Digital Technology And Its Impact on Economy, Society And Business ; A Review 71

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY AND ITS IMPACT ON ECONOMY,

SOCIETY AND BUSINESS ; A REVIEW
Mohammadi Begum
Lecturer, Al-Ameen Institute of Information Sciences,
Bengluru

ABSTRACT
Digital Technologies has become an integral part of people lives both in professional as well as personal lives.
Digitization has resulted in economic growth, business productivity, connecting with each other. Emergence of
digital technologies has created an interactive source of platform in the virtual world where one can share
information in numerous formats.
The finest example is Digital India, which has brought revolution in many sectors, industries, and manufacturing
hubs. It has empowered the lives of every Indian with access to utilize digital resources at fullest potential.
We have witnessed digital transformation in business, organizations such as governments, public sectors, private
enterprises companies, as well as individuals. Overall it aims to impact all aspects of life that keeps connected
via digital mode.
Keywords:Digital Revolution, The Nine Pillars of Digital India, Impact on Economy, Society and Business,
IT Literacy, IT Security, digital Marketing.

INTRODUCTION
Digital technologies are data that is processed and shared digitally through electronic tools, systems, devices and
resources. These includes social media, applications, multimedia, productivity applications, online games, cloud
computing, interoperable systems and last but not the least mobile devices.
A digital edge has brought a new wave combined with digital information and physical resources to create a value
based information for profitable revenues. Many enterprises seeking digital transformation processes, business
models, and the customer experience by exploiting connections between systems, people, places, and things.
Objectives
The prime objective of the study is to explore the results of digitization and impact of revolution on progress in
private and public sectors with professional help to enhance the revolutionary mission to make India a powerful
country of the world.
India before digitization was a country with maximum population educated and skilled people with very less job
opportunities, after digitization we Indians have lots of opportunities due to the revolutionary “Digitization Mission”
and “Make in India” mission going on hand in hand. There are lots of challenges, hurdles and criticism faced but
the vision is so intense and depth that this paper tries to showcase the achievements of digitization i.e., Digital India
and as to how it has helped pushing the economical bars of India little higher and bring pride to our nation.
India has a huge market worldwide now with the economical revolution happening due to digitization has demanded
for attention by many investors who want to invest in India due its rapid economic growth. All this is possible due
to the revolutionary missions going on using social media, mobilization, Digital Technology and Make in India
mission has made other countries look upon India and it’s economical growth in this paper we have an overview of
the traditional and Digital approach and the positive impact of digitization over traditional approach.
Literature Survey
Digital Revolution
The emergence of technological evolutions and technologies is evident if we look back at the underlying technology,
which was transformed from analogue electronic technology to digital electronics anywhere in late 1950s to late
1970s with the adoption and proliferation of digital computers and keeping digital records till present day. This is
not the end, there have been sweeping changes that brought digital computing and communication technology
during (and after) the latter half of the 20th century that marks the digital revolution and the beginning of Information
Age with the onset of Information Storage, Transmission, and Computation.
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Relation to Economics, Society and Business

