Impact of information technology in business communication essay

*IMPACT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN BUSINESS COMMUNI*CATION We are in the midst of a third major revolution in human civilization. First there was the Agricultural Revolution, then the Industrial Revolution, and now we are in the Information Revolution. Information and communication technology and a world wide system of information exchange has been building growth for over a hundred years and physical technology and industry is not slowing down in growth – rather it is accelerating. Information technology (IT) is playing a crucial role in contemporary society. It has transformed the whole world into a global village with a global economy, which is increasingly dependant on the creative management and distribution of information. Globalization of world economies has greatly enhanced the values of information to business organizations and has offered new business opportunities. Today, IT provides the communication and analytical power that organizations need for conducting trade and managing business at global level with much ease.

To coordinate their worldwide network of suppliers, distributors and consumers, organizations have developed global information systems that can track orders, deliveries, and payments round the clock. This has been possible because of the development of IT in its present form. In the broadest sense, information technology refers to both the hardware and software that are used to store, retrieve, and manipulate information. At the lowest level you have the servers each with an operating system. Installed on these servers are things like database and web serving software. The servers are connected to each other and to users via a network infrastructure.

And the users accessing these servers have their own hardware, operating systems, and software tools. Also known as information and communication technology (ICT), IT is defined as the technology required for information processing. In particular, the use of computer and computer software to convert, store, process, transmit, and retrieve information.

In Information technology we primarily concentrate on the following technologies: Computer Hardware TechnologiesComputer Software Technologies Telecommunication and Network Technologies Data Resource Management Technologies Organisations can now build and maintain sophisticated databases which enable them to segment the market more effectively. This means that they should be able to dovetail perceived customer needs with potential solutions. Development of modern communication devices.

With IT revolution, new communication services have emerged. In the last decade of the 20th century, there was phenomenal increase in number of computers and its application. Now the laptops, PDA and palmtops are supplementing computers.

These devices perform the dame functions as a computer performs like storing and processing information and internet connectivity. Besides this, the unique advantage of these devices is mobility and convenience to carry around. In addition to traditional functions of a postal system , they also allow us with services like music and digital presentations. Direct marketing The fastest growing channel to market is direct marketing. Whilst this medium once suffered from a junk mail’ image, better applications of information technology can facilitate a two-way dialogue between customers and providers of goods and services. B y adopting arifle’ rather than a shotgun’ approach to marketing, organisations can focus their efforts on communicating only relevant information, reducing the incidence ofhit and miss’ blanket campaigns to secure sales. Feedback Customers can now communicate with product and service providers through the Internet.

This has the advantage of more efficient order processing but can also facilitate feedback. Telephony Sometimes, businesses need to make conference calls bringing several people together and technology can help here too. Programs such as Skype or Gizmo Project offer Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services that allow individuals and businesses to call places all over the world for prices much cheaper then regular landline services. Microsoft pointed out that a Forrester study done in 2006 showed that 17 percent of businesses made converting to VoIP a priority, with another 18 percent already using VoIP to some degree.

VoIP allows businesses to be in near-constant communication with employees and others at a fraction of a cost. Online Media Sites such as Youtube see millions of hits a day, with online video and audio becoming extremely prevalent on websites. Businesses can capitalize by making their own media.

Companies can create in-house advertisements for use on websites, webinars on the use of products that can further communicate between businesses and their consumers, and provide education. These forms of media are also available nearly 24 hours a day, so think of them as day-long commercials for your business. Social Media With the rise of social networks such as Facebook, Myspace, Digg and others, a form of crowd-based media known as social media has emerged. Businesses can take advantage of social media as another aspect of business communication, by performing such tasks as creating profiles on social networks, submitting online media to sites such as Digg, and using websites like Twitter to answer consumer questions. Many businesses have already jumped on the social media bandwagon, with some (Microsoft and Wal-Mart in particular) having experimented with their own social networks. Automation You can also automate certain tasks. Years ago, sending an email of a document or backing up a computer required extensive time, thus reducing productivity.

Backups can be done today with a mere click of a button and automatic emails can be sent on a routine schedule with a minimum of work. A company that works automation to its fullest advantage can concentrate on more important tasks at hand, while reducing cost and increasing productivity in the workplace, as well as optimizing success for the business itself. Decreasing Cost of communication With IT the cost of communication is decreasing to a significant level. Present e-mails saves the cost of postages and mobile telephony facilitates global calls at local call rates. With the competition amoung mobile players , the cost of mobile calls and mobile phones is continuously decreasing . Loyalty cards Perhaps, one of the more vivid illustrations of this is the development of loyalty cards by the large supermarket chains, such as the Sainsbury’s Reward’ card and the SafewayABC’ card.

Information can be gathered on shopping patterns and synchronised with orders and deliveries. Individual customer preferences can be logged and used to channel future mail-shots. Negative impacts This has reduced the communication between parents and their children due to the lack of quality time spend together. The bond is weakened as compared with previous generations and this has a profound impact on society as a whole. Conclusion We are now more connected in today’s globalized world, but are ironically more isolated from our friends and family as a result of the new technologies from the information age. The ease of communication may have been improved but our lives have become more impersonal as a result. Technology has indeed made tremendous impact on society as well as on interpersonal communication. New technology undoubtedly has the potential to improve communications between businesses and their suppliers.

As well as the speed and accuracy afforded by modem communication devices, much of the routine verbal and written communication necessary to f ill orders can be dealt with through just-in-time order processing and EDI technology.