According to the definition adopted by UNESCO, IT is a complex of interrelated scientific, technological, and engineering disciplines that study methods for effectively organizing the work of people involved in processing and storing information; computer technology and methods of organizing and interacting with people and production equipment, their practical applications, as well as social, economic and cultural problems associated with all this.
IT itself requires complex training, high initial costs and high-tech technology. Their implementation should begin with the creation of mathematical software and the formation of information flows in specialist training systems.
The main features of modern IT:
• computer processing of information according to specified algorithms;
• storing large amounts of information on computer media;
• transmission of information over long distances in a limited time. The IT service includes the definition of information technology (IT),
which reflects the specifics of service production. According to one definition, IT is
a complex of interrelated and interdependent technologies, with the help of which information production and interaction between various sectors of national and world economies is carried out.
Among specialists in the IT services industry, the most common definition of IT is as automated methods of working with data. IT provides the collection, processing, analysis, transmission and storage of arrays of information in digital format and represents the results of creative activity.
Due to the specific features of IT services, in particular complexity, there is no established definition of this term in the scientific literature. Most definitions common in the IT industry quite narrowly reflect the essence and specificity of the services in question, limiting themselves to one or another type.
For example, N. Glushko gives the following definition: “An IT service is a specific type of service provided either by an internal IT department or other similar structure, or by an external contractor - a professional consultant, and aimed at the effective organization of the functioning of an enterprise information system and contributing to the achievement of its strategic goals. goals." Another formulation is from a Russian consulting company: “IT services are a set of works aimed at maintaining the company’s activities in the field of information technology, the uninterrupted operation of communications within the company and with the outside world.”
The structure of the IT service is a complex technologically
interconnected individual services, which is created by different participants and
consolidated in the process of involving the consumer in co-production; consumer is a full participant in the process of creating an IT service, which he himself consumes.
Based on the vastness and versatility of IT services, companies represented in this area can be divided into:
1. Companies developing their own products
Companies in this category develop their own products. The product can be anything - a mobile application, a social network, software, a development environment or an antivirus. Examples of such companies are world-famous corporations such as Microsoft, Apple, Kaspersky Lab. Their products and services are used by millions of people every day, bringing huge profits to companies. To achieve such results in their niche, it is important for companies in this industry to constantly catch market fluctuations.
2. Outsourcing companies
This is a type of company that develops custom software for other firms and enterprises. Initially, outsourcing was understood as the creation of software exclusively for internal use by the customer company, customized to its requirements. Modern outsourcing focuses on creating a product for the end user. The main reason is that digitalization has reached traditional industries such as banks or retail. These enterprises came for solutions for their clients - mobile applications and online stores that had to be developed from scratch.
3. Consulting companies
These are companies that implement ready-made software. The principle of operation of such a company comes down to the following: the customer wants to optimize his internal processes and implement some software (for example, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)), for this service he turns to an IT consulting company that has a ready-made boxed solution with business processes inside. 4. IT departments of non-technical companies
This is a fairly new direction that has begun to actively develop due to
digital transformation of traditional business. Now to be successful market, companies are required to be present in the digital space. Therefore, any large bank, insurance company or Forex broker has its own IT department or even a subsidiary IT company. The activities of such departments and companies are at the intersection of outsourcing and product.