From Business Information Review
The last decade has seen some significant changes to the IT landscape. It has been a period where developments in consumer technology have had a major impact on enterprise technology. The most obvious example is mobile technology. However, the working environment has changed very little over the last decade and companies are now beginning to consider how they can provide better support for the next generation of knowledge workers. Employees these days want to work hard, from home or the office, using social networks and cloud applications to get the job done. This article provides an overview of the development of the concept of digital workplaces and sets out user requirements that a digital workplace has to meet.
Abstract
Whilst organizations accept that effective information management (IM) is now crucial to information/knowledge worker productivity and organizational performance, the continued dramatic growth in information volumes has not been accompanied by increased information management capability. This is the case for both data and unstructured information. At the same time the consumerization of technology, growth in social media, and expectations of the work environment are resulting in pressure on IT and IM functions to deliver information and information tools via multiple channels/devices and simple interfaces. This article charts the evolution of views on the digital workplace and the drivers that now render this an essential strategic direction for organizations. The desirable features of the digital workplace can be achieved now through integration of four technologies – mobile; big data; cloud computing and search-based applications – and with a focus on developing for the mobile environment. Providing this environment could transform the way in which work is accomplished both in terms of individual and organizational productivity and competitiveness. Understanding organizations through an ethnological and cultural perspective will be essential to the design and management of this transformation.
Article details
White, M. (2012). Digital workplaces: Vision and reality Business Information Review, 29 (4), 205-214 DOI: 10.1177/0266382112470412
Tags: ethnography, big data, cloud computing, cross-channel information management, data analysis, digital business, digital transformation, digital workplace, digital work platform, enterprise information management, enterprise information portal, information asset, information exploitation, information management crisis, information worker productivity, Intranet, IT innovation, mobile working, remote working, search-based applications, third platform, unstructured information
