When people talk of Information Technology (or IT, for short), they are talking about computer use and computer software that deals with information. The information gathered can be converted, processed, protected, retrieved, stored and/or transmitted. At the moment, this line between tech and info is in a process of being redefined, which will affect how IT services are identified as well.
The definition of information has expanded with the advance of technology. IT professionals design complicated computer networks and info databases. They install applications for those networks and manage databases. They provide engineering of computer hardware, data management, networking and the development and design of software. IT staffers also can manage and provide the administration of the entire computer system.
With these advancements, the new term “infotech” has been established as a way to define how information and technology currently rely on one another. Infotech refers to any way that information is stored, created, or maintained. Nowadays, a company may rely on multiple people to handle their infotech needs, when previously only one employee was needed to carry out the infotech responsibilities of an entire company.
No doubt times have changed. What we see of IT is completely different, as there are IT consulting firms that are completely staffed with people who work on computers, monitor services, offer software solutions and design database management systems; this is information technology at its best.
Recently, some have asked whether there is a massive shift in the focusand balance of IT services. The tsunami of businesses now offering their products for sale online has led some to replace the term “information technology” with “interactive technology” – referring to the idea that companies can gather information based on interactions that users have while on their website – whether they are browsing products, responding to a blog post, or leaving reviews of their latest purchse.
However, this difference between information technology and interactive technology may be as simple as the degree of focus for the company. Typically, information technology has been confined to simply managing information, while interactive technology now broadens the horizons and takes the customer experience into consideration.
The future remains unclear as to whether or not adding interactive to technology will produce a diverse balance between technology and information. It’s more possible that these two will join as one that will focus on a site user’s needs along with the website owner’s needs. While a user is navigating his/her way through the site with the technical tools provided, the website administrator can collect data about the site visitor and have it analyzed by IT programs and use that data for upcoming marketing campaigns. This is nothing new to the web industry, but every day tools are introduced that are more powerful.
Though the balance of information and technology appears to be changing, perhaps it’s time for that to happen. You can reach the point in IT services where information is being manipulated by technology only because it can be done, without much thought as whether doing so contributes to the business. Interactive technology adds a layer of user experience far above the previous requirements to simply store, sort, manipulate and retrieve information.
