Information technology (IT) is the application of computers to store, study, retrieve, transmit and manipulate data,[1] or information, often in the context of a business or other enterprise.[2] IT is considered a subset of information and communications technology (ICT). In 2012, Zuppo proposed an ICT hierarchy where each hierarchy level "contain[s] some degree of commonality in that they are related to technologies that facilitate the transfer of information and various types of electronically mediated communications".[3]
The term is commonly used as a synonym for computers and computer networks, but it also encompasses other information distribution technologies such as television and telephones.