It has been found that many small, medium and micro-sized enterprises (SMMEs) do not comply with sound information security governance principles, specifically the principles involved in drafting information security policies and monitoring compliance, mainly as a result of restricted resources and expertise. Research suggests that this problem occurs worldwide and that the impact it has on SMMEs is great. The problem is further compounded by the fact that, in our modern-day information technology environment, many larger organisations are providing SMMEs with access to their networks. This results not only in SMMEs being exposed to security risks, but the larger organisations as well. In previous research an information security management framework and toolbox was developed to assist SMMEs in drafting information security policies. Although this research was of some help to SMMEs, further research has shown that an even greater problem exists with the governance of information security as a result of the advancements that have been identified in information security literature. The aim of this dissertation is therefore to establish an information security governance framework that requires minimal effort and little expertise to alleviate governance problems. It is believed that such a framework would be useful for SMMEs and would result in the improved implementation of information security governance.

Due to innovation, Information Technology (IT) is changing all the time. One of the fast growing IT innovations is cloud computing. The phenomenon of cloud computing has changed the way that business consumes IT and in particular Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. This phenomenon has led to a need for research in the field of cloud ERP systems. A review of the literature revealed a gap in research related to cloud ERP systems and particularly to the adoption of these systems in South African companies. Only a few studies have been done regarding the adoption of cloud computing in South Africa, and the extent of adoption of cloud ERP systems in South Africa is not known. This study set out to answer the research question “What is the extent of understanding and adoption of ERP system in South African companies?” The study will be useful to the ERP industry in understanding the level of adoption of and perceptions about cloud ERP systems by South African companies. In order to answer the research question a survey research strategy was adopted and was of an exploratory nature. The sample was composed of IT professionals and line managers in South African companies. Questionnaires were sent via web link and 41 complete responses were obtained. The results showed that the respondents had a good understanding of the advantages/benefits of cloud ERP systems. However, a lack of clear understanding of the disadvantages/drawbacks of cloud ERP systems was evident in the research data which could lead to non-adoption of cloud ERP systems. Adoption of cloud ERP systems was highest in the engineering, manufacturing and IT sector. It was evident that IaaS and PaaS have not been adopted at all. The majority of the companies (60 percent) that had adopted cloud ERP systems were SMEs. This is in line with international studies that show that SMEs are driving the change in IT innovation such as cloud ERP systems.

Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) are essential tools for businesses, projects and service delivery structures. The majority of managers in health institutions are from a clinical background and do not use business intelligence principles to manage or monitor performances in their domains. Literature has revealed that managers in South African public health institutions do not monitor and evaluate their data regularly; likewise the most important information is not consolidated for easy reference and assessment. A pilot study of the introduction of an M&E dashboard was implemented at the East London Hospital Complex (ELHC) in May 2011 at the request of the Superintendent General of the Eastern Cape Department of Health to address this challenge. The current study explored the experiences of managers in the implementation of an M&E dashboard at the ELHC in the Eastern Cape. To establish managers’ experiences, a quantitative, exploratory and descriptive study was undertaken to gain insight, while accurately depicting the experiences and perceptions of managers of the dashboard. A survey questionnaire was developed to undertake a case study with respondents, who were involved in the initial implementation of the dashboard project at the ELHC. The results were analysed and recommendations were made addressing the design of the dashboard, and communication and change management in the introduction of the monitoring and evaluation tool. Further recommendations were made relating to future potential research in this area. An important finding of the research is that thirty-one (31) of the thirty-four (34) managers (91 percent) responded positively about the dashboard, while 9 percent were neutral. None of the respondents encountered negative experiences of utilising the dashboard. This indicates that the implementation of the dashboard was an overwhelming positive experience. The dashboard can be implemented in other healthcare institutions in the Eastern Cape, thereby encouraging more reliable methods to monitor data, improve staff efficiency and above all service delivery to patients.

The purpose of this research was to investigate what is involved in IT Service Management and how the NMMU can implement it to improve the quality of IT service support and service delivery. The IT Service Management approach was investigated but the main focus was on the Service Support and Service Delivery in the ITIL framework. Higher Education was analyzed to try and measure the maturity level of the ITIL process implementation to see where Higher Education in South Africa is and to determine the gaps. Findings from the empirical study will be presented and recommendations highlighted to Top management and the IT department in order to promote and improve the quality of the IT service being delivered to users and customers. The data was collected and administered by means of a structured questionnaire based on the ITIL Service Capacity Maturity Model and Rick Leopoldi’s alternative Maturity Assessment method. An Association of South African University Directors of Information Technology (ASAUDIT) questionnaire on Service Management was also used to supplement the questionnaire. It was discovered that the implementation of ITIL in most organizations brought about improvements and benefits in the quality of the IT service being delivered.

Main goal of this master thesis is to create Management Information System for company Dolphin consulting, s.r.o. based on technologies available within its infrastructure. Next goal is conduct preliminary verification of the created Management Information System. Generally, the Management Information System is created in accordance with resources including but not limited to Business Intelligence, Management Information Systems literature and experiences of the author. The most important assets of this thesis are creating of the system for Dolphin consulting, s.r.o. and initial verification of created system for its further development and highlight issues that arise. This master thesis is divided into two logical parts. The first part is purely theoretical and describes the issues of data warehousing according to Kimball and Inmon, OLAP Cubes and Management Information Systems. Practical part of thesis describes implementation of Business Intelligence tools as a part of created Management Information System in company Dolphin consulting, s.r.o. At the end of this part is the above stated preliminary verification of the Management Information System with list of recommendations for improving the system.

