Information technology services are an integral part of companies' core competencies

Today, information systems are listed among very important marketing and management tools, as these systems cannot only simplify and hasten all the inner companies' communications and management processes, but can also provide them with significant competitive and marketing advantages over their market rivals. Such competitive advantages are called core competencies. They supply companies and brands with long term marketing advantages over their competitors. Therefore, in business, information systems support management operational, decision-making processes and competitive strategies development. They work closely together with information technology services, providing cost effective and reliable business, management and marketing solutions. Information technology services deal with electronic computers and computer software, granting companies an access to a simplified, improved and fast way of converting, storing, protecting, processing, transmitting and retrieving information.

Information systems, being a part of IT solutions for businesses, have a great influence on different areas of information technology services' performances. Information systems leverage such area of information technology services as IT investment that supports companies' core competencies, supply chain networks, distribution channels, a brand equity creation, a production process, overall output levels, mass customizations, a computer aided design, e-commerce processes and many other essential business operational functions.

The history of the information systems development begins in the 50s of the last century. Back at those times, only the largest and richest organizations could afford using electronic data processing information systems. However, those information systems were used only to provide companies with an operational and functional support. In the early 70s, new decision support information systems were introduced. Moreover, there were developed many different configurations of those systems, thus, various companies could find the most perfectly fitting information systems with information technology services for their business operations. Nevertheless, a significant shortcoming of those systems was a necessity to have an IBM system developer permanently on a site.

Now, all those troubles are in the past, since information systems are installed on PCs and there is no need to transmit all the communications and system management through the computer department. Furthermore, modern information systems are suitable not only for the data processing, but also for the improvement and enhancement of companies' decision making processes. IT systems provide managers not only with the complete and timely information as to various companies' operations, but also allow them to obtain answers to some questions, based on the correct and complete data processing. For instance, information systems may provide managers with the answers to such questions as "What if we increase or decrease price by five percent?" That is the reason why information technology services and information systems have become an integral part of many companies' core competencies.