Impact of Internet on Businesses and Society in the Digital Age

This report delves into the multifaceted impact of the internet on businesses and society in the digital age. It begins by comparing and contrasting the positive and negative uses of the internet, highlighting how businesses leverage the internet for community building, information access, and accessibility, while also addressing challenges like increased competition, security risks, and reputational damage. The report then extends this analysis to society, examining the internet's role in facilitating information sharing and communication, while also acknowledging privacy concerns and the spread of malware. Furthermore, the report identifies and discusses various threats faced by organizations and society, including vulnerability, spyware, spam, and malware, along with corresponding measures for improvement such as updating software, configuring security settings, and installing filtering software. Finally, the report touches on the applicability of unified communication providers, though the specific features and applications of different providers are not detailed in the provided content.

Integrated Professional Skills in
the
Digital Age

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Compare and contrast the positive and negative use of internet to businesses and society........3
Discussing threats which are facing by the organizations and society when using internet along
with the measures for improvement............................................................................................6
Comparing and contrasting their features as well as applications of two different unified
communications providers...........................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
In the digital era, all the works are done digitally and by the use of internet. The
knowledge of internet, e-commerce and digitalization has become very important. The skills
required to access digital work is to have complete knowledge about all the positive and negative
effects of the internet. As much as internet can help in making the progress of the company, it
can equally contribute in taking the company down. Every company need to be careful about the
work and digital strategies they are putting on their websites. A company need to give all the
necessary information about their product and services, but it should be in limit so that it does
not cause any problem to them. This report will provide deeper insight about how internet affects
both organization and society in positive as well as negative terms. Further, report will also
highlight threats that both company and society faces while using internet. Along with this, it
will shed light on the applicability of two different unified communication providers.
Compare and contrast the positive and negative use of internet to businesses and society.
Positive aspects of internet for business
Every businesses uses internet for access in proper and right direction. The use of internet
has become very essential in every sector. Before the Internet, businesses often found it difficult
to connect to customers, speed up their service and carefully watch the business climate. So the
positive side of the use of internet in the businesses are firstly everything should be personable.
The Internet has allowed businesses to create communities for those that share similar interests in
products and businesses. These communities help businesses develop their brand and create a
positive image (Salmela-Aro and et.al., 2017). Businesses are able to customize products or
services with ease, which increases the satisfaction of the customers and increases profits. The
Internet has enabled business to obtain valuable information about the interests of certain
demographics. Second is the Information and in this The plethora of information on the Internet
enables businesses to learn about trends that may affect them, observe consumer behaviour,
discover products that could enhance their service or business and increase their knowledge of
the industry. Information that used to be reserved for the most influential people in the industry

or academics is now easier to find. The amount of reviews and information about businesses on
the Internet helps consumers feel more in control and comfortable with making a purchase. of
both consumers and businesses and saves time that can be used for productive activities. The
third positive effect is the accessibility and in this the Internet bridges the gap between
consumers and businesses. The advent of the Internet has made the presence of businesses
global. Consumers have access to products that are abroad or across state lines. Communication
between consumers and businesses is more open and transparent. Consumers can now use email,
chat or forums to connect with other consumers, ask pertinent questions about the service or
product, obtain customer support and offer suggestions (Mäntymäki and Islam, 2016). The fourth
one is easier entry of in the past, entry into the business world was severely restricted. The
candidates can get proper work and easy entry because of internet. All the information about the
products and services are available on the internet and customers can easily get knowledge about
the product or service which they wants to purchase. The fifth on is the investment of the
companies. In this the customers can get information about the profits and losses of the business
and then they can invest in those companies accordingly. The share market runs fully on the
internet. People invest shares with the help of internet only.
Negatives for business
Whereas the negative effects of the internet in the business are as follows. Firstly the
competition increases a lot due to full information of all the products available on internet. Many
competition firms and industrials produce the same product with some different features and sell
them at lower prices. Second is the impersonality. In this the face to face meetings and social
behaviour of the employees decreases. All the employees gets connected with each other through
e-mail and messages and this lead to less of interaction between them. The third is Security and
in this the security of the company's private details are not safe. There are many computer
hackers who can easily access the passwords, bank account details, credit card details etc. This
can create a big revenue loss to the company and may effect in loss if customers trust. The fourth
is reputation of the company (Soror and et.al., 2015). Internet can destroy the reputation of any
well-established company. This can be done by updating negative and bad feedbacks and
comments about the company on their official sites. Most of the customers do a internet survey
about the company whose product they are going to purchase and if they will see the negative
comments on the official website, then they are not going to purchase the product. This will