Eventually digital technology has significantly played a vital growth prospects across several sectors inclusive of
economic, society and business.
Impact of Digital Technology on Economy
According to Thomas Masan Bourg, three main components of the Digital Economy concept can be identified as:
1. E-business infrastructure (hardware, software, telecoms, networks, human capital, etc.)
2. E-business (how business is conducted, any process that an organization conducts over computer-mediated
networks)
3. E-commerce (transfer of goods, for example when a book is sold online).
Digital Indian Economy
With nearly 46 Million Internet users and a growth rate of 7-8 per cent, India represents a digital economy, which
has biggest market potential for global players. This digital revolution, also known as ‘the Internet economy’, is
expected to generate new market growth opportunities, jobs and become the biggest business opportunity for
businesses in the next 30 to 40 years.
Digital economy is drastically intending towards economy activities. The Internet combined with information and
communication technologies has given rise to many products, services, and markets in a network of commercial
transactions and professional interactions. India’s top firms - Flipkart, Ola Cabs, and Paytm are from the digital
technology world.
The government has projected that Indian digital economy will become USD 1 trillion by 2022 from around USD
450 billion digital economy at present.
As of now, the Indian electronics market is estimated to be around USD 100 billion, IT sector USD 150 billion,
telecom USD 150 billion, e-commerce USD 30-40 billion and rest is estimated to be size of shared economy like
taxi hailing services, start-ups etc.
The Indian Digital Technology is not limited to urban or metropolitan cities but also has an objective of connecting
to rural areas with high-speed Internet networks and to improvise digital literacy among the villages. The vision of
Digital India program is inclusive growth in areas of electronic services, products, manufacturing and job
opportunities etc. and it is centered on three key areas – Digital Infrastructure as a Utility to Every Citizen,
Governance & Services on Demand and Digital Empowerment of Citizens.
The Nine Pillars of Digital India
The Government of India hopes to achieve growth on multiple fronts with the Digital India Program. Specifically,
the government aims to target nine ‘Pillars of the Digital India’ that they identify as being:
1. Broadband Highway
2. Universal Access to Mobile connectivity
3. Public Internet Access Program
4. e-Governance – Reforming Government through Technology
5. e-Kranti - Electronic delivery of services
6. Information for All
7. Electronics Manufacturing
8. IT for Jobs
9. Early Harvest Program
However, the key areas that have been positively impacted ensuring the growth of the digital economy include:
 Digital Infrastructure as a utility to every citizen
 Governance and services on demand
 Digital empowerment of citizens
Platforms like UPI-integration and products like the BHIM app is a commendable step in this direction. As each
sector - be it education, healthcare, infrastructure and more - benefits from being associated with a rising digital
economy, let’s hope that the overall economy of India will benefit from the digital revolution.
India is also leading the world in payment system evolution. Enablers like Jan Dhan, Aadhaar, mobile penetration,
and more recently, demonetization have created favorable conditions for large scale adoption of digital payment
Digital Technology And Its Impact on Economy, Society And Business ; A Review 73

