To start with, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), is just an umbrella term that denotes communication devices or applications and the various services or applications associated with them. In reality, an everyday solution like video conferencing could be your go-to ICT. With the mind-boggling reach of technology and the innumerable advantages it poses, ICT solutions denote the magic in your fingertips that enable you to conquer distance and make the communication go smooth.

Since we are referring to all the technology used to handle telecommunications, broadcast media, intelligent building management systems, audiovisual processing and transmission systems, as well as network-based control and monitoring functions, it is safe to say that ICT solutions have revolutionized communication. ICT has more recently been used to describe the convergence of several technologies and the use of common transmission lines carrying very diverse data and communication types and formats. Converging technologies that exemplify ICT include the merging of audiovisual, telephone and computer networks through a common cabling system.

It is also interesting to note that experts believe flexibility, mobility and collaboration to be the beacons of growth with reference to ICT in enterprises.  In a study conducted among the ICT experts, they reported that the greatest influence that ICT will have on their enterprise’s ability to remain competitive in the future will be by increasing performance (72%) and achieving cost savings (70%), as well as knowledge management (69%). Moreover, it was denoted that the debate on building competitiveness must not be limited purely to cost-savings and exploiting the cost-cutting options that are available, and neither should ICT be limited to the status of a tool for reducing costs. At the heart of competitive skills and ability lies the enterprise’s innovative capabilities, and these are often also the result of its use of ICT.

To quote Professor Roman Beck of the Goethe University, Frankfurt, “ICT is often viewed merely as a tool to cut costs, but in reality it is the innovation potential opened up by ICT that determines an enterprise’s future competitiveness.” There is no dispute that access to information and ease of communication has never been better.

ICT solutions, as we know it, are just the tip of the iceberg. Apart from the umbrella usage, ICT these days are often spoken about in a particular context, such as ICTs in education, health care and such. The significance of the same lies less in the technology and more in the limitless scope it presents.  It is widely agreed that together, Information and Communication Technology, is capable of creating greater access to information and communication in under served populations. Steps are taken all over the globe to promote ICT because it holds the promise to bridge the gap between technological ‘have’ and ‘have not’s’.  There exists already an economic gap between the ever-on-the-rise technological advances of developed nations and their lesser counterparts. With the proper execution of ICT solutions, this divide can be brought down and information access will be more or less fair. It is thus irrefutable to conclude that ICT opens up new doors to tomorrow.