The Technology Landscape & Moore's Law
If you look at the technology landscape, especially the computer technology landscape, there are a number of things that strike you. Among the first things to catch your attention is the overwhelming number of technologies that represent the alphabet soup - COM, CORBA, XML, ASP and what have you. The second thing that strikes you after some thought is the change in technology. Technologies get created all the time and get obsolete equally quickly. Alwin Toffler's future shock is here.
Contemplating why the change is happening is a key to understanding the entire computer industry and almost a key to nirvana - a state of complete comprehension of everything. I'm not joking.
Computers are enablers of competitive advantage. Enterprises compete by providing better products or services and this is largely possible by using computers to automate their internal processes. This helps efficiency or effectiveness or both - (ERP improves efficiency, CRM improves effectiveness). To do this better and better, there is a demand for more products using computers.
Computers on the other hand can provide more and more products to do more than ever before because of Moore's law - the doubling of processing power every eighteen months or so. Because of this scorching pace of computing power development, and the never-ending demand for efficiency / effectiveness improving products, new technologies are being developed at the fantastic pace that we are witnessing.
Drivers of Change
If you think about it, computers are used in two distinct domains: they are either used as personal, consumer devices or as to provide business support functions. In the former domain we see internet surfing, personal email, gaming and the like. In the second domain we see systems used from SOHO situations to enterprise IT systems.
The second domain is the one that is driving change in the computer industry. Large corporations, in mature markets have to compete on cost - which can be improved upon in different ways, integration as typified by mergers, scales of production etc. A more popular way is to automate and reduce costs. But as technology matures, most of the players have already taken advantage of the automation and competition goes back to the same level it was at.
Consequently, there is a constant search on for more and more automation. And this drives the information technology market to produce technology that generates further cost savings.
Collaboration:
A great way of looking at collaboration is to see it essentially as communication between people with the intent of achieving some result or goal. There are several ways in whcih these kinds of interactions can be classified:
The interaction may have to do with implementing a project with a team that has a high degree of structure - a bureaucracy with a strict chain of command. Very rigid rules for interactions, very specific delegation of authority and very specific allocation of responsibility. The communication here will be very structured and very fixed.
Alternately, the interaction may be for the same purpose of implementing a project but with a very loosely defined structure. In this case, the communication will be very ad hoc and unstructured.
A different classification, othogonal to the earlier one, could be based on the number of people collaborating - a group, a pair, a whole company, or everyone.
Based on these classifications, different systems are required to facilitate collaboration. In some cases email is appropriate, in other cases, enterprise systems are required.
