Information technologies (IT, also known as information and communication technologies) are processes that use a set of means and methods for collecting, processing, accumulating and transmitting data (primary information) to obtain information of a new quality about the state of an object, process, phenomenon, information product, as well as dissemination information and methods of implementation of such processes and methods.

Other definitions:

• techniques, methods and methods of using computer equipment in the performance of the functions of data collection, storage, processing, transmission and use;
• resources needed to collect, process, store and disseminate information.

Specialists in the field of information systems and technologies are often referred to as IT or IT specialists.

Information technology industry

Information technologies are called, based on and rationally using modern achievements in the field of computer equipment and other high technologies, the latest means of communication, software and practical experience, to solve the problems of effective organization of the information process to reduce the cost of time, labor, energy and material resources in all spheres of human life and modern society. Information technologies interact and are often an integral part of the spheres of services, management, industrial production, and social processes.

History

Humans have been storing, retrieving, processing, and transmitting information since the Sumerians invented writing around 3000,10 BC however, the term "information technology" in its modern sense first appeared in a 11 article published in the Harvard Business Review. Its authors, Harold J. Leavitt and Thomas L. Wisler noted that "this new technology does not yet have a single common name. We'll call it information technology (IT)." Their definition consists of three categories: processing methods, the application of statistical and mathematical methods for decision-making, and the modeling of higher-order thinking using ^{computer programs.}

Information technology has been actively developing since the 1960s, along with the emergence and development of the first information systems (IS).

IBM released the first hard disk drive in 1956, as part of the 305 RAMAC computer system. Most digital data today is still stored magnetically on hard drives or optically on media such as CDs. Prior to 2002, most information was stored on analog ^{devices, but} that year the digital capacity exceeded an analog device for the first time. As of 163, nearly 2007% of the data stored worldwide is stored in digital form: 94% on hard drives, 52% on optical devices, and 28% on digital tape. It has been estimated that worldwide storage capacity for electronic devices has grown from less than 11 exabytes in 3 to 1986 exabytes in 295, doubling approximately every 2007 years.

Key features of modern IT

• Structuring of standards for digital data exchange of algorithms;
• Extensive use of computer storage and provision of information in the required form;
• Transmission of information through digital technologies over almost unlimited distances.

As Anthony Grafton noted of new digital technologies, "They have already democratized the educational world, giving free access to millions of resources once available only to a select few. They have provided new and effective ways of presenting and analysing many of the greatest works of art of the past and present centuries. And they are rapidly conquering the world of reading and writing.'

Property, plant and equipment

Information technology encompasses all the resources needed to manage information, especially the computers, software, and networks needed to create, store, manage, transmit and retrieve information. Information technology can be grouped as follows

• Technical means;
• Communication tools;
• • Organizational and methodological support;
• Standardization.

Networks

At present, there are various data transmission networks, i.e. sets of terminal devices (terminals) of communication, united by data transmission channels and switching devices (network nodes) that provide the exchange of messages between all terminal devices.

There are the following types of data networks:

• Telephone networks are subscriber communication networks, for access to which telephone sets, automatic telephone exchanges and data transmission equipment are used;
• Computer networks are networks whose end devices are computers.

Telephone

Until the early 2000s, the main way to connect a computer to the Internet was to use a modem connected to a telephone network^. Nowadays, modems have been supplanted by broadband access technologies.

Broadband

The term broadband includes a wide range of technologies that provide higher data transfer speeds and access to the Internet. These technologies use wires or fiber optic cables.

