Changes in the economic and social structures of modern societies have seen the emergence of new platforms for business and socializing. The concept of a platform society has emerged from this trend and it refers to the use of digital markets to complete transactions or foster social engagements. The concept of the platform society is contested because researchers have varied limits of accepting the above description. Nonetheless, globally, five technology companies dominate the digital market space and dominate traffic across major internet platforms. They include Google, Facebook, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft. Collectively, they have the power to shape the geopolitical landscape of human populations through their controls on information exchange and discussions that occur on their platforms. Jointly, these tech companies have billions of users, which means they control knowledge flow to a degree. This extensive power attracts concerns from skeptics who highlight the potential for information manipulation and censorship Continue reading
Information Technology
Digital Transformation – Definition, Types, Challenges, and Examples
Business performance improvement is a core goal of organizations. They develop core capabilities that drive a sustained transformation to achieve the set strategic objectives. Further, high-performance firms adopt policies for change management and adaptation to remain competitive in an unpredictable business environment. One capability that impact organizational performance is information technology (IT). Significant competitive gains are linked to superior IT resources that support digital business. Strategic integration of IT into organizational processes is seen as a way to promote greater digitization and transform a firm. IT-driven transformation encompasses the competitive capabilities drawn from information technology. The transformational potential of IT is seen in business processes, relations, consumer experience, clients, and disruption. Thus, a fundamental characteristic of digital transformation is the ability to change traditional models or confer new capabilities. The technologies should alter firm operations, support expansion to different markets or customers, and yield competitive gains. Conceptually, digital transformation encompasses Continue reading
The Benefits and Challenges of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
Information management systems play a crucial role in ensuring that the organisation becomes efficient and effective, but companies need enterprise planning to centralize data collection, storage and data processing. Enterprise resource planning is a technology that deploys computer technology to integrate various organisational resources—such as human resources, assets, information resources –across the organisation. The intention of ERP systems is to streamline an organisation’s data access, information sharing, business continuity, and revamping the decision-making processes. When ERP systems were invented in the mid-1990s, organisations shifted their attention to embrace the capabilities of ERP components; and a decade later this technology still moves on strong. However, during their early days, ERP systems enjoyed acceptance from large manufacturers, a trend that has since shifted dramatically. ERP systems have grown from mainframe computers to more flexible, robust, and seamless applications. Today, small businesses are able to deploy robust ERP systems in virtually every operational Continue reading
Benefits of Blockchain Technology for Business
Blockchain is a technology for recording and storing information, first introduced by a person or a group of people under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008. Initially, this technology was developed as a fundamentally new way of working with data that would not be subject to retroactive modification. This principle of operation was necessary to protect the data stored in blockchains. However, on the market, blockchain was presented as a system that allows you to work with cryptocurrencies – the latest invention of digital money with a decentralized deposit guarantee system. In terms of technology, a blockchain is a list of records, each of which is formed into a block and contains information, a cryptographic hash, about the previous block. In the case of cryptocurrencies, this is the timestamp and transaction data, which is usually represented as a Merkle tree. The timestamp ensures that the previous and current transaction data Continue reading
Online Reputation Management (ORM) – Meaning, Definition and Strategies
The growth of the internet over the past two decades has come as a welcome development for businesses, both big and small. The internet has provided a whole new, vast and efficient advertising space. However, bad publicity surrounding the brand can also spread faster than ever, tarnishing the image of the brand. The reputation that a brand projects towards its customers, business partners and stockholders can have dramatic effects, not only on the company’s revenue but on its very existence. Many brand owners and managers are still ignorant of the concept of Online Reputation Management (ORM) for businesses. Online reputation refers to a company’s image online. The online environment poses a great risk to businesses and their brands. The online image of a company can be the creation of third parties. Both the company and third parties influence online reputation. It is the responsibility of the company to control its Continue reading
Case Study: Amazon’s Innovative Business Model Using Information Technology
Nowadays, Amazon is the largest and most popular online retailer. It is known for being the second-largest e-commerce company in the world being outperformed only by Google. During two decades on the market, the firm managed to reach the position of the retailer with the Earth’s Biggest Selection, thus growing extremely popular among customers and enjoying customer loyalty. Amazon is an international corporation employing more than 150,000 people around the globe. Launched as an online bookstore in 1994, the company diversified its assortment so that now it offers a wide variety of products, including video games, software, furniture, electronics, apparel, jewelry, toys, and food. More than that, cloud services and infrastructure, as well as video gaming and music streaming, are provided to its customers.The specificity of the company is the fact that it has several different websites launched and operating in different countries around the globe – the United States, Continue reading