CATALYST has covered the topic of electronics in the past, specifically around the idea of “greening electronics“.
The focus of these articles has been on brominated and chlorinated compounds in electronic products. However, the “greening” of our electronics does not stop at the individual product level nor is that “green” always associated with the environment.
The virtualization or cloud computing of many organizations in recent years has been heralded as a success in IT innovation and welcomed by many in the business world as it has had a positive direct impact on organizations bottom line. Most often recognized is the loss for the need of a server storage room and the costs associated with maintaining it. Additionally, gone are the software costs associated with loading individual employees computers and the individual issues that come with it. Environmentally it has been met with varying degrees of acceptance and skepticism.
Though positive from a financial perspective, most often over-looked though is the altered concept of an office.
Earlier this week, CATALYST discussed Monacle’s forecasting of the beginning of a digital backlash. However, last week, the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas would suggest something entirely different. Though not present, Apple’s influence is predicted to impact sales in the entire market. According to Gartner an IT research and advisory company, sales of total tablets was 19.5 million and for 2011 is expected to reach 54.8 million. In the next three years, sales are expected to cross over 200 million.
Following the trend of virtualization and tablet adoption, a rational observation can be made that we are going to be seeing more businesses adopt this model in the near future.
With a traditional business concept of an “office” disappearing how would you design a virtual office? How would you design communication in an office of 50+ employees? What transitions would need to be designed to ensure success? Leave your comments below.
