SMAC technologies
Last night, I had a dinner with several friends. One person asked me: “Today robots are working in factories all over the world, more labor workers are losing jobs to machines. Even China, the “Factory of the world” is also having problems. Last year, several million workers lost jobs when their factories changed to full automation using robots. With unemployment is increasing quickly in many countries, what do you think will happen next?”
I told him: “Technologies change many things, but it is only the beginning. More things will happen when more companies and countries adopt technology to stay competitive. You cannot stop progress; you cannot stop company owners to automate their factories for better profits. In this technology-driven world, the only solution is to train workers in using technology. Currently, there is a mismatch in the job market between what businesses need and the kind of education students are getting. Many training programs are obsolete and need to change. According to a global report, last year there were over 4 million jobs go unfilled in the world because of the shortage of skilled workers. Most of these jobs require at least a college education in science and technology. The problem is universities are not response fast enough to provide this kind of training. For many years, companies have complained that today college graduates lack specific skills to perform the job, but it seems that no one want to do anything. Now people begin to see that machines are replacing workers in manufacturing assembly lines. Soon people will see that automated software are replacing office workers too. In past years, email, word processing, Tax auditing software, accounting software, and automated answering services have eliminated many office jobs.”
“In the next few years, self-driving cars and unmanned drones will replace workers in transportation and logistics jobs. Smartphones, wearable health devices will change the medical examination process and eliminate some nursing jobs. Today your smartphone can measure your daily activities, your heartbeat, your blood pressure and gather information about your health or warn you about diseases or heart attack. Soon it will not only measure but also analyzing and diagnosing your health. However, with technologies, many new jobs will be created too. The important thing is people need to know about it and prepare for it before it happens.”
My friend was frustrated: “But most people feel helpless to do anything. They know that they need to do something, but they do not know how. Everything seems to stagnate at this time. Even governments are frustrated as they do not know what to do.”
I told him: “In this fast changing time, people are confused. Some even resist the change, but most prefer to wait because they are afraid and do not know what will happen to them. However, this is a good opportunity for some people to seize it and take advantage of it. The Information Age has opened the door for many young people to become entrepreneurs and start their company. Today young people are familiar with technologies such as laptops, tablets, smartphone, etc. They know about Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Snapchat, etc. They know about mobile apps, some even develop mobile apps to share with friends, etc. For them, the smartphones and social media have become an integral part of their lives. If they receive proper training, they can make a difference.”
My friend asked: “Do you think entrepreneur and startups are the solutions to reduce unemployment?”
I explained: “It is one of the solutions. If we encourage more people to start their company based on innovating ideas, then it will help the economy and reduce unemployment. But innovation starts with proper technology education and training. Without this foundation, it would be difficult. It is easy to talk about the startup; it is easy to encourage people to start a company, but the most important is to have an up to date technology education. Today every company need to apply technologies in their business, they need to use social media for their sales and marketing, but many company owners do not know these technologies well. They cannot rely on their business managers who have worked there for twenty or thirty years. To apply these technologies effectively, company owners must hire younger people, the recent college graduates who not only know technologies but also know how to develop and integrate them into a technology strategy.”
Another friend asked: “But where do company find college graduates with these skills?”
I explained: “Today, companies do not hire graduates based on degree anymore. A degree is no longer a guarantee for the knowledge and skills. Today companies are conducting thorough interviews to validate the skills of graduates as well as select universities with a good reputation that have the most up to date training programs. I think in the next ten years, SMAC technologies (Social Media, Mobility, big Data Analytics, and Cloud Computing) will change everything, and these are the most important skills that universities need to focus on today.”
Another friend asked: “But technology destroys jobs, not creates jobs. How do you justify that technology is good for the society?
I explained: “If you look back in history, before the 18th century, agriculture was the main source of jobs where 85% of people were working in the agriculture area. During the 19th and 20th century, industry works were the main source of jobs where 76% of people were working in this area. Today only 12% of people are working in agriculture, and 42% of people are working in the industry. It is predicted that soon over 75% of jobs will be in the technology area. Technology is destroying many labor jobs in the factory but replacing it with better jobs. Although robots replace people in the factory, they still need people to program them and control them. If you work as labor workers in the factory, you do not like robots; but if you are managing the robots, you will love the new job because it pays more. By using technology in the company, more people will have access to information that they need, making them more productive. Managers can make decisions faster and better which can improve the business performance and profits. Today technology has “flatten out” company structure, reduces bureaucracy, increase effectiveness and profits, but it also created a division of between “technology companies” and “non-technology companies” leading to a disruption of the economy. Many companies will fail; many new companies will start; many people will lose a job; many people will get a better job. In this time of turmoil, it is important to have a clear vision and direction to avoid confusion. Soon most companies will become “technology companies” and the economy will balance itself. You cannot stop the progress and the technology trends. You can move fast or slow but if you do not change, your competitors will, and they will destroy you.”
My friend asked: “Why do you think SMAC technologies are important? Why not something else?”
I explained: “I believe SMAC (Social Media, Mobility, Analytics, Cloud Computing) will be a multi-trillion dollar opportunity globally. I believe SMAC is bigger than the Internet and will change everything. SMAC is not a single technology but an integrated of several technologies together to create new values and a new way of doing business. I believe many future innovated ideas will come from SMAC. For example, today the world has over 4.5 billion smartphone users and over 3 billion internet users. Adopting SMAC technologies will open a new market for companies to sell more products to more customers and increase profits. With all of the data stored in the cloud, companies can use big data analytics to understand and predict what customers need and design the marketing strategy to increase sales. I believe SMAC will open the door of opportunity for many entrepreneurs as they can seize the market before others. I believe there will be high demand for people with SMAC skills from businesses all over the world. That is why I think every university should focus on teaching SMAC in their program.”
Sources
- Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University
