Internet’s Impact on Business and Spain’s Economic Crisis
Business and the Internet
The evolution of technology is accelerating year after year. Since the beginning of this millennium, with the arrival of the Internet, the world’s society is changing in different ways and sectors. The influence of the ‘net of nets’ is enormous. For example, it is possible to connect with a person on the other side of the world and also buy and rent different products. Thus, the Internet has generated a new market that is increasing its customer base every day.
This new industry is attracting many companies from all sectors due to a number of incentives that the Internet offers. Initially, some industries like clothing and electronics used web pages to make their work easier and faster. It could be less stressful than having a large quantity of customers in a physical shop, and they can reach a higher number of people, selling not only locally but also worldwide. Other companies, like banks and savings banks, have restructured their work, and currently, they give customers the possibility to do most of their processes through the Internet.
Secondly, the total costs of companies have been reduced due to the Internet. Some entities earn more money with their operations on the Internet than in physical properties and, as a consequence, they can economize on staff or pay less in rent.
Finally, it is important to note that there are enormous quantities of web pages on the Internet, and, of course, some people use this to cheat others, trying to get credit card numbers, for instance. Security is very important, and companies that want to grow on the Internet need to offer customers all the guarantees for everything they require.
The Spanish Economic Crisis
For several years, even decades, various nations lived immersed in an unsustainable and flawed economic situation, which years later would begin its own destruction. In Spain, the economic system was based on the business of building and expropriation, where there were many public constructions. This epoch is called the financial boom period, preceding the economic crisis, where different sectors related to building experienced a high number of difficulties.
During this period, some people started to invest in the housing sector. Although they did not have much knowledge of the subject, they not only bought houses to live in, but also bought residences to sell at higher prices or to rent out. The housing market created employment because this sector needed intensive labor. Some of this employment was in the sectors of building, housing, ceramics, and all related industries. Due to the considerable rates of debt of banks, savings banks, and citizens, Spain needed to request a financial rescue, which only went to the financial companies, not to all the people who lost their houses and savings.
On the other hand, banks began to offer many mortgages because many citizens did not have enough money to buy houses, and these people requested this kind of credit. Similarly, builders who needed mortgages to continue building new areas did the same operations with banks. This situation created large amounts of debt that many companies were unable to pay. Consequently, in different parts of the Spanish nation, people suffered many closures and reductions in the number of workers and the salaries that they earned in their companies.
In conclusion, the generated situation, now known as the housing bubble, has been a difficult problem for the people who lived directly and indirectly from these sectors. With the policies given by the European Union and the Spanish government, the economic situation is improving, but there are still many problems to be resolved.