After years of public debate about the national broadband network, it is heartening to see that more and more people are getting the message that the network means more than just fast internet access. Increasingly, key decision-makers in business and government are reaching an understanding of the transformation that is underway in the economy.
It started with the music industry, followed by the publishing industry. Also, the retail sector is learning its lessons – the hard way, but it is now beginning to understand the new environment. The entertainment industry is still trying to stop the tsunami by employing armies of lawyers, but it, too, will soon be engulfed by the changes. The banking sector is making a much smoother transition, while the demise of Kodak is another example of ‘missing the boat’.
One by one, all sectors of the industry are being confronted with the business transformation that the internet is bringing, and yet, incredibly, the ICT industry itself is still struggling with it (Sensis (YP), Nokia, Microsoft, Motorola, Nortel, etc).
Progress in e-education is moving at an enormous pace and already some schools are limiting the number of printed textbooks – some are going totally e-book. With over a million children now with laptops, it is only a matter of time before the education system switches over. The savings in books and other printed material alone will pay for this digital revolution. South Korean schools are entirely e-book-based.
Changes in e-health are following the same path, with electronic patient records slowly being introduced and health insurance schemes starting to re-fund e-health services. This will be a user-driven development as it is more likely that the users will be able to adapt to e-health much faster than the healthcare system can deliver it.
This will clear the way for a whole new e-health industry, worth billions of dollars. One only has to look at some of the e-health systems linked to the high-end private hospitals in the USA to see what is in store. They use their e-health facilities as a major marketing tool to attract customers – not just to the actual hospital, but to all of the other facilities around it. The add-on revenues are significant.
Key applications of a digital economy
· Economic growth (digital economy, new high-quality employment); · Healthcare from home (certain services); · Work from home (for certain kinds of work); · Education at home; · Shopping from home; · Interacting with the government from home; · Public safety; · Civic participation; · Energy independence/efficiency, management of renewable energy; · Entertainment. |
(Source: BuddeComm)
A digital infrastructure is essential to manage this transition. One only has to look at manufacturing – Germany, for instance, remains one of the leading global manufacturing countries, thanks to technological innovations that give it the edge over the countries whose manufacturing industries continue to operate in more or less traditional ways.
The digital infrastructure plays a key role in German innovation and manufacturing leadership.