Emerging Modes of Business

It is division of society on the basis of familiarity with digital technology and non-familiarity with digital technology. The digital divide causes a significant problem in many struggling parts of the world. "As of 2003, only seven per cent of the world's 6.4 billion people have had access to the World Wide Web"[Ryder M, 2005]. The parts of the world that have a predominant amount of internet access is the Western World, the United States, Europe and Northern Asia, whereas access is more restricted in the poorer less developed parts of the world such as Africa, India and southern parts of Asia. These poorer nations are unable to afford the initial start up cost to be able to invest into technology to allow their nation to be able to have and maintain internet access. This puts these countries at a competitive and economic disadvantage. This is due to the fact that it impacts on society at many levels. By a country not having internet access, it means that schools are unable to teach IT skills and take advantage of the vast amount of information available on the web. With the lack of IT skills people from these countries are unable to compete at an international level.