systems in India. With mass adoption of digital and biometric systems by 2020, the country is expected to leapfrog
plastic payment systems and have the most advanced financial systems in the world.
Key Trends - Digital Progression in India
The next leg of digital progression in countries like India will be driven by frugal innovation, open source software,
local language computing, and scalable enterprise solutions for “smart” cities or villages. These are areas in which
India has great potential and needs to strengthen infrastructure and train resources.
Automation, big data, IoT and artificial intelligence enabled by the application of digital technologies could transform
the Indian economy and improve productivity.
Challenges to digital evolution
Connectivity/Infrastructure: The biggest challenge faced by digital evolution in India is the slow/delayed
infrastructure development. Spectrum availability in Indian metros is about a tenth of the same in cities in developed
countries. This might be prove to be a major roadblock in providing high speed data services. This digital divide
also needs to be addressed to improve reach in rural areas. PPP models should be explored to enable sustainable
development of digital infrastructure. Also government should incentivize startups for providing last mile connectivity.
IT Literacy: Improving IT literacy is a huge task which is extremely necessary for the digital services to catch up
among the masses.
Security: Security of data, especially financial data, is a big concern. Digital medium is still relatively unsafe with
data vulnerability and phishing attacks are a big issue in commercial and financial transactions and this need to be
addressed through advanced fin-tech technologies.
Technology companies should adopt public-private partnership while trying to foster innovation in a digital economy
like India. Also, they must encourage better integration of automation, data, and new technologies into the legacy
economy. Steps must be taken to introduce skills required to thrive in a digital economy at early levels, specifically
at schools.
India today aspires to be the leader on every global technology platform - strengthened by its vibrant private sector,
expanding technology capabilities, entrepreneurial potential, and rich diplomatic history.
To build on to its legendary past and to maintain its leadership in IT, it’s important that digital technologies are
used to improve public services, develop efficient trade mechanisms and deliver financial inclusion through advanced
fin-tech technologies.
All this can be achieved by leveraging the strong IT competencies of Indian technology companies and highly
skilled Indian personnel having extensive experience with global corporations. The intent should be to deliver
advanced digital solutions for the most intriguing problems of the country that make a difference to the economy.
Digital Society
Digital technology is seen as an electronic technology that generates, store and process data in two ways positive
and negative. Digital technology can impact the society in either ways positive or negative not forgetting that
everything in this world has consequences and positive rewards. Digital technology has changed people’s lives
throughout the world and has either made life much simpler or difficult very few can argue in regard to that of
making lives difficult. People are now able to communicate with people faraway places or having to work at home
without going to any workplace just the use of desktop, smart phones, laptops with access to the Internet. Digital
technology also has side effects because some people tend to loose their jobs just because of this technology; mostly
those people are unskilled who find themselves without a job, because of technology taking control of other people’s
jobs.
Digital transformation is generating a fierce debate among policy-makers, economists and industry leaders about
its societal impact. As digitalization disrupts society ever more profoundly, concern is growing about how it is
affecting issues such as jobs, wages, inequality, health, resource efficiency and security.
To help begin a new, evidence-based debate on the future impact of digital transformation, we have conducted a
detailed quantitative analysis of the value at stake from the digitalization of 11 major industries. In each case, we
have calculated projections of the potential value of digitalization to the industry itself and emerging sources of
value for wider society, as measured by an intentionally narrow set of indicators. Over time, this approach may be
broadened and refined.
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So how can digital transformation make a positive contribution to society? We have focused on three key areas:
Employment and skills
Current estimates of global job losses due to digitalization range from 2 million to 2 billion by 2030. There is great
uncertainty, with concerns also about its impact on wages and working conditions
Environmental sustainability
The historic trend holds that for every 1% increase in global GDP, CO2e emissions have risen by approximately
0.5% and resource intensity by 0.4%.¹ Current business practices will contribute to a global gap of 8 billion tons
between the supply and demand of natural resources by 2030, translating to $4.5 trillion of lost economic growth
by 2030.
Trust
Social media, radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and user-generated websites such as Trip Advisor have
been instrumental in increasing transparency and overcoming information asymmetries. However, according to the
Edelman Trust Barometer, trust in all technology-based sectors declined in 2015, with concerns over data privacy
and security a key factor. Broader ethical questions about the way organizations use digital technology also threaten
to erode trust in those institutions.
While these are hugely complex challenges, our analysis suggests that digital transformation has the potential to
make a positive contribution:
Creating a workforce for the machine age
Digitalization could create up to 6 million jobs worldwide between 2016 and 2025 in the logistics and electricity
industries. Elsewhere, automation will displace many human beings. With both winners and losers resulting from
digital transformation, a huge premium rests on the near-term ability of businesses to up skill employees and shape
the next generation of talent for the machine age.
Transitioning to a sustainable world
Digital initiatives in the industries we have examined could deliver an estimated 26 billion tones of net avoided
CO2 emissions from 2016 to 2025. This is almost equivalent to the CO2 emitted by all of Europe across that time
period. Ensuring this potential value can be realized and scaled means overcoming hurdles relating to the acceptance
of new, circular business models, customer adoption and the environmental impact of digital technology itself.
Building trusts in the digital economy
Usage-based insurance (UBI), coupled with assisted driving technologies, could reduce by 2025 the projected
annual death toll from road accidents of more than 2 million by 10%. However, it has raised concerns about data
privacy, security and the ethical uses of data. Establishing new norms of ethical behavior with digital technology
and reaching higher levels of customer trust will be critical in a successful digital transformation.
Focus on creating a workforce for the machine age
The digital revolution has created new roles (such as search engine optimization managers and social media account
managers), new types of organizations (cloud computing providers and social media agencies), and even new
sectors of the economy (digital security and data science). The impact of digitalization has also acted as a catalyst
for employment growth in the wider economy. In India, for example, it is estimated that three to four jobs are
created for every job within the business process outsourcing and IT-enabled services sectors.
Today, however, the question of whether technology creates or destroys jobs is gaining momentum.
The truth is that we actually know quite little of what is going to happen. What will the economic impact of
innovations be in the future? How will humans interact with machines and algorithms? What kind of skills do we
need and how should we learn? How will all of these impact labour markets?
The future of work
We can at least be sure that there will be three types of jobs, categorized by the percentage of modifiable tasks
within the role:
 Those that will disappear (lost the race against the machine). For example, clerks and administrative staff, or
truck drivers.
 Those that are in collaboration with machines / algorithms (run with the machine). For example, those professions
that rely on cognitive and social capabilities, such as doctors / surgeons.
Digital Technology And Its Impact on Economy, Society And Business ; A Review 75

