Applications of ICT - Introduction

ICT is now part of everyday life for many, if not most, businesses. These revision notes set out the key ICT applications that you need to know about for A-level Business Studies. Many of these applications will be familiar to you from your own experience, whereas others will not be.

The key uses of ICT have been separated into the following convenient headings, each of which has its own revision note on Tutor2U.

There is some overlap between these notes – business practices do not always lend themselves to easy classification.

• Customer Service

• Workplace efficiency

• Planning & controlling operations

• Marketing

• Finance and accounting

• E-commerce

• Collaboration & Outsourcing

• Banking and payments

• Data Protection Act 1998

As with most aspects of Business Studies A-level, it is crucial that your examination responses demonstrate the following skills, as required by the question that has been set:

Knowledge/Content – show that you understand what the ICT application is and broadly how it works.

Application – why does it matter in this particular case?

Analysis – what business results might be achieved – for example, as we shall see, EDI might enable a Just in Time production process to run more efficiently, ensuring that orders are met on time and thereby improving customer retention.

Evaluation – remember, all ICT systems are there to support the staff, suppliers and/or customers of a business – rarely will an ICT system entirely take the place of people. ICT systems can break down and sometimes they can seem too rigid and inflexible.