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Technology has advanced more in the last
half a century than in the previous 2000
years. If the 16th and the
17th centuries were the age of `Industrial Revolution' in the
developed world, the 21st century can easily be called as
an era of `Technology revolution'. The transformations led by technology can be seen
in all walks and also at each stage of development
of life. The impact of technology is very apparent,
be it Government administration, armed forces,
space exploration, primary and higher education, medicine and health, media, banking and
finance, disaster management or any other field.
India is already displaying its innovative capabilities in manufacturing, biotechnology
and even at the grassroots level. A recent example
is the Tata Nano, which through innovations in design, engineering and manufacturing has
created the world's first low-cost car. Even in the field
of sports – the Beijing Olympics were a technology marvel and involvement of technicians
in enhancing athletic performance cannot be understated.
Changes in technology have touched the lives of almost every human being on the
earth, whether it is the developed west or the
developing rest. In India, nothing epitomizes this more
than the telecommunications industry where we find not just educated professionals but even
farmers and milkmen making effective – and sometimes innovative – use of the
mobile phone.
"Technology doesn't usually save companies
time or money but in a competitive world, it often
keeps them in business" – Anonymous. A business transformation can be said to be a function of
the degree of differentiation a firm is able to bring
about in its product/service; the degree of
differentiation inherently delivered in the process, technique
or material used in producing the product/service;
the impact it brings to the company's business
results and the impact it brings to the firm's ecosystem
in terms of differentiation.
There are several reasons that lead an organization to change, evolve and transform.
The changes are caused, both by internal and
external factors. The internal changes are needed
to improve the product quality and the production efficiency. Many external factors like
the government regulations and policies, technological development, variations in
market conditions, etc., can also force organizations
to change. Some of the Indian business houses that have gained from such transformations
are Infosys, TCS, and Wipro. The changes in business at times are gradual and at other
times sudden. For example, Motorola has gradually transformed its line of business. It started
with making battery eliminators for the radio and slowly expanded itself in almost all areas
of microelectronics and communications. |
