What is Management Information System and how is it Useful for Businesses?
In business, a management information system (MIS) is a centralized tool that helps key business players to make informed decisions based on available data. An MIS is a computerized database that provides data, information, trend analysis, and data-driven reports to support business operations, processes, IT, and decision making in all areas. Today in the information age, it is the core of the management system to improve business performance in the long-term and short-term.
Typically, a management information system is used to store data and create reports for businesses. It can be real-time reporting or scheduled and ad-hoc reporting based on business requirements. An MIS can be classified into the following categories to manage operations and processes in businesses:
· Executive Information System (EIS)
· Business Intelligence System (BIS)
· Marketing Information System (MkIS)
· Sales Force Automation System (SFA)
· Knowledge Management System (KMS)
· Customer Relationship Management System (CRM)
· Human Resource Management System (HRMS)
· Supply Chain Management System (SCM)
· Financial Accounting System (FAS)
The purpose of a management information system is to improve decision-making with data-driven reports and analysis. It is used to manage a variety of business assets, including project timelines, personnel, financials, inventory, marketing, R&D, real estate, manufacturing, and others. It helps businesses with:
· Managing up-to-date and accurate data
It updates business owners and key managers about the overall operations and ongoing activities of a company. An MIS provides key data about departments at all levels in an organization through a centralized system.
· Informed business decisions
With up-to-date and accurate data management, business owners can make the right decisions at the right time based on available information. It improves the whole decision-making process that makes everything relevant and complete. It offers various levels of cross-checking and processing to reduce manual errors at any point based on identical information.
· Business trend analysis for strategy planning
A management information system also helps organizations prepare business forecasting for strategic planning and budgeting. It compares and analyzes the past and current data on sales, revenue, expenditure, investment, production, and customer services. Using structured data analysis, a business can project performance patterns and trends into separate components to make decisions for the future.
Benefits of using a management information system
· An overview of the entire business operation from one system
· Feedback about performance and ongoing activities
· Maximize benefits from the investment with trend analysis
· Compare results and performances to identify strengths and weaknesses
· Seamless workflows and business processes
Investing in MIS implementation into an existing business environment can be very beneficial for businesses of any size and type. A company can use a management information system in one way or another to target its business goals successfully.
