>> MIM Speaks
REACHING NEW HEIGHTS WITH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
MARCH 17, 1996 -
THE STAR
By Dr Tarcisius Chin
A NEW revolution is under way. It is not political,
ideological, economic or social, though it may have immense
consequences on human endeavour.
There is, for the last SO years, a revolution in information
technology that is rapidly converging separate and distinct
technologies in various communication media to produce
multimedia applications that are truly global in reach and
interactive in spirit. The new communication technology is the
digital economy which is developing at an exponential rate
through the information superhighway of the Internet.
From the management perspective, Peter Drucker, over a
generation ago, introduced the information age as the
successor to the industrial age. He was referring to the
increasing educational and literacy levels of the workforce
and the consequent need to enhance the intellectual content of
organisations.
Subsequent management authors have predicted the globalisation
and decentralisation of organisations, empowerment, enterprise
and leadership, and creativity and innovation as the more
critical determinants of corporate success.
But management literature is also abundant in prescribing
tools and techniques of which quite a number- drop out
of.currency as spon as a dominant change element is
introduced.
This change element is the inform mation revolution.
Fifty years ago, Eniac (Electronic Numerical Integrator and
Computer) was born in the United States. It was a 30-tonne,
black behemoth housing 18,000 vacuum tubes and miles of wire.
It was introduced as a general-purpose electronic computer on
Feb 14, 1946, and was considered so advanced then that it
could function 100 times faster than the calculating machines
of its time.
By today's standard, however, it is a relic. The desktop
personal computer has 1,000 times the processing power of
Eniac and several million times the capacity to store data.
The information technology revolution has moved through
quantum leaps via breakthroughs of chip miniaturisation
economies of scale, software developments and a host of
technological discoveries.
One breakthrough is the paradigm shift to view information not
from the physical world of atoms but through the digital world
of bits and bytes. The movement of atoms can be controlled by
manmade laws, but bits can travel at fantastic speed and at
very low cost without regard for space and man-made
restrictions. It is normal for 10,000 bits to be transmitted
in a second through fibre optics.
It is amazing that three separate groups of researchers in
Japan and the US have now succeeded, for the first time, in
transmitting information at a rate of one trillion bits a
second. Considering that this is equivalent to 300 years
worth of daily newspapers or 12 million telephone
conversations simultaneously, this technological breakthrough
is, indeed, a most remarkable development.
The last four years has seen an upsurge in the use of the
Internet; and cyberspace is the new geography for users.
In the US, the young are very acquainted with this brave new
world; so are the older population such as retirees, probably
because of available time to pick up a new interest.
According to Nicholas Negrsoponte, an acknowledged authority
on the digital economy, it is the economically-active
population of the US that constitutes the "digital homeless."
But this will change as increasing benefits are perceived to
be associated with Internet usage.
Like everywhere else, Malaysia is moving very rapidly towards
the digital economy. While there are only some 20,000
subscribers to Jaring, which is the local gateway to Internet,
the phenomenal feature is the growth rate at around 22 per
cent per month.
And quite a number of avid Internet users are surfing the Net
for several hours a day! No wonder the voice of protest at the
proposed new tariff for local telephone calls with effect from
June 1996 and the Government's response to introduce cheaper
lease lines to encourage the further development of our
digital economy.
Many Malaysian businesses are already connected to the
Internet and it is an increasingly common feature for
corporate stationery and calling cards to include an e-mail
address.
At the national level, the proposed multimedia super corridor
linking Kuala Lumpur. to the new capital, Putrajaya, will
provide the model for a national linkage, which in turn is
expected to constitute the hub of our national information
superhighway to the rest of the world.
At the level of the firm, the benefits of using the Internet
can be more concrete. Cost savings through the use of
electronic mail compared with telephonic or facsimile
communication can be substantial. Publishing with a homepage
or the rental of space for advertising can reach a global
audience.
Telecommunication can save the cost of office space and work
can still proceed outside the office. New business
opportunities can be exploited using the Net.
At the current stage of development these are clearly aspects
of competitive advantage. But it must also be recognised that
in due course, as with telex and facsimile technology of the
past, all organisations will install the needed infrastructure
as part of normal requirements.
By that time, competitive advantage can only be derived
through synergistic and integrative applications of the
information superhighway with other corporate strategies.
The lessons of technology have to be learned, the faster the
better. There can be no turning back and individual managers
will have to learn to communicate with the new tool of his
trade.
There is, therefore, absolutely no reason for a Malaysian
manager to resist going digital, and every reason for him to
equip himself with a powerful instrument to enhance his
personal effectiveness as a manager.
Welcome aboard. It could very well revitalise your life!
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