Technology at the Margins: How It Meets the Needs of Emerging Markets

ISBN-13: 9780470639979 / Angielski / Twarda / 2010 / 192 str.

Sailesh Chutani;Jessica Rothenberg Aalami;Akhtar Badshah

Opis

Remain competitive by offering more accessible, affordable, and relevant information technologies that meet mass-market needs Technology at the Margins demonstrates that by making IT more accessible, affordable, and relevant, new mass markets can be opened. Based on solid insights generated in key areas of health, education, finance and the environment, the book offers practical recommendations and insights from world leaders, innovators, practitioners and new users of emergent technologies.

• Offers recommendations on how companies can ensure their own competitiveness by offering more accessible, affordable, and relevant information technologies to support mass market needs
• Suggests practical recommendations and insights from world leaders, innovators, practitioners and new users of emergent technologies
• Challenges businesses to rethink their uses of existing technologies

Technology at the Margins will be of interest to decision makers in the private, public and nonprofit sectors who are interested in opportunities offered by IT in meeting the needs of those at the base of the worlds economic pyramid.

Spis treści

Foreword.

Preface.

Chapter 1 Information and Communication Technologies For Everyone.

Innovative Ways to Reach the Majority of the World.

What Are the Barriers to Success?

Where Are We Today?

Summary Points.

Notes.

Chapter 2 Healthcare: Where It Is Needed and When It Is Needed.

World Health.

Health Education.

Health Administration and Management.

Telemedicine. 

Diagnosis and Prevention.

Disease Surveillance and Information Gathering.

Taking Stock.

Steps to Take to Move into the Future.

Summary Points.

Notes.

Chapter 3 Outside the Education Box .

Who s Getting an Education?

Breaking Down the Problem.

Classroom ICT: A History of Unmet Expectations.

Curriculum within Reach.

Corporations Invest in ICT for Education.

New Delivery Methods.

Effective Mediation.

What Is Known?

New Directions and Challenges Ahead.

Summary Points.

Notes.

Chapter 4 Microfinance: The Next Phase.

Who Are the Unbanked ?

Microfinance: Meeting Financial Needs of Poor Households.

Microfinance Goes Beyond the Lending Circle Approach.

Barriers to Microfinance.

ICT Is Helping.

Management Information Systems Now at the Core of Microfinance.

Where Does Microfinance Go From Here?

Challenges.

Summary Points.

Notes.

Chapter 5 Feeding and Supporting the World in a Changing Environment.

World of Limited Resources.

Moving Science from Labs to the Field.

Minimizing the Impact of Natural Disasters.

Where Do We Go From Here?

Summary Points.

Notes.

Chapter 6 Conclusion: Harnessing Disruption.

Reimagining the Role of Experts.

Reimagining the Role of Institutions.

Reimagining Partnerships.

Reimagining Business Models.

Reimagining Research.

Reimagining Our Biases.

Reimagining Public Infrastructure.

Looking Ahead.

Notes.

References.

Index.

O autorze

SAILESH CHUTANI is the cofounder and CEO of Mobisante, Inc. where his goal is to democratize access to healthcare by making diagnostics affordable and accessible. He was formerly a senior director for external research at Microsoft where he pioneered open innovation and funded seminal work in mHealth and technology for the emerging markets. Chutani has also held leadership roles in growing new businesses and products within companies such as Hewlett–Packard, Oracle, Microsoft, and Transarc Corporation.

JESSICA ROTHENBERG AALAMI is the Managing Director of the Gobee Group. Her teams provide research insights and field expertise to global businesses, governments, practitioners and their partners. As a research scholar affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy (BRIE), she works extensively in social and economic development and global corporate social responsibility (GlobalCSR). She holds degrees in economic geography and international political economy.

AKHTAR BADSHAH is a Senior Director of Global Community Affairs at Microsoft, where he administers the company′s global community investment and employee programs. He also manages the Microsoft Unlimited Potential Community Technology Skills Program, a global initiative designed to help narrow the technology skills gap; and Technology for Social Good that supports nonprofits with their technology needs. Badshah has been in the field of community development for over twenty–five years in various capacities in academia, nonprofits, and business.

Blurb

TECHNOLOGY AT THE MARGINS

"A must–read for nonprofit leaders and technologists who want to leverage the power of IT to help solve global poverty. Authors Chutani, Aalami, and Badshah have given the sector one of the best handbooks filled with stories, advice, and best practices."
Beth Kanter, CEO, Zoetica Media and coauthor of The Networked Nonprofit

"This is an important book important in the questions it raises and in bringing together the case studies of solutions. I have worked with the authors and their colleagues at Microsoft for nearly a decade, and I know that we share a deep belief that technology matters. Caring and learning are a powerful combination. This is the promise of the technology revolution, that technology can build our capacity in ways we don′t foresee, from places we least expect. And so the disruptive force of technology needs to increasingly be a dialog. What can we learn today? What will those for whom we care teach us? This book reminds us to listen."
Edward G. Happ, Chairman of the Board, NetHope, Inc.

"Akhtar Badshah is a pioneering leader on the frontiers of efforts to use information and communications technology for international development. This book shows persuasively that the solutions enabled by these technologies can transform health, education, finance, and resource management for the poor if we challenge the traditional strategies of business, non–profits, governments, and international organizations."
Peter Cowhey, Dean and Qualcomm Professor, School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, University of California, San Diego

"A global company that wants to understand the role of technology in their strategy for emerging markets would find much of value in this book. The authors present a cogent framework to evaluate the opportunities and back it up with compelling case studies."
Anoop Prakash, Managing Director, Harley–Davidson India