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A nation’s good economic status is important in raising the living standards of its citizens. For this to happen, there has to be positive economic growth, which results from increasing inputs and technological progress. In the modern economy, technology has become the primary driver to sustainable economic growth. The effects of technology have been witnessed in everyday activities such as health care, education, and commerce. Essentially, technology has redefined and restructured society and even the global economy. Due to this importance, researchers have carried out studies on the economic implications of technology. According to the World Economic Forum, technology has become one of the fastest growing industries. As a result, the economy has been impacted in various ways, including direct job creation, as it has become one of the sectors that employs a great number of employees. Technology has also played a great role in the transformation of the workforce, enabling remote work and the outsourcing of work to contract laborers. Today, many businesses have an online presence that enables them to reach out to more customers and compete with businesses of different sizes. As a result, businesses have become more innovative in terms of streamlining their business processes and serving their customers. Due to business innovations, many services including public services are now easily accessible through online platforms accessed on mobile devices. In terms of global economics, technological advances have contributed to an increase in production and capital accumulation as well as intense competition in different industries. Competition has led many businesses and companies to rely on research and development to help in the creation of new products and services to remain competitive. With new innovative products or services, businesses can compete in global markets by utilizing the internet, mobile technology, social media, cloud computing, and big data trends, which have played a great role in the revolution of practically every industry. Many of these developments have been made possible by continuous technological advancements. As technology advances, production become more affordable, enabling more businesses to invest in technologies that enhance their productivity and efficiency. For instance, in manufacturing plants, robotic systems are used to enhance production by shortening the amount of time required to produce an item. These systems also reduce possible errors, which means that there will be less wastage of raw materials. In the end, there will be more products manufactured at a reduced cost. The internet has also played an important role in how business transacts as it has broken the distance barrier. Businesses can easily transact with customers or suppliers from different locations. They can source for the most affordable raw materials and have access to a wider sales market. However, businesses should manage their technology spending to help lower operation costs so that they can leverage optimum business performance. Technology spend keeps changing on a regular basis as businesses need to adapt and also consider the viability of new technologies. Accordingly, proper allocation of funds toward technology-related investments can ensure that businesses will achieve return on investment.

An article published in the Journal of Management Information Systems in the mid-1990s discussed the rapid integration of technology into the business platform. According to the article titled “Analyzing Cost-Effectiveness of Organizations: The Impact of Information Technology Spending,” the rate at which organizations adopted information technology platforms increased tenfold from 1971 to 1990. Businesses reviewed found that technology reduced costs and made work efficient. In 2019, Deloitte found that of the 1,200 companies surveyed, the average budget increased 25 percent between 2018 and 2019 from $11 million and $13.6 million. Furthermore, large and mid-sized companies spent more than $10 million on fortifying their IT budgets, with some allocating as much as $20 million on transforming their IT infrastructure. According to a 2019 article published in the online magazine ZDNet, while many organizations devoted money to integrating IT into their business platform, 59 percent of these organizations have only achieved median digital transformation. The study also found that those companies that achieved higher digital transformation experienced higher net-profit margins and revenues. Almost 30 years later, IT budgets had redefined work, especially in the last year when the pandemic forced many businesses to become creative to remain afloat. In almost a sink or swim situation, companies found themselves drawing on their creativity to devise work solutions for their employees, some businesses adopting a remote platform, some businesses using a hybrid approach, and others simply closing until it was safe to operate. Naturally, budgets decreased in some areas because many businesses were forced to downsize because of pandemic economic impacts. However, many IT organizations did not rely on reducing staff to save money. Instead, companies used their money on cloud computing to support remote working. An August 2020 Forbes article reported that 79 percent of IT organizations did not lay off any workers, which is no surprise because they have previously grappled with labor shortages in this area. Of the organizations that did experience layoffs, the median reduction of IT departments was by 10 percent, and only industries seeing the worst downturns have had to reduce IT staff by more than 10 percent. Overall, only 13 percent of companies increased allocations to IT in response to the pandemic, 57 percent left them unchanged, and 30 percent planned to decrease them. Furthermore, 61 percent of organizations decided to keep their IT capital budgets or spend on maintenance of land or buildings the same while 28 percent reduced them. A Gartner, Inc. survey found that budgets for remote working were projected to have increased with public cloud costs increasing to 19 percent. Cloud-based messaging and telephony were also projected to grow 24.3 percent and 8.9 percent, respectively. Experts also predict that cloud computing and other remote work platforms will increase in the next couple of years due to the pandemic. An IDG Cloud Computing survey found the 32 percent of IT budgets will be allocated for cloud computing in 2021, and Gartner Inc. reports that software to support cloud computing will increase 91 percent by 2023. This is only one impact of digital transformation. While the pandemic has influenced many IT budgets, some experts believe this transformation must occur across entire business processes to reach digital maturity.

Information Technology has made work efficient for everyone. For businesses that have entirely transformed digitally, many experienced increased profits while streamlining several operational activities. Just like IT functions benefitting enterprises, service integration can also take the industry in new directions. Service integration refers to the process of aligning and synchronizing all of a business information technology functions across one platform. One of the main benefits of service integration is making work more productive and efficient. In addition, service integration allows the centralization of data, making it accessible to all users among multiple platforms. Furthermore, employees are no longer required to enter data, which takes up considerable time manually. This integration of functions allows stakeholders to make decisions quickly because the information is available in real-time. When dealing with customer concerns, businesses can respond quickly. Online shopping is an example of how service integration has improved efficiency and productivity. On online retail platforms, businesses keep track of inventory, sales and purchases, customer accounts, and credit card information in one domain. Meanwhile, customers have access to product prices. In addition, when customers make a purchase, inventory is updated within minutes. Service integration is also beneficial when a business moves from an old to a new system. Service integration results in a reduction in costs and downtime. Integrating technology with an IT platform also makes communication across the business more manageable. Essentially, service integration makes it easier for devices to communicate with one another. It allows departments to communicate without calling or sending an email because the data is accessible to all authorized users. Relying on service integration is also one way to improve a business’s growth potential. One of the reasons many small- and medium-sized businesses struggle is that they fail to embrace technology. Many platforms come with functions for analyzing and processing data, making it possible for companies to make more informed decisions about their clients and customers. Moreover, as the business expands, these technologies are scalable, allowing companies to add new departments, hire new employees, and keep track of new clients. Ultimately, a streamlined network of functions along an IT platform can reduce the inefficiencies when programs and software operate independently. Service integration makes it possible for businesses to collect, process, and monitor large quantities of information. Platforms that work over the cloud exemplify this idea where employees work across a platform that centralizes pertinent information specific to authorized users. The platform also allows businesses to better monitor processes that manage the business as well. Analyzing how separate programs work can be very time-consuming. Moreover, synthesizing the big picture can be impossible when different entities operate separately and are costly. Service integration, however, allows businesses to analyze parts of the program or the whole program when needed. Finally, service integration enhances the businesses' global vision. With offices in locations around the globe, companies have an informed and expanded outlook on the business’s activities and can access information. Depending on the type of business, service integration also allows companies to connect with other enterprises and integrate functions across multiple organizations.