American futurist Herman Kahn once said that the computer revolution is the most advertised revolution in world history, but that we were probably still underestimating its impact.
Along with the rest of the nation, Missouri has seen the computer revolution blossom during the past two decades. Now our state is witnessing the convergence of computing and communications into one industry, known as information technology, or IT. Once again, we are probably underestimating the impact of this new industrial sector.
As the Information Age continues to gain momentum, the demand for qualified workers and adequate telecommunications infrastructure continues to increase. Author Peter Drucker has pointed out that the idea of information technology is not an entirely new concept. For instance, the British built a communications system in colonial India in which information technology was a quill pen and telecommunications was a barefoot runner.
In its current usage, information technology is a term that is often used by government and industry to describe a series of processes, products and services related to computers, software, telecommunications and the Internet.
A few years ago, seeking to strategically focus its economic development efforts, the Missouri Department of Economic Development studied several industry sectors to see if Missouri could use its particular assets and resources to attract new businesses strengthen current businesses and create jobs. The department chose to target information technology as one of its top three sectors because of its already developing industrial base in the field.
In terms of economic development, the IT sector generates high-paying, high-technology jobs. Because of its pervasiveness, the IT industry also works as a magnet for companies in other sectors that desire to utilize its tools and talent.
This report analyzes the IT sector, as well as its various subsectors, to determine its impact on Missouri´s economy. As with recent discoveries in genetics, we may not yet know the ramifications of each technological change. Regardless of the changes that will come, MissouriĀacute;s economy must either play a central role as the industry evolves or step aside and allow others to benefit from the inevitable economic growth that will result.
Mark Twain once said that a Mississippi riverboat pilot had to "learn more than any one man ought to be allowed to know" and that he must "learn it all over again in a different way every 24 hours." His words seem appropriate to the Missouri of today, with an economy increasingly driven by new information and the evermore sophisticated technologies that carry it. Missouri may not understand the course of the river that takes us into the future, but it needs to be on the boat.
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