Information technology has helped in shaping both the business world and our society in general. Many fields have been impacted by information technology including but not limited to; education, health, entertainment, and communication just to mention a few. As the world develops, more technology will emerge, and this technology will have both a positive and a negative impact. Below I have detailed points showing how information technology has impacted our lives.
Advantages And Disadvantages Of Information Technology In Business
Advantages
Increases Production And Saves Time
Businesses today more than ever use technology to automate tasks. A good example is a bakery which uses electronic temperature sensors to detect a drop or increase in room or oven temperature in a bakery. These sensors send information directly to the operator, reporting any temperature change. This temperature system saves the bakery time, and it also results in consistent higher quality products.
5 Ethical Challenges of Information Technology
Improves Financial Management
Communication technology and social technology have made business promotion and product launch
affordable. Many small businesses have found ways to use social technology to increase their brand awareness and get more clients at a minimal cost. In business, factors like cost of operation play a significant role in the development and growth of a business. So when companies use information technology to cut down on costs of operation, then their ROI will increase, which will result in business growth.
Improves Business To Consumer Relationship
Businesses have embraced the social technology to interact with their consumers and fans, creating a strong business to consumer relationship, and it results in business growth via customer loyalty and expansion.
Information technology can be used to improve customer service in so many ways. For example, businesses can use their website or email to inform their customers about great deals and discounts. Making the customer aware of these offers can drive their desire to buy. Good customer service can be used as an excellent tool for any small business to gain the competitive advantage.
Improves Business Competitive Advantage
Companies have used technology to gain the competitive advantage over their competitors. Business who innovate and adopt technology to remain efficient and improve processes, typically have high customer loyalty rates. As they can consistently meet and exceed expectations of their customers.
RELATED:
The Role of Information Technology In Todays World
6 Uses of Information Technology in Education
Disadvantages
Implementation Expenses
Small businesses sometimes struggle to afford and maintain expensive core technology, so they end up losing their clients to a company which has the capital and resources necessary to compete in the industry.
Job Elimination
Technology has replaced many positions humans used to occupy. Software is now doing complete accounting, so trained accountants have fewer opportunities, robots can cut the lawn or clean the pools, no need for a handyman.
Security Breaches
Since businesses store their data on remote cloud servers which can be accessed online with a username and password, they risk potentially losing that data to hackers or viruses.
Advantages And Disadvantages Of Information Technology In Purchasing
Electronic Bill Presentation And Payment
(EBPP) Systems send us bills over the internet giving us an easy convenient way to pay. No more paper bills in the mail. Save the Trees!
Disadvantages
Internet Security Issues
For the merchant to process an order online, a consumer has to provide their financial details. Experienced hackers can use this loophole to channel this information and use it for their own needs. Use PayPal!
Faulty Products And Duplication
In some cases, auction websites have products that are not original. So a user can bid on a shoe thinking it is original, upon delivery, they discover that the shoe is fake and it does not meet your expectation.
Privacy
E-commerce websites collect personal data using cookies to know more about us and suggest products based on that information. Initially, data was collected without any notice, now most websites declare they intend to collect your information.
Advantages And Disadvantages Of Information Technology In Society
Advantages
Improved Innovation
Modern Technology has been prominent in job role creation and the emerging of technology-based companies. With access to a computer and internet, anyone can start a business while at home. Most successful technology-based ventures like Apple, Amazon or Facebook, to mention but a few, started from home but now they employ thousands of people.
Improved Entertainment
Technology has changed the entertainment industry; now we have many options to choose from. You can have a playlist of 10,000 songs on your iPod or you can watch movies on the go with an iPad; the list is endless.
Improved Social Discovery
Finding both old and new friends have become very simple. With social networks like Facebook and Twitter, you can easily keep up with all your old friends and also make new ones.
Globalization Of Knowledge
Today you can use the internet to get the latest news from any country around the globe. Services like ‘’Twitter’’ have enabled people to become a journalist, so they report news on the instant by tweeting. Services like Wikipedia.org is well equipped with data on about anything, though not 100% always accurate
Improved Communication
Like businesses, society has also benefited from communication technology. We can Skype, Whatsapp or video call our loved ones instantly.
Disadvantages
Cyber-Sickness
With the increased addiction to social networks and internet games, people are spending more time on computers and reject their normal offline life, resulting in increased isolation and social imbalance.
Advantages And Disadvantages Of Information Technology In Education
Advantages
Online Education Has Made Educational Material And Data Accessible Anywhere
The use of internet technology has opened institutional boundaries. Students from developing countries now have a chance to study their desired courses at a standard similar in some cases to first world education institutions. This type of education increases their likelihood of employment international.
Technology Has Created New Methods Of Education
Use of educational video games and puzzles has increased students interest in learning. Basing on research, students enjoy learning with technology, many schools have started providing free internet on the school campus, this helps students do research and learn on their own.
Disadvantages
Over-Dependence On Information Technology
Students no longer take time to solve equations and research topics, all they do is a query in google or on a calculator, poof the answer. Without these devices, they would not know how to achieve the same results in a library or on paper.
Poor Quality Publications Online
Many online publishers post content for monetary purposes, so you may find that most the content published online is not accurate or well detailed to help students and researchers.
Advantages And Disadvantages Of Information Technology In Banking
Advantages
Online Banking/ Convenient Payments
Many banks have integrated advanced information technology systems to improve their customer service. Today, it is effortless to withdraw money or make a purchase using a Credit card or smartphone with a simple tap; this saves customers from wasting time lining up in banks or from carrying a lot of cash.
Fast Credit
The technology used in banks helps in the gathering of financial details and credit scores about each customer, the information gathered can be used when a customer applies for credit in that bank.
Disadvantages
Money Laundering
Cases of online money laundering are on the rise, and this has exposed many online users to the predators.
Security
Banking security has improved significantly, however, so has hacking expertise. If your information is connected to the internet, there is always the possibility it may get hacked.
