Riding on the New Wheels of Technology

The discovery of fire, the invention of wheel - mankind has never stopped exploring the new and the unknown. But rarely does a time arrive, when we stumble upon inventions or discoveries that steer the world into newer dimensions. Now is such a time in history, where not one, but several new-found abilities are evolving that are reshaping, remoulding the way humans have been living for centuries. Clubbed under the umbrella term of ‘technology’, these are not trends, but life-changing gears that are now making visions come true. In 1999, when Cyclone 05B hit Odisha, a coastal state of India, over 10,000 lives were lost. But under a similar cyclonic situation in 2013, the same state was able to save lives of its people, with the help of improved forecasts, communications and other technological capabilities.

Technology has been around for a very long time; but now it is assuming an entirely different role and magnitude in shaping societies and business. From saving lives to improving lives, technology is touching every aspect of our social existence. As a customer, employee or entrepreneur, we use technology much more than we even realize - it is now like air and water. Technology has become a key enabler and influencer of business success, and IT departments are now an indispensable part of core business functions. With this magnified presence of technology, we are witnessing new, different business ideas and models that are moving away from traditional ways of doing business.

Technology driven delivery models

Businesses work in an interesting way today. While brick and mortar businesses are gaining efficiency through technology, there is a host of business models where the core idea is led by technology. Evolution of ecommerce and m-commerce are good examples. Cloud computing sounded the death knell for businesses like Blockbuster Videos, and gave rise to Netflix who brought in a different business model though in the same business of video rental. We now have a technology-based marketplace, ebay. It has given physical ‘mandi’ an entirely new and massive form, enabling buyers and sellers of any size to come together and trade.

DIY (Do It Yourself) Technology – It is no longer a monolithic concept. Imagine the IKEA model that made stylish furniture accessible and affordable to everyone in a DIY approach. Similarly, technology is also now available in pieces that can be strung together to build solutions just like LEGO pieces. This means lesser dependency on single sources and increased efficiency in using technology. Services such as Cloud brokers are allowing companies to build their solutions by integrating existing components, saving money and improving the time to market their products and services.

Mobility

Mobility is perhaps the largest contribution of technology in this century. It has brought the power of information to people.  Mobility has brought m-commerce and a whole bunch of operations into being. It has truly given individual empowerment and created a universe of opportunity for businesses. The consumer has become more reachable, comprehensible and convincible–if applied in the right contexts. Mobility will continue to bring more changes in the way we do business and interact.

Internet of Things (IoT)

If mobility got people connected, IoT has connected things. In fact, there are more connected devices in the world than people today. GE is using IoT for aircraft engine diagnostics/fault reporting. IoT is driving significant advances in areas like Geriatric care where one can monitor elderly patients 24x7 without any manual intervention and drive necessary services such as ambulances, with early warning and hence bringing down cost of health care. The rise of wearable computing is a great manifesto of this amazing technology that is gaining good speed in healthcare and wellness industries. There are multiple devices promoted by healthcare providers and patronized by users for health monitoring and even aiding in cure. Wearable products such as a Google Glass or a Nike Fuel Band are swanky, stylish gadgets. Imagine the scope when people get truly hooked on to wearable computing - business and technology providers are in for a mega win-win situation. Industry predictions state that 50 billion devices will be interconnected by 2020. So, now the AC at home can start cooling in a hot summer evening, even before we have reached home from work!

“Anything”-as-a-Service

“As a Service” model is a paradigm shift from how technology has worked historically. It has given people products in a constant state of evolution, adding recurring value and without much fixed initial cost. A thought leader in everything, Apple pioneered “Music-as-a-Service” thru iTunes.

Age of the Internet Baby

In summary, we are living in a connected world with individual identities. A world of intelligent machines controlled by smart people. MTS Mblaze nailed it well with their “Internet Baby” ad. Brace yourself – we might soon have to get our own IP address along with PAN or Aadhaar.