Executive Summary
The paper uses qualitative statistical forecasting to analyze, futuristically, the world of smart phones. The paper finds that to have headway, the company should engage in strong planning and anticipate future products. Additionally, they should adopt a leadership structure conducive to this.
We will examine the development of the smart phone technology. This is one of the most evolving things the world over. The smart phone has adopted many of the features of a variety of products. This includes alarm clocks, GPS tracker, watches among others. This is likely to change even further.
This paper will explore the likely direction Smart Phone development is likely to take in the next five years. Thereafter, we conduct an analysis of what this will mean for our consultancy business and take a position on whether it would be prudent to take a leadership role or not.
Prediction of Development in the Next Five Years
Smart phones are developing much faster than PCs. Leading companies such as Apple and Samsung are investing billions in an attempt to come up with the next-big-thing in phone technology. Currently, there are smart phones with applications that release different fragrances when different people call the phone owner. In future, Smart Phones will be able to predict the user’s mood and health situation(Sher& Lee, 2004).
Some predict that the phones might actually be embedded in the users’ brains. Such phones will make calls based on users’ thoughts and connect when the receiving party thinks of the caller. Of course, the insertion of the chip into the brain will be a risky affair.
Another aspect of change is also in the size of the smart phones. I predict that in future phones will be miniature devices. Some even propose that phones will be as small as watches. This will definitely increase the convenience of carrying them around(Scott-Curran & Lampe, 2012).
Meaning of This Development
It is crucial to note that IT is the bedrock of current organizational operations. Currently, Smart Phones form a large part of IT since business executives use them to work on the go. Hence, a possible failure or fault in IT could have catastrophic ramifications.Our company should adopt a leveraged strategy and planning methodology in its operations(Davenport & Brooks, 2004).
This development implies that we will be able to exchange information with our clients much faster than today. In the reverse, clients will require much faster response from us. It also increases the importance of data security. If the smart phones act according to the users’ emotions, important data may be compromised leading to losses for our clients.
The firm also needs to beware of competition, which could adopt the new technology and put us out of business.
The Role
The firmshould adopt a leadership role. This allows the customer to have confidence and trust in their products. Additionally, it gives the customer a head start in the market that is constantly changing (Northouse, 2013). Adopting a leadership role requires massive investment in technology before competitors. Owning leading technology is an expensive affair that needs proper management. The firm needs to make a provision for these expenses in advance.
The second consideration the firm needs to take before adopting a leadership position is which technology to adopt and which to ignore. In a leadership position, it is difficult to know which technology will eventually be a hit and which will fail. The firm needs to employ IT specialists to assist in this area.
References
Davenport, T. H.& Brooks, J. D. (2004). Enterprise systems and the supply chain. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 17(1): 8-19.
Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: theory and practice. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Scott-Curran, S. & Lampe, T. (2012). Smartphone Of The Future Will Be In Your Brain. Web.
Sher, P. J. & Lee, V. C. (2004). Information technology as a facilitator for enhancing dynamic capabilities through knowledge management. Information& Management, 41 (8): 933-945.