Information management system (IMS)

An information management system is used when a body of information needs to managed and stored. For electronic data this usually means a database. Parts of it can then be extracted when the system is given some criteria or set of conditions.

For example a database might hold all customers the company has in the UK, but a query includes the criteria "give me the telephone number of all customers in Ledbury". This kind of query is typical of an information management system.

The role of a information management system is to handle this task. A good system should:

• Control access to the information (usernames and passwords)
• Provide a means of making enquiries (Query forms, SQL)
• Provide a means of presenting the data (reports, graphs)
• Provide a means of adding, deleteing and changing the data (direct editing or update queries via forms and SQL)

2020-10