Information and communications technology is often used as an extended synonym for information
technology, but is a more specific term that stresses the role of unified communications
and the integration of telecommunications, computers as well as necessary enterprise
software, middleware, storage, and audio-visual systems, which enable users to access, store,
transmit, and manipulate information.
The term ICT is also used to refer to the convergence of audio-visual and telephone
networks with computer networks through a single cabling or link system.
There are large economic incentives to merge the telephone network with the computer network
system using a single unified system of cabling, signal distribution and management.
History of the term The phrase ICT had been used by academic researchers
since the 1980s, but it became popular after it was used in a report to the UK government
by Dennis Stevenson in 1997 and in the revised National Curriculum for England, Wales and
Northern Ireland in 2000.
As of September 2013, the term "ICT" in the UK National Curriculum has been replaced by
the broader term "computing".
ICT versus infocommunications The term infocommunications is sometimes used
interchangeably with ICT.
Infocommunications is the expansion of telecommunications with information processing and content handling
functions on a common digital technology base.
For a comparison of these and other terms, see.
Global costs of IT The money spent on IT worldwide has been most
recently estimated as US $3.5 trillion and is currently growing at 5% per year – doubling
every 15 years.
The 2014 IT budget of US federal government is nearly $82 billion.
IT costs, as a percentage of corporate revenue, have grown 50% since 2002, putting a strain
on IT budgets.
When looking at current companies’ IT budgets, 75% are recurrent costs, used to “keep the
lights on” in the IT department, and 25% are cost of new initiatives for technology
development.
The average IT budget has the following breakdown: 31% personnel costs
29% software costs 26% hardware costs
14% costs of external service providers.
ICT Development Index The ICT Development Index compares the level
of ICT use and access across the world.
The WSIS Process and ICT development goals On 21 December 2001, the United Nations General
Assembly approved Resolution 56/183, endorsing the holding of the World Summit on the Information
Society to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing today's information society.
According to this resolution, the General Assembly related the Summit to the United
Nations Millennium Declaration's goal of implementing ICT to achieve Millennium Development Goals.
It also emphasized a multi-stakeholder approach to achieve these goals, using all stakeholders
including civil society and the private sector, in addition to governments.
See also
Global e-Schools and Communities Initiative ICT Development Index
Infocommunications Cognitive infocommunications
Digital divide Information Age
Information and communication technologies for development
Information and communication technologies for environmental sustainability
Market information systems Mobile Web
References
Further reading Caperna A., Integrating ICT into Sustainable
Local Policies.
ISBN 9781615209293 Carnoy, Martin.
"ICT in Education: Possibilities and Challenges."
Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, 2005.
"Good Practice in Information and Communication Technology for Education."
Asian Development Bank, 2009.
Grossman, G. and E. Helpman, "Outsourcing in a global economy", Review of Economic Studies
72: 135-159.
Oliver, Ron.
"The Role of ICT in Higher Education for the 21st Century: ICT as a Change Agent for Education."
University, Perth, Western Australia, 2002.
Walter Ong, Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word, in particular Chapter 4
Measuring the Information Society: The ICT Development Index.
International Telecommunication Union.
2013.
p. 254.