Multilink dial-up

Provide increased throughput by connecting two or more remote access connections together and treating them as a single data channel. Two or more modems, phone lines, and account numbers are required, as well as a provider that supports the technology. This option was briefly popular before ISDN, DSL, and other more modern technologies. Some manufacturers have created special modems to support this method

ISDN

ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) is a digital network with integrated services. Allows you to combine telephony and data exchange services. The name was proposed by the XI CCITT group in 1981. The main purpose of ISDN is to transmit data at a speed of up to 64 kbit/s over a subscriber wired line and provide integrated telecommunication services (telephone, fax, etc.). The use of telephone wires for this purpose has two advantages: they already exist and can be used to supply power to terminal equipment. TDM (Time Division Multiplexing) technology is used to combine different types of traffic in an ISDN network. For each type of data, a separate band is allocated, called an elementary channel (or standard channel). For this bandwidth, a fixed, consistent share of bandwidth is guaranteed. Banding occurs after a CALL signal is sent on a separate channel called an out-of-channel signaling channel.

xDSL

xDSL (Digital Subscriber Line) is a family of technologies that significantly increase the throughput of the subscriber line of the public telephone network through the use of efficient linear codes and adaptive methods for correcting line distortions based on modern advances in microelectronics and digital signal processing methods. xDSL technologies emerged in the mid-90s as an alternative to the digital subscriber end of ISDN. The main types of xDSL are ADSL, HDSL, IDSL, MSDSL, PDSL, RADSL, SDSL, SHDSL, UADSL, VDSL. All these technologies provide high-speed digital access via the subscriber telephone line. Some xDSL technologies are original developments, others are merely theoretical models, while still others have already become widely used standards. The main difference between these technologies is the modulation methods used to encode the data.

Transmission line communications

Transmission line communication is a term that describes several different power lines (PTL) for transmitting voice or data information. The network can transmit voice and data by layering an analog signal on top of standard 50 or 60 Hz AC. The PLC includes BPL (Broadband over Power Lines), which provides data transmission speeds of up to 200 Mbit/s, and NPL (Narrowband over Power Lines), which provides significantly lower data rates of up to 1 Mbit/s.

ATMs

ATM (Asynchronous Data Transfer) is a high-performance network switching and multiplexing technology based on the transmission of data in the form of cells of a fixed size (53 bytes) of which 5 bytes are used under the header. In contrast to Synchronous Transfer Mode (STM), ATM is better suited to provide data services with very different or varying bitrates.

Cellular

One of the types of mobile radio communication, which is based on a cellular network. The key feature is that the total coverage area is divided into cells (cells) defined by the coverage areas of individual base stations (BS). The cells partially overlap and together form a network. On an ideal (flat and unbuilt) surface, the coverage area of one BS is a circle, so the network made up of them looks like hexagonal cells (honeycombs). The network consists of space-separated transceivers operating in the same frequency range, and switching equipment that makes it possible to determine the current location of mobile subscribers and ensure continuity of communication when a subscriber moves from the coverage area of one transceiver to the coverage area of another.

Telecommunications

A type of communication, a method of transmitting information using electromagnetic signals, such as wires, fiber-optic cable, or radio. At present, the transmission of information over long distances is carried out using such electrical devices as the telegraph, telephone, teletype, radio and microwave communication, as well as fiber-optic communication lines, satellite communications and the global information and communication network Internet. The principle of telecommunication is based on the conversion of message signals (sound, text, optical information) into primary electrical signals. In turn, the primary electrical signals are converted by the transmitter into secondary electrical signals, the characteristics of which are in good agreement with the characteristics of the communication line. Then, through the communication line, the secondary signals are sent to the receiver input. In the receiver, the secondary signals are converted back into message signals in the form of sound, optical or textual information.

Hardware

Computing hardware is an umbrella term for the hardware that runs computers and computer networks. A peripheral is an important piece of hardware that allows you to input information in or out of a computer.

Terminals act as user access points to the information space.

Personal computer

A computer is an electronic device designed for use by a single user, i.e. for personal use. A personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC) can also be conditionally referred to as any other computer used by a particular person as his/her personal computer. The vast majority of people use desktop and various laptop computers (laptops, tablets) as PCs. Although the computer was originally created as a computing machine, as a PC it is usually used for other purposes, such as a means of accessing information networks and as a platform for computer games, as well as for creativity and professional activities through software.

