Blogger: Larry Cannell
You don’t hear people talking about "going online" anymore. It’s kind of like talking about hard disks in personal computers. At one time it was a luxury to have a personal computer with a hard disk. Now, even hearing the words “hard disk” is strange. We seem to be at that point now with the Internet. We no longer think about using a computer offline and then decide to go online. For many, there is no difference between the computer and the Internet. They are one in the same.
Not long ago, people used to go online only at work because their company or school network provided a high-speed connection to the Internet. But with low-cost residential broadband (i.e., cable modems or DSL lines) home computers can always be online too. Plus, with the increasing popularity of smartphones (i.e.,iPhones and Blackberries) and the widening availability of 3G networks many of us can now be online nearly all the time.
Being Online is Now the Norm
Being online enables us to do things that were once inconceivable. For example, who would have thought that a social network like Facebook could help us re-connect with friends and relatives we lost contact with long ago? The most interesting part of this phenomenon for me is receiving new Facebook or LinkedIn requests from friends, family, or colleagues who I never really considered technical.
Recent statistics from the Pew Internet and American Life project show that an astounding 79% of people age 45 to 54 are regularly online. As you would expect, younger people spend more time online, but not by much. They also participate in different activities while online, which I suppose is not any different from the physical world (btw, just how long can a teenage girl practice applying make-up?). Almost regardless of age, these statistics show that being online is no longer the exception but is now the norm.
Creating “New Ways to Work”
One benefit of the increasing personal use of Internet services is the growing comfort people have with being online. Just ten years ago most enterprises could not assume its information workers were familiar with tools like a web browser. Societal trends shape enterprise expectations. But it works both ways. Personal experiences with the Internet also influence what we look for in our online workplaces. Instinctively, we know that working online is more efficient for most of what we do. It gives us flexibility, broadens who we can work with, and can give us choices of when we work. Working online can also make it easier to capture information and should help us recall it later.
In a previous blog post I said communication, collaboration, and content (3C) technologies provide the technical underpinnings that enable better online work. They help us work better individually or with others. For years we have been hearing the trumpeting of marketers and analysts saying that various technologies will “change the way we work” or create “new ways to work.” Few doubt this. But when are we going to take these statements seriously, stop talking about possibilities, and start working towards making this happen?
Worker Effectiveness Has Taken a Back Seat
Few enterprises have pursued the systematic improvement of their workers’ online effectiveness. Most computer systems are put in place to optimize the efficiency of transactional systems and process-centric applications, often at the expense of workers’ personal effectiveness. Intranet technologies were suppose to address these needs. However, workers need something more than additional technology.
By themselves 3C technologies only support generic activities such as sending and receiving e-mail, posting a file to a website, or scheduling a meeting. Of course, these tools could support much more, but enterprise workers do not have the time to piece these tools into a system that works for them.
Creating an Empowering Online Workplace
When the most complex 3C solution IT deployed was e-mail there was seemingly little needed beyond simply providing the tool. However, as more sophisticated products came on the scene (e.g., collaborative workspaces, portals, instant messaging, wikis, and many others) this hands-off approach was continued leaving individuals, teams, and organizations to fend for themselves when configuring and organizing their online workplaces.
In short, enterprise workers want to work online (expect to work online) but need guidance on how to change this hodgepodge collection of 3C tools into an empowering online workplace, hence the need for the Online Workplace Framework.
This is the second in a series of blog posts introducing Burton Group’s Online Workplace Framework. Stay tuned.
Excellent observations! I see this being addressed more and more, the available tools have matured and average users are savvy technological giants...but there's no direction.
Where is the unifying matrix that will present all this available technology as a transparent app or shell? I don't think we're asking the right questions.
Great Article!
Posted by: James Galt | November 28, 2009 at 12:45 PM