INTRODUCTION

Technological innovations have been continually changing and shall continue to significantly change every aspect of our work, life and business. Technology does not change the gadgets we use but also heavily impacts the way people communicate with each other and spend their time.

Few decades ago, some technologies such as laptops, cell phones, PDA’s, ATM cards, internet etc which form an essential part of our daily lives today were not known to the world. During that time, life was simple. People used traditional landline telephones and wrote letters to stay connected with each other. Digital alarms, coffee makers, microwaves, video calling facilities etc did not exist (Damanpour, 2008).

These days life without these technological provisions cannot even be imagined. Technology has not just made our life easy but has enabled us to stay connected with each other around the clock. The development of internet and social networking platforms has made the world significantly smaller. In today’s world information systems exist to support every activity carried out by humans. Computers and other smart devices form a part of every activity and offer all information at a single click. This has significantly contributed to designing the fast life we live today. Additionally, technology is also responsible for completely transforming the way business operations are carried out. Databases store all the required information and they can be accessed from anywhere in the world. Front end staff of every company is trained in accessing information before stressing on building and maintaining customer relations. Technological innovations such as video conferencing and virtual chat rooms have proven to be extremely beneficial for international organizations. These technologies have eliminated the need to be physically present in places and allowed humans to virtually replace themselves (Cairncross, 2003).

Thus, in its complete sense, technological innovations have played a major role in shaping the way we carry out our every day work and household responsibilities. They have offered us ease, pace and connectivity. With the exponential expansion of computing technologies, these and new technological innovations shall continue to change and innovate human lives in the future as well (Cairncross, 2003).

TECHNOLOGIES THAT CHANGE WORK BUSINESS AND LIVES

In the present context, there are several technological innovations that significantly impact everyday lives. Some of these include:

Social networking platforms- Various social networking platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace etc have a global reach with several million registered users that are active. Websites such as Facebook and YouTube have successfully replaced old organizations such as Microsoft and Yahoo. These social networking platforms have been significant contributors in shrinking the world as people are able to connect and communicate with anyone at a moment’s notice. Further, social networking websites possess the power of influence cultures across nations. This is achievable with the help of photo and video uploads; specially developed pages and having friends from different parts of the world. These websites have enabled individuals to do job searches (with the help of applications such as Branch out) and find their perspective life partners. Social networking websites have heavily influenced the manner in which people (especially youngsters) spend their time. The availability of numerous applications on these websites makes them extremely addictive. Further, these websites have fairly influenced the field of advertising. Any information uploaded on these websites can be delivered to the entire world within seconds. No media before has proven to be more powerful than these websites. Also, it can be predicted that these websites have not yet reached their complete potential and shall continue to grow and influence people’s lives in the future (Garcia, 2007).

Handheld devices- Recent years have seen a massive shift of internet driven applications from computers to handheld devices such as mobile phones, tablet computers, PDA’s etc. This shift has been made possible by the implementation of Moore’s law which provided us useful insights about multiplication of technology. The law predicted that processing power of a computerized chip shall double every 18 months and cost of technology shall be halved during the same time. Till date, this predicted geometrical pattern of multiplication has held true for all technology. A good example to depict this pattern would be the ‘iPhone’ which in 2009 had the same processing power and support as an ‘iMac’ in 2001. Handheld devices of today have not just changed technology but have also changed the way we use it. They have enabled us to do several things on a mobile basis that were previously not possible. Besides mobile phones, other handheld devices such as Apple’s ‘iPad’ and Amazon’s ‘Kindle’ have contributed significantly to the e-book market. These devices have changed media consumption and dissemination. They have impacted the way students gather and learn information and the way in which teachers conduct their research. Overall, handheld devices have placed the power of internet in our hands. These devices are capable of connecting to the internet and provide information access on the go. Mobile information access has changed the face and pace of business. Information databases and e-mails can be accessed from anywhere and responded to; video calls can be made and data can be transferred. Thus, handheld devices have significantly contributed to a life that moves incredibly fast (Garcia, 2007).

Cloud Computing- By enabling features such as remote computing power, applications and storage, cloud computing is fast transforming the methods of information delivery. Virtual data centres built by implementing the concept of cloud computing helps companies such as Amazon, Google and many others to significantly cut costs, reduce power consumption, reduce their foot print and adhere to environmental concerns. Applications that have always required the support of in-house servers such as customer relationship management, enterprise resource planning etc can now be moved to cloud hosted servers thus reducing the physical clutter. In addition to changing the delivery of information, the concept of cloud computing is now rising to become a platform. In other words, various applications are being build that shall be able to work on the concept of cloud computing (just like various applications work on windows or Macintosh). Further, consumers can find the implementation of cloud computing in almost every aspect of their lives such as music, applications, photos, videos etc. Looking at the rate of progression of this technology, it can be predicted that the next decade might witness cloud based libraries (Garcia, 2007).

