IT should be used as a tool to assist other industries. IT cannot survive continuously as a singular industry, a solo entity, because IT needs a reason to exist. What is it’s use in society that justifies its existence and the amount of resources poured into the IT Industry’s continued growth? IT’s growth from 1980s to 1995 were high, their innovations supported research-intensive industries such as space engineering industry, microprocessor industry, office equipment industry, field of electronics, telecommunications industry, and medicine industry. From 1980 to 1995, the US had the highest high-tech industries share of total manufacturing output and was the country with the highest share of the global high-tech market. Now the US is the 5th largest high-tech exporter with 169217.26 million US Dollars. Based off Bloomberg’s Innovation Industry in 2019, America is the 8th most innovative country in the world.
The US must go back to being the top country for innovation and having the highest share in the global high-tech market. To achieve this, the IT industry must start investing in R&D that solely focuses on benefiting other industries, as was done in the 1980s with the space engineering industry, microprocessor industry, office equipment industry, field of electronics, telecommunications industry, and medicine industry. The various aspects of the IT industry must determine how they can assist other industries to bring innovation. In fact, the true comparison should be how much has the recent IT innovations propelled society into a new era of growth in the last 20 years. For this, we must determine how any IT innovation has exclusively helped revolutionize different industries and bring a new era of growth to society.
Thank you
Annu Daniel
Sources
Rausch, Laurance M. “High-Tech Industries Drive Global Economic Industry” National Science Foundation, 20 July 1998, https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/issuebrf/sib98319.htm
“High tech exports by country, around the world” The Global Economy.com, https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/rankings/high_tech_exports/
“Ranking of the 10 Most Innovative Countries in the World” Iberdrola, https://www.iberdrola.com/innovation/most-innovative-countries
Fallows, James “The 50 Greatest Breakthroughs Since the Wheel” The Atlantic, November 2013, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/11/innovations-list/309536/