Must board IT train
The Issue: Information Technology is the new global tool coming to full bloom in the conduct of business.
Our View: It’s imperative that the CNMI jumps on the IT train, lest it’ll forever play catch-up!
With most nations investing in Information Technology, it is imperative that the CNMI gets on train on time, lest it’ll be playing catch up–chasing the shadow of the global village for the better part of the first quarter of this century.
The high-tech industry is the direct product of the Information Technology where new innovations have allowed mankind to transcend limitations in distance, speed and business conduct somewhere in cyberspace.
New technological innovations in medicine, medical equipment, education and others have benefited mankind in ways once thought of as impossibilities. It has also given rise to cutting the cost of production of per unit items–consumer products–that are eventually made available immediately on what’s known today as Online Shopping.
Traditional conduct of business such as the purchase of life or health insurance policies, airline tickets and hotel reservations, among others, have all changed where the consumer can buy them directly via the internet.
In Hong Kong, there’s a new experiment in what’s known as cyberclassrooms. Pupils simply stay at home downloading materials from a central server. If teaching involves repetition, what’s the best tool other than a computer where a student can instantly retrieve information?
Several American colleges and universities have also gone into cyber-instructions–you register and take college courses via the internet at home. It cuts off costs for such things as lodging, air-fare and ground transportation. It’s the classroom of the future even for college-bound CNMI students. It’ll even cut down the costly scholarship program just as soon as more colleges and universities establish their cyberclassrooms on the web.
The possibilities are wide open and about the only risk involved is not taking one, i.e., investing in Information Technology to provide these isles with all the opportunities and benefits the new global tool has to offer. It is really within our reach and about the only missing equation is the local resolve to buckle down to begin exploring how best do we bring in the IT era to descend in these isles.
It’s good for both the business community and the public sector. Let’s do it right here and now! Si Yuus Maase`!
