Assignment+3

case study 1

What are the business benefits and limitations of the speech recognition systems at e-trade, Verizon and others? How could their use of this technology be improved?

There are a lot of business benefits of the speech recognition system at e-trade, Verizon and other companies. First off, using speech recognition when doing business can help you save a lot of money in your every day service. When companies substitute machine work, for man work, the cost can become a lot cheaper. [1] The average call-center call cost $5 if handled by an employee but 50 cent with a self-service, speech-enabled system, according to Data Monitor. For example [2] online brokerage e-Trade financial uses Tellme Net-works (which makes voice recognition software for corporate call centers and telecom directory systems) to field about 50,000 calls a day. Half of those calls never go to an e-Trade employee. The company says Tellme’s system is saving it at least $30 million annually. These savings can become the lifeline of a company, and cutting back cost in today’s business is important in the business process. Sometimes businesses may even report a rise in satisfaction, of a business’s customer service. For an example, some consumers are able to make payments right away instead of waiting a while for a representative to reach the phone. This will cause a business to save a lot of money in the long run.

There are some business limitations of the speech recognition systems for some companies. As time goes on, updates in speech recognition are getting better, but however they have not met the standards for all business. The goal for most business is to have Speech recognition to eliminate as many employees as possible. Speech recognition has evolved over the years, in 1988 there was an 8,000 word vocabulary, and you were forced to speak very slowly so that you could be understood. Now in recent times, things are a lot better, and speech recognition has improved tremendously but they have not been able to meet the standards. Take for example, when calling a credit card company, they are able to ask you for a change of address, or ask you for payment over the phone through their automatic system, but however, if you need to negotiate your contract, or ask them to lower your interest rate, it would be impossible to do so with an automatic system.

The Speech recognition system can be improved greatly through IT. When figuring out many of their consumers problems, it can be easier to find out a solution. For an example [3] Organizations that have deployed speech technology say that recent advancements in natural-language understanding have made the systems more acceptable to callers. [4] “With IVR, it was ‘Touch or say three,’” says Joe Alessi, vice president for marketing and IT at AAA Minnesota/Iowa. “Now we can say, ‘I’d like to change my address.’” These Improvements are caused by improving IT systems. Also making a good investment on your IT system will save you a lot of money in the long run.

[1] O’Brien pg 111 [2] O’Brien pg 111 [3] O’Brien pg 112 [4] O’Brien pg 112

Discussion #5

5. Are networks of PCs and servers making mainframe computers obsolete? Explain.

Mainframe computer systems will never be obsolete. Mainframe computer systems are primarily used for the information processing needs of major corporations and government agencies with high transaction processing volumes or complex computational problems (80). Corporations use mainframe computers because they are powerful computer systems with massive storage spaces. They are able to process thousands of millions of instruction per second (80). PC’s are generally used for personal workspace. They give employees the ability to work from home and communicate electronically when not in the office. PC’s are used in the office but are more needed to serve branches of corporations and smaller businesses. They don’t have enough memory capacity to be used in major settings unlike mainframe networks. In previous years mainframe computers were expensive in cost and also to run them. Present day mainframe computers are a bit smaller. The cost of running them isn’t as high, power consumption has been reduced, and not as much floor space is needed resulting from the use of newer air-cooled technology for mainframe systems (80). PC’s are definitely not the fall of mainframe systems. PC’s are used for the office, mainframes for the corporations. One mainframe system can operate a whole city. A prime example would be the black out in Detroit and other parts of eastern United states in 2004. A singlemainframe system was operating the electricity and water system for multiple cities and states.

Discusiion # 6

Providing advice for CEO Steve Jobs, of Apple Computers is not a simple task considering that 73 percent of the 30 million MP3 players accounted for are iPods. ITunes is responsible for 75 percent of the sales of digital songs according to NPD Group. This all occurred during the iPod’s introduction year. There has been a total of 90 million iPod’s sold globally and over 2 billion songs purchased from itunes. Jobs has an impressive resume. Ipods today don’t have much battery life. We all know how frustrating this could be when you heavily depend on your iPod for entertainment at work, the gym, at home,school, etc. Maybe a lithium powered battery would be a great battery to use for such a product. In addition, jobs could also consider adding more storage space or providing larger memory cards. You can never download enough songs. No one wants to delete songs that they obviously like for newer downloads. A longer battery life and more storage space could help improve an already huge sales revenue. The Apple Computers are pretty difficult to use. I think that he could try to come up with a simple mac book that would be similar to a dell or gateway in easiness to use. My experience with Apple computers haven’t quite been great because I don’t think they were made for the average PC user. It usually takes a while for me to figure out how to save files or locate files browsing on apple computers. Apples are great computers and offer a lot for the customers who buy them but I think they should come with instruction manuals.

Dissussion question 7 What are several trends that are occurring in computer peripheral devices? How do these trends affect business uses of computers?

