The importance of Information Technology (IT)

The Importance of Information Technology and Its Disadvantages

In this modern day and age, information technology plays a big role. However, if you’re not in the field of information technology yourself, you might not know just how information technology touches your life. Read below to find out how information technology plays a role in a number of different fields that you might not have realized. 

For those of you that don’t know, information technology is the study and use of systems for storing, retrieving, and sending information. This can include software, hardware, applications, and so much more. Much of what people use in the 21st century was created with help from information technology.

Items as common as cars use information technology. Business, education, and even healthcare have all been redesigned thanks to information technology. Read more about how each field has been changed using information technology below.

The Importance of Information Technology in Business

With the introduction of computers, the business world was changed forever. Companies use information technology in a number of different departments including human resources, finance, manufacturing, and security.

Using information technology, businesses have the ability to view changes in the global markets far faster than they usually do. They purchase software packages and hardware that helps them get their job done. Most larger businesses have their own information technology department designed to upkeep the software and hardware.

Information technology has allowed businesses to keep up with the supply and demand as consumers grow more anxious to have their items instantly. Using information technology, businesses like Amazon are working to help busy consumers do their grocery shopping. Just a few clicks on a website allows the consumer to submit an order, and information technology sends that order to the company.

The Importance of Information Technology in Education

The world of education is changing as the modern world continues to grow. With so much progress happening, it’s important that education be able to reach students in new ways so that their students are prepared for the future. The students of today are the leaders, inventors, teachers, and businessmen (and women) of tomorrow. Without the proper skills, these students will not have the preparation needed to survive.

With so much focus placed on education, it can sometimes be difficult to hold a job and still get the training needed to get a better job. Information technology plays a key role in students being able to keep their jobs and go to school. Now, most schools offer online classes that can be accessed on computers or laptops, tablets, and even mobile phones. A busy student at work can easily check in or submit assignments while on their lunch break.

Teachers need to be prepared by staying up to date with information technology, and this can mean more than just reading about the latest gadgets. Using technology, teachers can prepare their students for a future flooded with gadgets including tablets, mobile phones, computers, and so much more.

Information technology is helping to prevent more high school and college dropouts as well. Life events can happen to anyone at any time, and even high schools are taking advantage of online classes so that students can continue their education instead of considering dropping out. 

The Importance of Information Technology in Finance

With all the online purchases going on, it’s important that banks and security keep tabs on everything to keep everyone safe. Information technology might just working its hardest with internet transactions. As more transactions are done, the internet requires more networks, more computers, and more security programs to keep its consumers safe. Without information technology, these purchases would be impossible, and it would be impossible for banks to keep these purchases secure.

Information technology has also made it faster and easier than ever to send or receive money. It’s now also easier to open an online small business to sell whatever you might want. If you don’t want to have to file for a domain name, set up a website, and all the other steps required for registering an online business, you can use other websites like Amazon, eBay, and Etsy to sell things.

The Importance of Information Technology in Healthcare

Improvements in information technology have allowed for great reform in healthcare. Most medical offices can now send and receive digital medical information from doctors you’ve had in the past. Changes like this allow costs to be lowered and increase the amount of time doctors can spend on patients compared to paperwork.

Along with the changing the amount of paperwork required at your medical office, information technology has also updated the technology a doctor can use to diagnose or treat you. Using computerized axial tomography (CAT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, the doctor can use a computer to create detailed images of your organs along with creating ;images that show changes in your body chemistry and blood flow. This can be helpful to find illnesses that aren’t found with blood tests or other medical tests.

The Importance of Information Technology in Security

With so many transactions done online and so much information available online, it’s important to keep all of that safe. Information technology makes it possible for your online data to stay secure until accessed by the proper channels. Using passwords and encryption, information technology hides your personal digital data away, and the only way it can be accessed is by companies who have permission from you.

Generalized Advantages and Disadvantages of Information Technology

Along with specific contributions to certain fields, information technology also has a few general advantages for society. However, with every advantage, there comes a disadvantage from another area. Below is a brief list of advantages and disadvantages as information technology grows.

• Advantages

With improvements in information technology, globalization has increased. The world is brought closer, and the world’s economy is quickly becoming a single interdependent system. Information can be shared quickly and easily from all over the glob, and barriers of linguistic and geographic boundaries can be torn down as people share ideas and information with each other.

Communication has become an easier, cheaper, and faster system with the help of information technology. Using the internet, people can speak to each other all over the world using video conferencing. Skype is one helpful application that allows users to communicate to other Skype users for free. You can also pay a small fee to call regular lines.

Social media is also another area of communication available because of information technology. It’s now easier than ever to share photos and information about your life with people you know all over the world. This draws some families closer to family members they don’t get to see as often.

Most mobile devices also offer some kind of face to face video communication as well. Using Skype or other programs like it, you can call other mobile Skype users for free to talk face to face. Apple also has Facetime, which allows iPhone users to talk face to face with other iPhone users.

Businesses have become more cost effective for both themselves and their consumers using information technology. By streamlining, businesses increase their productivity. This pays out to greater profits, which allows companies to offer better pay and less strenuous working conditions.

Along with making businesses more cost effective, information technology allows businesses to be within reach of consumers 24/7. If you decide you want to purchase a red sweater at five in the morning, you can easily log in on Target, Walmart, or any number of online clothing retailers to purchase that red sweater. You can also save money on purchases by buying items located in different countries.

Information technology has also created new jobs. Programmers, systems analyzers, hardware and software developers, and web designers all owe their jobs to information technology. Without such advances, these jobs would not exist.

• Disadvantages

Unfortunately, along with the creation of new and interesting jobs, information technology has also led to a rise in unemployment. By streamlining the business process, job redundancies, downsizing, and outsourcing has occurred. Many low and middle level jobs have been turned to other countries, leaving more people unemployed.

Many people also credit information technology with a lack of job security. As new technology is released and jobs require more and more training, it’s important for employees to stay in a learning mode in order to keep their job. Changes in technology make it difficult for older employees to adapt as quickly as their younger peers.

Although information technology continuously works on making things more secure, there is still a great lack of privacy. Cell phones have been known to be intercepted, and email addresses can be hacked. Just recently, the Heartbleed Bug created a vulnerability in the OpenSSL cryptographic software library, and many people were concerned for their internet security and privacy.

It is also believed that along with opening a great communication window, information technology has begun to create a dominant culture. Many believe that the United States holds the most influence over how teenagers all over the world now act, dress, and behave simply because of what they can access online. English has slowly become the primary mode of communication for business and other communication areas.

Now answer the following questions:

1. What is your opinion  about this article? 
2. In which other areas has Information Technology helped?
3. What other advantage(s) and disadvantage(s) can you mention?