Impacts of Information Technology on Society in the New Century

 There has been a revolution in computer and communications technology in the past few decades, and everything indicates that technological advancement and the use of information technology will continue at a rapid pace. The dramatic increase in performance and the use of new information technologies was accompanied and sustained by the decrease in communication costs, both due to technological improvements and tougher competition. According to Moore's Law, the computing power of microchips doubles every 18 months. These advances offer many important opportunities, but they also pose major challenges. Today, innovations in information technology have far-reaching implications in many areas of society, and policymakers are taking action on issues of economic productivity, intellectual property rights, the protection of privacy, and the accessibility and accessibility of information. The choices made now will have lasting consequences and their social and economic impact must be taken into account.

Perhaps one of the most significant results of advances in information technology is electronic commerce over the Internet, a new way of doing business. Although only a few years old, it can radically change economic activities and the social environment. It already affects sectors as large as communications, finance and retail and could expand to areas such as education and health services. It is about the transparent use of information and communication technologies along the entire value chain of an electronically controlled company.

The impact of information technology and e-commerce on business models, commerce, market structure, workplace, labor market, education, privacy and society as a whole.

1. Business models, trade and market structure

One of the most important ways information technology affects work is to reduce the importance of distance. The geographical distribution of work is changing dramatically in many industries. For example, some software companies have found that they can overcome the tight local market for software engineers by sending projects to India or other countries where salaries are much lower. In addition, time shifts can be used in such agreements so that critical projects can be processed almost 24 hours a day. Companies can outsource their production to other countries and rely on telecommunications to keep marketing, research and development and sales teams in close contact to keep the production groups. Thus, technology can enable a finer division of labor between countries, which in turn affects the relative demand for different skills in each country. Technology makes it possible to decouple different types of work and employment. Companies have more freedom to locate their economic activities, which leads to greater competition between regions in the markets for infrastructure, labor, capital and other resources. It also opens the door to regulatory arbitrage: companies can increasingly choose which tax authorities and other regulations apply.

Computers and communication technologies also favor forms of production and sales that are close to the market. A computer and communications technology infrastructure that provides inexpensive 24-hour access to almost any type of pricing and product information that buyers may want will break down information barriers to the efficient functioning of the market. This infrastructure could also provide the ability to conduct transactions in real time, eliminating the need for intermediaries such as sellers, brokers and travel agents whose function is to provide a vital information link between buyers and sellers. The elimination of middlemen would reduce costs in the value chain of production and distribution. Information technology has facilitated the development of an improved mail order business, where goods can be quickly ordered over the phone or computer network and then shipped by suppliers through integrated mail order companies that rely heavily on computers and communications technology to control their operations. the

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