SAFARI - the Progressive Business Forum website

TECHOurwired world– technology in the workplaceIt’s late; you’re tired. You’ve had a franticday and just want to go home. You promiseyourself, as soon as you finish the last of thee-mails waiting in ambush in your inbox,you’ll pack up. But every time you finish one,another takes its place. Toni Muir exploresthe pros and cons of being ‘wired’.We’re wired all the time.Technology has changedthe way we live our lives.It has changed the way we dobusiness. The multitude of advancesin communication and informationtechnology and the introduction of theinternet have changed the face, thepace and the nature of the businessworld.While there are plentiful ways inwhich technology has changed theway we do business today, we cansum it up under five primary banners.Technology has made businessfaster; it has allowed for far-reachingcollaboration; it has flattened themarketplace; it has encouragedinnovation, and it has changed howwe connect with our clients.As businesses have streamlinedtheir processes, so those organisationshave become much more efficient.Memos and fax in-trays and outtrayshave been replaced by e-mailsand instant messaging, drasticallyspeeding up communication. Thosemagic little pocket-sized devicesknown as smartphones connect youto just about every aspect of yourbusiness. So, if you’re away from youractual desktop computer, you can stillattend to any manner of tasks.As information travels ever faster,so the world seems to get smaller.Technology has blurred the boundarybetween geographies, economies,industries, products and services.It’s no longer necessary to book aflight, a hotel and a chauffeur andspend several days out of the office toconduct a crucial business meeting onanother continent; just set up a videoor Skype conference. And then, ofcourse, there are public cloud services,which enlarge the business networkeven further and mean that you don’tneed to be in the same office spaceas a collaborator to get work done.Consulting company Gartner predictsall Forbes Global 2000 companies willbe using public cloud services by 2016,further revolutionising businesses andbusiness models.Technologies that had their originsin the consumer space – Facebook,Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn –have reshaped the way companiescommunicate with, and relate to,their staff, their partners and theircustomers. And they’ve changedthe way companies market theirproducts and services too. Who thesedays hasn’t heard of search engineoptimisation, online advertising andGoogle Adwords?Unfortunately, for many of us,as streamlined as technology andthe internet have made our businessprocesses, these devices have alsoblurred the line between our personaland our working lives. It’s becomingincreasingly difficult to set andmaintain boundaries, and, thanks tothe smartphone, ‘time out of the office’has turned into a distant memory andinvalid excuse. Would we give up theconveniences, the efficiencies thatcome from using these technologies?Probably not.But, for all that we’ve got, it’s stillnot enough. As consumers, we wantmore powerful devices and fasterapplications, while, as businesses, wewant more cost-effective technologiesas well as all of the above. Meetingthese demands will require massivegrowth in analytics and data, and willmake for even more fierce competitionin just about every field. The questionis: Are we ready for it? ✥Progressive women in business 47