Impact of Technology on Business Essay

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Table of Contents

Past impact
Future impact
Conclusion
Works Cited

If you’re wondering how digital technology changes society in the area of business, this essay will help you figure it out. You’ll consider its positive and negative impacts on global organizations and the overall environment.

Technology has had a transformative effect on businesses, which, so far, has been revolutionary. Organizations, both small and large, use technologies such as the World Wide Web (WWW), computers, websites, Artificial Intelligence (AI), servers and even personal digital devices to make their work easier. These tools can give them the invaluable competitive advantage that all businesses strive to achieve.

Future technology will indubitably revolutionize business once again. It has grown to become an inseparable part of any company. So that you see all the real and possible impacts of technology on business, this essay will analyze how electronics and other machinery have already affected the field and are expected to affect it in the future.

Past impact

One aspect of technology that has been harnessed well for use in businesses is Artificial Intelligence (AI). For the last ten years, virtually all businesses have had their processes automated though the use of AI in Management Information Systems (MIS). This automation function is also found in various computer applications that are used by contemporary businesses. Examples of the latter include word-processing software, spreadsheets etc.

The aforementioned automation features in programs and software have enabled businesses to achieve goals that were difficult to achieve before the advent of technology. For instance, automation has enabled businesses to avoid errors, process more information and achieve efficiency in their processes (Vitez 1).

In addition to the automation function, technology has revolutionized communication in businesses. In today’s business world, Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) are common. The use of the WWW has introduced easy means of communication that include texting, use of “apps” in personal digital devices, use of interactive websites, etc.

These features of ICTs have eased communication within businesses, communication with various stakeholders and communication with customers. The latter is perhaps the most important for businesses.

This is because it gives businesses a chance to advertise their products and services in a cost-effective way, identify target markets, compare the popularity of their products with the popularity of other competing products in the market and receive customer feedback about their products and services (Vitez 1). Generally, all these communication opportunities give a business a chance to expand its market, which will lead to more profitability for the business.

For instance, instead of concentrating in the local markets, businesses use retail websites to reach national, regional and international markets. Business organizations have also developed websites in which their customers and various stakeholders can access the information they require. This has led to reduced communication costs for businesses.

The communication aspect of technology has also enabled businesses to utilize the local and international business environment by outsourcing their functions. This has helped businesses in concentrating on their core business leading to reduced costs, more productivity and more profitability in the long run. The most common functions that organizations choose to outsource include customer service and technical support (McGrath 2), which are obviously support services for business organizations.

Another way in which technology has revolutionized business in the past is in records management. In the past, documents and records were kept in cabinets and drawers. In contemporary businesses however, businesses use computer storage hardware such as hard disks, flash disks, Compact Disks (CDs), memory cards, Digital Video Disks (DVDs), etc.

The use of internet by businesses has also made it easier to transfer stored information from one department to another, or even to an external entity like a customer or even a supplier (McGrath 1).

Future impact

The future of business technology will indubitably involve service-oriented systems designed to serve a decentralized business organization. This is because many businesses will be decentralized with an aim of increasing “collaboration across the enterprise with partners and customers” (“The future of business technology”, par. 5). This will especially be the case due to the convenience brought about by ICTs.

It is now possible to work from home or from a remote location using tablets, smart phones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), etc. To exemplify the paradigm shift to service-oriented organizations, Information Technology (IT) providers will have to operate according to client needs as opposed to the conventional identification of a technological idea and the subsequent fitting of problems to the idea (“The future of business technology”, par. 5).

Another technological advancement that is likely to be harnessed for more opportunities in businesses particularly those dealing with medical issues is the combination of Computed Tomography (CT) with holography to solve health problems that have been a nightmare to the human race for a long time.

The use of CT together with holography gives an opportunity to construct internal organs in computers in order to perform pre-surgical evaluations to determine how a surgery can be successfully carried out. This will be resourceful for businesses dealing with health provision. The idea of holography can also be combined with Artificial Intelligence to create virtual humans who will be useful in performing risky functions like operating machinery or even being involved in war activities (Enzer 1).

Due to the increase in networked personal devices, there is a possibility of developing sensor networks that will use Artificial Intelligence to give sensitive information. For instance, the network could allow queries to know if a person is asleep, if a person is travelling at a high speed on a highway or even to establish if it is an appropriate time to make a video call to a certain person (Enzer 1).

If the current technological efforts succeed, it will be possible for a car to listen to conversations. This feature, combined with existent networking features, will make it easy for an organization to monitor its cars and know when they are being misused (Blum 1). In addition to this, machines may be able to communicate to humans in words and in writing in the future. This will ease operations in the manufacturing industry (Blum 1).

Future technology will come with knowledge demands for business managers. Managers in the Information Technology field will have to fully understand how they can integrate the ideas of Artificial Intelligence in new systems and mainstream Artificial Intelligence in technological inventions and innovations. In the medical field, managers will have to fully understand the applications of CT and how best they can use the information produced by applications and devices.

Conclusion

As evidenced in the discussion above, technology has had a revolutionary effect on businesses. In fact, technology can be considered as part and parcel of business operations. It is therefore expected that future technologies will have a more transformative effect on businesses than past technologies. Future managers will also have to acquaint themselves with future technology so that they do not lose their relevance in the market.