Learning Objectives
- Contrast how businesses used computers in the past with present practice.
- Connect that shift to information systems, e-business, and the individual user.
- Leave hardware generations (vacuum tubes to microprocessors) in Unit 1.
Computers in the past (organizational view)
Until the 1970s–80s, most organizations that had computers used mainframes or minicomputers in a locked room. Work was often batch: data on punch cards or tapes, processed overnight, printed reports in the morning. Only specialists (operators, programmers) touched the machine. Managers received delayed, summarized paper. Personal computers were rare; there was no always-on customer website.
The PC and network era
From the 1980s, microcomputers put a computer on the clerk’s desk. Spreadsheets and word processors moved analysis out of the MIS department. LANs then the internet connected branches and customers. Enterprise systems (ERP, CRM) in later chapters assume this networked present.
Computers in the present
Today a “computer” in business is also a phone, POS terminal, cloud VM, or kiosk. Work is online and interactive: inventory updates as you sell; customers pay with wallets; staff join from home. IT for individuals (Unit 2.7) means employees and customers both run on the same public internet, which raises security and privacy (Unit 9).
| Then | Now |
|---|---|
| Few machines, specialist operators | Many devices per person |
| Batch reports | Real-time dashboards |
| Internal data only | Customers and partners on the network |
| Software on local disks | Mix of on-premises and cloud / SaaS |
Nepal example
A district office that once sent paper files to Kathmandu now files VAT or company details online. The computer did not only get faster; the role of computing in the organization changed from back-office calculator to the channel of service.
Key Takeaways
- Syllabus “computers in past and present” is about business use, not a second copy of Unit 1 generations.
- Past = centralized, batch, specialist; present = distributed, interactive, customer-facing.
- That shift is why Units 2, 7, and 10 belong in a BBA IT course.
Discussion Questions
- What job in a bank existed in 1980 that barely exists now, and what new job appeared?
- Is a smartphone a “computer in the present” for a shopkeeper? Why?
- What risk arrived with always-on systems that batch systems did not have?
