The technology sector as we know today isn’t even a century old. Its origins can be traced back to the brilliant Alan Turing, who proposed the software theory in a 1935 essay. In the present day, software technology has taken over the world. A research conducted by Grand View Research, Inc., estimates that the global application development software market alone will hit the $733.5-billion mark by 2028, growing at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 24.3% between 2021 and 2028.
So, what exactly happened in the last 100 years, which metamorphosed a theory into an ever-booming industry, which is now driving everything from homes to economies? The answer can be traced back again to Alan Turing, whose theory led to the creation of academic disciplines – computer science and software engineering. Among several other critical factors, concerted training, skill development, and innovation in these fields have helped create concepts and technologies that now power the world.
Digital education — a fuel for businesses and nations
Targeted learning holds the key to transformation. From a nation’s perspective, it is the means to ensure sustainable socio-economic development. Governments across the world have derived great value from upscaling their education machinery. A fundamental human right, education has the power to enrich productivity, creativity, and enhance entrepreneurship spirit. Education of today is almost synonymous with digital literacy. The fact that the UNESCO member states acknowledged the importance of harnessing digital tools to instill technical mastery and critical spirit during the Global Education Meeting Paris Declaration, reinforces the direct link between technological advancement and economic progress.
India has emerged as a hub of innovation and research, especially due to its focus on digital education in the last couple of decades or so. The country is even seen by many as having the potential to emerge as a developed nation by 2047. Education and growth opportunities offered in the technology sector are pitted to be the key game changers in enabling India realise this vision.
The government has made technical and vocational education its topmost priority with the introduction of National Education Policy 2020 — access, quality, equity, affordability and accountability being its five pillars. One of the main targets of NEP 2020 is to raise Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education to 50% by 2035. A sustained and structured education system is being deemed as the catalyst of growth, both for individuals and the nation.
Digital knowledge and business — two sides of the same coin
It is a known fact that Digital technology can revolutionize businesses. Countless examples of technologies being harnessed to efficiently improve bottom lines have been quoted all around. A research by IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) shows how tech-savvy organisations outperform their peers by six percentage points on an average across 12 industries. It also stated that while Cloud and AI have been the broad differentiators, each industry has a unique fingerprint.
The right education makes a difference here as it helps professionals appreciate the role of emerging technologies, their potential in bettering businesses and most importantly, applying the right technology at the right place, both judiciously and conscientiously.
Right education can revolutionize businesses and economies
Making the accurate choice is never easy, but once made, it can make a significant impact. Similarly, when it comes to choosing the right education for business enhancement, one needs to keep a sharp focus on the near and long-term goals. According to the World Economic Forum, the top five emerging jobs in India include software engineers, data analysts, marketing specialists, data scientists, and machine learning engineers. The right professional course/programme can further equip the workforce with knowledge, skills, and attitudes to wade through challenging environments and make a difference to the fortunes of their businesses.
The modern-day marketer also needs to leverage digital marketing to create and convert business leads, act as data scientist to generate consumer insights from digitised data, and a technology master to appreciate the impact of changing technologies on consumer decision-making.
To put things into perspective, a programme in Business Analytics can equip a professional to analyse datasets in relevant contexts and generate insights for sound decision-making. The domination of digital products, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), deep learning, fintech, and Internet of Things (IoT) have brought to fore the criticality of programmes, such as Product Management and Technology Management.
Every entity, including a nation or an organization, needs strong leaders with entrepreneurial spirit. This is where education programmes on Entrepreneurship and People Management can help empowers individuals in making a difference. Among various aspects, while the former empowers aspirants to make a transition to digital business, the latter enables incorporate nuances that help businesses hire agile and tech-savvy workforce. Similarly, with knowledge in Digital strategies and digital business design, one can grow digital businesses.
For instance, Satya Nadella, the executive chairman and CEO of Microsoft and Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Alphabet Inc. and its subsidiary Google have helped demonstrate several such factors successfully. For their immensely impactful contributions, while both of them were awarded Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award in India by the Government of India, in 2022, the latter was also recognized in Time’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in 2016 and 2020.
India’s role in augmenting the global software industry
India has recently overtaken the UK to become the world’s fifth-largest economy, and in years to come, the lead over the UK is expected to widen. Skilling, upskilling, and reskilling will go a long way in providing the boost that is necessary to drive the economy. The growing trend of cloud-based solutions and rapid increase in IoT usage are further expected to drive the share of the software market.
Going forward, digitalisation will help improve work efficiency, address business challenges, streamline businesses, and smoothen operations. While the industry is also replete with challenges, it is also brimming with opportunities to grow and transform, and the workforce is increasingly recognising them. Of those organizations that were surveyed globally in the IBM study, 60% indicated they used their time during the pandemic to accelerate their digital transformation. In India, the commitment to digital transformation stood even greater at 69%. The ease with which technology has got our world to where it is today, a century certainly seems like a mere blink of an eye.
India is already counted among global software superpowers. The country has also been one of the world’s leading sources of talent in the field of software for many years now. A large chunk of the credit here goes to its software education space, which has not only kept pace with the ever-dynamic IT industry, but also added tangible value in every sector and industry. This commitment to transform also encompasses the willingness to skill, upskill and reskill — the mantra for India, as it spreads its wings even further in the ‘tech-age.’
The author is the Chief Executive Officer of the Work Integrated Learning Programmes (WILP) Division of BITS Pilani, a globally reputed higher education institution. The views are personal.
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