cause major loss to the company.
Positive and negative sides of internet for society
In the context of society, internet has vital significance as it facilitates knowledge and
information sharing to a great extent. By using internet, individuals of society can access World
Wide Web and thereby gets suitable information regarding concern area. However, on the
critical note, Krotov (2017) said that privacy issues are occurred to the significant level due to
internet. Now, information shared by people via internet is hardly private so long. Moreover, in
the recent times, some of websites are placing emphasis on monitoring the behaviour of an
individual on regular basis. Thereafter, likewise Facebook, they send gathered information to the
third parties which in turn can be used by them for business purpose. In addition to this, with the
help of internet one can communicate with someone anywhere in the world (Positive and
negative impact of the internet, 2019). It offers opportunity for the people to share their
knowledge with others effectually through the means of chat, video calls etc. On the critical note,
Abomhara (2015) argued that internet imposes significant threat in front of society in terms of
malware and other security aspects. Moreover, issue in relation to virus is increasing
significantly due to the usage of internet. This in turn infects operating system in terms of either
hacking or other malfunctioning.
By doing assessment, it has found that, internet usage offers high level of convenience to
the society. Moreover, by using internet one can do payment via online modes. Through this,
individuals resides in society can send payment globally and there by complete their transactions
within a seconds. Along with this, through internet people can do other payments related to
insurance, bills and other expenses easily without visiting to particular store (The positive and
negative effects of internet, 2019). However, it is to be critically evaluated that, due to internet,
people’s activities on social networking sites have increased significantly. Due to the addiction
on social networking sites person’s living standard and professional activities are getting
disturbed. Further, Khan and Al-Yasiri (2016) entailed that now individuals are highly active on
social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. This in turn places negative
impact on the health of individuals such as insomnia etc.
Lee (2017) mentioned in their study that internet has facilitates interchange of ideas and
materials among scientists, university professors, students etc. In addition to this, several books,
journals and scholarly articles are available via internet due to the digitization of public domain

materials. Hence, scholar and students can use such material and thereby gain knowledge about
the areas for which they want to do further study. Nurse, Creese and De Roure (2017) criticized
internet on the basis of illegal or inappropriate material find there. Along with this, due to
internet, people living in society are downloading music illegally. Such unauthorized activities
have led to lawsuits on individuals who performed illegally.
The above depicted assessment shows that internet offers several benefits to both
business and society. However, in comparison to society, internet imposes significant threats in
front of businesses pertaining to viruses, malfunction etc. Moreover, day to day functioning of
businesses depends on internet. Without having internet business units cannot work effectually
over society. Further, it has identified from evaluation that both businesses and society needs
internet for performing their activities in the best possible way.
Discussing threats which are facing by the organizations and society when using internet along
with the measures for improvement
There are several threats facing by both organization and society due to the internet usage.
In the current times technological up-gradation is increasing with the very high pace.
Moreover, some new gadgets lacking plan pertaining to security aspects. Such unsecured
connection may result into high level of vulnerability. Hence, vulnerability imposes risk in front
of company in relation to loss of data base etc.
According to the views of Cozzolino, Verona and Rothaermel (2018), by keeping software
up to date business units can avoid risks associated with vulnerability. In addition to this, from
the purpose of improvement, companies are advised that focus needs to be placed on configuring
security setting in the operating system and internet browser.
As per Krotov (2017), spyware is another major threat that organization faces at the time
of using internet. Moreover, this can be downloaded through websites, emails, direct file sharing
etc. Hence, in the context of firms, there is a risk that user may receive spyware unknowingly.
For addressing this issue, company should make focus on using reputable security program
which in turn ensures protection from spyware and other risks. Further, business unit should
focus on the configuration of firewall in the interne security program. Through this, unsolicited
request for outbound communication can be blocked effectually.

