4.3 Information Technology IT and businesses Information technology (IT) benefits the business world by allowing organisations to work more efficiently and to maximise productivity. It involves computer applications which the production of goods, the organisation of office work, and the of services. concern provision IT and production IT can improve the production of goods and services thanks to the following systems and applications: , an accurate and faster system of production in which the computer controls the machinery and contributes to the reduction of labour costs; Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) , a system in which the computer controls the whole production line with the use of robots to perform routines or dangerous tasks; Computer Integrated Machinery (CIM) , application software used to generate models and 3D drawings which reduce the need to produce physical models, or prototypes, to test certain conditions. Computer Aided Design (CAD) IT and office work In the office, IT supports: , which is more effective, faster and cheaper thanks to emails, video conferences or internal chat rooms; Communication : a word processor can be used to write, edit and save texts, a spreadsheet for mathematical calculations or to produce graphs, a database to store information about customers and suppliers, or a dedicated program to manage accounts and produce financial reports; Data editing : computers help to find and analyse information such as current trends, data on human resources, information about competitors, etc.; Data analysis : IT offers electronic storage systems to protect all the company’s records. Data is kept safe by only allowing certain users within the company to access the documents, and much of the physical storage can be eliminated reducing the size of the office; Data storage and protection valuable : IT systems make it possible to allow people to work from home or while they are travelling to a client’s location. Remote work IT services As regards the provision of services, IT may offer: for various uses; handheld computers and tablets different to identify and locate goods such as bar codes, radio frequency identification (RFID) or QR codes. coding systems