Digital Technologies 1

Chapters 6–8 are focused on demystifying the various digital computing technologies in the context of digital transformation strategies for businesses. Various technologies that are broadly grouped under digital technologies may be seen as part of a continuum of information-centric technologies. There are nuanced discontinuities in the way Information Technology (IT) evolved. The more recent evolution that we call digital technologies is characteristically different from an application and impact perspective. In these chapters, we unravel these nuances from the perspective of business management. Chapters 6 and 7 focus on basic categories of digital technologies based on the nature of capabilities they enable for business. Chapter 8 focuses on composite technologies that are built from a combination of the basic technologies covered in Chapters 6 and 7 . The elemental technologies we cover in Chapters 6 and 7 are relatively more stable and continuous when compared to the layers of composite technologies that emerge from a combination of the elemental technologies. In other words, we can visualize the taxonomy described in Chapters 6 and 7 as equivalent to chemical elements that are tabulated in a periodic table. At the end of Chapters 6 and 7 , we have provided a framework to understand the following: A taxonomy of digital technologies to appreciate their distinctiveness and a scalable structure to keep track of the ongoing developments in the world of digital technologies Levels of capabilities enabled by digital technologies and their business relevance What makes digital era technologies distinct from earlier technology eras Current state of each technology category and its foreseeable trajectory of evolution What makes digital era technologies distinct from earlier technology eras Current state of each technology category and what to expect in the foreseeable future Chapter 6 covers Technologies relating to the following: Instrumentation Interfaces Communication The following technology categories are covered in Chapter 7 : Computation Data management Digital security