At the time of using internet company also faces issues namely spam which is recognized
as an electronic version of junk mail. Spam is considered as serious concern from the perspective
of security aspects. The reason behind this, it includes Trojan horses, spyware, viruses etc which
is used by unauthorised candidates for obtaining sensitive as well as personal identification
information. For dealing with this issue business organization can install filtering or blocking
software. Further, both businesses and society should delete message when e-mail is recognized
as spam (Common threats to be aware of, 2019). Along with this, by rejecting all the instant
messages from people which are not known security can be ensured from undesirable practices
of individuals. By scanning all the files with reputable internet security programs problem can be
found and detected effectually.
From assessment, it has found that problem of malware is common among individuals due
to the high usage of internet. Malware is recognized as the category of malicious code which
infects computer in the form of viruses, worms, trojan horses, spyware and adware. This is used
for the alteration and deletion of files. Unauthorized users prefer to use malware for sending an
e-mail on other’s behalf. Along with this, using malware individuals steal sensitive or
confidential information. Malware is also used for controlling computer and software running
into it (Computer Threats, 2019). For securing information from illegality both companies and
people should open attachment that is from trusted sources. In addition to this, prior to opening
attachment e-mail must be scanned through effectual internet security program. Companies and
other individuals should focus on opening and sharing files that are from known authorities.
Phishing may be defined as a method of social engineering which is undertaken by
unauthorized users for the purpose of getting data namely passwords, credit or debit card
numbers etc. Through phishing, some unauthorised users do instant messages or phishing e-mails
which in turn looks like as legitimate (The most common network security threats, 2019). When,
recipient of e-mails click on malicious link then malfunction getting installed on recipient’s
computer. For example: now a days, people who are involved in illegal activities send an e-mail
or message to the number of customers. Such e-mail and message looks like the same is sent by
banking institution. By this mail, unauthorized people request concerned customer in relation to
sharing personal information such bank id, password of debit card etc. In this way, phishing
imposes high threat in front of both businesses and society significantly. For controlling such
kind of fraudulent practices now banking institutions have taken initiatives in relation to

developing awareness among both businesses and other people. Now, banks started doing
messages to the customers in relation to not sharing id-passwords with others. Hence, through
the means of such kind of campaign or awareness programs fraudulent practices can be avoided.
Comparing and contrasting their features as well as applications of two different unified
communications providers
Unified communication may be served as a business and marketing concept that facilitates
integration of enterprise communication services. This in turn includes instant messaging,
presence information, mobility features, web or video conferencing. Unified communication
provides businesses with viable way in relation to simplifying their telecom and media
management. Such kind of unified communication providers enhances operational efficiency and
reduces overall spending (Different Popular Types of Unified Communications Systems, 2019).
Business organizations can increase functionality and versatility through their telecom network.
Unified communication providers are highly effectual as through the means of voice and video
call companies can maximize their productivity and profitability. This in turn also assists firms in
trim their budget as well by reducing overall expenditure. Thus, at workplace collaboration and
efficiency can be ensured through the means of unified communication. There are several types
of unified communication systems which can be undertaken by the firm such as cloud based,
video, mobile, webrtc, Lync etc.
Cloud based unified communication
From research, it has identified that around 90% business units are using SAAS for the
growth and success of their business operations as well as functions. Due to the lack of having
in-house expertise companies prefer to such UC system. The rationale behind this, business
organizations want fast and more appropriate results which is possible only through the means of
software. SAAS provides firms with more flexible options in the context of both resources and
spending. For IT based companies, cloud based system found to be more effectual as it reduces
capital investment (Different Popular Types of Unified Communications Systems, 2019).
However, it is to be critically evaluated on the basis of not having feature regarding
customization. In other words, under cloud based UC, business units cannot customize facilities
in line with the demand of business.
Video UC

