The implementation of modern technologies in business includes not only the improvement in areas of manufacturing and distribution, majority of business processes now require significant technological abilities to ensure fast data flow. The recently introduced cloud technology radically improved the speed of business processes and introduced a variety of business tools that ease the processes in both production and services areas. The addition of advanced connectivity methods in the form of 5G networks opens new opportunities for business and new methods to increase the efficiency of business processes. However, most companies are troubled by the decision to implement new advanced connectivity technologies and repositioning current approaches.
There are several solid arguments for a positive decision in implementing recent 5G technology to business. First, the broad implementation of 5G technologies could potentially lead to the creation of a unified communication platform for businesses that could overcome the shortcomings of currently available telecommunication technologies. According to Rao and Prasad (2018), the current industrial evolution 4.0 is based on cyber-physical systems and focuses on the development of intelligent systems, algorithms, and cognitive technologies.
However, some businesses are still stuck on the previous steps of the industrial evolution and do not recognize the potential of implementing technologies for the business. The introduction of a network that provides support for all communication scenarios could increase business productivity through the seamless experience of services and processes like cloud data storage, data analysis, machine-type communications, customer support, etc.
In addition to providing seamless communication support on all levels, the advanced connectivity technologies present an opportunity for the industry’s transformation, including the production processes. 5G technologies offer full real-time control over machine-type communications (MTC), which increases collaboration between robots and people. If previously machines and robots were able to perform simple tasks and actions, with the addition of streamlined communication, all machines would exchange data with each other, increasing the level of business autonomy.
Moreover, the number of possible mistakes in the machine work could be reduced with continuous updates to the operating back-office systems and staff. According to Rico and Merino (2020), factory automation allows the business more flexibility in terms of deployment, reduces maintenance costs, and introduces higher levels of long-term reliability through initiatives like ‘time-sensitive networking’ (p. 192808). Overall, the aspect of industry transformation in 5G technologies comes from increased autonomy, which could be utilized both in the mass production of goods or in small businesses that offer daily services.
As 5G technologies enable sources of effective communication, the decision-making process for high-level management could be eased with more accurate data and information about the current status of the business. 5G networks allow an improved speed of connection 10 to 100 times faster than current 4G LTE Networks. Aside from the speed, the 5G also carries an option of ‘network slicing,’ which could potentially reduce the cost of telecommunication services (Rao & Prasad, 2018, p.151).
According to Zhao (2019), the background of internet accelerated speed presents new opportunities and ideas for entrepreneurs by integrating new technologies and tools into the manufacturing and development of e-commerce. Overall, in terms of increasing business efficiency, the implementation of 5G technology increases the variety of entrepreneurial choices, business models and introduces new marketing methods.
Although there are positive factors affecting the decision to implement advanced connectivity technologies, there are also several drawbacks to the issue. First, the implementation requires significant financial resources for establishing a custom architecture, as unlike other types of connectivity methods, 5G networks require thorough flexible architecture development (Jabagi et al., 2020). However, the concerns about the implementation of 5G technologies are based on short-term effects, while the technology is expected to become adopted in the mainstream in the next five to ten years (Jabagi et al., 2020). This time frame states that businesses have plenty of time to perform the research and determine which specific points the 5G should improve in their case and adapt them.
In addition to the number of resources required for the implementation, there is an ethical implication due to the issues of energy efficiency of 5G. In an article focused on trends and open issues in 5G, the authors, Usama and Erol-Kantarci (2019), emphasized that currently, approximately 10% of the energy consumption in the world belongs to information and communication technologies. Implementing 5G technology innovations would increase the amount of consumed energy and present a threat to the business’ sustainability. However, according to Patwary et al. (2019), further improvement in the 5G technology would solve energy efficiency as networks with dense connections would help reduce the operational cost of networks.
This paper applied decision-making techniques to the implementation of 5G technologies in business, determined positive and negative factors affecting the decision implementation, and evaluated the resources required for the implementation and ethical implications. The decision-making outcomes in implementing the advanced connectivity technology include increased business autonomy, high speed of business processes, and improvements in business efficiency. Although the implementation of the decision requires a high amount of financial resources and includes energy efficiency issues, making a positive decision would pay off the expenses through increased business productivity.
References
Jabagi, N., Park, A., & Kietzmann, J. (2020). The 5G revolution: expectations versus reality. IT Professional, 22(6), 8-15. Web.
Patwary, M.N., Nawaz, S.J., Rahman, M.A., Sharma, S.K., Rashid, M.M., & Barnes, S.J. (2020). The potential short- and long-term disruptions and transformative impacts of 5G and beyond wireless networks: Lessons learnt from the development of a 5G testbed environment. IEEE Access, 8, 11352-11379. Web.
Rao, S.K., & Prasad, R. (2018). Impact of 5G technologies on Industry 4.0. Wireless Personal Communications, 100, 145–159. Web.
Rico, A., & Merino, P. (2020). A survey of end-to-end solutions for reliable low-latency communications in 5G networks. IEEE Access, 8, 192808-192834. Web.
Usama, M., & Erol-Kantarci, M. (2019). A survey on recent trends and open issues in energy efficiency of 5G. Sensors, 19, 1-23. Web.
Zhao, X. (2019). Analysis on the construction of entrepreneur business model under the ‘Internet accelerated speed’ environment. Open Access Library Journal, 6, 1-8. Web.