The impact of using ICT for Business

Hello, and good day for you all. I hope you all were in great health and happy. In this third posting, the task is to do a research regarding to the optional topics that Dr. Norizan gave. The topic that i have choose is THE IMPACT OF USING ICT FOR BUSINESS. Besides that, we have to go through the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia library the Perpustakaan Tun Seri Lanang online database like e-journals in search for materials and to support the facts in this posting about the topic, sure it develops our skills to find for suitable material and increase our level in using ICT. The reason why i choose this topic because of the ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) drastic evolve as we see today there were such tremendous impact it on business area. The examples impact of ICT in business that we can see like, e-business, online banking and so on, it shows us that how important the role and impact of ICT in business in some large organizations, companies and in our daily life.

Introduction.

The use of ICT and technology has affected every aspect of business, transforming not only the way that business is conducted but also creating new business sectors and jobs. The creation of companies like Google and e-Bay which did not exist 10 years ago, was only made possible by advances in technology and the changes that this has created in the way that people behave (currently Google is valued at £44billion – Source BBC 5^th June 05). Some examples of the nature of this change include;

Marketing: The use of websites has allowed companies to develop new and cheaper ways of reaching new markets, offering customers the opportunity of buying goods and services whenever they want and often at reduced cost, whilst also enhancing the level of customer service. This has been coupled with the expansion and use of e-mails, which again has been used by business to market their goods and services directly to potential customers, as well as communicating with existing customers and suppliers. Increasingly the marketing campaigns of businesses include the use of technologies such as Contact Management Systems that allows them to cooperate. However, effective communication and ability to access information etc. remains critical to the productivity of these staff members. Therefore, using technology many companies now use a range of technologies to enable this. These include mobile phones, e-mail, broadband, laptops, etc. Thus ensuring that companies are able to be flexible and adaptive depending on their business needs.

Networks: Virtually all businesses now have or ordinate, monitor and report on various aspects of their marketing campaigns in new ways making these campaigns more targeted and effective.

Finance: Practically all companies now use software programs example, Sage or Excel to manage their accounts. This has allowed them to look at financial information when required, monitor and respond to their customers purchasing patterns by example, offering discounts and overall improve the management of their finances. The result of this has been for many companies a reduction in their accountancy fees.

Out of office working: For many businesses, the need for staff to be away from the office attending meetings etc. or to be based in another geographical location has grown alongside employee demands for more flexible working patterns, have access to a computer. The existence of two or more computers in an office usually leads to the creation of a network. The main advantage of doing so is that resources can be shared example, printers, internet access, files/information can be managed and shared amongst workstations and the security of information can be better managed through a network. Increasingly networks are not just confined to the office but are being adopted so that they allow home/remote working that supports changing business needs.

This transformation has really taken place over the last 20 years and continues to transform the way business is done. No business today can ignore the use of technology as its effective use helps businesses to remain competitive and profitable, thereby creating or safeguarding jobs.

Most organizations today are looking for more cost effective approaches to delivering enterprise application to their user base. Among the alternatives that are becoming increasingly popular are various forms of e-collaboration that involve the sharing of information between organizations, integration of inter enterprise business process among partner organizations, and the delivery of software services by external application service provider(ASPs). The extensive use of externally supplied software and information services will change the shape of the ICT(Information and Communication Technologies) market and impact on management decisions about the deployment of enterprise ICT (Harber, 2004).

For example, where the impact of ICT in Business like the E-business as the use of ICT in business to reduce transaction costs, to broaden market reach, and to increase the productivity and speed of doing business. E-business is a catalyst for modernizing the private sector in general, such as Trinidad and Tobago, seek to encourage e-business with a view to increase demand for domestically produced ICT products. To this end, the government of Trinidad and Tobago plans to co-develop, with private sector, an integrated e-business application for local companies to conduct online sales. Furthermore, the government has offered to help identify comparative advantages for local e-business and will collaborate in the development of “skillnet,“ a service that provides recruitment, learning and career information.