Peripherals are changing the outlook on businesses through the use of Input devices. [1] Peripherals is the generic name given to all input, output, and secondary storage devices that are part of a computer system but are not of the CPU. Peripherals depended on direct connections or telecommunications links to the central processing unit of a computer system. We use input devices through our everyday life, and now we are becoming more and more dependent on these devices. Through our experiences when using input devices such as pointing devices, it makes it more convenient when you can point to a graphical user interface such as icons menus, and buttons, when making choices, and responding quickly with little hassle. This makes business work a little better, and the flow is more efficient. business are constantly looking for better ways to save money, and have looking to improve their IT system so that their business flows better. For example professionals with disabilities use speech recognition when creating certain documents. These types of devices make it easier for disabled people or people who have trouble with different types of system. It may be the future of data entry, and when on the go, and you need to create a document for your boss, typing up a document trough speech recognition may be possible in your own car, driving to work. [2] Speech recognition is gaining popularity in the corporate world among non-typists, people with disabilities, and business travelers, and is most frequently used for dictation, screen navigation, and web browsing.

Peripherals are changing the outlook on businesses through the use of output devices. Video output and printed output are some of the few to mention. [3] Video displays are the most common type of computer output. Many desktop computers still rely on video monitors that use a cathode ray tube (CRT) technology similar to the picture tubes used in home TV sets. Usually, the clarity of the video display depends on the type of video monitor you use and the graphics circuit board installed in your computer. When businesses have recourses like this, it will allow them to do business more effectively. They will be able to send files and documents over the net, and business plans would be able to be seen more clearly, and it would become more convenient for people to view certain plans for business. Printed output is also another good use for peripherals. When using printers it is one of the most common forms of outputs. [4] Printed output is still a common form of business communications and is frequently required for legal documentation. [5] Computers can produce printed reports and correspondence, documents such as sales invoices, payroll checks, bank statements, and printed versions of graphic displays. And these kind of features can allow business to flow better when staying on track or competing against their competitors. Because of this, businesses are relying on computers more and more every day, and they have used computers as their base for businesses. For an example progressive car insurance sends off printed documents stating that a customer is being served under certain polices that are set up. If this person were to be pulled over by polices and cannot show any proof of car insurances, they are required pay money by law. So print outs are required for businesses, and it’s becoming more and more dependent.

Peripherals are changing the outlook on businesses through the use of secondary storage devices. It is important to store Data and information when needing it at different times, and business uses many different types of storage methods to do so. For example [6] many people and organizations still rely on paper documents stored in filing cabinets as a major for of storage media. However, you and other computer users are more likely to depend on the memory circuits and secondary storage devices of computer systems to meet storage requirements. When business need to save anything to their computer, they need to find certain devices especially if they need to take information from one computer to another computer using a USB or portable hard drives. This will allow business to work more efficient and effective.

[1] O’Brien pg 86 [2] O’Brien pg 86 [3] O’Brien pg 90 [4] O’Brien pg 94 [5] O’Brien pg 94 [6] O’Brien pg 99

2. What types of business situations would benefit most from speech recognition technology? Which ones would benefit least? Explain your choices.

The author claims that speech recognition technology converts spoken words into machine readable data. There are various ways in which speech recognition technology contributes to a business. For example, a manufacturer may utilize speech recognition technology for things like inspection, inventory, and quality control of a variety of products. Parcel delivery businesses and airlines use speech recognition for voice directed sorting of packages and luggage. I can see how this could streamline operations and make them faster; however the handling of packages and luggage solely by a technology could lead to lost items which translate to major losses. To additionally demonstrate its popularity, the tool has been so far used by businesses, healthcare, airlines and the disabled. Doctors that usually have a heavy work schedule can dictate into a hand held recorder or record the dictation and save it. This is very beneficial in that doctors can record details early after the procedure or patient visit instead of losing sight of what happened by waiting until after the workday is over. It has also been utilized by individuals that haven’t learned typing or have a disability that prevents them to type. Additional benefits that speech recognition technology leads to may occur at a call center where there are also people with disabilities who are still able to operate the call center because the speech recognition software converts their words. When people use this technology it’s not necessary to communicate body language in order to get their work done. Speech recognition technologies have led to a boost in confidence of people with disabilities and have led them to believe that there are options and a future full of communication to look forward to.

3. Given the advancements in speech recognition software over the past 20 years, what types of new applications for this technology do you see in the next 20 years? Provide examples to illustrate your answer.