 Those jobs that are completely new or remain largely untouched (running faster than the machine or running a
different race). For example, roles in the creative arts are unlikely to be automated, as are new roles that
involve managing data and machines.
Within that context, our analysis suggests that digital transformation has the potential to create a significant
number of jobs. For example, we found that digitalization could create nearly 6 million jobs in just the electricity
and logistics industries by 2025.
But clearly there will be both winners and losers – as the graphic below shows, while the net impact on jobs in the
logistics industry could be positive, many sectors will experience job losse
Projected net job creation from digital initiatives in logistics (2016-2025)

Challenges
Digital technologies fundamentally transform organizations, with the pace of technological change exacerbating
the challenge. Organizations must have a coherent strategy that includes a plan to reskill workers. Whereas previous
technological revolutions (most notably the industrial revolution) played out over a relatively long period of time,
the speed of digital transformation is such that businesses need to move quickly.
For governments, the challenge is equally pressing. The potential inequality and wage deflation or even social
unrest requires urgent action to prepare the workforce for a digital future.
Impact of Digital Technology on Business
Digital disruption is a transformation that is caused by emerging digital technologies and business models. These
innovative new technologies and models can impact the value of existing products and services offered in the
industry.
Digital Marketing in the business is the finest example of utilizing the technology for any business potentials,
whether manufacturing companies, industries, retailers, dealers, corporate IT enterprises, services oriented in both
private and public sectors, eCommerce industry, etc.
Digital Marketing Industry in India
Digital Marketing industry in India is spread to almost all the business sectors. Some of the applications of E-
Marketing are shopping and order tracking, online banking, payment systems and content management.
The power of digital marketing allows geophysical barriers to disappear making all consumers and businesses on
earth potential customers and suppliers. It is known for its ability to allow business to communicate and form a
transaction anywhere and anytime.
Digital marketing industry in India is a booming career today. In a country with a rapid growth economy, it is
76 Research in Digital Revolution and New India (ISBN : 978-1-5136-2964-3)

expected to have a very high significant growth in Digital marketing career. The growth in the digital marketing
trends is making a very substantial impact on marketing and advertisement. The big picture of Digital Marketing
industry in India cannot be complete if short preview of the past digital marketing statistics is not made.
Going back to history, International Journal of Advanced Research Foundation reveals the following in 2016.
Between 1971 and 1972, The ARPANET is used to arrange a sale between students at the Stanford Artificial
Intelligence Laboratory and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the earliest example of electronics or digital
commerce.
1979: Michael Aldrich demonstrates the first online shopping system.
1981: Thomson Holidays UK is first business-to-business online shopping system to be installed.
1996: India MART B2B marketplace established in India.
2007: Flipkart was established in India. Every E-marketing or commercial enterprises uses majorly digital means
for their marketing purposes.
In 2011, the digital marketing statistics revealed that advertising via the mobile phone and tablets was 200% lower
than that of the following years. During this year, the net worth was $2 billion. The growth was in a geometric
progression as it rose to $6 billion in 2012. The competitive growth demands for more improvement in the career
works and professionals are being added to the field.
From 2013 to March 2015, the investment total increase was 1.5 billion dollars over the preceding years. There has
been an impressive growth up till this present moment.
The report by the International Journal of Advanced Research Foundation revealed that summarized that India is
getting to see the golden period of the Internet sector between 2013 to 2018 with incredible growth opportunities
and secular growth adoption for E-Commerce, Internet Advertising, Social Media, Search, Online Content, and
Services relating digital marketing.

Total Media, Digital and Mobile Internet Ad Spending in India (2013-2019)

Today, digital marketing industry in India is growing at its peak, and is still growing. Many factors are responsible
for this growth. The use of communication tools has greatly changed in the year past. No one ever thought to have
a credible deal online. The below figure indicates the digital marketing statistics.
The belief was that online information is virtual information and full of lies. No one could listen to any online
advertisement not to mention purchasing groceries, furniture or clothes. The story has really changed. Everything
from marketing to sales can be done online. This is due to the trust that has been restored back to online communication
in India. This has really helped the marketing initiatives. The revolution is from the communication industries.
Low cost of handset is now available making it possible for India to have about 600 million Internetusers, which
ultimately creates a fascinating business opportunity to sell to a growing population.
Moreover, the development in the digital marketing industry in India is evident in the marketing shifts from anonymity
to identity. Interaction on the Internet now looks more physical as opposed to the anonymity of identity in the past.
Also, marketing information is moving along in the same line with entertainment.
Digital Technology And Its Impact on Economy, Society And Business ; A Review 77