It is the close alignment between ICT and business processes that can provide competitive advantage to organizations and produce high quality products and services at lower cost, resulting in a strategic advantage(McCabe, 2003; Nevens, 2002). In general, there are two types of enterprise applications that support business processes example, logistics,CRM, etc and applications that directly implement business processes like example, electronic banking,mobile telephony, airline e-tickets and so on. For the first type of enterprise applications, it is possible to gain competitive advantage by combining ICT with unique company culture and knowledge. This unique combination enables the company to function effectively and utilize key assets such as organizational knowledge and culture. The second type type of enterprise application provides a service or product to customers and its timely deployment and unique features can result in competitive advantage.

Due to the impact of ICT on the main factors influencing the way of doing business abroad, manifold changes are taking place within the organizational structures of the economy. The analysis below examines the consequences of these changes for three ares; the internal organization of companies, the organization of markets, i.e. the relationship between companies and its customers, and the organizational forms of co-operation between different companies. This classification is useful, since the fiscal analysis will refer to these three categories. ICT also serve as a platform for the business activities of a company, for example if the supply of information and services constitute its main business activities. Moreover, companies may market ICT and the Internet itself, example, if they provide memory capacity or websites, as an Internet Services Provider (ISP). Using ICT tools, such as video-conferencing or e-mail, decisions which are relevant to the company can be taken either in different locations or at the same time in different places. In addition, the management of a company may often be situated elsewhere and not in the company itself. As link between different companies can be created using ICT, it is possible to cooperate internationally without needing to centralize all activities in one location. Thus, activities are no longer dependent on geographical distances.

Conclusion.
Information and communication technology (ICT) is rapidly evolving, changing rich and poor societies alike. It has become a powerful tool for participating in the global economy and for offering new opportunities for development efforts. Mobile phones provide market links for urban entrepreneurs and rural farming communities. Computers improve public and private services and increase economic productivity and political participation. ICT can advance the business or economic growth thus, will reduce poverty in developing countries. It has been 20 years since the first telephone operator was privatized, a little over 10 since the World Wide Web emerged, and 5 since the telecommunications bubble burst.

References:

Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. Volume 5. Number 3/2006. E-business and Sustainable Development.

http://commerce.metapress.com/content/eku78fne5wdj9qe6/?p=070915278688449fbc39aadc3e28edaf&pi=0

Springer Berlin / Heidelberg,2004. A Framework for Managing Concurrent Business and ICT Development.

http://commerce.metapress.com/content/tc4umxjbgrref1hq/?p=070915278688449fbc39aadc3e28edaf&pi=4InderscienceInderscience

Enterprises Ltd, Volume 5. Number 4/2006. International Journal of Information Technology and Management.

http://commerce.metapress.com/content/acf8xprav4pfpc6f/?p=3cedbdce3fc14e679935dd0d3748d39f&pi=27

Dirk Pilat, 2003. Ict and Economic Growth:Evidence from OECD Countries, Industries and Firms.

http://books.google.com/books?id=BWwO37o2-hAC&pg=PA12&dq=The+impact+of+using+ICT+for+business&lr=&sig

World Bank, 2006. Information and Communications for Developement: Global Trends and Policies.

http://books.google.com/books?id=c8pvlO3sTKoC&pg=PA95&dq=The+impact+of+using+ICT+for+business&lr=&sig

Pascal Petit-Business & Economics, 2001. Economic and Information.

http://books.google.com/books?id=6fEA1Enr7oMC&pg=PA184&dq=The+impact+of+using+ICT+for+business&lr=&sig

Gary B. Shely, Thomas J. Cashman, Misty E. Vermaat, 2007. Discovery Computers 2007.


I'm glad that able to fulfilled this third challenging posting task and i admit this is the toughest one in all posting but i do hope that I've given much informations that can be use regarding to the research i did in this posting. Thanks also to Pn. Zaini for keeping the good job to guide me and all the inspiring comments.