Emerging Technologies for Emerging Markets (Springer New York 2015)

Authors
John Vong & Insu Song

Reference
http://www.amazon.com/Emerging-Technologies-Intelligent-Engineering-Info...

Preface

Many thought leaders have articulated that, within the next ten years, the emerging markets will be deeply influenced by emerging technologies such that business operations, societal interactions, and the geo-political landscape will be significantly changed. These emerging technologies are related to information technology, wireless data communication, man-machine communication, on-demand printing, bio-technologies, and advanced robotics. The emerging markets, regardless of how they may be called - BRIC, BRICS, or BRIICS - will be the main consumers of these new technologies. The markets will, in return, offer ideas to influence technological innovations that are more affordable. By then, firms may have to shift their product development, sourcing and marketing functions to these emerging markets to reap the benefits of affordable innovations. These new technologies and innovations are likely to focus on the three pillars of economic and social developments – financial services, health and education - due to the multi-cultural settings and demographics of the population in the emerging markets.

There are three trends that challenge the stability of the economic and social development in the emerging markets. The first trend is the rising cost of financial services. It will come a time where only the wealthy are able to have a bank account. The current service charges levied by financial institutions to transact, transfer and make payments are high enough to push customers away to more cost effective alternatives. The unbanked populations, living at the base of pyramid, need an access to affordable financial services. The second trend is the rising cost of public and private health services, which has become a deterrent for many to seek medical care. Alternative low-cost approaches for conducting a diagnosis, recommending a prognosis and providing therapy have to be found. The third and last trend is the demand on the education system that will rise with population growth, especially in emerging markets. The students and their parents will face with the escalating cost of education.

The authors have dedicated their lives to research on emerging technologies that will drive the sustainable development and growth of emerging markets. The authors strongly believe that these technologies will innovate in tandem with the growth of the emerging markets. Furthermore, the focus of the new technologies will be related to financial services, health, and education. The technologies discussed in this book are affordable, easy to implement, and frugal. For these reasons, the audiences for this book are likely to be like-minded people who intend to infuse such technologies and their applications into these rapidly growing markets. Based on the three trends stated above, they are presented in fifteen content-filled chapters: financial services (Chapter 2 to 6), healthcare (Chapter 7 to 10) and education (Chapter 11 to 14).

The authors hope that this book will inspire the creation of new technologies that will influence the growth of new markets. Hopefully, it will ignite a creative spark of quality research in emerging technologies and emerging markets.