IT (Information Technology) refers to an
entire industry that uses computers, networking, software and other
equipment to manage information. Modern IT departments in large
companies are equipped with computers, DBMS (Database Management
Systems), servers and security mechanisms for storing, processing,
retrieving and protecting information of the company. ICT (Information
Communications Technology) is a term widely used in the context of
education. Even though there is no universally accepted definition for
ICT, it mainly refers to utilizing digital technologies such as
computers, television, email, etc to help individuals or organizations
to use information
What is IT?
IT refers to an entire industry that
uses computers, networking, software and other equipment to manage
information. Generally, IT departments are responsible for storing,
processing, retrieving and protecting digital information of the
company. For achieving these tasks, they are equipped with computers,
DBMS, servers and security mechanisms, etc. Professionals working in IT
departments range from system administrators, database administrators to
programmers, network engineers and IT managers. When executing a
business, IT facilitates the business by providing four sets of core
services. These core services are providing information, providing tools
to improve productivity, business process automation and providing
means to connect with customers. Currently, IT has become an essential
part in business operations and has provided lot of job opportunities
worldwide. Knowledge in IT has become essential to succeed in the
workplace. Typically, IT professionals are responsible for a range of
duties including simple tasks such as installing software to complex
tasks such as designing and building networks and managing databases.
What is ICT?
As mentioned earlier, ICT is a term
widely used in the context of education. Even though there is no
universally accepted definition for ICT, it mainly refers to utilizing
digital technologies such as computers, television, email, etc to help
individuals or organizations to work with digital information. ICT can
be seen as an extended synonym for IT. Therefore, ICT can be seen as an
integration of IT with media broadcasting technologies, audio/ video
processing and transmission and telephony. The term ICT first came in to
picture in 1997 in a report prepared by Dennis Stevenson for the UK
government. Recently, the term ICT has been used to refer to integrating
telephone and audio/ visual networks with computer networks. This
integration has provided large savings of costs due to the elimination
of telephone networks.
What is the difference between IT and ICT?
IT refers to an entire industry that
uses computers, networking, software and other equipment to manage
information, whereas ICT can be seen as an integration of IT with media
broadcasting technologies, audio/ video processing and transmission and
telephony. Therefore, ICT can be seen as an extended acronym for IT. The
term ICT is widely used in the context of education, whereas IT is a
term widely used in the industry. In addition, recently, ICT is also
used to refer to the integration of telephone and audio/ visual networks
with computer networks. In simplest terms, ICT can be seen as the
integration of information technology with communication technology.
