SMAC technologies change everything

A teacher complained: “It is difficult to teach Information technology as it changes so fast. As soon as I complete the lessons plan for my class, many things change, and what I have planned to teach is obsolete. I spent a lot of time to prepare my teaching on Personal Computers, Local Area Networks, and the Internet but new technologies such as SMAC (Social Media, Mobility, Big data Analytics, and Cloud Computing) changes everything. How could I effectively teaching when things keep changing?.”

I explained: “When teaching technologies, you should focus more on the application instead of what they are. It is important for your students to know howtechnologies impact the businesses. They must be able to explain to company owners and help them to take advantage of technologies to increase efficiency and profits. Today students must understand the application of SMAC technologies because they will change everything.”

For example, many company owners do not understand Social Media. These technologies can be used to increase collaboration among workers, allowing them to share information and promote teamwork. The team can use it to discuss business concepts with suppliers and customers. Social Media can be used for “brainstorming” to accelerate problem-solving and promote new ideas to improve product development. Social Media is best to use for sales and marketing to move away from print media advertising. Today the most powerful advertising is digital media platforms. A short message in Twitter about a product or a Facebook articles sent to million people is cheaper and faster than advertising in the newspapers.

Today, mobility is the key platform for almost everything. Mobile devices are now available throughout the world, from notebooks, smartphones to tablets to access information. Entrepreneurs all over the world are using this platform to create business opportunities, from developing mobile apps to mobile banking, online buying and selling things. By having a mobile app, the company can contact a lot of customers faster and cheaper. Mobile apps can provide general info about a product, a company, prices, allow the customer to buy your products and much more. Having the mobile app will allow the company to provide all the information to customers directly.

As more people are using mobile devices to search the Internet, read the news, watch movies, or buying online, etc. There are a huge amount of data available to gather and analyze. By having this big data in many forms and from many sources, Big data analytics can predict trends and forecast business opportunities to create competitive advantages. For example, Amazon is collecting information about its customers via its advanced analytic software. By knowing what customers are looking for, what they like, suggest to them what they need, Amazon can increase its sales and drives out competitors. Factory managers can collect data on workers' productivity to find a new way to improve its operating efficiencies.

Cloud Computing can be used to deploy new applications, reduce capital expenditures of buying IT equipment. If the company is not in the technology business, it should focus on its main business instead of putting efforts on something not relate to its business. By having a Cloud Computing service company to handle technology works, the company can focus on its main business to generate revenues. Today Cloud Computing is becoming the preferred platform for most business because companies can rent, instead of buying IT equipment. They can rapidly scale up or down its needs to meet its business goals. Cloud Computing allows customers to pay for use and has become popular with many businesses because of its low cost and its ability to improve speed to market.

In this global economy, competition is fierce. Every company needs a competitive advantage to survive. They must develop a technology strategy and hire more technology graduates to help them to improve customer satisfaction and expand their business globally. All successful companies today such as Amazon, Facebook, AirBnB, Uber, Google are using SMAC technologies to stay ahead of their competition. In my opinion, SMAC technologies will completely change the way people work and all businesses quickly. The integration of these technologies will have a significant impact on all companies, all countries, and the global economy. Twenty years ago, the Internet changed everything. Today SMAC technologies will change all business rules and disrupt the global market.

The major challenge to companies is they cannot find enough workers with these skills. Currently, the competition for SMAC skilled graduates has begun in many countries. If you have these skills, you can get a job anywhere, any place with high salary. It is important for universities to recognize the needs and update training program focusing on SMAC technologies. It is important for first-year college students to recognize these needs and select Computer Science, Software Engineering, or Information System Management to build a better career for their future.

Sources

  • Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University

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