Transforming Digital Information

New software application for sales force management and social networking make these devices even more versatile business tools. These handheld devices have become necessities. The smartphone has been called the "Swiss Army knife of the digital age". With a flick of the finger it turns into a Web browser, phone, camera, music, video player, email, messaging machine and a gateway into corporate systems. Apple, Wal-Mart and UPS are industry leaders because they know how to use information systems. Doing things better than their competitors, charging less for superior products and responding to customers and suppliers in real time all add up to higher sales and profits that their competitors cannot match. Some firms fail to adopt the right business model that suits the new technology or seek to preserve an old business model that is doomed by new technology. With the transformation of Information systems improve decision making (Starbucks, 1-800-Flowers), managers need to access to customer purchase data, and bad decisions about how much to charge and how to stock stores lower sales revenue and prevent companies from responding quickly to customer needs.