With ICT, physical borders dissipate as information move freely through the digital medium that is less controlled as compared to other existing mass media. This is a stride towards social advancement. This revolution goes under the name of ‘Social Software’, and it is the element that elevates the Internet from a simple tool into an interpersonal phenomenon, connecting people in a meaningful way. Importantly, social software encourages collaboration.
Today we experience that developments and applications of ICT have stretched beyond imagination. Social, economic and technological systems are highly interconnected. Together with the rapid development and innovation in telecommunication technology and the Internet, this evolution has ushered in many new business models and applications. And it is now well accepted that ICT is robust, it can be harnessed in many ways, and its true potential is limited only to the human mind. The technology that began as a faster way to process data and compute statistics has today become pervasive in almost all spheres of our life.
Now, globalisation is said to accelerate and enabled by ICT, making markets bigger and more accessible by business with strong capital, management and technology. Business or e-Commerce has started to be done virtually and transaction occurs at a click of a mouse anytime, anywhere. ICT is stated by service providers as a critical source of new revenue; it is particularly important as the more traditional revenue streams continue to decline.
Scientific findings churn faster and newer discoveries and inventions as journals and reports are made available through ICT. This issue of i4d will highlight some of the major issues which are most relevant in terms of ICT implementation and socio-economic development.
The President of India, Dr. A.P.J.Abdul Kalam, while outlining a holistic model of development, aimed at transforming India to a developed nation by 2020, stressed on bringing the ICT sector to rural areas. This applies not just to India, but to every developing nation around.
This year i4d will make a special attempt to explore how service providers can expand into the market and create value for their enterprise customers, it will focus on the next key-trends that will give a competitive advantage to an Enterprise in its chosen markets. At the same time, we will provide a platform to share different views from all corners of the globe about the potential of ICT that can provide support to all sorts of developmental efforts. Here is the beginning for 2006.
