What you’ll learn to do: Discuss the role of technology in business

Not since the industrial revolution has business experienced such rapid and profound changes as it has seen since 1990 and the launch of the World Wide Web. Since the days of dial-up, access to the Internet is available almost everywhere. It is rare these days for consumers to go into a coffee shop, library or any place of business and not be able to access a Wi-Fi signal. If there isn’t a Wi-Fi signal in close range, most people still have access to the Internet via their cellular data connection on their smartphones and personal hotspots, no problem. With this anywhere/anytime access to the Internet, businesses created web applications to answer common needs of consumers. These applications can do everything from tracking food portions to sending massive amounts of information in a click of a button.

More people and companies are using cloud-based services for their business and store everything online instead of on a single device. This change will continue to have an enormous impact on the way business is done, transforming our once-traditional office environments and how people interact with companies on a regular basis. Flash drives are almost extinct with the prevalence of cloud storage, like iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox and FTP sites. With so many new technologies permeating the way people access information and access each other, the forward momentum looks promising for future technological developments.

In this module we will examine how these technological advances have impacted business.