Introduction

21st century has been defined by application of and advancement in information technology. Information technology has become an integral part of our daily life. According to Information Technology Association of America, information technology is defined as “the study, design, development, application, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems.”

Information technology has served as a big change agent in different aspect of business and society. It has proven game changer in resolving economic and social issues.

Advancement and application of information technology are ever changing. Some of the trends in the information technology are as follows:

1. Cloud Computing

   One of the most talked about concept in information technology is the cloud computing. Clouding computing is defined as utilization of computing services, i.e. software as well as hardware as a service over a network. Typically, this network is the internet.

   Cloud computing offers 3 types of broad services mainly Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS).

   Some of the benefit of cloud computing is as follows:

   • Cloud computing reduces IT infrastructure cost of the company.
   • Cloud computing promotes the concept of virtualization, which enables server and storage device to be utilized across organization.
   • Cloud computing makes maintenance of software and hardware easier as installation is not required on each end user’s computer.

   Some issues concerning cloud computing are privacy, compliance, security, legal, abuse, IT governance, etc.

2. Mobile Application

   Another emerging trend within information technology is mobile applications (software application on Smart phone, tablet, etc.)

   Mobile application or mobile app has become a success since its introduction. They are designed to run on Smartphone, tablets and other mobile devices. They are available as a download from various mobile operating systems like Apple, Blackberry, Nokia, etc. Some of the mobile app are available free where as some involve download cost. The revenue collected is shared between app distributor and app developer.

3. User Interfaces

   User interface has undergone a revolution since introduction of touch screen. The touch screen capability has revolutionized way end users interact with application. Touch screen enables the user to directly interact with what is displayed and also removes any intermediate hand-held device like the mouse.

   Touch screen capability is utilized in smart phones, tablet, information kiosks and other information appliances.

4. Analytics

   The field of analytics has grown many folds in recent years. Analytics is a process which helps in discovering the informational patterns with data. The field of analytics is a combination of statistics, computer programming and operations research.

   The field of analytics has shown growth in the field of data analytics, predictive analytics and social analytics.

   Data analytics is tool used to support decision-making process. It converts raw data into meaningful information.

   Predictive analytics is tool used to predict future events based on current and historical information.

   Social media analytics is tool used by companies to understand and accommodate customer needs.

The every changing field of information technology has seen great advancement and changes in the last decade. And from the emerging trend, it can be concluded that its influence on business is ever growing, and it will help companies to serve customers better.

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