Global Information Technology

Living in a Hyperconnected
World
ICT= information and communication
technologies
"a shorthand for the
computers, software,
networks, satellite links and
related systems that allow
people to access, analyse,
create, exchange and use
data, information, and
knowledge
"infrastructure that brings
together people, in different
places and time zones, with
multimedia tools for data,
information, and knowledge
management in order to
expand the range of human
capabilities"
(Herselman & Briton, 2002: 270)
The impact of information and communication technologies (ICT) on each
industry has become more far reaching as its transformational effects
spread to several sectors of the economy and society via innovations, the
emergence of new industries, and the arrival of the era of
hyperconnectivity.

In this new era of hyperconnectivity, ICT will begin a new chapter, and will
be closely linked to continued economic growth worldwide.

ICT will significantly reduce geographic or other limitations, allowing people around
the globe to communicate and share information and ideas freely.
ICT will contribute greatly to a variety of fields such as medical care and
environmental protection.
ICT and relevant technological innovations will push global economic growth further
than ever before.

The convergence of information technology (IT) and communications

technology (CT) will be an important part of technological innovations.
Converged ICT technologies will bring dramatic changes to our lives.

For individuals, smart devices and cloud services will have far-reaching effects and
become an essential part of daily life and work.

Ubiquitous super-broadband will make almost everything faster and better

while delivering an improved user experience.

The benefits will also make peoples lives much more convenient as ICT
technologies are applied to building e-government models and improving e-
commerce, e-learning, and online medical services, as well as other web-based
intelligent services.
Following improvements in broadband, current IT systems are migrating from fairly
independent platforms to collaboration across a wide range of arenas, and the
standardisation of capabilities in the CT industry have the potential to improve
interoperability in IT.

The convergence between IT and CT will become a major trend and one of the main
driving forces behind the rapid development of the ICT industry.
Refer to your handouts.
Solve tasks 1-3.
 insufficient
openness in the
ICT industry
Overcoming these
obstacles and
unifying ICTs a lack of connection
technical standards is among cloud
a top priority if we Obstacles computing,
telecommunications
are to improve to IT & CT networks, and smart
interoperability integration devices
within the industry.

a lack of
unified
technical
standards
Networked Readiness Index 2012 map
The Networked
Readiness
Index (NRI) 2012
Hyperconnectivity
The result of increasingly accelerated communications evolution is that
today we are faced with the phenomenon of hyperconnectivity.

Hyperconnectivity is a relatively new term that was coined in response to the

rapid availability and broad assimilation of entirely new ways to
communicate.

Hyperconnectivity refers not only to the means of communication and

interaction, but also to the impact this phenomenon has on both personal
and organisational behaviour.

Hyperconnected communication includes not only people-to-people formats

(as individuals and as members of groups, and using a vast array of media),
but also communication between people and machines, and between
machines themselves without any direct human involvement.
Hyperconnectivity results from a combination of
factors.
CHARACTERISTICS OF HYPERCONNECTIVITY
Hyperconnectivity has several key attributes.

Always on: Broadband and ubiquitous mobile devices enable people to be connected to family,
work, friends, and more 24/7.
Readily accessible: A universe of mobile devices and personal computers links people and
organisations together; these connections are increasingly available at any time and in any location.
Information rich: Websites, search engines, social media, and 24-hour news and entertainment
channels ensure that information is always on hand.
Interactive: Hyperconnectivity ensures that everyone can offer input on just about everything.
Not just about people: Hyperconnectivity includes people-to-machine and machine-to-machine
communications, supporting the development of what has been termed the Internet of Things.
Always recording: Service records, virtually unlimited storage capacities, miniaturised video
cameras, global positioning systems, sensors, and more - combined with peoples desire to
document their own activities - ensure that a large portion of everyones daily activities and
communications are part of a semi-permanent record.
Impacts of hyperconnectivity on individuals, businesses,
and governments relate to:
(1) the convergence of information technologies and communication technologies;
(2) issues in a hyperconnected world, with a specific focus on the role of regulation;
(3) network neutrality;
(4) the increasing importance of mobile broadband to empower individuals;
(5) the cost of broadband;
(6) the role of in-memory technology and analytics to control the power of big data;
(7) the role of real-time analytics to make good sense of big data;
(8) the value of digital traces for commercial strategy and public policy;
(9) the promise and perils of hyperconnectivity for organisations and societies;
(10) maximizing the impact of digitisation; and
(11) the effect of technology in education.
The cumulative effect of hyperconnectivity is that the limitations of time and
space have largely been overcome.

Experience is virtualised. You no longer need to be in the same room, or even the
same country, as your colleague, your teacher, or your doctor to accomplish what used to
require face-to-face contact.

Hyperconnectivity confronts us with both benefits and challenges. It can be a

powerful tool for collaboration that drives global alignment, increased
efficiency, and material development. At the same time it has very rapidly
changed the way many tasks are performed, and people are expected to
accommodate those changes.

All of that information and all of that access also present risks of misuse.
Refer to your handouts.
Solve tasks 4-6.
 HOW CAN WE SHAPE AND TAKE ADVANTAGE
OF HYPERCONNECTIVITY?
Hyperconnectivity is the single most important trend in todays world, as communication
technologies are changing so many facets of life and opening so many new possibilities across
individual, social, and business spectra.

The global communications service providers and their networks, supported by an ecosystem of
researchers, developers, and consumer electronics and equipment manufacturers and service
people, have been the primary builders and maintainers of the infrastructure that has enabled
hyperconnectivity to grow and develop.

For organisations, hyperconnectivity is likely to be a key component of their business now and
will almost certainly be central to the products and services they offer in the future. Although the
free enterprise model must be at the core of the evolution of hyperconnectivity, the service
providers and their commercial partners alone cannot be expected to bring it to success.

Hyperconnectivity in public-private partnerships, as well as the involvement of nongovernmental

organisations, will be needed to ensure that, as a global community, we are taking the broadest
possible view of hyperconnectivity so that it can deliver on its promise of economic development,
more efficient healthcare, greater sustainability, and increased educational benefits. This broad
view is necessary to make the coordinated plans necessary to take full advantage of these
opportunities.
Although hyperconnectivity is clearly a 21st-century
phenomenon, the drive behind it - to share information and create a
community with like-minded people - is as old as humankind.

But the tools to fulfill that drive have never been so broad in scope
or so widely available to so many people; therein lies both the
promise and the challenge.