In the current times, video UC becomes an integral part of collaboration tool. Now, this
tool is widely used by both medium and large sized organizations. There are several new codes
such as H.264 scalable video coding and high profile which in turn introduced for the effective
functioning and convenience of businesses. Along with this, feature pertaining to record video
conference for the future purpose also offers convenience to the businesses. However, on the
critical note, it can be depicted that in the case of having poor internet connection business units
would not become able to use such unified UC.
Difference between cloud based and video UC is enumerated below:
Basis of difference Cloud based UC Video UC
Suitable for Specifically for IT companies,
cloud based UC found to be
suitable.
Both large and medium sized
companies prefer to use such
UC
Amount needed Comparatively expensive Cheaper to use
Training aspect For this, training of IT team
need to be conducted
No training required.
Facilitates Data confidentiality Time saving practice which in
turn ensures operational
efficiency at lower cost.
CONCLUSION
By summing up this report, it can be concluded for ensuring smooth functioning of business
operations and functions all kind of business units are using internet. It can be seen n the report
that internet also offers several benefits to the society. By using internet, individuals reside in
society can do several activities effectually such as fund transfer, making payments etc. It can be
summarized from the report that due to internet undesirable or unauthorized activities are also
increasing among both businesses and society. It has been articulated from the evaluation that
both businesses and society is facing several threats due to the usage of internet. It can be
inferred from the evaluation that issues regarding vulnerabilities, spam, spyware, malware, virus
are increasing to the significant level. Hence, for responding all such problems business unit and
society is required to take effectual measures for improvement purpose. It can be stated that

business units are needed to use reputable internet security program which in turn avoids all
undesirable practices.
REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Abomhara, M., 2015. Cyber security and the internet of things: vulnerabilities, threats, intruders
and attacks. Journal of Cyber Security and Mobility. 4(1). pp.65-88.
Cozzolino, A., Verona, G. and Rothaermel, F. T., 2018. Unpacking the disruption process: New
technology, business models, and incumbent adaptation. Journal of Management
Studies. 55(7). pp.1166-1202.
Khan, N. and Al-Yasiri, A., 2016. Identifying cloud security threats to strengthen cloud
computing adoption framework. Procedia Computer Science. 94. pp.485-490.
Krotov, V., 2017. The Internet of Things and new business opportunities. Business
Horizons. 60(6). pp.831-841.
Lee, I. ed., 2017. The Internet of Things in the Modern Business Environment. IGI Global.
Mäntymäki, M. and Islam, A. N., 2016. The Janus face of Facebook: Positive and negative sides
of social networking site use. Computers in Human Behavior. 61. pp.14-26.
Nurse, J. R., Creese, S. and De Roure, D., 2017. Security risk assessment in Internet of Things
systems. IT Professional. 19(5). pp.20-26.
Salmela-Aro, K. and et.a., 2017. The dark side of internet use: Two longitudinal studies of
excessive internet use, depressive symptoms, school burnout and engagement among Finnish
early and late adolescents. Journal of youth and adolescence. 46(2). pp.343-357.
Soror, A. A. and et.al., 2015. Good habits gone bad: Explaining negative consequences
associated with the use of mobile phones from a dual‐systems perspective. Information
Systems Journal. 25(4). pp.403-427.
Online
Common threats to be aware of. 2019. Online. Available through: <
https://www.getcybersafe.gc.ca/cnt/rsks/cmmn-thrts-en.aspx>.

Different Popular Types of Unified Communications Systems. 2019. Online. Available through:
< https://www.eztalks.com/unified-communications/types-of-unified-communications-
systems.html>.
Positive and negative impact of the internet. 2019. Online. Available through: <
https://positivenegativeimpact.com/internet>.
The most common network security threats. 2019. Online. Available through: <
https://securitytrails.com/blog/top-10-common-network-security-threats-explained>.
Computer Threats. 2019. Online. Available through: < https://www.monster.com/career-
advice/article/computer-threats-protect>.
The positive and negative effects of internet. 2019. Online. Available through: <
http://thecomputersimpact.weebly.com/the-positive-and-negative-effects-of-the-
internet.html>.