Web 2.0 and the Digital Revolution - Staying on top
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I would like to take a second to look at the top 20 companies on the Fortune 500. These companies are the top companies of the year, and each year they change. It goes all the way back to 1955. It takes a lot for a company to be near the top year in and year out. They not only have to continue to be great at what they do, but they also have to adapt to changes in the market. Taking a look at the top 20 companies from 1975 through 2007, only 2 are still up there: Exxon Mobil and General Electric. All those investments in the top companies aren't looking too well for you right now are they? Those two companies also go back to 1955 as top 20 companies.
This makes me think two things: oil was and still is a must have in our world, and General Electric must be doing something right to be in the top 20 year in and year out. Is it IT that has made this company big? Not directly, they have managed to spread their business into many different areas. In the future, two of the biggest will be health care and energy. GE is on the cutting edge of both. They're looking for more green technology and also building the most advanced health care products around.
The computer's role has changed overtime. Back in the 1950's, it was used to program and learn with old punch cards. It was used more to help to engineers than anything else. No one outside of R&D had computers, because no one knew how to work them. Put code in, and get code out. That's all they did. And then you had to read it. The everyday person wouldn't want to even try to understand this. As computers advanced, so did the OS that ran on them. We now had a screen with a means of inputting data, retaining it, and bringing it back up onto the screen. This got a few more people at each company into computers. You didn't need a P.H. D. anymore to run a computer, but the average Joe still had no idea how to run a computer and didn't see a need for them.
Then came the GUI, which made the computer user friendly, something nearly anyone could use. Welcome to mass adoption computers. Now, nearly everyone has a computer at work, and an IT department to take care of all them. The average computer user at this point can't handle what goes on behind the screen. Heck, even what's going onto the screen in some cases. There are people that know the 5 icons on the screen and nothing else. IT has now become mainstream and a must for a majority of companies. This came along at the same time as the computer bubble. Shortly after the bubble busted, IT took on another roll. People were still scratching the surface of what IT could do for a company. IT is now being asked to help optimize and streamline a company. People are quickly learning that IT can cut costs. IT is saving money for every division of a company. Applications are making people's jobs easier and allowing them to be more efficient.
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