This Week's Herman Trend Alert The Consequences of Virtual Meetings

The Herman Trend Alert October 29, 2008 Technologies Changing our Lives A new report from CSC's Leading Edge Forum (LEF) identifies an emerging wave of disruptive technologies that will reshape business, trigger new business models, and alter consumer and employee behaviors. CSC is a global leader in providing technology-enabled business solutions. The LEF study identifies seven "digital disruptions" that 21st century businesses must understand to position themselves for success. The emerging economy places value predominantly in the production, enhancement and sharing of information, while cultural content demands our attention to this shifting landscape. (See our Herman Trend Alert archive for previous coverage.) In this alert, we will explore three of the areas identified. The first disruptive technology we highlight is "Living in a New Reality". This disruption focuses on our increasingly "blended" reality that combines physical and virtual reality, changing both. This enhanced reality helps businesses manage data centers virtually, students learn about weather patterns by "flying" through them, and consumers shop for clothes by building, and fitting, their virtual selves. Second, we are seeing what LEF calls "Platform Makeover". Virtualization and cloud computing are changing today's computing model, enabling anytime, anywhere accessibility for users and applications. Moreover, "nanotechnology, molecular computing, quantum computing, and optical computing will take us beyond silicon, providing greatly increased speed and bringing new applications, opportunities, and challenges." Finally, technology is becoming smarter, gradually approaching, and ultimately overtaking human ability to appreciate the meanings of patterns, proactively associate and correlate data, reason and make better decisions. In the future, we will have lifelike virtual assistants and semantic Web search, providing a richer understanding on the masses of online data. Enterprise applications will identify relationships across data and information technology (IT) systems and give end users the ability to define business processes. Additionally, predictive behavioral software is improving employee hiring, performance, safety, and productivity. Facilitated by the launch of the Internet, these disruptions will stimulate the formation of new industries, extend the significant gains in productivity brought about by digital communication, and challenge existing social, economic, political, and cultural norms. If we are to have the skilled workers to support these technologies, we must begin now to encourage emphasis on the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) subjects in education. © Copyright 1998- by The Herman Group, Inc. -- reproduction for publication is encouraged, with the following attribution: From "The Herman Trend Alert," by Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia, Strategic Business Futurists. (800) 227-3566 or http://www.hermangroup.com. The Herman Trend Alert is a trademark of The Herman Group, Inc." BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND: RETENTION SPECIALIST PROGRAM A growing number of people have expressed an interest in attending our Employee Retention Specialist Certificate Program. We'd like to schedule on that's convenient for those who want to attend, but need your feedback to do so. Please place RETENTION SPECIALIST in the subject line and Joyce will personally call you back to schedule the workshop. Or you can call Joyce directly at 336-210-3548 (PDT this and next week). BUSINESS IS PICKING UP Most employers are unprepared. The recovery will bring a new set of challenges for employers that have been in prolonged contracted mode. They will need more skilled workers or will need now to begin to upskill their current staffs. But organizations can not engage in Strategic Workforce Planning, when they don't know how. That's where The Herman Group can help. We can help you with your "People Review"----large or small---so that you will know who you will need and when you will need them. . . and we can also guide you to the best sources for the people you will need. For more information, call Joyce at 336-210-3548 or e-mail joyce@hermangroup.com. FIND OUT WHAT YOUR EMPLOYEES REALLY THINK AND FEEL Discover what’s really going on in the hearts and minds of your employees. Our InnerViews interviewing service uses SPHRs and PHRs, certified human resource professionals to probe for the information you really need to know. Exit and Stay Interviews, as well as Why-Didn't-You-Take-Our-Offer Interviews. Call Rosalie Catalano at 937-416-7066, or read more at: http://www.hermangroup.com/retentionconnection/exit_interviews.html. Herman Trend Alerts are produced by the Herman Group, strategic business futurists, Certified Management Consultants, authors, and professional speakers. New subscribers are welcome. There is no charge for this public service. 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