Editing Electronic data processing (section)

== Today ==

As with other industrial processes commercial IT has moved in most cases from a custom-order, craft-based industry where the product was tailored to fit the customer; to multi-use components taken off the shelf to find the best-fit in any situation. Mass-production has greatly reduced costs and IT is available to the smallest organization.

LEO was hardware tailored for a single client. Today, [[Intel Pentium]] and compatible [[Integrated circuit | chips]] are standard and become parts of other components which are combined as needed. One individual change of note was the freeing of computers and removable storage from protected, air-filtered environments. [[Microsoft]] and [[IBM]] at various times have been influential enough to impose order on IT and the resultant standardizations allowed specialist software to flourish.

Software is available off the shelf. Apart from products such as [[Microsoft Office]] and [[Lotus Software | IBM Lotus]], there are also specialist packages for payroll and personnel management, account maintenance and customer management, to name a few. These are highly specialized and intricate components of larger environments, but they rely upon common conventions and interfaces.

Data storage has also been standardized.[[Relational database | Relational databases]] are developed by different suppliers using common formats and conventions. Common [[file format]]s can be shared by [[Mainframe computer | large mainframes]] and desktop [[Desktop computer | personal computers]], allowing online, real-time input and validation.

In parallel, software development has fragmented. There are still specialist technicians, but these increasingly use standardized methodologies where outcomes are predictable and accessible.<ref name=IT/> At the other end of the scale, any office manager can dabble in spreadsheets or databases and obtain acceptable results (but there are risks, because many do not know what [[Software testing]] is). Specialized software is software that is written for a specific task rather for a broad application area. These programs provide facilities specifically for the purpose for which they were designed. At the other end of the scale, any office manager can dabble in spreadsheets or databases and obtain acceptable results.<ref name=IT/>