Following paper has been written with the intention of providing information regarding upcoming technologies such as smartphones and enterprise applications and how these technological advances are making personal as well as professional lives easy. Competitive market has given rise to many new and upcoming technologies that are providing better features. These features help organizations to grow and achieve business standards. The paper discusses in detail about these technologies.
Information technologies
The proliferation of mobiles into our daily lives has been extensive, to the point that most of our communication needs are fulfilled by mobile phones. Advancing technology has made it extremely easy to stay connected all the time. A wide variety of digital content is being accessed today by consumers using their multimedia devices. The advent of smart phones has marked the beginning of a digital age wherein not just communication needs are fulfilled, but every other need such as utility bill payments, shopping and bank transfers; everything can be done using your smartphone.
Smartphones have penetrated the consumer market extensively, as today every consumer is looking to buy a device that is equipped with maximum features which can be used for multiple purposes. Like every technology that is discovered, it has its own set of strength and weaknesses, which should be taken into consideration before buying a smartphone. One of the biggest strengths of smartphones is the instant connectivity provided by the phone. Smart phones provide users the ability to connect over the internet all the time, this gives a chance to stay connected all the time and fulfill all their internet requirements. Smartphones provide many entertainments options such as movies, games, and other multimedia features such as high-resolution camera, video recording and music player. Apart from providing emtertainment features, smartphones can be easily synced with the PC for easy file transfer. These devices are also equipped with features that allows the user to download movies and watch them on their device. Thus smartphones fulfill every need of the user, be it connectivity or entertainment.
But on the contrary these devices also have a few weaknesses such as; the cost factor. Smartphones are very costly and many other additional costs for protection make these devices costly. Not equipped with anti-virus programs, smartpphones are at a risk of being attacked by viruses, thus rendering them useless. Tracking with a smartphone becomes easy and thus location can be known easily.
Technology has its pros and cons; it depends upon the consumer how to use it to benefit the most.
Today many businesses are benefitting by implementing enterprise applications such as CRM, ERP and SCM. These applications provide efficiency in operations, enhanced security, better performances and increased profitability. Thus these applications cannot be ignored by the managers. Enterprise applications benefit the organization at a large level if implemented in the right manner. If these applications are implemented by the top management accurately and its benefits are made clear, it will affect the functioning of the entire organization. Thus rightful implementation is required. In order to achieve the desired effect, right IT partners need to be chosen who have the correct knowledge of enterprise applications and can thus leverage the functioning of the enterprise.
Some of the drawbacks of enterprise applications include high cost of customization, implementation, training of staff and configuration. Another major drawback is the amount o time required for the full implementation; nearly 2-3 years are required for it be completely functional. In case the customization is not optimal, it cannot be fully utilized and thus organization cannot benefit optimally. In order for an enterprise application to be utilized completely, its application should be across the organization and thus exhaustive training needs to be provided. Enterprise application cannot be applied in decentralized organizations. Thus such limitations and drawbacks hamper the optimal use of enterprise applications across an organization.
References:
1. Media Planet (2009). Smartphones. Where mobility meets productivity. 19 August 2009. Retrieved from web. http://doc.mediaplanet.com/all_projects/3723.pdf
2. Enterprise Applications: A conceptual look at ERP, CRM, and SCM. 19 April 2012. Retrieved from web. http://www.hill.com/resources/whitepapers/enterprise_apps.pdf
