Editing Information system (section)

===Six components===
The ''six components'' that must come together in order to produce an information system are:<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stair |first=Ralph |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1305839544 |title=Principles of Information Systems |date=2020 |publisher=Cengage |others=George Reynolds |isbn=978-0-357-11252-6 |edition=14th |location=Mason, OH |oclc=1305839544}}</ref>
# ''Hardware'': The term hardware refers to machinery and equipment. In a modern information system, this category includes the computer itself and all of its support equipment. The support equipment includes input and output devices, storage devices and communications devices. In pre-computer information systems, the hardware might include ledger books and ink.
# ''Software'': The term software refers to computer programs and the manuals (if any) that support them. Computer programs are machine-readable instructions that direct the circuitry within the hardware parts of the system to function in ways that produce useful information from data. Programs are generally stored on some input/output medium, often a disk or tape. The "software" for pre-computer information systems included how the hardware was prepared for use (e.g., column headings in the ledger book) and instructions for using them (the guidebook for a card catalog).
# ''Data'': Data are facts that are used by systems to produce useful information. In modern information systems, data are generally stored in machine-readable form on disk or tape until the computer needs them. In pre-computer information systems, the data were generally stored in human-readable form.
# ''Procedures'': Procedures are the policies that govern the operation of an information system. "Procedures are to people what software is to hardware" is a common analogy that is used to illustrate the role of procedures in a system.
# ''People'': Every system needs people if it is to be useful. Often the most overlooked element of the system is the people, probably the component that most influences the success or failure of information systems. This includes "not only the users, but those who operate and service the computers, those who maintain the data, and those who support the network of computers".<ref>Kroenke, D. M. (2015). MIS Essentials. Pearson Education</ref>
# ''Internet'': The internet is a combination of data and people. (Although this component is not necessary for functionality.)

Data is the bridge between hardware and people. This means that the data we collect is only data until we involve people. At that point, data becomes information.