MIS Impact on Data Security and Procurement in Web 2.0

Introduction

The areas of data security and procurement in Management Information Systems (MIS) are both in the middle of major transitions, driven by advances in Web 2.0 technology (Snow, 34, 35) that are leading to the widespread adoption of Extensible Markup Language (XML) as a communication, connectivity, and integration standard, in addition to the growth of social networking-based technologies (Bernoff, Li, et al.). Data security platforms and protocols have now integrated XML into Internet Protocol (IP)-based design and execution of entire mobile networks (Kangasharju, Lindholm, Tarkoma, 15, 16) and Web Services (Lim, Wen, 39, 40). Procurement, one of the key process areas of supply chain management (Puschmann, Alt, 124, 125), continues to see significant gains from automation through MIS. Collaboration between suppliers and buying departments and divisions of companies requires a high level of synchronization of tasks, which is the catalyst driving how MIS systems and processes are automating procurement (Ordanini, Rubera, 27). The intent of this paper is to provide examples of how MIS is influencing the rapidly changing nature of data security and procurement, specifically focusing on how the highly collaborative technologies in Web 2.0 are making an impact in these areas.

Within the last decade, data security at the enterprise level has shifted away from a purely centralized data-center focus, and is today more oriented toward the mobile worker, who often uses Virtual Private Networks (VPN) and secured Web Services (Kangasharju, Lindholm, Tarkoma, 2). In conjunction with this shift, the Internet has nurtured the development of entirely new communications architectures. One of the more prevalently adopted approaches is Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), often with data streams included alongside voice traffic. The use of merged VoIP networks is forcing an entirely new level of security into enterprise strategies, ensuring that both voice and data traffic — as well as data assets — are kept safe over time (Palmieri, Fiore, 433).

The Role of MIS in Data Security

In conjunction with this development is the widespread adoption of secured Web Services used for completing transactions, querying customer databases, and processing online procurement transactions (Hondo, Nagaratnam, Nadalin, 229, 230). Across the entire value chain — from coordination via secured XML links to suppliers, through the routing of orders and their logistics tracking using secured Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) (Ozdemir, Xiao, 2022) — MIS-based security improvements are redefining the process workflows companies rely on for sourcing, manufacturing, and selling products. Even in the midst of a recession, spending on security continues due to the ongoing rise in the number and sophistication of threats, and the potential risk of loss.

In procurement, MIS systems and processes are being used to create greater levels of collaboration among and between suppliers, between suppliers and manufacturers, and in contributing to greater accuracy in the product quality management and pricing workflows companies use to manage suppliers (Hernández-Ortega, Jiménez-Martínez, Martín-DeHoyos, 7). The most critical elements of how MIS contributes to enterprise-wide procurement efficiency also include cost reduction through process improvement (Bernstein, Kök, 554, 555).