D.Ed. / The investment in a computerised administrative system has become a common phenomenon at educational institutions. With the development of Coltech, a computerised administrative system for technical colleges, administration at colleges changed dramatically. This system held the promise of reduced administrative work for staff. The current application of the system still reflects the above-mentioned point of departure. Many educational leaders do not realise that the value of the system surpasses the mere administrative application as it is found today. The data contained within the system can be applied fruitfully during daily management of a technical college at the strategic, tactical and operational level. The quality of decision-making can be influenced directly by means of timeous and quality information being readily available to management. Management,however, currently tends to manage without using this valuable resource. The research question and related aim of this research is to determine how a computerised administrative system, (such as Coltech), as a basis for a management information system, can contribute to managerial decision-making at technical colleges. It is generally accepted that there is a direct link between information management on the one hand, and administration and administrative management on the other. The link is found in the information which flows directly from the activities known as administration. Areas such as personnel, students, external community, finance, education and curriculum as well as physical facilities need to be administered and managed to transform the data in the database to information. The transformation of data to information will provide management with the information they need to make quality decisions

M.Comm. / The art of information system development has undergone a difficult and tortuous evolution over the past two and a half decades (Texas Instruments;1988:17). For the participants in this software development struggle, it has been frustrating to watch the quantum leaps made in the computing hardware arena, while advances in software quality and productivity have shuffled along at a considerably more modest pace. It is now the time to step across the threshold into a new approach in the evolution of system development one in which the right problems are solved, and high-quality solutions are produced very quickly.The new approach starts with understanding the business problem and then applying the most appropriate technologies to meet the business challenge. The approach must not be locked into any one type of technology but rather work with the user and outside vendors to determine the combinations of hardware, software and custom software development that will supply the highest quality solution. The specific goal of this study is to determine the most effective approach to system development to focus on the single most important thing: solving business problems in a way that exceeds user's expectations.

M.Tech. / Business Intelligence (BI) is a method used to improve on business decision-making, using collections of software applications and tools to view historical, current and predictive operations of a business. However, a company‟s BI solution will not be successful if it is not implemented in a comprehensive and strategic manner. There are three key issues that prevent organisations from benefiting from BI systems. These issues include the lack of pervasiveness of BI systems, managing a variety of non-related systems that do not work well together and using traditional methods that have not evolved to meet organisational needs (Koehler, 2008). BI vendors misinform many business users that BI tools are usable by all users in an organisation, and end up been too complex for the average user to use. The first mistake an organisation makes when assessing a BI system is neglecting to include business users on selecting the best option, although they will be the main users of the solution (Quinn, 2007). Many Information Technology (IT) departments ask for BI systems based on the assumption that once it is built, that users will automatically see the benefits. BI applications require a clear and intimate understanding of the business itself and it is only by working on business and IT issues in tandem that the real value of BI is realised (Hostmann, 2007).

Information systems (IS) are indelibly linked to the global economy and are indispensable to society and organizations. Despite the decisive function of IS in organizations today, IS development problems continue to plague organizations. The failure to get the system requirements right is considered to be one of the primary, if not the most significant, reasons for this high IS failure rate. Getting requirements right is most notably identified with Frederick Brooks' contention that requirements are the essence of what IT professionals do, all the rest being accidents or risk management. However, enterprise architecture (EA) may also provide the discipline to bridge the gap between effective requirements, organizational objectives, and the actual IS implementations. The intent of this research is to examine the relationship between IS development capabilities and requirements analysis and design capabilities within the context of enterprise architecture. To accomplish this, a survey of IT professionals within the Society for Information Management (SIM) was conducted. Results indicate support for the hypothesized relationship between IS development and requirements capabilities. The hypothesized relationships with the organizational demographics were not supported nor was the hypothesized positive relationship between requirements capabilities and EA perceptions. However, the nature of the relationship of requirements and EA provided important insight into the relationship leading to several explanations as to its meaning and contributions to research and practice. This research contributes to IS development knowledge by providing evidence of the essential role of requirements in IS development capabilities and in IS development maturity. Furthermore, contributions to the nascent field of EA research and practice include key insight into EA maturity, EA implementation success, and the role of IT professionals in EA teams. Moreover, these results provide a template and research plan of action to pursue further EA research in exploring EA maturity models and critical success factors, and the state of practice of EA in organizations

The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the organizational factors that contribute to effective emerging information technology intelligence processes and products. Emerging information technology is defined as a technology which is little commercialized and is currently adopted by not more than twenty percent of the companies within a given industry. By definition, information technology intelligence is a subdivision of competitive intelligence and business intelligence. I discovered evidence that the information technology intelligence process includes assessment of information technology intelligence needs of consumers, collection of data from internal and external sources, analysis of the collected data and distribution of the analyzed data to the consumers. Exploratory factor analysis confirmed the existence of all the variables in the proposed research model. I found empirical evidence that the final technology intelligence product contributes to better decisions made by consumers, their better environmental scanning, and more funding to information technology departments in organizations from different industries and of different sizes.