How the Internet Changed the Way we do Business
If you would have told someone 20 years ago that they would be able to order pizza online, they would have been amazed. Imagine now the ability to conduct business overseas without long-distance phone bills, connect with thousands of social network friends in a few hours and purchase a dress from England and a hat from Australia all in the same day. The world has definitely changed and businesses are not what they used to be. It is no longer enough to open a mom and pop store or restaurant around the corner and hang up an “open” sign. Business is now conducted an on entirely different playing field.
The ability to connect with anyone anywhere in the world has taken the marketplace to a global scale. Now bookstores are not only competing with the other shops on the street, but every other bookstore in the country. On the other hand, small businesses working in a garage can create a professional appearance without the work and money involved in an office or retail space.
With the dot-com takeover in the eighties, businesses since focused on become more tech savvy in the way they do business. Regardless of what your business is, it is virtually impossible to succeed today without an internet presence. There have been multiple companies, like Circuit City who have given up brick and mortar stores all together and do 100% of their business online. Amazingly, these companies are not only thriving, but are making more money than they were before. On the same note, American Airlines started with the first computerized booking system and Bank of America began automated check-processing. These companies were just the first ones to lead the way of automated business. Now you don’t even need a computer to order a pizza or book a flight, you can do it right on your phone. 
The main impact of technology on business is how much it shrinks the world. As communication and information travels faster and faster, the world seems smaller and smaller. Business can be conducted more efficiently, quickly, and automatically. As information travels instantaneously and more reliably, barriers of distance disappear, and businesses are realizing how easy it is to outsource jobs and attract global customers. There is some debate over whether this is helpful or detrimental to the U.S. economy. One the one hand of the debate, sending
But, it’s not always as simple as it sounds. Any business conducted online has liability and revenue concerns just like a local store. Online businesses must be wary of security, privacy or even copyright issues. While the internet does make business more streamlined it doesn’t necessarily guarantee success, over 90% of website start-up businesses fail.
For the consumer, the internet definitely makes the business world more economical, more accessible and more efficient, which makes doing business online much more convenient and appealing. For the business owners, the internet blew up the playing field to make business more competitive and raise the standards of local businesses to an entirely different level.
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