System Requirements from Automated Information †Free Samples

Question: What Is The Requirements From Automated Information Systems? Answer: Introduction Information Technology (IT) and Information Systems (IS) have become the two pillars of the present technological era. There are various information systems that are being used and implemented in all types of industries and businesses. Absence of these automated systems cannot be imagined or thought of any longer because of the utility and reliability that these systems yield. Like most of the industries and organizations, banks have also adapted the information systems in their functioning and architecture. There is a lot of scope and application of these systems in this industry which is sure to yield many advantages and benefits. Business Processes in Banks There are several processes that are carried out in banks for achieving the business objectives and goals that are listed. Accounting and accounts related activities such as overall management of accounts by execution of operations such as open, close, deposit money, withdrawals, extracting statements, transferring money etc. Processing of loans and calculation of the interest/premium along with acceptance/rejection formalities Management of credit related facilities Processing of mortgage and related details Reconciliation processes and tasks Payment of bills by home and business entities Net banking facilities Customer oriented support and maintenance Management of the internal infrastructure, employees and their payroll Business Requirements The business requirements that are linked with banks and the banking industry are associated with the business processes that have been listed above. The requirements from the automated information systems shall be designed and implemented in such a manner that the above mentioned processes are met and are executed with perfection (Seethamraju, 2012). System Requirements from Automated Information Systems The automated systems that shall be installed in the banks shall include numerous functional aspects and capabilities in order to execute the activities that are related with management of accounts such as account opening, account closing, changes in the details of the account holder and likewise. There shall also be automated codes and programs installed for processing of the loans along with calculation of interests and premiums. Granting or rejecting the loan shall be performed automatically by using the details that are stored in the database and shall be retrieved from the same. Net banking has become an important requirement that is often looked out for by the customers. Transactions that are done through net banking shall also be managed along with the management of the credit related activities. There are also several other activities that are carried out in the banks in relation with the reconciliation tasks, payment of bills etc. There are a number of employees that are eng aged in banks at operational and managerial levels that shall be managed with the help of these systems and their features (Ryan, 2016). Many of the non-functional aspects shall also be reflected in the systems which are listed and specified below. Performance of the automated systems that are installed in the banks will be a mandatory quality that shall be ensured and shall reflect as the customers and employees will not appreciate delayed response and throughput times. System shall comprise of the quality as its reliability to make sure that the information provided in relation with the banking activities is valid and is also updated from time to time. Usability of the automated systems that are installed in the banks will be a mandatory quality that shall be ensured and shall reflect as the customers and employees will want the presence of all the desired functional aspects. System shall comprise of the quality as its availability to make sure that the information provided in relation with the banking activities is always accessible irrespective of the location and time. Security of the automated systems that are installed in the banks will be a mandatory quality that shall be ensured and shall reflect as the critical information is associated with banks and its exposure to malevolent entities will put many risks. System shall comprise of the quality as its maintainability to make sure that the information provided in relation with the banking activities is easy to upgrade. Flexibility and scalability of the automated systems that are installed in the banks will be a mandatory quality that shall be ensured and shall reflect as there will be many changes required to be implemented. Software and Vendor Selection for Banks MYOB Accounting Software There are several banks and units that have been set up that provide banking services to the customers. There are however a lot many firms that exist in the banking industry and it is because of this reason that there are hundreds of vendors that provide the automated systems that are customized and designed as per the requirements of the banks. However, there are only a few that have succeeded in establishing a unique and distinguished name in the market because of the services and quality of service that is provided to the customers. One such name in the list of vendors of software is MYOB that has a large customer base in the market. Real-time information along with the overview of the information through logical warehouses is displayed to the end users. Integration of all of the business processes and activities is easily done. Offline networking mode is enabled to deal with the drop in network performance and related issues. There is adherence maintained to the legal and regulatory standards. Level of personalization is high (Myob, 2016). Reckon There are a lot many firms that exist in the banking industry and it is because of this reason that there are hundreds of vendors that provide the automated systems that are customized and designed as per the requirements of the banks. However, there are only a few that have succeeded in establishing a unique and distinguished name in the market because of the services and quality