The software market is broken down into two main areas:

(a) Package or shrink-wrapped software

(b)       (b) Bespoke specially written applications......

A database is a collection of data or information arranged in an orderly manner so that it can be easily updated and accessed. Companies and/or third parties are often given access to the database. Most databases are stored electronically on a computer system and may be protected by copyright under English law.........

Databases can be developed with a number of different DBMSs currently available on the market. There are pre-designed and off the shelf databases also available to anyone wanting a database. However here at WHITESYS we specialise in custom database design for small businesses...

Could I really benefit from having a database?

Here's the facts:..

A well-designed application will to some extent validate information entered, but no system can check total accuracy. Thus whoever enters data may be held responsible for its validity and accuracy, while the IT team accepts responsibility for the data's integrity within the database.......

Network exists to transfer data between the various components of a computer system or, increasingly, between different computer systems. Networks have existed in one form or another since the earliest days of commercial computing.......

Ethernet has been with us since 1980. Early Ethernet was carried over stiff coax and later more malleable thin coax. Coax Ethernet installations require that the cable be snaked past each network device and that the device tap into the cable as it goes past......

For many progressive organisations the Internet is not a "future", it has already changed the way they do business. Behind the hyperbole the Internet is truly a revolutionary technology.......

For most users, the browser is their front-end to the Internet — with Microsoft Explorer and Netscape Navigator dominating the marketplace......

Security problems arise for the following reasons:
 

• The start-up costs of an Internet connection can be very low and therefore to management appear to be insignificant; accordingly business disciplines may be weak.......

Network & Ethernet Useful Links........

Companies increasingly depend on information technology (IT) systems as a critical element in their operations and their strategic decision-making. This puts the quality of those systems fully under the spotlight and shows that achieving quality in IT is much more than just a technical issue.........

There is no such thing as complete security. All that a company's managers can do is to manage the various hazards to which they might be exposed and thereby minimise the risks......

Computer security is thought of as a series of purely technical problems to which a range of technical solutions can be applied. Most companies that use IT soon become completely dependent on computers and change their whole way of conducting business as result........

A proper security programme will depend on a combination of:

(a) a means of preventing the occurrence

(b) a means of timely detection of the occurrence

(c) where possible, some form of defence (eg anti-virus software)

(d) a means of recovery.......

 As in any industry, the need to have standards in the IT industry is vital. Standards provide the IT or purchasing manager with:

(a)  a method of comparing the price of like pieces of equipment that meet the same standard; this ensures equipment has the same technical specification

(b)  confidence in the safe operation of equipment with regard to electrical insulation,