References Baltzan, P XXXXXXXXXXBusiness driven technology. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education. Guard, J. R., Brueggemann, R. F., Fant, W. K., Hutton, J. J., Kues, J. R., Marine, S. A., Rouan,G. W.,...

Running Head: History and Evolution of Management Information Systems    1
History and Evolution of Management Information Systems     
HISTORY AND EVOLUTION OF MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Table of Contents
Introduction    3
History of Management Information Systems    3
First Era: Mainframe and Minicomputer    4
Second Era: Personal Computers    5
Third Era: Client Server Networks    5
Fourth Era: Enterprise Computing    6
Fifth Era: Cloud Computing    6
Evolution of Management Information Systems    6
Conclusion    9
References    10
Introduction
    With advancements in technology, Management Information System (MIS) is acting like a backbone for all the operations conducted by a business. To put in simple words MIS is a computer system, which consists of hardware and software used for optimising the operations of a business organisation. MIS is used as decision-making system by most of the business organisations. MIS is also used for controlling, analysing, coordinating and visualising the information in an organisation. Study of MIS takes a holistic approach and considers people, processes and technology in the context of an organisation. In the recent times, technology and data collection is common; therefore, small and large businesses are making use of MIS to improve the performance of the business organisations by making informed and well-planned decisions.
History of Management Information Systems
    The history of management information system is dated back to the early 1800s. Management information systems followed the concept of punch cards, which were introduced by Joseph Marie Charles Jacquard. The punch cards used for computer machines during the early evolution of computers was based on the concept of these punch cards, which were used to print a particular pattern on a piece of cloth. The concept of these punch cards was to have multiple rows of holes in the punch cards. Each card would represent a single row of thread in the cloth. The cards were then in the arranged for the required pattern and inserted into the loom to obtain a particular pattern on the cloth. Changing the order of insertion of these cards would change the pattern as well.
    The use of punch cards became more prominent and prevalent in the following decades. By the year 1880, the compilation of the available information was done with the help of punch cards. Punch card machines programmed the information into these cards, which was then processed by other machines. These machines would tally these punch cards and provide the results accordingly. By 1911, when IBM emerged, these punch cards were being used for recording, storing and tracking of information (Weedmark, 2019). Punch cards were still a major part of the computer systems in the 1940s and 1950s, when the computers just began to emerge. The punch card information system was replaced by magnetic storage in the 1970s. Because of this speed of calculating, the data increased considerably and with this development of MIS was initiated primarily for purpose of accounting.
    From the 1950s to the 1970s the MIS was developed for business processes other than accounting and stared to cover the areas of sales, marketing, inventory systems, engineering and manufacturing processes. These systems ran independently of each other by making use of different softwares on different machines. Reports were then entered into another system to get a complete picture of the functions being performed by a large organisation. The history of MIS is mainly classified into five eras, which were originally identified by Kenneth C. Laudon and Jane Laudon. These five eras have been discussed in detail as below:
First Era: Mainframe and Minicomputer
The first era of computerised MIS began in the mid of 1960s and continued until the 1970s. During these years, IBM ruled with their mainframe computers by supplying both hardware and software. These computers were as large as a room and occupied the entire space....