CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1. Background of the Study

Information Communication Technology (ICT) refers to a wide range of computerized technologies that enables communication and the electronic capturing, processing, and transmission of information. These technologies include products and services such as desktop computers, laptops, hand – held devices, wired or wireless intranet, business productivity software, data storage and security, network security etc (Ashrafi and Murtaza, 2008). With the use of ICT, businesses can interact more efficiently, and it enabled businesses to be digitally networked (Buhalis, 2003). With the use of ICT, the time constraint, and distance barrier to accessing relevant information is eliminated or drastically reduced hence it improves coordination of activities within organizational boundaries (Spanos, Prastacos & Poulymenakou,2002).

The rise of the information industry has gone hand in hand with the developments of the electronics industry. Since the Second World War this has been spearheaded by the USA and lately also by Japan. The year, 1983, the European Economic Community(EEC)has realized its growing dependence on the USA and Japan and it has initiated a major programme for the development of the information industry in Europe (Miller, 1984).

The term ICT originated as Information Technology (IT) until recently when it was thought that the communication component ought to be highlighted because of its significance. It was then that the concept transformed to Information and Communication Technology ICT (Olusanya and Oleyede, 2003).

The nature and scope of information and communication required by managers at different levels in an organization vary considerably. Organizations require different types of information and communication systems to meet their needs. Therefore, information is the result/product of processed data. Communication has to do with the process of the transfer of the information which is the processed data and the output of the data processing system from the sender to the receiver through a medium in the communication system (Nwachukwu, 2006).  

Organizations are encountering significant changes in their business practices due to the emergence and widespread use of information and communication technologies (ICT’s) over the last two decades. In the early 2000s,businesses around the world were spending well over $2 trillion on information technologies per annum (Carr, 2003).

Since the early years of the 20th century, the world has been experiencing a revolution known as information technology. Some consider it to be the most fascinating development since the industrial revolution around the mid-18th Century (Tom, 1991). This revolution is changing our daily lives at home and at work, in shops and banks, in schools, colleges and universities. It is changing the way people think, communicate and behave. Today, the world has become a global village with the internet, mobile phones and satellite networks shrinking time and space, bringing together computers and communications; resulting in new ways of communication, processing, storing and distributing enormous amounts of information (Werthner and Klein, 2005). Advancement in chip, satellite, radio, and optical fiber technology have enabled millions of people around the world to connect electronically regardless of national or international boundaries. This explosion in connectivity is the latest and the most important wave in the information revolution (Evans & Wurster, 1997). The twenty-first century witnessed advances from an automation to an era of digitization (built on zeros and ones). It started with computer technology which changed from mainframe to personal computer to net personal computers. Along with these changes, there were changes in soft wares. As network started, there was a convergence of telecommunication with computer. The nature of data transmission using telecom and subsequent development of wireless phone and mobile has revolutionized the information processing system (Gupta, 2007).

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