Posts Tagged ‘office of the future’
July 25th, 2009 in Trends 1 Comment
The proliferation of touch screens on electronic devices over the past several years has included mobile phones (notably Apple’s iPhone), satellite navigation systems and portable game consoles. Now, according to this article, PCs will soon join the crowd. The author points out that Microsoft has already demonstrated a prototype of the next version of its flagship operating system based around “multi-touch” capabilities that allow a touch screen to sense more than one finger at once. Soon one will be able to press buttons, tap icons, call up windows and rotate and stretch onscreen objects using two fingers at a time. Apple, for its part, has put multi-touch track pads on its laptop computers and is rumored to be working on touch screens for its next line of computers. (more…)
April 1st, 2009 in Trends No Comments
This article declares that the office environment of the future will have office personnel organized around processes rather than functions, with work activities largely done by teams rather than by individuals. The goals of office design will be to provide efficient space that incorporates current and emerging technologies at a time when change comes at a frantic and ever-quickening pace. In the transitional near future, this means that offices must go beyond the usual lighting, HVAC and power requirements to include consideration of robust data networks, WiFi, smart phone systems and communications technologies and how to ensure that they are linked to every workstation. (more…)
October 11th, 2008 in Trends No Comments
The paperless office predicted by futurists decades ago never materialized. As the digital era emerged, people were exchanging ever more information but technology and behavior lagged behind as emails were printed for archiving and word documents for editing by hand. A 2001 book, “The Myth of the Paperless Office,” summed the situation up nicely.
This article notes, however, that the year this book was published was the very year when demand for office paper finally peaked and began its steady decline. A paper expert at Info Trends estimates that office workers in developed countries will continue to reduce their office paper consumption for the foreseeable future. (more…)
April 25th, 2008 in Trends No Comments
Office Team, an international administrative staffing company, prepared a report, “Office of the Future 2020: The Evolution of the Workplace and the Skills Needed to Succeed.” Based on research and expert interviews, the report includes a section addressing jobs of the future. This article offers readers a look at the fourteen jobs expected to be highest in demand. Some, like “Compliance Officer,” “Electronic Security Specialist” and “Facilities Manager” are obvious. Others, however, offer a bit of surprise, including:
- “Knowledge Manager” – With baby boomers leaving the workplace en masse and younger workers job hopping, companies will use this person’s services to “capture information and knowledge that could be irretrievably lost.”
(more…)
March 31st, 2007 in Trends No Comments
In this article Aaronson speculates on how future technology will improve even the most mundane desk accessories and office equipment. Speculation is based on extrapolation of current ongoing research. Among the interesting developments anticipated within the next ten years:
- A pen that can write on anything using smart ink that adjusts its nature and bonding properties to the type of surface written on;
- RFID tags embedded in staples so that lost documents can radio their location to a tracking device; and
- Desks that will recognize you by your face using hidden cameras that take your picture as you approach and compare them to pictures in a database of users, unlocking doors, laptops and personal files when your identity is confirmed.
Source: Lauren Aaronson, Popular Science; Mar, 2007
January 26th, 2007 in Trends No Comments
The Conventional Office Is Mutating Into Something Much Less Formal. Eventually, Predicts One Business Expert, Your Workplace Will Become A Deskless Meeting Space – More Social Club Than Office.
Readers are warned that business leaders face a new wave of workers who want to be actively engaged and contributing forces in the marketplace. This demand for engagement is attributed to five trends:
- Technology, the Internet and a leveling of the playing field by MySpace, Wikipedia.com and blogs;
- A backlash against the greed on Enron;
- The success of political democracy throughout the world;
- The arrival of Generations X and Y who expect to have a voice at work; and
- The search for meaning at work as MegaTrends 2010 calls the “search for meaning” the number one megatrend of our time.
This article declares that this democratic age will result in a democratic approach to business.
Source: S.A. Mathieson, The Guardian (London); Jan 26, 2007
January 1st, 2007 in Trends No Comments
Coffee Shop ‘Offices’ And Telecommuting Are On The Rise, Trend Spotters Predict
This article warns that Wi-Fi shops and other “defacto offices” will be far more crowded in 2007 as people start setting some boundaries between their hectic careers and their personal lives. “It’s a way of getting out of the home offices. We need to walk out of the front door to go to work.” Trying to slow down and separate home and work is looming as one of the big trends of the year. Exacerbating this situation is another trend spotted by this author – the number of telecommuters will rise in 2007 because people want to avoid “supercommutes” in an era of high gas prices and environmental concerns. The authors advice? Arrive early to secure a good spot!
Source: Joyce Gannon, Pittsburgh Post Gazette; Jan 1, 2007
May 17th, 2006 in Trends No Comments
The office of the future will be powered by fiber-optic channels, ubiquitous wireless networks, and intelligent data center architecture.
According to this article the office of the future will be powered by fiber-optic channels, possess ubiquitous wireless networks thanks to wireless services such as WiMAX, and use power from their Ethernet to run mobile devices and larger office equipment like LCDs.
The author believes that office data centers will use more blade server architecture to provide servers like IPTV and VoIP. This will make future office infrastructure more compact and intelligent, allowing it, for example, to track company mobile devices through RFID (radio frequency identification) tags.
Once fiber-optic wiring becomes more prevalent, the author believes companies will create more remote data centers, leaving the main data center to handle building security and managed services with the remote sites providing more complex and robust servers.
Source: PC Magazine (New York); May 17, 2006
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