ICT In The Workplace

The Use Of ICT And The Future Of The Workplace

The use of ICT or information technologies in the workplace is increasingly common. And we are increasingly dependent on these digital tools.

What Is ICT?

ICT or information or communication technologies are the infrastructures, services, and equipment that shape the current computing world. They include all the devices, networks, applications, and systems that allow people and organizations to interact with the digital world. We talk about the internet, software, computers, and mobile phones.

ICTs make certain aspects of our work much easier, but they also change the way companies carry out their work. We could say, then, that information technologies have many advantages but also some risks. How do we use information technology in the workplace? How will work change in the future?

ICT Application At Work

Online Commerce

More and more, companies and businesses offer their services and products through the internet. Customers can analyze, choose and buy from the comfort of their homes products as diverse as clothing, food, technology, books, basic services, etc.

Communication

Information technologies allow fast and instantaneous communication between employees, customers, and suppliers. These exchanges can be written, visual, and oral.

Additionally, ICTs allow the creation of documents and files that can be easily shared and distributed digitally, regardless of distance. At the beginning of 2020, with the beginning of the pandemic due to the expansion of the coronavirus, the need for online communication has increased notably after confinements were carried out around the world; Today, online communications in video call format are common to hold meetings or provide all kinds of professional services such as online lawyers, one of the essential services that in many cases can be provided remotely.

Information Storage And Processing

ICTs allow creating databases, managing inventories in real-time, and managing a company’s accounting through computer programs.

In addition, customer databases are used to understand potential buyers and their buying habits better. This serves, among other things, to indicate purchasing trends and anticipate which products should be replenished and in what quantity.

Mobility And Access

The increasingly rapid evolution of information and communication technologies allows the workplace to move to any physical location. In other words, it is progressively easier for employees to work from home or even from their mobile.

Technical Support

Something similar happens with technical support. Thanks to ICT, it is possible on many occasions to carry out remote technical support, speeding up, lowering, and facilitating the resolution of problems.

Design

ICTs have allowed the development of new interfaces that are increasingly interactive, attractive, and useful. This makes it easier for employees to use digital tools.

Likewise, advances in audiovisual matters, both in photographic equipment and software, allow better editing of products such as videos, photographs, or animation. These are increasingly used in advertising and corporate communication.

Entertainment

ICTs have changed the way audiovisual goods such as cinema, music, or television are produced and marketed in terms of entertainment. Nowadays, it is possible to make high-quality movies or music videos with the camera of the mobile, which reduces the complexity and the size of the necessary equipment.

The new streaming platforms have become a new marketing model beginning to replace television and traditional cinema.

Online Banking

Mobile applications, Internet services, and instant messaging allow banks and their clients to carry out financial operations or inquiries with ease and security.

Social Media

Social networks have become a digital tool that companies can use to promote their products and services and promote a positive image of the company.

Additionally, there are specific social networks for the workplace, such as LinkedIn, where professionals can make themselves known and contact other workers and companies.

Sustainability

Last but not least, the aspect is the cost reduction and sustainability that ICTs enable. Since many products, such as movies, are digital today, companies spend less on materials to produce and distribute them. This reduces costs and even the need for personnel.

Also, the possibility of working from home allows you to save. However, getting rid of hardware like computers and displays remains a major sustainability issue.

ICT And The Future Of Work

The weight of ICT at work is going to change many professions. Some of them will disappear, being replaced by automated processes or artificial intelligence. Others will change, and new occupations will also emerge.

However, you do not have to worry excessively but adapt to the new demands of the market. As the journalist Andrés Oppenheimer explains in his book Save who you can, training is very important. People with high levels of study and preparation will adapt to the new professions that arise.

Creativity, originality, and emotional intelligence will also be of special importance, as they are traits that computers and robots do not have. Thus, positions related to the design and development of websites, for example, will continue to have relevance in the future.

So, although ICTs bring many benefits in the workplace, they will also change the way we work and the most in-demand professions in the future. In short, information and communication technologies will continue to mark our path and that of companies.

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