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A short history of personal computing

By John Mancini posted 11-16-2010 14:27

  

A short history of personal computing.

[A note: Before I get a lot of email, personal pronouns in this presentation vary by paragraph. I know it. It's on purpose.]
 
Once upon a time there was a worker in an organization.
 
The worker longed to contribute what he knew to help the organization.
 
But alas, the worker had few tools to do so.
 
Then along came the personal computer. And lo, these personal computers spread like wildfire. 
 
And before anyone could say "Microsoft Office" (except for a few renegades who said "iWork" and a few ancients who continued to cry "Word Perfect" and "Lotus 1-2-3"), a new and powerful creative tool had spread to every personal computer in the land. 
 
And documents were created by the gazillions and stored in mystery places long ago and far away.
 
Then along came email.  And the worker, who had recently signed up for AOL at home, realized that it could also be used at work. And she was excited.
But it was not to be. "How can we allow you to have access to something like email?" said the big-time executive. "You will just waste time and send all of our secrets to our competitors. We must control this thing called e-mail."
 
But that didn't last long.
 
Then along came the internet.  And the worker, who had recently been browsing on his brand spanking new 28K modem at home, realized that it could also be used at work. And he was excited.
 
But it was not to be. "How can we allow you to have access to something like the internet?" said the big-time executive. "You will just waste time and send all of our secrets to our competitors. We must control this thing called the internet."
 
But that didn't last long.
 
And the big-time executives realized these workers needed a better way to work with their personal computers and their Office Suites and their email and their internet. 
 
And so their IT chieftains decreed, "Collaborate. And do it now. And by the way, we are in the middle of a recession, so don't spend any money on it."
 
And the worker noticed this creature her teen age kids had first discovered, this "Facebook," and pondered how this sort of technology might help her do this collaborate thing so desired by the big-time executives and the IT chieftains.
 
But it was not to be. "How can we allow you to have access to something like social media?" said the big-time executive. "You will just waste time and send all of our secrets to our competitors. We must control this thing called social media."
 
But that won't last long.
 
Systems of Engagement, meet Systems of Record.
 
Social Business Systems, meet Enterprise Content Management.
 
The next generation of enterprise IT investment must be in helping knowledge workers become more productive.
 
It's time to invest in our knowledge workers.
 
 


#Gov20 #ERM #HR #KM #Enterprise20 #ERP #E20 #privacy #BPM #compliance #CRM
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