How Has IT Changed Over the Years?

Consistent innovations and an astonishing evolution has ushered the information technology (IT) industry into the mainstream world, offering digital solutions to a range of commercial and private enterprises. IT advancements typically have a ripple effect that spreads to nearly every other industry, from healthcare to business to retail and beyond. Read on to learn more about how information technology has evolved, along with some of the groundbreaking achievements in the field.
Early Tech: Microchips and PCs
Without the 1947 invention of the transistor at Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey, the Digital Revolution may never have happened. Engineers built this tiny device out of a bent paper clip, gold foil strips and a chip of material with semiconducting properties. The transistor gave way to the microchip, which first emerged in 1959 and changed the digital landscape forever — it paved the way for PCs and modern digital technology.
Early computers were enormous, expensive and in need of multiple engineers to run. Personal computers (PCs) were a novel alternative when they came out in the 1970s. While early PCs were mostly used for calculations and games, the technology has evolved over the decades to become an integral part of nearly every industry's operations.
Smartphones and Mobile Technology
Smartphone history extends far back beyond the advent of the iPhone. These devices were actually invented in 1992 when IBM created a prototype for a mobile phone that integrated features of a Personal Data Assistant (PDA). Fast forward to today, and smartphones are widely credited with revolutionizing society.
From apps and push advertisements to commerce and consumer research, people and businesses continue finding new ways to use mobile technology. In fact, in 2016, mobile devices quickly caught up to PCs and laptops as consumers' digital tool of choice for searching the internet.
Internet of Things
From smart homes to smart cars, the Internet of Things (IoT) — a network of connected devices that makes otherwise ordinary items "smart" — is already making a huge impact in a variety of sectors. Although the buzz surrounding the IoT is relatively new, the first connected devices emerged in 1989 and 1990 when the "House of the Future" was built in the Netherlands with smart features. Much has changed since the IoT's early days, and it's now set to change the way you live and work. In 2016, smart homes with smart products are designed to make daily living easier. Use your mobile device to activate your air conditioning at home, for example, or have your smart refrigerator order produce for your local grocer to deliver.
The Future of IT
The digital future looks bright! IT's evolution is set to continue with these possible trends:
Automation is set to become a major disruptor in many industries, including finance. Automated banking has the potential to replace approximately 30% of all bank jobs over the next 10 years, with everything from automated advisers to mobile banking.
Big data will become increasingly important as growing numbers of companies and businesses adopt the necessary analytics to understand customers, brands and markets.
Virtual reality and augmented reality will go beyond gaming to provide businesses brand new ways to build, sell and service products.
In just a few short decades, the information technology industry has gone from microchips to smart everything. Technology has evolved and is re-evolving quickly. Those with a good foundation and a solid understanding of innovative processes and devices can be poised for future success.
Brought to you by DeVry University. In 1931, Herman DeVry founded a university that embraced technology. Today, we are putting technology at the core of our business, tech and healthcare programs, to help prepare our students to solve tomorrow’s problems.