How the so-called 4IR technologies will affect key elements of qualified international business models

Digital Business

Subject: How the so-called 4IR technologies will affect key elements of qualified international business models?

Contents

Introduction        3

What is 4th industrial revolution?        3

Impacts of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on Business        4

Technologies brought by the Fourth Industrial Revolution        4

Biotechnology        4

Robotics        4

3D Printing        5

New Materials        5

Internet of Things (IoT)        5

Energy Capture, Storage, and Transmission        5

Artificial Intelligence (AI)        5

Blockchain Applications        6

New Computational Technologies        6

Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality        6

New business models        7

References        8

Introduction

What is 4th industrial revolution?

        Today we are experiencing a technological revolution that will drastically change the way we used to live, study, work and socialize with one another. Concerning its size, impact, and integration in our lives, this industrial revolution will not resemble to anything we’ve ever experienced before. We are just on the edge of its beginning and still not sure how exactly it will impact our lives, but we can be sure that the fourth industrial revolution will bring a lot of new ways of doing and creating things, and all private and public institution have to adapt to this change.

The First Industrial Revolution happened when humanity learned how to use steam power and mechanize production and improve transportation, narrowing distances. The Second Industrial Revolution came with electricity and mass production. The Third one took it on a new level with information technology and automation of processes. Currently happening Fourth Industrial Revolution, also called digital revolution, is a logical continuation of the Third. It is based on a fusion and mixture of technologies that is mixing together digital, physical and biological aspects of our lives.

However, being a logical continuation of the Third Industrial Revolution, the Fourth one is distinct by its enormous speed of progression, and speed of integration. Never before humanity experienced this pace of breakthroughs. Furthermore, these breakthroughs are becoming the cause of evolution in all aspects and all systems, drastically changing the way we do business, we produce and manage (Schwab, 2016).

Nowadays billions of people are connected by mobile devices, enjoying global and unlimited processing power, having access to billions of terabytes of data every day- unlimited source of knowledge. All these numbers and amount of possibilities are increasing every day, being multiplied by breakthroughs as: artificial intelligence, nanotech, robotics, The Internet of Things, autonomous vehicles etc. Computing power is increasing exponentially and represents a potential for new income sources, which business of today need to grasp and implement all the features that the Fourth Industrial Revolution has to offer.

Impacts of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on Business

Technologies brought by the Fourth Industrial Revolution

We can appoint 10 Technologies which were brought by the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Trailhead.salesforce.com, 2018), such as:

1. Biotechnology
2. Robotics
3. 3D printing
4. New materials
5. Internet of things (IoT)
6. Energy capture, storage, and transmission
7. Artificial Intelligence
8. Blockchain Applications
9. New computing technologies
10. Virtual, Augmented and Mixed reality

Biotechnology

Biotechnology has its implications notably in medicine:

• Gene-defective diseases can be cured by gene modification
• Grown organs for human transplantation
• Helped blind people regain functional eyesight
• Prosthetic limbs that are fully sensitive

Robotics

Robotics are useful in industries as well as medicine

• Automated high precision assembly lines
• Inventory management (ex. Amazon warehouse)
• Surgery assistance

3D Printing

3D-printer technology creates a physical detailed object.3D-printer can create anything from an engine part to a body part. Very useful in engineering, architecture and also has medical purposes.

New Materials

New materials that can be used in industries of all kinds. Thinner, stronger, more conductive and lighter materials and polymers.

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