of service that is provided to the customers. One such name in the list of vendors of software is Reckon that has a large customer base in the market. Maximum number of customers is engaged with this vendor presently because of the service quality and affordability. Usability of the software is also unmatched. Navigation and layout offered in the software is simple and easy to understand (Carey, 2015). Intuit QuickBooks Number of banks along with the organizations that provide banking services and facilities is not limited or restricted to a few. There are however a lot many firms that exist in the banking industry and it is because of this reason that there are hundreds of vendors that provide the automated systems that are customized and designed as per the requirements of the banks. However, there are only a few that have succeeded in establishing a unique and distinguished name in the market because of the services and quality of service that is provided to the customers. One such name in the list of vendors of software is Intuit QuickBooks that has a large customer base in the market. The vendor offers the software services and solutions at very low prices which allow banks to have their budget in control. Performance is a distinguishing feature that does not suffer even in case of large traffic. Latest security solutions and protection mechanisms are installed in the software and its database. Availability is another quality that is maintained in the banks so that the clients can always access the system (Advisoryhq, 2015). Saasu Number of banks along with the organizations that provide banking services and facilities is not limited or restricted to a few. There are however a lot many firms that exist in the banking industry and it is because of this reason that there are hundreds of vendors that provide the automated systems that are customized and designed as per the requirements of the banks. However, there are only a few that have succeeded in establishing a unique and distinguished name in the market because of the services and quality of service that is provided to the customers. One such name in the list of vendors of software is Saasu that has a large customer base in the market. It supports multiple currency and language options It can be easily integrated with other systems that are installed in the banks already as it has a high degree of compatibility Xero Many banks have been set up in every part of the globe with increase in users and demands of the users. There are however a lot many firms that exist in the banking industry and it is because of this reason that there are hundreds of vendors that provide the automated systems that are customized and designed as per the requirements of the banks. However, there are only a few that have succeeded in establishing a unique and distinguished name in the market because of the services and quality of service that is provided to the customers. One such name in the list of vendors of software is Xero that has a large customer base in the market. Monitoring and maintenance of the software offered is easy Reconciliation tasks and activities can be done with much ease High level of integration is offered (Miller, 2016). Utilization of Technology System Acquisition Methods Package Purchasing There are certain cases in which it becomes necessary to install the automated packages with immediate effect. In such cases it is required to have the availability of readymade packages that have the features similar to the requirements of the banks. Package purchasing that comes in the form of readymade packages with few alterations applicable can be installed. These packages are very reliable as they are tested and in use by other organizations. Feedback can be easily collected from the other users. However, there may be issues with the adherence to the specific requirements of the organization. Outsourcing The most applicable and in use method for acquiring the software packages for banks is the outsourcing method. It is not possible for banks to have in-house development of the required packages due to lack of skills and infrastructure. Outsourcing is a method in which a specialized external party is contacted and the contract along with the specifications is provided to this party along with the budget and schedule for the delivery. Custom Developed Software One method that can be used by banks for using the automated software is using the custom developed software. This software can easily be installed in the architecture of banks. It will also offer several advantages as its design will be completely in adherence to the one provided and there can be changes requested in case of non-adherence. In many cases it has been seen that generalized software cannot be implemented in all the banks and units. There is a certain specialization and modification that is necessary and these packages fulfill such requirements. There can be cost limitations that may appear as a hurdle in this case as these are relatively high in terms of cost. Efficiency Levels Project budget and project schedule are the two factors that play a significant role in deciding the efficiency and there shall be a match made between the estimated and actual values of the two. With the installation of automated packages, the manual processing shall drop which shall be analyzed for understanding the efficiency levels. The employees that are engaged with the organization shall also provide a positive feedback on the system that is installed and their duties shall also reduce. The employees that are engaged with the organization shall also provide a positive feedback on the system that is installed. Potential Security Risks and Data Breaches Confidentiality Attacks Breaching Breaching is the most common form of a security attack that is executed on the system and same will apply in case of the automated packages installed in the banks as well. The employees and customers will use the system which will be installed and implemented over the network which will create many access points that will be used as agents in the attack (Wood, 2016). Unauthorized Tracking Tracking through unauthorized