INTRODUCTION, ICT, USES OF ICT IN ORGANIZATIONS, ICT EQUIPMENT/FACILITIES,

ICT
Stands for "Information and Communication Technologies."

ICT refers to use of new or modern technologies for analysis, storage, processing and
communication of information. ICT also refers to technologies that provide access to information
by means of telecommunication.

Data is raw facts.

Information is processed data.

Communication is the transfer of ideas and messages among persons, systems, devices or media
such as computers, internet, telephones, television or radio etc.

Technology is making modification, adaptation and usage of tools, techniques, systems or

In the past few decades, information and communication technologies have provided society
with a vast array of new communication capabilities. For example, people can communicate in
real-time with others in different countries using technologies such as instant messaging, video-
conferencing. Social networking websites like Facebook allow users from all over the world to
remain in contact and communicate on a regular basis.

Modern information and communication technologies have created a "global village," in which
people can communicate with others across the world as if they were living next door. For this
reason, ICT is often studied in the context of how modern communication technologies affect
society.

Role of ICT in society

i. Education/ Training
ii. Business
iii. Health
iv. Entertainment
v. Environment
vi. Employment
vii. Government
Components of an ICT system

ICT encompasses both the internet-enabled sphere as well as the mobile one powered by wireless
networks. It also includes antiquated technologies, such as landline telephones, radio and
television broadcast -- all of which are still widely used today alongside cutting-edge ICT pieces
such as artificial intelligence and robotics.

The list of ICT components is exhaustive, and it continues to grow. Some components, such as
computers and telephones, have existed for decades. Others, such as smartphones, digital TVs
and robots, are more recent entries.

It also encompasses the application of all those various components.

IMPACT OF ICT IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY

ICT has drastically changed how people work, communicate, learn and live. Moreover, ICT
continues to revolutionize all parts of the human experience as first computers and now robots do
many of the tasks once handled by humans. For example, computers once answered phones and
directed calls to the appropriate individuals to respond; now robots not only can answer the calls,
but they can often more quickly and efficiently handle callers' requests for services.

ICT's importance to economic development and business growth has been so monumental, in
fact, that it's credited with ushering in what many have labeled the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

ICT also underpins broad shifts in society, as individuals en masse are moving from personal,
face-to-face interactions to ones in the digital space. This new era is frequently termed the
Digital Age.

For all its revolutionary aspects, though, ICT capabilities aren't evenly distributed. Simply put,
richer countries and richer individuals enjoy more access and thus have a greater ability to seize
on the advantages and opportunities powered by ICT. This has brought about the digital divide.

Economic advantages are found both within the ICT market as well as in the larger areas of
business and society as a whole.

Within the ICT market, the advancement of ICT capabilities has made the development and
delivery of various technologies cheaper for ICT vendors and their customers while also
providing new market opportunities. For instance, telephone companies that once had to build
and maintain miles of telephone lines have shifted to more advanced networking materials and
can provide telephone, television and internet services; consumers now enjoy more choices in
delivery and price points as a result.

The significance of ICT in enterprises

For businesses, advances within ICT have brought on cost savings, opportunities and
conveniences. They range from highly automated businesses processes that have cut costs, to the
big data revolution where organizations are turning the vast trove of data generated by ICT into
insights that drive new products and services, to ICT-enabled transactions such as internet
shopping and telemedicine and social media that give customers more choices in how they shop,
communicate and interact.

But ICT has also created problems and challenges to organizations and individuals alike -- as well as to
society as a whole. The digitization of data, the expanding use of high-speed internet and the growing
global network together have led to new levels of crime, where so-called bad actors can hatch
electronically enabled schemes or illegally gain access to systems to steal money, intellectual property
or private information or to disrupt systems that control critical infrastructure. ICT has also brought
automation and robots that displace workers who are unable to transfer their skills to new positions.
And ICT has allowed more and more people to limit their interactions with others, creating what some
people fear is a population that could lose some of what makes it human.

To do: Research more on the negative and positive impact of ICT in the world today.