IT-Enabled Services - IT Enabled Services - page 7

1.3 Review of the Transformation from Digital to Analog
It is necessary to understand that the source of the value of digitized products is the
service being provided. In the competition among analog products, there are only
two options to enhance competitiveness: through technological innovation and
through improvements in the product's physical quality. In the case of digital
products, however, this basic condition has changed. Such digital products as
cameras, computers, mobile phones, television sets, and even automobiles no
longer require fine tuning of physical products once the threshold of quality has
been defined. In the following sections, technical differences between analog and
digital products are presented, followed by a consideration of the social impact of
digitization.
1.3.1 Differences Between Digital and Analog Technology
Analog technology is, in some aspects, inferior to its digital counterpart. The
quality of analog products is defined by the level of physical details in contrast to
digital. Digital uses the dichotomy for sampling, which determines the quality level
of the finished products. Quantization of the digitization refers to the rigid definition
and unmistakable presentation of what is required. Therefore, the results of digiti-
zation are completely replicable as long as they are stated and can be
communicated. Analog products are bound by the limits of physical refinement
capability, whereas digital products are not. Some cases of ICT are presented in the
following sections.
1.3.1.1 Analog ICT
The first example worth considering is the analog calculator - a machine made of
gears, which does certain actions to gain certain results. In a sense, it is similar to an
astrolabe, which mimics the movement of the stars. Skilled watchmakers competed
on their ability of how precisely they can copy the movements of nature. The
capability of a device is a direct reflection of the skill of its producer. These devices
can communicate information by acting and being recognized by the users as if they
were the replicas of the original Mother Nature (Ulmann 2010 ).
1.3.1.2 Digital ICT
The second example is the tabulating machine invented by Herman Hollerith. In
1888, Hollerith won a competition organized by the United States Bureau of the
Census, and the machine he had invented was used to process the census.