means will become easier through gaining an entry to the system through the networks or the database or any other component. Data Mining Attacks Automated packages that will be installed in the banks will comprise of several technologies and concepts. Data mining and data analysis will be two such technologies that will be used and the attacks related to them will be possible (Amato, 2016). Malware Attacks There are several malware that have been designed that are created solely for the purpose of impacting the information and causing damage to it. Some of these malware include spyware, viruses, ransomware, worms and many more. In case of the automated systems at banks, these malware can be easily introduced through any of the entry points which may get triggered and multiply them. These are the packages that are deliberately created and can cause harm to the system in a massive way. Integrity Attacks Message Alteration Employees and customers associated with the banks will make use of the automated system by exchanging information with other parties. For instance, an employee may send a banking report to the fellow employee through the system by extracting the details from the database. Also, there will be exchange of messages related to banking activities that will be executed. Alterations in the contents or the structure of these messages may be done by the hackers which will be damaging for the integrity of the information (Microsoft, 2016). Media Alteration Employees and customers associated with the banks will make use of the automated system by exchanging information with other parties. For instance, an employee may send a banking report to the fellow employee through the system by extracting the details from the database. Also, there will be exchange of messages related to banking activities that will be executed. Alterations in the contents or the structure of these media contents may be done by the hackers which will be damaging for the integrity of the information (Aws, 2016). Availability Attacks Flooding Attacks There may be denial and distributed denial attacks that may be executed on the services of the system. These attacks will be executed by flooding the systems with unwanted traffic (Nichols, 2016). Server Impersonating Servers used in the automated systems for banks will be many in number. These servers may be impersonated to behave as other units and impact the availability (Mahmoud, 2015). QoS Abuse Non-adherence to quality standards may be done to abuse the Quality of Services (QoS) and bring down the availability (Panetta, 2016). Protection Measures for Mitigation of the Risks Banks and the banking organizations shall make use of technology in protecting their systems by deploying the automated anti-attacking tools for preventing availability and confidentiality attacks. Two-fold authentication along with advanced access control shall be implemented in the banks (Lu, 2014). The attacks on the information in terms of confidentiality, availability and integrity are mainly carried out by the involvement of networks in one way or the other. These networks and related attacks shall be made secure by improving the state of network security. It can be done by using automated tools and applications to improve the network protection and detection of the attacks (Jing, 2014) There have been several advancements done in the field of technology in which Cryptography holds and important place. With the application of cryptography, the information is encrypted and changes to it cipher form which can only be converted to its original form by making use of a secure key. System experts shall install and keep a track of the network and system activities through automated tools for tracking and detection of intruders. Many of the security attacks are designed and attempted on specific versions or systems. Therefore, upgrades shall be done at regular intervals. Proxy servers and firewalls shall be installed as well (Bhabad, 2016). Conclusion Maintaining a pace with the changing nature of technology is essential for every industry and the same applies to banks as well. The banking industry has expanded and grown at such a scale that there are massive information sets that are associated with it along with huge number of customers and many services that need to be provided to these customers. It is because of these reasons that the automated systems shall be deployed in the banks. The requirements from the automated information systems shall be designed and implemented in such a manner that the business processes are met and are executed with perfection. Net banking has become an important requirement that is often looked out for by the customers. Transactions that are done through net banking shall be managed along with the management of the credit related activities. There are also several other activities that are carried out in the banks in relation with the reconciliation tasks, payment of bills etc. which shall be ma naged properly. The most applicable and in use method for acquiring the software packages for banks is the outsourcing method. It is not possible for banks to have in-house development of the required packages due to lack of skills and infrastructure. Outsourcing is a method in which a specialized external party is contacted and the contract along with the specifications is provided to this party along with the budget and schedule for the delivery. There are several risks to the security of these systems that shall be dealt with the use and installation of automated packages and protection mechanisms along with administrative advancements. References Advisoryhq.com, (2015) 5 Best Small Business Accounting Software in Australia. [online] AdvisoryHQ. Available at: https://www.advisoryhq.com/articles/5-best-small-business-accounting-software-in-australia/ [Accessed 19 May 2017]. Amato, N. (2016). The hidden costs of a data breach. [online] Journal of Accountancy. Available at: https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/news/2016/jul/hidden-costs-of-data-breach-201614870.html [Accessed 19 May 2017]. Aws (2016). 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