Impact of new processing techniques on the management and organization of statistical data processing

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Outrata, Edvard¹ | Doucet, Ed²

Note: [1] Edvard Outrata was born in 1936 and graduated with an M.Sc. in Economics from the Economic University of Prague (Vysoka skola ekonomicka) in 1959. He worked in software development research in Czechoslovakia. Since 1969 he has worked for Statistics Canada in System Development and EDP management. At present he is Director General, Informatics at Statistics Canada.

Note: [2] J.E. Doucet is a graduate in Economics (1967) from the University of Western Ontario. He has spent most of the last twenty years in the Informatics field, both in industry and in the Canadian federal government environment. He currently directs the activities of the Research and General Systems group, within the Informatics Branch of Statistics Canada.

Abstract: Recent technological changes, highlighted by the introduction of the microcomputer on a grand scale, are impacting the management and organization of informatics in statistical offices. End-Users have become more self-sufficient, and new support mechanisms are required for these computer-literates. The central EDP area must be willing to change its role to accommodate the new realities. It must be able to orchestrate a complex set of interrelated new technologies, while maintaining support for systems based on the older technologies, which will be in evidence for at least another decade. Managerially, the central EDP area is becoming a key player in strategic planning, for organizations which are increasingly technology driven.

DOI: 10.3233/SJU-1988-5208

Journal: Statistical Journal of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 201-210, 1988