Virtual platforms- A variety of work practices collectively known by the name of ‘virtual work’ are changing the way work is carried out in organizations. Virtual technology has enabled employees to utilize their laptops in order to stay connected even when on a vacation or work in groups even when they belong to different time zones, companies or offices. The technology has had a profound influence on gender equity in organizational environments. Traditional work practices that required presence within organizational boundaries led women to assume job responsibilities of lesser significance. With the help of virtual technologies they are able to stay at home and cater to their job as well as household responsibilities. Thus, women are now able to take up significant positions in organizations. Further, virtual technology has helped organizations in enhancing productivity and helping employees maintain their work life balance. Virtual technology offers the freedom to work not just at the comfort of home but also when work productivity is the highest. The freedom to work when most comfortable to, enables employees to produce better results and deliver innovative solutions to traditional problems. Further, this helps enhance an employee’s work life balance as employees are able to devote equal time to their job and families (Woolgar, 2006).

Wireless standards- Wireless communication standards have also been influencing the quality of life and way business function. The 4G wireless standard is being developed keeping in mind the required data transfer rate of future applications such as video chat, multimedia messaging, mobile TV, digital video broadcasting and other likewise applications that utilize video streaming. Further, the wireless standard is being designed to offer a data transfer rate of at least 100 Mbit/s, seamless connectivity and a high quality of service delivery. This standard shall offer businesses the ability to access information and applications at the speed of lightning. Applications such as Flash-OFDM, WiMax, WiBro and Ultra Mobile Broadband shall be extremely useful in allowing businesses to experience speed, connectivity enrich lives.

Tri-gate transistor technology- This is a new technological innovation that has been used by Intel to roll out the next generation of processers. With the help of this technology, the processing power of computers has multiplied several folds. Business organizations with the help of this technology shall be able to process large amounts of information with the help of a single processor and also shall be able to do so much more accuracy. Business organizations by employing this technology shall be able to significantly reduce energy consumption of their devices and hence cut costs. At the consumer end, computers will be able to process and load information at a much faster rate.

Virtual Reality- Once just a part of video games, the technology has come alive today. Very first instance of its usage can be seen in eye lenses launched by Google. The lenses have been designed to implement the usage of a 4 cell connection and derive information from Google’s databases. This information shall be displayed on the lens in front of the eye of the person wearing these glasses. As the person turn’s his head, he would receive information on his surroundings from applications such as Google Maps, Google Latitude etc. Being a Google product, it will also display advertisements. This technology in the future shall change the entire outlook of business and everyday life. People and business organizations shall be able to use virtual reality to connect with people, work in groups, conduct meetings and transfer data. This technology is well capable of eliminating the need for physical presence (Anon, 2012).

Self-Driving Cars- Few years ago, this technology could only be hypothesized. Technological innovation however has enabled Google to turn it into a reality today. Google’s self driving cars uses lasers, radars and cameras mounted on its roof to navigate obstacles and operate on its own. These cars shall make lives significantly easier by eliminating the need to have sound driving skills to travel from one place to another. Additionally, these cars shall eliminate the need to read maps for finding directions as they possess the ability to derive directions from Google maps and self navigate their pathway (Anon, 2012).

Medical technologies- during the last few years, medical technologies have also grown sophisticatedly and vastly just as computer technologies and are available in much smaller forms (even in the form of portable devices). Currently, nano-bots define the benchmark of medical advancements. These technological advancements have not only helped in reducing the size of medical equipment but have also helped in curing several human body ailments. In the present day we have video games and wheelchairs that are mind controlled. Medical software can perform brain scans and tell an individual what exactly he or she is thinking at present. Medical tools can also predict an individual’s course of action before he actually undertakes it.

Open source platforms- Technology has enabled the availability of various open source platforms such as Linux. These platforms offer great speed, security and can be customized according to the personal business needs. Source code of these platforms can be modified to align with business needs and offer the required flexibility.

CONCLUSION

Technology is an integral part of our lives and constant technological innovations significantly impact every aspect of our life (personal or business related). They not only change the way we carry out our day to day activities but also impact the pace with which we live our lives, the way we spend our time and the mode of communication that we prefer. Every aspect of our life tremendously depends on technology and it shall continue to strongly influence our lives.

REFERENCES

Anon. (2012). Technology: Gadgets, Computers, Mobile and Electronics, viewed 11 May 2012 www.techpart.net

Cairncross, F. (2003). How Technological revolution is changing our lives. Journal of Technological Innovation, 32(1), 56-78

Damanpour, F. (2008). The adoption of Technological innovations. Journal of Management, 32(5), 111-132

Garcia, R. (2007). A critical look at technological innovation. Journal of Product Innovation and Management, 19(2), 110-132

Katz, J. (2004). Domestic Technological Innovations. Journal of Developmental Economics, 23(1), 234-245

Woolgar, S. (2006). Virtual Society?: Technology, cyber bole, reality, Journal of Science and Technology, 54(5), 78-99

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Sunday, March 8, 2015

Technologies that change lives

INTRODUCTION

TECHNOLOGIES THAT CHANGE WORK BUSINESS AND LIVES

CONCLUSION

REFERENCES

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