February 11, 2015
Technology plays a very important role in society. Today, more than ever, it is changing every aspect of how we live, communicate, do business, learn, and interact. As every industry—ranging from healthcare to banking—adds IT services to their organizations, they are changing the way business is done and increasing their competitive advantage. But in what ways are these changes transforming their companies? Keep reading to find out how IT is expected to make an impact on these 5 sectors in the near future.
- Healthcare
The healthcare industry is usually one of the last sectors to adapt new technologies due to the sensitivity of client information; but, changes are on the horizon with the arrival of Big Data, analytics, IoT, and telemedicine. The FDA hasn’t been able to keep up, nor stop any of these major transformations, so there is plenty of time for tech disruption to find its place to settle in. This equates to more IT opportunities in hospitals, clinics, software, hardware, and data science companies. The demand to reach, engage and manage millions of individual end-customers calls for more powerful systems; however, widening access to health care means companies need greater agility to adapt to change at high speeds and low costs.
- Energy Utilities
Operating on business models that have worked for decades, the energy industry is also traditionally reluctant to make radical changes. However, as renewable energy becomes more important, changes are inevitable. Energy enterprises are starting to develop microgridsand other smart grid technologies, which are a major part of the future for utilities.
- Banking
Digital banking is disrupting traditional bank IT methodologies across the board — from the back office to the front office, and for all customers, whether in retail, business or private banking. Technology will have a major impact on the future of financial and banking firms as they seek to leverage solutions to provide better experiences for clients. While new technology solutions will increasingly take the grunt work out of the day-to-day business activities, it will also put pressure on firms to increase the human element in an effort to stand out from the competition.
Big data has become a very important tool for banking, as the industry uses it to assess and understand the needs of its customers. Technology enables enterprises to keep up with trends and make changes in the industry that improve their systems and simultaneously enhance customer relations in the future.
- Government
Technology is changing the way government processes work. It has also increased transparency and enables change from the top-down, allowing more civic involvement in the democratic process. With today’s civic technology, citizens can now be a part of community-funded projects, agencies can share data and spur innovation, and government processes can be made more efficient.
- Education
New technologies—everything from smart boards to smart phones—have transformed education from both the students’ and instructors’ perspectives. Tech and computer science education will be increasingly important as the world works to get more children, especially girls, to learn to code to help prepare for the 1.1 million STEM jobs that will be available in the US by 20181. Advocates are trying to add computer science education in all levels of education to build a pipeline for the future of IT. Societal and economic pressures are forcing senior education leaders to rethink business models that will bring down the cost of administering education and scaling the business.
Powered by key digital technologies — such as the mobile Internet, social networking, sensor technology, cloud computing, data analytics and the Internet of Things — digitalization will have a fundamental impact on businesses and consumers. It will redefine traditional industry and market boundaries and lead to industry disruption and reinvention never seen before. Furthermore, this will represent an unprecedented growth opportunity for many organizations.
What are your predictions for how IT disruption will impact these industries in the future? Share your thoughts with us below!
Posted By: Ariana Hampton-Marcell