Digital Technology and Business
Chapter 1
Learning Objectives
Describing the impact of digital technology on business
Describing the history of digital technology for business
Defining systems and their impacts
Describing technological aspects of society
Describing ethical values for digital technology in business and society
Describing the future of technology
Elements of Digital Technology and the Business Impact
World is driven by information and information pervades the environment
Connectivity rules and Internet drives life and business
Technology changes the way consumers think and the way business and people interact
Technology gives human users the opportunity to extract information and make informed decisions
A Brief Historical Perspective
Data and information use shows in early history
Computers developed in the 1950s and widespread business use was seen in the 1980s
Internet was a game changer beginning in the 1990s
Internet brought connectivity and media dependence
Dependence on bandwidth
Handheld devices grew in importance
Social media developed
Business was transformed
Definitions and Associations: A Systems Perspective – I
Digital Systems: all communication in bits 1 and 0
Execution in the system in 1s and 0s, communication between devices and components in 1s and 0s
Human communication is analog – voice, text, numbers, graphics
Interfaces convert analog to digital and digital to analog, e.g. keyboard, mouse, screen, audio, video, etc.
Def: System — combination of parts making up a whole working together towards a common objective
Subsystem – a system that is a part of a system
Supersystem – the composite of which the system is the part
Definitions and Associations: A Systems Perspective – II
Information System – system to support the users that consist of acquiring and storing data, processing the data to generate information, and aggregating the information into knowledge
Data – a historical record of facts generated from the actions that make up business processes including all transactions
Information – processed from data and is something meaningful that supports decision making. Information is meant for users and can be produced on a routine basis or on demand at a user request
Knowledge – an aggregation of information that often comprises the rules to formulate or evaluate a business process
Technology and Society
Changes in technology – embedded computing, many products are computers
Mobile telephone is a powerful computer and is used everywhere
Technology is part of everyday life and it is difficult to differentiate between business use and daily life
Rise of Social Media – social media driven by Internet use pervades society and becomes part of business changing expectations of business interactions with consumers and with businesses
Question: How has information age changed business and society?
Ethical Values for Business and Society in the Digital Age
Every transaction creates digital history. Every person has life history in data records. The history is needed for life needs and for business needs. Global economy becomes global exposure of data. Data security and privacy becomes a major ethical concern. There are many conflicts in the concepts of security and privacy.
The Future of Technology
Continuing increase in power of computing, e.g. powerful processors and more data in handheld devices
More bandwidth and more communication – enhanced Internet capabilities, 5G mobile telephones, etc.
Artificial Intelligence
Intelligent systems supporting decisions
Intelligent systems to aid in processing data to acquire information
Intelligent devices to support human work
Intelligent and autonomous systems working for humans
