture
digital	B-General_Concept
storage	O
device	O
was	O
the	O
Williams	B-General_Concept
tube	I-General_Concept
,	O
which	O
was	O
based	O
on	O
a	O
standard	O
cathode	B-Device
ray	I-Device
tube	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
earliest	O
form	O
of	O
non-volatile	O
computer	O
storage	O
was	O
the	O
magnetic	B-General_Concept
drum	I-General_Concept
,	O
invented	O
in	O
1932	O
and	O
used	O
in	O
the	O
Ferranti	B-Device
Mark	I-Device
1	I-Device
,	O
the	O
world	O
's	O
first	O
commercially	O
available	O
general-purpose	O
electronic	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
introduced	O
the	O
first	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
drive	I-Device
in	O
1956	O
,	O
as	O
a	O
component	O
of	O
their	O
305	B-Device
RAMAC	I-Device
computer	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
digital	B-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
today	O
is	O
still	O
stored	O
magnetically	O
on	O
hard	B-Device
disks	I-Device
,	O
or	O
optically	O
on	O
media	O
such	O
as	O
CD-ROMs	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Until	O
2002	O
most	O
information	O
was	O
stored	O
on	O
analog	O
devices	O
,	O
but	O
that	O
year	O
digital	B-General_Concept
storage	O
capacity	O
exceeded	O
analog	O
for	O
the	O
first	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
2007	O
,	O
almost	O
94%	O
of	O
the	O
data	B-General_Concept
stored	O
worldwide	O
was	O
held	O
digitally	O
:	O
52%	O
on	O
hard	B-Device
disks	I-Device
,	O
28%	O
on	O
optical	O
devices	O
,	O
and	O
11%	O
on	O
digital	B-General_Concept
magnetic	O
tape	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Database	O
Management	O
Systems	O
(	O
DMS	O
)	O
emerged	O
in	O
the	O
1960s	O
to	O
address	O
the	O
problem	O
of	O
storing	O
and	O
retrieving	O
large	O
amounts	O
of	O
data	B-General_Concept
accurately	O
and	O
quickly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
early	O
such	O
system	O
was	O
IBM	O
's	O
Information	B-Application
Management	I-Application
System	I-Application
(	O
IMS	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
still	O
widely	O
deployed	O
more	O
than	O
50	O
years	O
later	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IMS	O
stores	O
data	B-General_Concept
hierarchically	B-General_Concept
,	O
but	O
in	O
the	O
1970s	O
Ted	O
Codd	O
proposed	O
an	O
alternative	O
relational	O
storage	O
model	O
based	O
on	O
set	O
theory	O
and	O
predicate	O
logic	O
and	O
the	O
familiar	O
concepts	O
of	O
tables	O
,	O
rows	O
,	O
and	O
columns	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1981	O
,	O
the	O
first	O
commercially	O
available	O
relational	B-Application
database	I-Application
management	I-Application
system	I-Application
(	O
RDBMS	O
)	O
was	O
released	O
by	O
Oracle	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
DMS	O
consist	O
of	O
components	O
,	O
they	O
allow	O
the	O
data	B-General_Concept
they	O
store	O
to	O
be	O
accessed	O
simultaneously	O
by	O
many	O
users	O
while	O
maintaining	O
its	O
integrity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
databases	O
are	O
common	O
in	O
one	O
point	O
that	O
the	O
structure	O
of	O
the	O
data	B-General_Concept
they	O
contain	O
is	O
defined	O
and	O
stored	O
separately	O
from	O
the	O
data	B-General_Concept
itself	O
,	O
in	O
a	O
database	B-Application
schema	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
recent	O
years	O
,	O
the	O
extensible	B-Protocol
markup	I-Protocol
language	I-Protocol
(	O
XML	B-Protocol
)	O
has	O
become	O
a	O
popular	O
format	O
for	O
data	B-General_Concept
representation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
XML	B-Protocol
data	B-General_Concept
can	O
be	O
stored	O
in	O
normal	O
file	B-Application
systems	I-Application
,	O
it	O
is	O
commonly	O
held	O
in	O
relational	B-Application
databases	I-Application
to	O
take	O
advantage	O
of	O
their	O
"	O
robust	O
implementation	O
verified	O
by	O
years	O
of	O
both	O
theoretical	O
and	O
practical	O
effort.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
an	O
evolution	O
of	O
the	O
Standard	B-Language
Generalized	I-Language
Markup	I-Language
Language	I-Language
(	O
SGML	B-Language
)	O
,	O
XML	B-Protocol
's	O
text-based	O
structure	O
offers	O
the	O
advantage	O
of	O
being	O
both	O
machine	O
-	O
and	O
human-readable	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Data	B-General_Concept
transmission	O
has	O
three	O
aspects	O
:	O
transmission	O
,	O
propagation	O
,	O
and	O
reception	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
can	O
be	O
broadly	O
categorized	O
as	O
broadcasting	B-Operating_System
,	O
in	O
which	O
information	O
is	O
transmitted	O
unidirectionally	O
downstream	O
,	O
or	O
telecommunications	O
,	O
with	O
bidirectional	O
upstream	O
and	O
downstream	O
channels	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
XML	B-Protocol
has	O
been	O
increasingly	O
