Discussion: Emerging Markets

Discussion: Emerging Markets

This was not true a few years ago. Companies could often separate IS strategy from business strategy in part because their products or services did not have a large information component. For example, a few years ago, should the IS of a trucking company stop working, the trucks would still be able to take their shipments to their destination and pick up new ones. It might be slower or a bit more chaotic, but the business wouldn ’ t stop. Today, that ’ s not the case. Complicated logistics are the norm, and IS are the foundation of the business as seen at FedEx .

With the increasing number of IS applications on the Web and on mobile devices, fi rms increasingly need to co‐create business and IT strategy. Managers who think they can build a business model without considering the opportunities and impact of information systems, using both the resources owned by the fi rm and those available on the Web, will fi nd they have signifi cant diffi culties creating business opportunities as well as sustainable advantage in their marketplace.

Geographic Box: Mobile‐Only Internet Users Dominate Emerging Countries More than 25% of mobile Web users in emerging markets connect to the Internet solely through mobile devices. This is the case for 70% of mobile Web users in Egypt, 59% in India, and 50% in Nigeria but only for 25% of U.S. and 22% of U.K. mobile Web users. Malaysia is emerging as a test case for a mobile‐only Internet. It has rolled out a next‐generation, high‐speed broadband network that covers most of its population. This infrastructure makes it possible to make video calls with Apple ’ s FaceTime application in locations throughout the country using a tiny pocket router that accesses a WiMAX wireless‐broadband network set up by a local conglomerate, YTL Corp. Bhd . To further encourage the spread of Internet, Malaysia ’ s leaders have pledged not to censor the Internet.

Sources: G. Dunaway , “ Mobile‐Only Internet Users Dominate Emerging Markets ” Adotas.com (October 24, 2011), http://www.adotas. com/201w1/10/mobile‐only‐internet‐users‐dominate‐emerging‐markets/ (accessed August 19, 2015) ; J. Hookway , “ Broadband in the Tropics ,” The Wall Street Journal (September 21, 2011 ) , B6.

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