External Factors Affecting Information Systems Effectiveness
This paper examines the key external factors that influence the effectiveness of Information Systems (IS). Beginning with the digital divide—the gap between communities with and without access to digital technology—the paper explores how limited computer access restricts IS utility. It then addresses the wide range of cybersecurity threats, including malware, phishing, and denial-of-service attacks, highlighting penetration testing as a defensive measure. Finally, the paper considers how communication breakdowns within IS teams and user privacy concerns can further undermine system effectiveness, concluding that security, access, and trust are all essential to a functioning IS environment.
- Introduction: Overview of external factors affecting IS effectiveness
- The Digital Divide and Web Access: How limited access widens the digital divide
- Cybersecurity Threats and Malware: Threats like malware and 0-day exploits explained
- Communication, Privacy, and IS Effectiveness: Privacy and team communication as IS factors
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What makes this paper effective
- Clearly identifies and categorizes multiple distinct external factors—access, security, communication, and privacy—giving the paper a logical organizational structure.
- Uses a concrete technical example (the Chromebook's dependency on web access) to ground the abstract concept of the digital divide in everyday experience.
- Integrates specific technical terminology (malware, 0-day exploits, penetration testing) with brief definitions, making the paper accessible while demonstrating subject knowledge.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates the use of cause-and-effect reasoning throughout: for each external factor, the author explains not only what the factor is but precisely how it diminishes IS effectiveness. This analytical pattern—identify the threat, explain the mechanism, note the consequence—gives the argument coherence and logical flow, rather than merely listing concerns.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a brief framing introduction that previews its scope. Each subsequent paragraph addresses a single thematic factor: web access and the digital divide, cybersecurity threats with a focused deep-dive on malware and penetration testing, and finally communication and privacy as interrelated concerns. The paper concludes within the final paragraph rather than in a dedicated conclusion section, tying privacy and security together as jointly necessary for IS utility.
Introduction
There are numerous external factors that impact the extent to which Information Systems (IS) can be effective. One such factor is the digital divide, which maintains a gap between communities that have access to digital technology and those that do not. For those without access, IS is hardly an effective tool for communication, information transfer, or data storage. Beyond access, however, security issues, confidentiality concerns, and privacy variables also play significant roles. This paper examines these external factors and discusses how they impact the effectiveness of IS.
The Digital Divide and Web Access
Web access is one of the biggest factors in effective IS, and it is closely correlated with the availability of computers. For example, the Chromebook is a computer that depends entirely on web access to be fully usable — it is essentially useless when not connected to the internet. Yet most computers today share this dependency, as cloud storage has become a central repository for essential information supporting a wide range of user functions.
If the intended audience lacks computer knowledge or access to computers, there is a large gap between what users can do and what they should be capable of doing in the twenty-first century's Digital Age. This is the problem of the digital divide, and it is one of the most significant external factors impacting the effectiveness of IS today (Deursen & Dijk, 2014; Krebeck, 2010).
References
Deursen, A., & Dijk, J. (2014). The digital divide shifts to differences in usage. New Media & Society, 16(3), 507–526.
Haes, S., & Grembergen, W. (2009). Exploratory study in IT governance implementations and its impact on business/IT alignment. Information Systems Management, 26, 123–137.
Krebeck, A. (2010). Closing the 'digital divide.' Computers in Libraries, 30(8), 12–15.
Vacca, J. (2009). Computer and information security handbook. Morgan Kaufmann Publishers.
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