TECHNOLOGY

Technology Management

Part A

Managing Information in the Digital Age - Challenges & Opportunities (Mobile Phone Sector)

Introduction

The digital age is commonly known as Information Age and Computer Age. It is a shift in human history which came by the industrial revolution. It was based on the manipulation of the information which is called as information society. The onset of the Digital Age is related with Digital revolution. It is same as the onset of industrial age was associated with Industrial revolution. In the information age individuals got the ability to transfer information easily. They got instant access to information which was very difficult and almost impossible previously (Albert & Bradley, 1997, pp. 45). The Digital age was formed by the capitalizing on the computer microminiaturization advances. It was done with a transition spanning by the arrival of personal computers in the ending years ion 1970s. In 1990s, internet reaches its critical mass and the adoption of new technology by the public started in 1990s.

Digital age has allowed frequent network and communications globally and has shaped the modern society. The scope of this report is to understand how companies manage information in the digital age. Digital age is very fast moving and environment is very challenging. It also has many opportunities if the information is used in a correct way (Wong 2005, p. 261). In this report, the managing of information in digital age would be seen in the mobile industry. This report has chosen mobile industry for research. In this report whole analysis would be done on mobile industry and reasons behind their success and survival would be explained. The main aim of this report is to give practical example of how companies manage information in digital age in the mobile industry. The main points on which this report is focused are; competitive use of the information, business models and strategies used by companies, security use by the companies, Enterprise Resource Planning in the companies and digital Hub of the company (Alexander, 2009, n.d).

Competitive Use of Information in Digital Age

Recently it is seen that trends are changing in the companies. Companies now use various information technology tools and applications in order to gain competitive advantage. It has been observed that many companies separate allocation of budget is done for information technology. According to experts, proper implementation of information technology increases the efficiency of the organization. The study of Porter suggests that there are three strategies for competing successfully in the markets. These strategies are; overall cost leadership, focus and differentiation. Information technology helps organizations in reducing the cost of products and services. If the information technology is designed correctly then it also helps in assisting focus and differentiation strategies (Allen & Cohen, 1969, pp. 16).

It depends upon the company that which strategy they want to apply to gain competitive advantage in the market. Information technology helps in applying both bottom-line strategies and top-line strategies. In bottom-line strategies the main focus of the companies is to increase the efficiency by reducing the ...