employed	O
as	O
a	O
means	O
of	O
data	B-General_Concept
interchange	O
since	O
the	O
early	O
2000s	O
,	O
particularly	O
for	O
machine-oriented	O
interactions	O
such	O
as	O
those	O
involved	O
in	O
web-oriented	O
protocols	O
such	O
as	O
SOAP	B-Application
,	O
describing	O
"	O
data-in-transit	O
rather	O
than	O
...	O
data-at-rest	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hilbert	O
and	O
Lopez	O
identify	O
the	O
exponential	O
pace	O
of	O
technological	O
change	O
(	O
a	O
kind	O
of	O
Moore	O
's	O
law	O
)	O
:	O
machines	O
 '	O
application-specific	O
capacity	O
to	O
compute	O
information	O
per	O
capita	O
roughly	O
doubled	O
every	O
14months	O
between	O
1986	O
and	O
2007	O
;	O
the	O
per	O
capita	O
capacity	O
of	O
the	O
world	O
's	O
general-purpose	O
computers	O
doubled	O
every	O
18months	O
during	O
the	O
same	O
two	O
decades	O
;	O
the	O
global	O
telecommunication	O
capacity	O
per	O
capita	O
doubled	O
every	O
34	O
months	O
;	O
the	O
world	O
's	O
storage	O
capacity	O
per	O
capita	O
required	O
roughly	O
40	O
months	O
to	O
double	O
(	O
every	O
3	O
years	O
)	O
;	O
and	O
per	O
capita	O
broadcast	B-Operating_System
information	O
has	O
doubled	O
every	O
12.3years	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Massive	O
amounts	O
of	O
data	B-General_Concept
are	O
stored	O
worldwide	O
every	O
day	O
,	O
but	O
unless	O
it	O
can	O
be	O
analyzed	O
and	O
presented	O
effectively	O
it	O
essentially	O
resides	O
in	O
what	O
have	O
been	O
called	O
data	B-General_Concept
tombs	O
:	O
"	O
data	B-General_Concept
archives	O
that	O
are	O
seldom	O
visited	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
address	O
that	O
issue	O
,	O
the	O
field	O
of	O
data	B-Application
mining	I-Application
—	O
"	O
the	O
process	O
of	O
discovering	O
interesting	O
patterns	O
and	O
knowledge	O
from	O
large	O
amounts	O
of	O
data	B-General_Concept
"	O
—	O
emerged	O
in	O
the	O
late	O
1980s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
technology	O
and	O
services	O
it	O
provides	O
for	O
sending	O
and	O
receiving	O
electronic	O
messages	O
(	O
called	O
"	O
letters	O
"	O
or	O
"	O
electronic	O
letters	O
"	O
)	O
over	O
a	O
distributed	O
(	O
including	O
global	O
)	O
computer	B-Architecture
network	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
software	O
and	O
hardware	B-Architecture
complex	O
with	O
a	O
web	O
interface	O
that	O
provides	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
search	O
for	O
information	O
on	O
the	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Companies	O
in	O
the	O
information	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
field	O
are	O
often	O
discussed	O
as	O
a	O
group	O
as	O
the	O
"	O
tech	O
sector	O
"	O
or	O
the	O
"	O
tech	O
industry.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
also	O
worth	O
noting	O
that	O
from	O
a	O
business	O
perspective	O
,	O
Information	B-General_Concept
Technology	I-General_Concept
departments	O
are	O
a	O
"	O
cost	O
center	O
"	O
the	O
majority	O
of	O
the	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
an	O
often	O
overlooked	O
reason	O
for	O
the	O
rapid	O
interest	O
in	O
automation	O
and	O
Artificial	B-Application
Intelligence	I-Application
,	O
but	O
the	O
constant	O
pressure	O
to	O
do	O
more	O
with	O
less	O
is	O
opening	O
the	O
door	O
for	O
automation	O
to	O
take	O
control	O
of	O
at	O
least	O
some	O
minor	O
operations	O
in	O
large	O
companies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
business	O
context	O
,	O
the	O
Information	B-General_Concept
Technology	I-General_Concept
Association	O
of	O
America	O
has	O
defined	O
information	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
as	O
"	O
the	O
study	O
,	O
design	O
,	O
development	O
,	O
application	O
,	O
implementation	O
,	O
support	O
,	O
or	O
management	O
of	O
computer-based	O
information	O
systems	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
responsibilities	O
of	O
those	O
working	O
in	O
the	O
field	O
include	O
network	O
administration	O
,	O
software	O
development	O
and	O
installation	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
planning	O
and	O
management	O
of	O
an	O
organization	O
's	O
technology	O
life	O
cycle	O
,	O
by	O
which	O
hardware	B-Architecture
and	O
software	O
are	O
maintained	O
,	O
upgraded	O
,	O
and	O
replaced	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Information	O
services	O
is	O
a	O
term	O
somewhat	O
loosely	O
applied	O
to	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
IT-related	O
services	O
offered	O
by	O
commercial	O
companies	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
data	B-General_Concept
brokers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
of	O
the	O
ethical	O
issues	O
associated	O
with	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
information	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
include	O
:	O
</s>
