It: New Dreams
New technologies in the dynamic arena of IT keep on certain flares in the media and on the Net. Our readers must have wondered how fast this growth engine is. But they should realise that only a few technologies may be of use to them, or only a few of them may remain stable, Let us discuss those new technologies that are likely to remain firmly entrenched on the IT canvass for at least a decade to come.
The first and the foremost among new waves of IT is Direct to Home Technology (DTH). It is, in fact, a digital technology that is not directly related to IT or computer operations. But we must discuss it here because it represents a sea-change in entertainment technologies, which are essentially based on the science of dissemination of information. The DTH technology is a boom for households. TV signals are digitised and compressed. Then the signals selected by the viewer are sent to the satellites in encrypted formats. From these satellites, they are beamed back to the earth. The home antenna of the viewer is a pizza-shaped disk that receives the signal. A decoder is installed before the television set. It decodes the encrypted signal and the viewer is able to see clear digital signal of the channel. He can choose the channels. The registration installation charges for each connection are Rs. 15000-20000 and cost per month (for TV channel signals) is Rs. 500 to Rs. 700. The signals received through DTH are the best from among those developed bi the digital technology.
Our readers are well versed with the Short Messaging Service (SMS) that is available in every cellular phone. It has been replaced by Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), which enables a cellular phone user of send and receive pictures Text can be combined with photographs, sound, colour, voice and animations. The cellular phone must be MMS-enabled; it must have a built in camera too. The MMS can be sent to E-mail addresses. It can also be published on the Net or stored in the personal album of the sender on receiver The sender can send 100 MMS messages at a cost of Rs. 199 per month. Sony Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung are offering MMS-enabled cellular phones and service in India.
Call Centre management is a new feather in the cap of IT firms. A call centre is a node of a worldwide network, which is essentially hooked on to the Net. Four basic types of IT services are provided by a call centre, as follow :
(A) Customer Care: These include after-sale support remote maintenance, help and grivance handling.
(B) Finance and Administration: These include data analysis, medical transcription, insurance claims and inventory management.
(C) Human Resource Management: These include pay rolls, credit card services, cheque processing activities and employee leasing.
(D) Content Development: This service include development of digital contents, research and development, LAN networking and application maintenance.
It has been estimated that India would emerge as a major CRM power in 2008. In that year, she is likely to earn a revenue of US$ 8.5 billion in Customer Care, US$ 5 billion in Finance and Administration, US$ 7.5 billion in Human Resource Management and US$ 3.0 in content Development. The corresponding figures for the entire world are 33, 17, 49 and 23 (in billions of US Dollars), Now a days, CRM is the fastest growing industry in the field of IT. Online phone banking services have received a fillip due to the expansion of tele-communication services. Reliance Infocom entered the Indian markets with a bang in December, 2002. It is offering cheapest cellular services ever and is also offering new cellular phones in exchange of old ones. Other cellular majors are like AirTel are likely to cut down the operational costs of mobile phones in the wake of entry of this new competitor.
While the lads, lasses and professionals dream about new gadgets and technologies, we have two questions that need to be answered by them. Firstly, are the new gadgets really needed by them? The ‘answer to this question is a partial yes! We do not need all those gizmos that have stormed the markets. Our youth and professionals should choose only those gadgets that help them grow in economic, professional and knowledge term.
Secondly, is IT the only dream of the new era? The answer to this question is an emphatic No! Other careers also beckon our youth. These careers are equally good. There is a glut in the field of IT and IT-enabled services. Everyone cannot become a Customer Relation Manager (CRM) in a call centre, to quote an example. Technology changes at a fast pace in this field. And what our youth should be looking for is stability and not thrill. A rolling stone gathers no mass! Thus, SMS, MMS, WAR DTI 1, CHUM and cellular phones with digital cameras would rule the IT scenario of the year 2003. Our readers must choose the gadgets (and services offered by these gadgets) by keeping their requirements in full view. A DVD writer may not be of use to them but a DVD player could be indispensible, to quote an example. Finally, computer connoisseurs have suggested that our readers should not buy new PCs. Rather, they should upgrade old ones with add-on devices (like CD-writers) and peripherals (like web cameras and portable colour printers). Do not follow technology; use those strong points of its gamut that could be beneficial for you in commercial and intellectual terms.
