How important is change in the Information Technology space?
Change is a word which all of us here from time to time; when it comes to our careers, technology and many other things. Most of us would have come across the phrase ‘The only thing in this world that is constant is change’. So why has change become such an integral part of our life? Can we live without changing ourselves? Is it possible?
Well, if you look at our history from the times of evolution to the dark-age to the digital age, we as humans have constantly evolved into a more efficient, intelligent and wise species. We have invented, discovered so many things that make our lives so much simple and efficient. One of the biggest examples being the computer in the modern times which has made us so advanced and has made our lives so much easier by solving so many problems. The list of such inventions is long and we can go on and on about them, be it the internet, telephones then mobile phones, smart phones etc.
The human mind is so adept to change that it has made us, in a way wanting for more and wanting to be and do better than what we have already accomplished. For instance, the first handheld mobile phone ever made(by Martin Cooper and John F. Mitchell of Motorola) weighed a staggering 2kgs/ 4.4 lbs. Nowadays, phones weigh just a fraction of that and can do so much apart from just calling. So if you see, we have come a long way in a very short period of time all thanks to the constant change in Technology.
Coming to a more dreadful topic for the people working in the IT sector all across the world– Lay Offs in large numbers by the IT Companies all around the world.
You must have come across a lot of news about a big number of IT majors as well as mid-size companies and startups laying off people in substantial numbers especially at Mid and Senior Levels, ever wondered why is that happening?
Many of you reading this may already be a part of an IT company or must have heard or seen people being told to leave the company. It would be quite a depressing moment for anyone if one fine day they are told that they are no longer needed. Now you may wonder what does this have to do with change.
Well, it has everything to do with change. As you read this, there are companies who are constantly trying to improve their efficiency in order to grow their business. They are becoming leaner so that things can get done faster, adopting new technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, DevOps etc. to reduce their cost and dependency on their workforce. So when companies are looking out to cut costs and maximized returns, they have to take steps which affects their employees, they have to let go of people who become redundant to change or who are just unable to cope with the velocity at which the companies are changing.
Also, if you notice, most of the people who get laid off are the mid to senior level employees as in some cases they become redundant to change or companies simply want to hire more entry level people who can learn new technologies faster and do not have to be paid as much. In some cases the companies want to off load employees so as to increase their revenue and reducing their expenses due to cut-throat competition. You also must have read about Chatbots, a piece of software that can have a human-like conversation, which companies are adopting in order to reduce their dependency on humans as humans ask for a raise, fall-sick, take leaves etc which for any company is expense. Machines do not fall sick or ask for a raise or go on leaves, they work 24/7 for you. So this has led to so many people from various industries left jobless.
It has become very important for any person in today’s world to constantly upgrade themselves or be left behind, to keep up with change. The world is constantly evolving and we get to see so many new advancements which is driven by technology, be it communication, travelling, finance. The possibilities have increased so much that we cannot even fathom how 20 or 30 years from now would look like. We may see commercial space traveling becoming a reality with Elon Musk’s SpaceX fully dedicated to it, we may have hovercraft or cars flying like Star Wars. The possibilities are just endless.
So let’s embrace change and make the best of it!
At last, ending this article with a Star Wars Meme 🙂
The Orange Bulb 