Abstract. The paper presents the characteristics of the informational society and the requirements for the transition towards the knowledge based society. The informational society and the advantages it brings are described. The concepts of informatics system and informational system are described. Their roles and functions are identified. The functioning principles of the informatics systems are presented. The factors that lead to the evolution from the informational society towards the knowledge based one are identified and analyzed. The main trends in the knowledge based society are identified. For each of these trends we identify the short and long run effects and the implied consumptions of resources. Knowledge is seen in the new society as the main source of competitive advantage. Ways of transmitting knowledge are presented. The efficiency and applicability are discussed. In the knowledge based society the end-users have higher expectations regarding the products and services than before. The paper discusses the factors that lead to the structural re-equilibration in the knowledge based society. Research concepts are developed in the direction of adapting informatics applications to the target group exigencies. The paper details the quality characteristics of computer applications that are tailored to the requirements of the target group and a quality system for such applications is presented. The paper examines the benefits obtained by adapting computer applications to the target group exigencies.

Keywords: economic crisis; knowledge based society; informatics applications; fluctuation; model.