Assignment
Answer each question thoroughly. Points will be deducted for fragmentary answers.
1. The technology industry, laboring under Moore's law, depends on technology users to regularly adopt new hardware and software. Millions of users, however, accustomed to the tried and true, would rather stick with those products they know-at least for as long as possible. Sometimes the reason for not rushing to replace the old with the new is familiarity with and an acquired expertise in using the older version of a product or service:
• In September 2013, 70 percent of U.S. households had broadband Internet access, but 3 percent still used dialup; that is over 2.5 million people.
• In January 2014, 10 percent of U.S. adults had not yet purchased a mobile phone.
• In March 2014, worldwide, hundreds of millions of people were still using Windows XP, even though Microsoft officially ended support for this product. By February 2014, Windows 7 had 47 percent of the desktop market share; Windows XP, initially released in 2001, still retained nearly 30 percent of the market share!
Individual computer users are free to opt to be tortoises or hares regarding the adoption of new technology. Information technology (IT) directors, however, must usually follow company culture and management preferences when deciding whether to adopt new technology. If management is comfortable with risk and likes to be on the cutting edge, for example, IT directors can probably feel safe in adopting new technology early on. A staid, risk-averse management attitude, however, would probably not appreciate an IT director who rushes to adopt new technology. In any event, whether to adopt new technology immediately as it becomes available is a decision that will always be with us.
a. In 2014, 58 percent of Americans owned a smartphone; search the Web for the most up-todate statistics on this technology.
b. Interpret the changes in numbers (or stories). What is striking or important about these findings?
c. Discuss how these findings will look in 5 years and 10 years. How are things in the U.S. market the same or different across the world? Where are things moving faster/slower? Why?
2. Each year, various organizations release their assessment of the key strategic technology trends. David Cearley of Gartner, Inc., published the "Gartner's Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2017". Conduct a thorough analysis of each of the ten technology trends. Provide a detailed discussion of each trend, stating its actual or potential impacts, as well as some organizations that would derive most benefits from the deployment of the associated technologies, and the managerial and other issues such deployment could raise.
3. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will come into force in the European Union (EU) in May 2018. The GDPR is one of the two instruments of the EU's data protection reform initiative; it upholds the protection of personal data and increases the accountability of organizations processing any personal details belonging to EU citizens- with severe penalties for those who do not comply. The other instrument is the Data Protection Directive, which became effective on May 5, 2016, ensures that "the data of victims, witnesses, and suspects of crimes, are duly protected in the context of a criminal investigation or a law enforcement action." The regulation calls for the security and data privacy teams in organizations to work together in assessing the risks associated with their most critical information assets and to develop checklists, policies and procedures that can be implemented internally and with third party suppliers. Such efforts should enable the organizations to remain agile, maintain customer confidence and demonstrate that they are ‘GDPR ready.'
a. Discuss the need for the data protection reform in Europe. Is there an equal need for such reform in the US? Explain.
b. How will the data protection reform affect social networks?
c. Discuss the potential impact of the reform on (1) the citizens, (2) technological innovation, and (3) the global digital economy.