Information technology (IT) is a broad term that encompasses various fields related to computer systems, software, programming languages, and data and information processing and storage . It is a subset of information and communications technology (ICT) . An IT system is generally an information system, a communications system, or, more specifically speaking, a computer system including all hardware, software, and peripheral equipment operated by a limited group of IT users .
The term information technology was first used in its modern sense in a 1958 article published in the Harvard Business Review . The authors defined it as consisting of three categories: techniques for processing, the application of statistical and mathematical methods to decision-making, and the simulation of higher-order thinking through computer programs .
The development of IT can be divided into four distinct phases based on the storage and processing technologies employed: pre-mechanical (3000 BC 1450 AD), mechanical (1450 1840), electromechanical (1840 1940), and electronic (1940 to present) .
everal products or services within an economy are associated with information technology, including computer hardware, software, electronics, semiconductors, internet, telecom equipment, and e-commerce [a].