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The way entrepreneurs, start-ups, and growing businesses approach business is changing. Companies are becoming more agile to keep pace with the evolving technology. Information Technology (IT) roles and departments are changing as their business roles expand. The IT impact in areas of customer service, sales, and even business strategies has increased tremendously. Because of this impact, businesses are increasingly turning IT into a driving force in all aspects of the company.
Today, IT has a vital role in the business world. It has come to provide tools and functions on which almost all companies throughout the world run. With the advent of new technologies, the use of computers and the Internet has increased. It’s a dynamic state in which business can use their technology assets to achieve business objectives and competitiveness.
IT in businesses impacts a variety of ways of doing business. We see significant investments in manufacturing, improvement in customer care, better transportation management, human resource management, and communication among others.
Advertising agencies are using IT and the Internet to improve business services and products as a way of gaining competitive advantage. Correctly applied and maintained, IT impacts business operations no matter the size. IT has tangible and intangible benefits that help business to be more competitive and to produce the results their customers demand.
IT in businesses can be a culture changer by developing and guiding the efficiency and relationships of business. It is clear that IT in businesses has produced a positive impact in business productivity and growth. However, it has brought some frustrations to the human resource which are directly linked to a lack of training and poor performance. This is due to the rapid evolution of technology.
Advantages of IT
Communication – IT brings a variety of communication methods like instant messaging, emails, as well as voice and video calls. Within a short time, all of this has grown quicker, cheaper, and much more efficient.
Globalization and cultural gap – The sharing of information and knowledge between different locations, languages, and cultures become much more comfortable. IT brings down the linguistic, geographical, and some cultural boundaries.
Availability – IT has made it possible for businesses to be open 24/7 all over the globe with a presence in all kinds of electronic devices. A company may be open anytime anywhere, doing marketing and sales transactions on different locations, more accessible and more convenient than ever before.
Creation of new types of jobs – IT is bringing to many businesses jobs that years before were of non-interest to them. Business are increasingly creating roles and employment opportunities for computer programmers, systems analyzers, hardware and software developers, and web designers.
Effectiveness and productivity – IT in businesses promotes the efficiency in the operation of the companies. It improves the availability of information for decision-makers. This causess companies to put greater emphasis on information technology strategies to get a more competitive advantage.
Disadvantages of IT
Unemployment and lack of job security – IT has saved a significant amount of time on business with the completion of standardized tasks and a vast amount of mechanic works. As technology improves, repetitive tasks formerly performed by human employees are now carried out by computer systems. Combined with the accessibility of the internet, IT has made job security a big issue. Employees need to be more aggressive in the constant learning of the use and operation of new IT assets and resources for their job to be secure.
Dominant culture – While IT has made businesses more accessible to new markets, it has also contributed largely to a culture of M&A where dominating businesses take over weaker ones. The influence of IT on how young people act, dress, and behave is hugely impacting.
Security issues – This has been one of the most frustrating and challenging components of IT in businesses. Thieves and hackers get access to sensitive corporate data which they distribute over the Internet. They sell the data to rival companies, or use it to damage the company’s image.
Implementation expenses – Because the dynamic technology evolution that businesses battle, they are required to have good finance accessibility to cover the cost of software, hardware, and employee’s skills improvement. To be competitive, employees need to be continuously trained in new technologies for effective business competitiveness.
It is understood that in the modern world, IT in business significantly contributes to the efficiency and grow of a company, as well as the improvement in many people’s quality of life. Understanding and learning from the advantages and disadvantages that IT in business brings, we should put forth our best efforts to make the advantage work to our favor and navigate the disadvantages so it has less impact on our business and society.
Become Leaders, Not Supporters
As entrepreneurs growing a business, we have to understand managing the growing pains of IT. We should look at IT not as a tool, but as a strategic partner for all our business operations. Modern companies see IT in their businesses as a primary driver of innovation. IT defines boundaries.
The modern IT worker is an innovator who creates change across the entire organization. The IT worker is not just a facilitator of goals; they drive change on how employees do their work for the business to grow into new markets and strategies of innovation.
IT delivers a competitive advantage as much as marketing strategies. This is directly related to “The Internet of Things” movement, which refers to how every aspect of our lives will be connected to the Internet. Since our reliance on technology increases with each passing day, IT is steadily moving to the front end of the business.
