Top 10 Types and Uses of technology in 21st century

Technology is the result of accumulated knowledge and application of skills, methods, and processes used in industrial production and scientific research. Technology is embedded in the operation of all machines, with or without detailed knowledge of their function, for the intended purpose of an organization.

1. Communications Technologies

Technology is used widely in almost every industry -- you must know how to use it in your chosen field! Long distance communication is one area where technology has made a profound impact on workplaces. Businesses used to employ fax machines, surface mail and the telephone in the past.

Today, email, SMS, and various chat software tools have become the principal modes of business communication. Also, the use of video conferencing is on the rise, thus reducing the need for physical travel.

Examples of Communication Technologies:

1. Social Media

2. Blog and Vlog

3. Live Video Streaming

4. Smart Speakers

5. Wearable Technology

6. Email

7. Web Conferencing

Types of Communication Technologies

1. Telegraph

A telegraph is a type of communication system in which data is communicated across a wire using a sequence of electrical current pulses, often in the form of Morse code. A direct current source, a length of wire or cable, and a current-indicating device such as a relay, buzzer, or light bulb are the fundamental components.

2. Radio

Wireless signals are used by radio systems to transmit speech, data, and video. Other Innovators, such as Nikola Tesla and Guglielmo Marconi, experimented with delivering signals over the air using high-frequency electrical circuits and antennas not long after Bell invented the telephone.

3. Telephone

Television is another technique to reach a large number of people, but it added a new benefit: visual communication. Further electrical research led to the development of the telephone in the late 1800s. The telephone, like the telegraph, conveys electrical messages over wires to a distant receiver; instead of staccato clicks, which need training to interpret, telephone cables transport genuine speech sounds.

4. Satellite

A satellite is an item that has been purposely sent into orbit in the context of spaceflight. To distinguish them from natural satellites such as Earth's Moon, these objects are referred to as artificial satellites.

5. Internet

The Internet got its start in the 1960s as part of a military research project called the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network. It was an early data network that allowed computer users in various places to share data.

2. Office productivity

Word processing, spreadsheets, digital presentations and other office productivity software have become so commonplace that their use has become routine, and this has completely transformed office work.

Office software is now becoming integrated with other productivity and decision making tools like Power BI and this new wave will revolutionize the workplace again.

3. Record keeping and retrieval

Another area where advanced technology is already ubiquitous is record keeping.

Most businesses have switched to electronic databases, rather than paper files, to store and access their records, and this has become an essential and everyday part of our work environment.

Types of Records

1. Correspondence records Correspondence records may be created inside the office or may be received from outside the office. For example, letters, circulars, memos, notices etc.

2. Accounting records The records relating to financial transactions are known as financial records. For example, cash receipt, deposit slip, sales records, profit or loss statement, vouchers, balance sheet etc.

3. Legal records The records that meet the legal requirement of the organization are called legal records. They maintain the legal procedures and help in fulfilling the legal requirements and formalities. Their documents involve memorandum of association, articles of association, government rules and regulation etc. it can also be presented at the court.

4. Personnel records The records that are related to personnel of organization is known as personnel records. It includes personnel history card, salaries and bonuses to employees, their promotion and work history, history of absenteeism, name, address morality etc.

5. Progress records The record that gives the information about the progress of the organization or department is called progress records. It includes the records of sales, purchases, cost, budget, liquidity and so on.

6. Miscellaneous records The records which are not covered by above types of records are known as miscellaneous records. They are related to expansion, diversification and other activities of the business.

4. Internet and search

An internet search, otherwise known as a search query, is an entry into a search engine that yields both paid and organic results. The paid results are the ads that appear at the top and the bottom of the page, and they are marked accordingly. The organic results are the unmarked results that appear in between the ads.

There are basically three types of Internet Search:

1. Informational – Informational searchers are simply looking for information. Be it a definition, product name or review, recipe, or “how to” instructions.

Examples are:

1. “How to trim cat claws”

2. “Men’s shoe types”

3. “Sprinkler reviews”

Your web pages for this type of search need to provide useful, informative content. Things like tip guides, checklists, e-books, and white papers go here.

