UTEP Information Technology using BIS

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UTEP Information Technology using BIS

• By
• Tommy Armendariz

2
What is BIS?

• BIS is a business information system(BIS) that
  supports personnel, payroll, accounting,
  inventory, and purchasing applications. UTEP
  employees use BIS to access the campuss
  financial database. This database is located at
  UT Austin.

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Whats its function?

• The most important function of BIS is the quick
  access to important data using various mainframe
  databases from UT Austin. Faculty and staff
  members request reports compiled from existing
  BIS data.

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The History of BIS

• In the past, UT Austin would store data on
  magnetic tapes. They relied primarily on
  mainframe and mini computers. Employees would
  gather information through punch cards.

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Database History

• In the early 80s, UT Austin relied on mainframes
  and mini-computes. They developed a database
  called TOTAL. Extracting data became much
  simpler. Information was derived from data by
  programs that were written using several
  languages, primarily COBOL. In the early 90s,
  UTEP began extracting data from UT Austins
  database TOTAL.

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What Programming language does BIS use today?

• Today, COBOL is no longer being used. UT
  Austin has converted all the programs to Natural.
  Natural is a 4th generation language and is very
  similar to COBOL. When it was implemented in the
  early 90s, Natural did not handle arrays nor
  looping quite well. Today, a newer version of
  Natural, Natural II, handles arrays and looping
  quiet efficiently.

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How does BIS share its files today?

• Today, the database TOTAL has been converted to
  ADABAS, a more efficient database system.
  Reports are being produced and data is being
  extracted using batch input and by using the web.
  UT Austin now has created certain commands that
  can be used on the web. Data can be extracted
  from data warehouses using brio queries, which
  builds a view with the fields available to the
  users without having to worry about SQL coding.
  This process is much simpler and more efficient
  than producing a lengthy program.

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What other advancements have transpired?

• In the past, the Natural language limited
  programs to a specific size. Therefore, a
  programmer had to write numerous programs to
  accomplish his/her task. Today, these
  limitations no longer exist because the system
  handles capacity quiet well. Also, with
  relational databases, it is much quicker to build
  summary reports with SQL than writing an entire
  program in Natural.

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Future Predictions

• Employees who use the BIS system will continue to
  depend on extracting data directly through
  Austins mainframe, simply because it is much
  faster than on the web. When using the web,
  uploads of web pages and certain reports take a
  while, especially if many users are logged in.
  However, UT Austin is determined to eventually
  transfer everything to the web. They are
  determined to develop a faster and more efficient
  system than the one thats on the web today. The
  internet has become a critical tool for many
  organizations, and universities are no exception.
  

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Conclusion

• The BIS system has evolved in many ways, but its
  primary role has not changed, which is providing
  users with information that they can use to
  produce reports. As technology advances, the BIS
  system continues to be pushed toward the
  internet. In a few years, the BIS system that
  many UTEP employees work with today might be
  entirely different tomorrow.