Industrial convergence has potential for job creation: expert
MOT | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- The merging of technologies to create new products, a trend called industrial convergence, could benefit South Korea's job market and create new economic opportunities, a former executive of Motorola said Monday.
John Strassner told reporters at an international conference in Seoul the trend has the potential to create jobs in South Korea and around the globe.
"The number of jobs (that can be created) will depend on how well different industries can combine their technologies and products," he said.
Strassner, who was vice president of knowledge engineering at Motorola and a research fellow at Cisco Systems Inc., said that people and industries have spent too much time on technological solutions and not enough on user-friendly products.
He forecast that growth in convergence will spur demand for industrial engineers, human machine interface (HMI) experts and artistic designers in the future.
"In particular, jobs in areas that mix HMI, computer sciences with other factors like automotives may grow," he predicted.
He said Apple's iPhone is successful example of industrial convergence, adding devices such as radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are finding new applications in health care areas.
The tags can be used to collect all sorts of health-related data that can help doctors make better decisions to treat patients.
"In South Korea, work is underway with St. Mary's Hospital and Dongsan Medical Center in Daegu to make full use of the RFID tags," he said.
Strassner, who is currently a professor at the division of information technology (IT) convergence engineering at Pohang University of Science and Technology in South Korea, said the nation is currently in the process of establishing a health infrastructure that makes full use of the country's strong IT and health industries.
The "stumbling block" in South Korea's efforts to build up the convergence industry is administrative red tape, he said.
"Bureaucracy can get in the way of innovation, and I think people are scared of working in areas outside their expertise," he said, stressing that such reservations must be overcome for growth to take place.
The professor said for convergence to work, people and companies from different sectors must engage in meaningful talks and exchange ideas.
For full details on Motorola Inc (MOT) MOT. Motorola Inc (MOT) has Short Term PowerRatings at TradingMarkets. Details on Motorola Inc (MOT) Short Term PowerRatings is available at This Link.
- Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: China Mobile, Google, China Unicom, China Telecom and Motorola - 02/09/10
- Consortium of investors to sell AmberPoint to Oracle - 02/09/10
- Oracle to acquire AmberPoint - 02/09/10
- International Contagion, Stocks Sink, Upgrades Galore - 02/08/10
- Motorola Ventures makes strategic investment in TuneWiki - 02/09/10
- More News >>