Several factors have been found to contribute to the growth of digital marketing in India. Before now, Internet
usage was only meant for the wealthy. There is now a great change in the lifestyle of the middle class. Majority now
have access to the Internet in India. Internet and 3G penetrations revolutionized the marketing scenario for both
consumers and the marketers. It was discovered that changes in lifestyle and standard of living had increased the
level of consumption, quality and also the pattern of consumption. The quality of use in the urban centers of India
is on a high side. This is because majority don’t have time for physical shopping. Apart from struggles to earn
money, people want some other things to be done at their own convenience.
The following survey from people indicates the size of Digital Marketing industry in India:
 34% of the companies already had an integrated digital marketing strategy in 2016
 72% marketers believe that traditional model of marketing is no longer sufficient and this will make the company
revenue to be increased by 30% by the end of 2017

In 2017, 80% businesses will increase their digital marketing budget, which may surpass the IT budget. Only the
illiterates can not access the potentials of the digital marketing because of the accessibility to computing devices
and computer education. Many of the people in this category still don’t trust the method of an online payment and
they lack training in English Language and other foreign languages to market online in global markets.The following
are the channels that are playing an active role in the development of digital marketing industry in India.
Mobile Marketing
Digital marketing overview reveals that Social media has been playing a supporting role to marketing. Over the
years, it has been noticed that 92% of social media users are from the mobile devices. This enables the size of
digital marketing industries.

Mobile Phone Subscribers in India

According to the research made by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI, 2008), communication
has become a real mass communication tools having about 286 million accounts in 2008. The Indian
telecommunications market has tremendous growth opportunities and according to IAMAI is projected to exceed
500 million by 2010. According to TRAI, the numbers of mobile subscriber based in India grew to 980.81 million
users in the second quarter of 2015.
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Adoption for the mobile device is getting higher day by day. SMS marketing is one of the true mass-market media
channels across many demographics before the convergence of mobile Internet and mobile devices.
Video Marketing
Growing need for the visual content has turned video marketing be one of the most appealing trends of digital
marketing in 2017.
Email Marketing

online marketing
Email marketers of some of the most successful marketing agencies claim a return of $40 for every dollar they
invested. From the digital marketing overview, it was discovered that well-targeted email marketing will be one of
the most effective ways of ensuring conversions in 2017. As shown from the figure below, email is one of the most
effective methods for digital marketing as there is a facility to disburse messages to millions of people at a time.
Search & SEO Marketing
As much as changes is existing in the search engines, marketers are also trying shift their ways of targeting
audience so as to meet up with the current evolution in Digital Marketing industry in India.
Apart from the above channels through which digital marketing takes place, activities under Digital Marketing
industry in India are not limited to social media, email, content, search engine, etc. Digital marketing is either done
in-house where companies might hire people for their own or clients’ digital marketing needs. A company may
outsource to specialist digital marketing agencies or given to consultants.
CONCLUSION
Overall the Digital Technology has played a phenomenon success in the growth of economy, society and business.
This digital revolution has transformed the Indian market and its rapid growth in the employment and opportunities,
by encouraging Entrepreneurs to come up with their budding business ideas. Digital technologies have created an
interactive platform in many sectors, services and organizations as well as in individual’s lives that connects us
globally.
REFERENCES
[1] Alex Koster, Bahjat El-Darwiche, Karim Sabbagh, Milind Singh, Roman Friedrich(2015) Digitization for Economic
Growth and Job Creation: Regional and Industry Perspectives.
[2] Osama Manzar.”Digital India: challenges and opportunities
[3] PayelChaudhdri(2015) Role of Digitization and E-commerce in Indian economic Growth: An Employment
GenerationPerspective by PayelChaudhdri
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Revolution
[5] https://www.mygov.in/group/digital-india
[6] http://reports.weforum.org/digital-transformation/understanding-the-impact-of-digitalization-on-society
[7] http://www.digitalvidya.com/blog/growth-of-digital-marketing-industry-in-india