Introduction

• Pages: 11-25
• Author: Vivian Newman-Pont,Daniel Ospina-Celis,Juan Carlos Upegui

11

Working Paper 10

INTRODUCTION

Daniel Ospina-Celis

Juan Carlos Upegui

1. Digital Economy and Big Data

Technology in general, and information and communications technolo-

gies (ICTs) in particular, have changed our everyday life. Recent techno-

logical developments have driven paradigm changes in various areas of

knowledge and our relationship with our environment. Easy access to

mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc.) has changed how

we interact with technology. According to a study by GSMA, a global as-

sociation of mobile operators, by 2018 smartphones were used by 66%

of the world’s population and 85% of the Global North’s population

(GSMA2018). We live in a technological society where the majority of

the population uses a mobile device every single day.

Recent technological developments, the evolution of the Internet,

and the interconnectivity of devices have led some to claim that we are

undergoing a fourth industrial revolution. Considering the possibilities of

the technication and digitalization for global trade, the German govern-

ment introduced the Industry4.0 initiative in 2011. e program aims to

drive digital manufacturing forward by increasing digitalization and the

interconnection of products, value chains, and business models. In the

framework of this initiative, “Data-driven business models will become

a major driving force of Industrie4.0 in the future” (European Commis-

sion2017, 7). Although the German program was ground-breaking at the

time—so much so that today the term “Industry4.0” is used in academia

and business—by 2020, assuming that digitization and data are common-

place in modern society will no longer seem far-fetched.

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