Strategic Organizational Communication in a Global Economy: An Analysis (part 8)

Trends in the Development of Information and Communication Technologies
by
Charles Lamson

Everyone is aware of how ICT (information and communication technology) is changing. As consumers, we are amazed at the variety and increasingly sophisticated functionality of devices like camcorders, televisions and personal computers. The diffusion of ICT into organizations has been equally rapid, though sometimes we are not as directly aware of it. Although the process began rather slowly in the 1970s and 1980s, it has consistently picked up speed through the 1990s and early 2000s and shows no sign of slowing The increasing rate of ICT implementation and its growing impact on organizations, and society, can be traced to several developments.

The convergence of formerly separate technology, such as computers and telephones has been hastened by the development of digital technology. Once information like text, audio and pictures has been converted into digital form - as it is - for instance, when we type into our computers or take a picture with a digital camera or camcorder - it can be easily moved from one kind of ICT to another. For example, a digital picture can be sent along with an e-mail message or to a printer to make a paper copy. Convergence makes it possible to link together and sometimes even merge separate applications which makes integration of information in organizations much easier. For example, electronic medical records can combine textual notes made by physicians with digitized radiological pictures and other types of documents in a single database. Another example is the cell phone that has a personal digital assistant (a small computer for personal use) built in. Still another is the growing number of organizations that are moving their telephone systems to the Internet, rather than relying on the phone companies' lines.

Internetworking, the use of the internet to deliver and access information and communication technology (ICT) has grown beyond anyone's expectations. Organizations have implemented intranets, internal private Internets that operate essentially in the same way that the public Internet operates. Extranets are private Internets that allow authorized people outside the organization to use them. Both intranets and extranets are typically protected by firewalls, hardware and software systems that allow only authorized users to access them and prevent unauthorized use.

Intranets, extranets and sites on the public Internet are usually accessed through portals, gateways to the website that have an index of what is available through the site and other features. When you brouse the Web, the first page you find for a site is its portal. Many times, in order to access this portal, it is necessary to enter an approved account name and password.

The growth of the internet has also been driven by the increasing bandwidth it offers. There have been continuously more and more upgrades to the internet, and in the next few years there will be even more upgrades to the Internet that will provide adequate bandwidth for almost any type of communication that can be envisioned. This will fuel still further growth.

Another major development has been the emergence of wireless technologies that allow ICTs to connect without cables or wires. The infrastructure of wireless systems is much easier to build and maintain in less-developed areas. Wireless communication is truly integrating the world.

The advent of wireless ICTs, combined with their ever-increasing miniaturization, is likely to fuel the spread of ubiquitous computing, in which computers are embedded in almost everything. Computers are being developed that can be sewn into clothing, incorporated into sheets of paper, and painted onto almost any surface. Envisioned applications of these devices range from the mundane (keeping track of inventory and preventing theft, monitoring a diabetic's blood sugar level continuously) to the exotic (triggering changes in room temperature and lighting as a person walks from room to room). Although most applications of ubiquitous computing are only ideas at this point, it seems safe to assume that ubiquitous computing will have major impacts on the way we live and on organizations over the next decade or two.

*SOURCE: STRATEGIC ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION IN A GOBAL ECONOMY; 6TH ED; CHARLES CONRAD, MARSHALL SCOTT POOLE*

                                             

END