2. Navigational – A navigational browser is searching for an official website, person, or company.

Content on these pages speak to people with a specific interest in your brand’s products and services. These are consumers looking for actionable ways to purchase or inquire. Call-to-actions should be on every page, but particularly on these types of pages. This is your search that needs to lead to some sort of action.

3. Transactional – Transactional searchers are seeking something in particular.

Examples are:

1. “Buy Nike track shoes”

2. “Frying pans for sale”

People coming to these pages are ready to purchase your product or service. Optimize these pages for specific product and category terms, and have clear calls-to-action with links.

5. Decentralized work and cloud computing

Using the ecosystem, users are capable of running cloud computing activities, over the decentralized network while maintaining complete control over the confidentiality, anonymity and reproducibility of the process. Low cost of operation in order to keep it available for everyone.

The proliferation of laptops, tablets, and smartphones has made it easier for professionals to work from anywhere and has led to flexible-work environments like freelancing, work-on-demand, and work-from-home.

Recently, this trend has accelerated because of the adoption of cloud computing which allows workers to store and use data and applications on a server.

6. Analytics and new decision structures

Big Data analytics has become an important tool for all business functions. For instance, marketing through digital channels requires professionals to routinely use advanced tools for analytics and computational advertising.

Human resource departments are using specialized tools for recruiting, performance tracking, and worker retention. Such data-driven decision systems are allowing front-line workers to act quickly, without always waiting for direction from the traditional top-down management structure.

7. Automation, robotics and future factories

Automation is a technique used to build a system that is able to work independently with little or no human assistance. The main objective of automation is to reduce human efforts. When you enter a dark room, the first thing you do is to turn on the lights. Now, imagine, when you enter the same room, the lights get turned on automatically. Most of you will find the second scenario to be more convenient and helpful because it because it saves both your efforts and time. Minimizing physical work is the ultimate motive behind developing automatic gadgets. The discovery of fire, the invention of wheels, etc. are some of the examples which justify that bringing comfort to routine life has always been our prime concern. Automatically working appliances minimize manual efforts, reduce the possibility of human errors, and are energy efficient.

Examples of Automation:

Automobile, Kitchen Tools, Power Backup device, FASTags, Medical, Entertainment, Agriculture etc.,

Robotics is a branch of engineering that involves the conception, design, manufacture and operation of robots. The objective of the robotics field is to create intelligent machines that can assist humans in a variety of ways.

Robotics can take on a number of forms. A robot may resemble a human, or it may be in the form of a robotic application, such as robotic process automation (RPA), which simulates how humans engage with software to perform repetitive, rules-based tasks.

Robotics Application:

Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Nanotechnology, Aerospace etc.

8. Adoption of virtual and augmented reality

Sales and marketing using augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are gaining ground in several sectors.

For instance, real estate companies have enthusiastically adopted this approach and have built simulated environments through a series of linked panoramic photographs of the property's interiors by using high-quality lenses of 360-degree cameras.

9. Conversational systems: Chatbots, assistants

Conversational Systems are intelligent machines that can understand language and conduct a written or verbal conversation with a customer. Their use is aimed at improving customer experience by steering interaction. Their objective is providing informed answers, assistance, help in direct channel interaction and possibly in real time. In the context of advanced customer interaction and engagement, chatbots can be exploited to enhance existing touchpoints or they may even constitute a fully-fledged new digital touchpoint.

10. Information security

Information security protects sensitive information from unauthorized activities, including inspection, modification, recording, and any disruption or destruction. The goal is to ensure the safety and privacy of critical data such as customer account details, financial data or intellectual property.

Information security covers the tools and processes that organizations use to protect information. This includes policy settings that prevent unauthorized people from accessing business or personal information. InfoSec is a growing and evolving field that covers a wide range of fields, from network and infrastructure security to testing and auditing.

Types of Information Security:

1. Network Security

2. Cloud Security

3. Application Security

4. Internet of things Security

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