Technology changes so fast that in 20 years, it is likely that there will be many advances in applications for this software. There has already been some experimentation with voice recognition software in automobiles for example the use of Microsoft Sync by Ford Motor Company. Microsoft Sync operates by allowing voice control over electronic amenities in the vehicle. This enhances safety by allowing drivers to keep both hands on the wheel. It is highly probably that there will be integration of speech recognition software in homes in the near future in things like showers, lighting, appliances, televisions or even doors for enhanced security purposes and convenience. Perhaps there could be voice recognition microphone locations through the house, allowing a person to activate something in another room before they get there. It would be nice to not have to wait for water to warm up or wait for the garage door to open in the cold winter. One of the utilizations of this technology that has a lot of potential is that in security systems at home, on the computer, in your car or in a business. There are countless ways that speech recognition software could be used in a house but in a security system it could not only serve as a convenience but perhaps prevent things like fraud or identity theft. In business, speech recognition software will reduce the level of manpower required. The software will fine tune and widen its applications in the future and then perhaps technical support questions could be handled by a speech recognition program. It could operate and troubleshoot the problem by following a diagnostic system that tracks the problem(s) and propose a solution. Another interesting application is in the surgery room. Maybe the lead surgeon is out of town and he can direct a robot by the precise instructions he provides with his voice. This technology is one among many that offer many good things, however it poses the question of what jobs can’t or won’t be replaced by automation. It is impossible to replace humans entirely and as mentioned in the case provided, speech software does have great potential to save a lot of money and that translates to more lost jobs to their technological competition.

Discussion 1: What trends are occurring in the development and use of the major types of computer systems? The computer systems came a long way since they were invented. The trends that are occurring in the development and use of the major types of computer systems are generally to increase the overall power that can be offered. It doesn’t take long before a newly purchased computer to become outdated. This is mainly due to the fact that there is a consistent introduction to something newer.

The first one is :Microcomputers, also known as personal computers (PC), are the most changed type of computer system. the microcomputer has became more powerful with more data storage, that’s why it became more useful for businesses as to individuals. they are now available for many uses that were not always available. For example, they are able to be networked, making business within an office more efficient. Microcomputers are also developed to aid in businesses that require intensive calculations, like architects, using computer-aided design (CAD). The trend for microcomputers is the continual development of smaller and more powerful systems. For example the Laptop computers and cell phones they are becoming smaller and most widely in business. .

The second is : trends midrange computers were primarily used for engineering analysis, scientific research, and industrial process monitoring and control. Now days midrange computers are more popular as network servers, used for management of large Websites, intranets, extranets, and other powerful networks. These computer systems can be used for data storage for applications like financial programs, manufacturing and distribution programs, and other useful information that is needed by many people over the intranet.

The third is : trends and uses of mainframe computer system they are very large systems, but also very powerful, with large primary storage capacities. The size of mainframes is one noticeable trend in these systems, as they are becoming smaller in size due to increased ability to make them more fashionable with newer technologies. Mainframe computers are very useful for large organizations with the need for huge amounts of data storage, like government agencies, international banks, and large corporations. As businesses are becoming more needy of computer, the use of mainframe computers is becoming more and more necessary for large website management.

Discussion 4: Do you think that information appliances like PDAs will replace personal computers (PCs) in business applications? Explain.

Information Appliances will definitely challenge PCs in use for business applications. These handheld computer devices are known as personal digital assistants. They offer internet access and the ability to perform basic computational. Some features of PDAs are the use of touch screens, pen-based handwriting recognition, or keypads so mobile workers can send and receive e-mail, access the Web, and exchange information such as appointments, to-do lists, and sales contacts with their desktop PCs or Web servers. Since these devices are handheld, these functions can do more conveniently that those of larger PCs.

Information Appliances offer new technology to assist in business. The RIM Black Berry is the latest entrant to PDA technology. The Black Berry is a mobile telephone that can perform all common PDA functions as a pager-sized device. The major advantage to the Black Berry is that it is always connected. Since it always connected, it allows real-time transfer of email and when an email is received, the Black Berry owner will be alerted. The Apple iPhone is another new entrant to PDA technology. The features of this small and lightweight device include a mobile phone, a widescreen iPod music and video player with touch controls and an internet communications device with e-mail, Web browsing, maps and searching. The iPhone is advantageous to the businessman because it allows the user to control everything with their fingers.

In brief, PCs and PDAs are two information appliances that compete with each other and it’s possible that PDAs to replace PCs in business. PCs is smart technology and it has been a good information appliance from celluar, handheld PC and web based game machines, but it’s not the best technology. For example PDA (personal digital assistants) is one of the most popular category devices in the information appliances. Also the PDA technology has showed an incredible functionality on the blackberry and the iphone. The only way that PDA can replace PCs is when PDA can come with a better technology that can be efficient and easier to use to the companies and I personally think it’s possible that PDA is going to replace PCs in the long run.

O'brien, J.A, & Marakas, G.M (2008). //Introduction To Information Systems//. New York,: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

[|__http://www.thocp.net/hardware/microcomputers.htm__] [|__http://www.idesignwebgroup.com/mainframe_comeback.htm__] [|__http://www.blackberry.com/__] [|__http://news.cnet.com/8301-30686_3-10361155-266.html__]

[|__http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_appliance__] [|__http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_computer__]