Cell phone

A mobile phone designed to work in cellular networks; It uses a radio transceiver and traditional telephone switching to carry out telephone communication in the territory of the cellular network coverage area. Nowadays, cellular communication is the most widespread of all types of mobile communication, so it is usually called a cell phone that is called a mobile phone, although mobile phones, in addition to cellular phones, are also satellite phones, cordless telephones and backbone communication devices.

Television

A state-of-the-art electronic device for receiving and displaying images and sound transmitted wirelessly or via cable (including television programs or signals from video playback devices such as video recorders).

Video game console

A specialized electronic device designed and built for video games. The most commonly used output device is a TV or, less commonly, a computer monitor, which is why such devices are called set-top boxes, since they are attached to an independent display device. Handheld gaming systems have their own built-in display device (they are not attached to anything), so it is somewhat incorrect to call them game consoles. Originally, video game consoles differed from personal computers in a number of important ways: they used a TV as their primary display device and did not support most of the standard peripherals made for personal computers, such as keyboards or modems. Until recently, almost all consoles sold were intended to run proprietary games distributed in the absence of support for other consoles. However, as video game consoles have evolved, the distinction between them and personal computers has gradually blurred — some consoles can allow you to connect a keyboard, a hard drive, and even run the Linux operating system on them. Schematics and software of some set-top boxes may be distributed, as an exception, under free licenses. The video game console market has evolved from comparatively simple electronic television gaming systems such as Pong to powerful, feature-rich gaming systems these days.

Services

Email

The technology and the services it provides for sending and receiving electronic messages (called "letters" or "e-mails") over a distributed (including global) computer network. In terms of the composition of elements and the principle of operation, e-mail practically repeats the system of ordinary (paper) mail, borrowing both terms (mail, letter, envelope, attachment, box, delivery, etc.) and characteristic features - ease of use, delays in the transmission of messages, sufficient reliability and at the same time the absence of a guarantee of delivery. The advantages of e-mail are: easily perceived and remembered by a person addresses of the form: username@domain_name (for example, somebody@example.com); the ability to transfer both plain text and formatted text, as well as arbitrary files; Independence of servers (in general, they access each other directly); sufficiently high reliability of message delivery; Ease of use by humans and programs. Disadvantages of e-mail: the presence of such a phenomenon as spam (mass advertising and viral mailings); the theoretical impossibility of guaranteed delivery of a particular letter; possible delays in message delivery (up to several days); Limits on the size of a single message and on the total size of messages in a mailbox (personal to users).

Search engine

A hardware and software complex with a web interface that provides the ability to search for information on the Internet. A search engine usually refers to a website that hosts the front-end interface of the system. The software part of a search engine is a search engine (search engine) — a set of programs that provides the functionality of a search engine and is usually a trade secret of the search engine development company. Most search engines search for information on World Wide Web sites, but there are also systems that can search for files on FTP servers, products in online stores, and information on Usenet newsgroups. Improving search is one of the priorities of the modern Internet (see the article The Deep Web about the main problems in the work of search engines).

According to Statista, in October 2021, the use of search engines was distributed as follows:

• Google — 86,64 %;
• Bing — 7 %;
• Yahoo! — 2,75 %.

According to Statcounter Global Stats, as of August 2021, the Chinese resource Baidu managed to occupy almost 3% of the Internet market in Asia. In turn, Yandex overtook Yahoo in the same region, receiving a share of almost 2% and third place in the ranking^.

Technological capability and growth

Gilbert and Lopez note the exponential growth of technological progress (a kind of Moore's Law) as doubling the power density of all information-processing machines per capita every 14 months between 1986 and 2007; global per capita telecommunications capacity doubles every 34 months; The amount of information contributed in the world per capita doubles every 40 months (i.e., every three years), and the transmission of information per capita tends to double approximately every 12.3 ^years.