The effect of digital technology in business is far greater than anybody could have ever imagined. In the past 10 years, there has been more development and technological evolution than in several centuries before that. What seemed impossible only a short while ago is now not only possible but essential for companies to survive in a constantly changing business environment.
But advances in technology don’t come without a price. Continuous improvement has led to escalation, and perhaps information is now more of a security threat than ever before. As such, the need for implementing protection measures has become more and more important.
Having said that, let us look at three digital technology trends as it pertains to business.
Cybersecurity and Incident Management
Aside from preventing security breaches and cyber-attacks from happening, the biggest and most pressing IT challenge companies in all industries face is the proper processing and handling of security-based incidents. For example, let us imagine a hacker who infiltrates the data management systems within an organization and either steals or corrupts employee or customer information.
In this case, the cybersecurity systems in the company have already failed and the information has been taken.
But there are still things to do. For one, the business has to identify how the hacker could break through firewalls and other network security systems. Second, it has to implement strict policies and procedures to prevent this from happening again.
One way to do this is in-house, using whatever resources the company has. A better alternative though would be to outsource these processes and make use of incident management modules like the ServiceNow security operations app. They are not only faster but also better equipped to handle events of this magnitude.
Infrastructure as a Service
In cities and other metropolitan areas, infrastructure refers to public services provided by either the government or private corporations in the service of its citizens. Examples include hospitals, schools, libraries, transportation systems, bridges, and roads.
When people go to work by train, they don’t have to build the train and railway. They also don’t need to buy it. Instead, they can obtain a ticket and use it for one or several trips.
The same goes for hospitals. If I need an X-ray on a broken leg or a CT scan to determine whether I am suffering from conditions like cancer, heart disease, emphysema, or cerebral tumors, I don’t need to acquire the machine itself. I don’t even need to know how to use it.
It is the responsibility of the hospital and the medical practitioner. My job is to visit the hospital, take the test, and either pay for it by cash or medical insurance.
Currently, business is done similarly. Organizations don’t need to invest in expensive hardware, proprietary software, or data centers and server clusters. They can use pay-as-you-go cloud computing services like big data management, archival, online collaboration tools, and virtual machines.
This provides them with a dual benefit. First, they can use these services only when they need them. Second, they can customize them based on specific requirements for individual projects and workloads.
Hyper-Connectivity and the Internet of Things
When we talk about hyper-connectivity, we usually mean super-fast networks that allow for the transferring and processing of large amounts of information. In today’s day and age, this is not measured in megabytes or gigabytes. Rather, technologies like 5G can transfer terabytes of data in seconds.
For example, you can download a high definition movie on your computer in less than half a minute or transfer an entire encyclopedia of knowledge from a library to your smartphone at the blink of an eye.
As for the internet of things, it relates to machines or “things” connected to the internet. Examples in retail are telephones that can control home appliances like refrigerators, air conditioning systems, lights, and doors.
So what does this have to do with business? The answer is the same as with individual consumers, only at a much larger scale. For instance, let us take a national security agency in charge of military and defense systems. A three-star general or the president himself can control tactile missiles, unmanned aircraft, and submarines from an office in Washington or Langley.
Another example is a multinational car company managing automated robots in factories, manufacturing plants, and other facilities remotely.
Cyber-security and incident management, infrastructure as a service, and hyper-connectivity and the IoT are three of the most important technology trends in business today. There are many others, such as blockchain, fintech, AI, machine learning, and automation.
As always, it’s about making things safer, faster, and more convenient. That is the essence of business, what all companies want to achieve.
As new technologies continue to surface and evolve, the future of business looks brighter than ever before.
