More and more people, who have less and less time, have more and more things to take care of. Increasing consumption, more and more advertisements, radio and television stations, newspapers, weeklies, bulletins, traditional mail, e-mail, internet messengers, landline phones, mobile phones. To take care of necessary but burdensome matters in offices and banks, we want to spend as little time as possible, preferably at a moment of our choosing, rather than during rigid office hours. Modern technologies will soon enable us to have universal, multi-channel access to public utility institutions, knowledge, and entertainment anywhere and at any time, and thus more efficient and cheaper functioning within the social structure. The growth of interest in multi-channel communication will be primarily influenced by cheap access to broadband Internet, as well as the increase in PC penetration and the saturation of the mobile telephony market. On the other hand, the availability of multimedia applications and content on the part of companies, media, and offices interested in interactive communication will be significant. The Lisbon Strategy emphasized the role of European Union countries in creating conditions for the development of the digital economy, creating modern “on-line” services, including e-government, e-learning, and e-business. The state should provide the infrastructure and legal conditions ensuring the proper development of the IT sector. A pioneering approach in the use of convergent communication channels can be observed in three segments of market activity: e-commerce, e-government, and in the distribution of entertainment content, primarily music. Banks were the pioneers of multi-channel access to services. Today, using your account is possible through a network of branches, the Internet, call centers, and mobile phones. Bankers estimate that multi-channeling and new technologies significantly contribute to increasing the profitability of the industry.
The article comes from the magazine “e-Fakty” 2/2005.