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Insights
For the past two years people have anticipated the advent of Bluetooth, a wireless personal-area network (PAN) technology. Promising a plethora of wirelessly connected electronic and communication devices and even an entire new market segment, the technology seemed stuck at the starting gate, bogged down by a variety of technical and bureaucratic problems. What started out several years ago as a feasibility study by Ericsson (Stockholm, Sweden) led to the inauguration of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), which has grown to more than 2000 companies. Although Bluetooth is about to unlock new commercial product applications and market opportunities, it is not the only technology that plans to leverage the advantages that wireless local-area networks (WLANs) promise to deliver. Initial Bluetooth wireless capability provides a very limited range, which led to naming it a personal-area network, but other WLAN technologies principally deliver similar solutions that have higher speeds and greater range. This study unravels the various WLAN technologies and details difficulties that Bluetooth has to overcome in order to unlock a flood of new consumer and enterprise applications. Certainly, Bluetooth is overhyped at the moment, but in the long run it will change consumer behavior, business models, and marketing strategies. Although immediate implementation of Bluetooth is not necessary, discounting or ignoring the technology as another fad will lead to an eventual rude awakening. Author: Martin Schwirn. 10 pages. Index Keywords: Computer Networks; Consumer Electronics; Electronics Technology; Technology Trends.
When most people think of peer-to-peer (P2P) computing, Napster and illegal sharing of MP3 music files come to mind. However, P2P is much more than an underground and efficient way to avoid copyrights. Pure P2P computing is a decentralized method of storing and delivering files across a network—it is direct Internet-based communication or collaboration between two or more agents, such as personal computers, that completely bypasses central servers. Every computer in a particular peer network can store information (in a variety of formats) that other users can access directly. P2P is important because it allows direct communication without the use of servers, improving security and data timeliness. It also allows for distributed computing in which users share processing power as well as data files. In addition, P2P computing is an important innovation because it is natural and self-organizing—traits responsible for the Internet's rapid implementation and success. Both consumer-driven and business-driven P2P initiatives are currently under way. P2P will revolutionize business by fostering development and implementation of new knowledge-management techniques in communication, collaboration, and information storage. For consumers, P2P will facilitate the emergence of communities of interest (sometimes, "virtual private Internets") and create new opportunities to build new services associated with existing P2P networks. Author: Lindsay C. Wilson. 12 pages. Index Keywords: Computer Networks; Internet Technologies; Knowledge Management.
Some 130 U.S. and European dot-coms—the hot companies of the Internet era—failed in 2000, and more failures are on the way. Of the 39 dot-coms on the Goldman Sachs business-to-consumer electronic-commerce index, for example, only one, eBay, made a profit in 2000. And even eBay's share price closed considerably below its price at the beginning of the year. As stock prices continue to plummet, profits remain elusive, and business models founder, investors are revoking the license of dot-coms to burn capital without adherence to a well-reasoned profitability plan. However, this attempt to move Internet economics closer to conventional financial standards is too late to save many of the dot-coms that show no sign of attaining profitability. Though no one knows how many more dot-coms will disappear—two estimates suggest as many as 50 percent to 75 percent of today's dot-coms will fail—everyone agrees that a massive shakeout lies ahead. For established companies, this shakeout will be a mixed blessing. Though the new batch of failures will contain some interesting acquisition targets, established companies cannot afford to be complacent: Not only have customers' expectations changed forever, but careful analysis of acquisition possibilities is necessary to avoid taking on irrevocably damaged properties. Companies surveying today's littered dot-com battlefield are wise to heed the lessons the author lays out in this study. Author: Paul R. Merlyn. 13 pages. Index Keywords: Competitive Analysis; Diversification; Electronic Commerce; Internet; Mergers and Acquisitions.
Staff turnover is high in most industries today, and competition for good employees is intense. Moreover, once a company successfully attracts a promising recruit, retaining that employee is a battle of benefits and perks. The loss of a staff member has both internal and external ramifications for a company. The skill gap that a departed employee leaves behind disrupts work patterns and deflates the morale of the employees who must pick up the pieces. Moreover, the cost of replacing an employee is high. In the long term, the effects tend to spiral, with high staff turnover hampering succession planning, disrupting growth, and deflating investor confidence. Companies in Western Europe are well aware of the need to remain competitive by motivating and retaining skilled employees. But published research gives mixed signals about which programs and strategies are most effective. This study looks at current practices in European companies as they struggle to find a good mix of financial-compensation schemes, benefits, working arrangements, and growth opportunities. Personalization of such tools is the order of the day. However, every company must temper new flexibility in retention strategies with attention to its financial constraints and strategic needs. Author: Samantha Blighe. 13 pages. Index Keywords: Human Resources; Labor Force; Management; Training; Western Europe.
In January 2001, staff members in SRI Consulting Business Intelligence's (SRIC-BI's) European office met to discuss signals of change that they had picked up in their reading and professional activities. The meeting was part of the SRIC-BI Scan process, which allows analysts, researchers, and marketers to brainstorm about the implications of emerging changes and look for unexpected patterns across industries and markets. European staff discussed several examples of companies' and regions' leapfrogging the competition by ignoring state-of-the-art technology and moving directly to the next generation. Companies active in incumbent technologies are vulnerable to leapfrogging because of financial and intellectual lock-in. Staff also identified workplace stress as an issue likely to rise higher up the corporate agenda as globalization accelerates and new technologies grow. Exercising flexibility toward employees is likely to become a key factor in minimizing stress, along with tackling the root of the problem. Finally, staff identified the machine-to-machine Internet as a key part of the unfulfilled potential of the Internet. Staff discussed how business users and consumers save time and money by delegating a variety of tasks and decision making to Internet-based software tools. This study develops the ideas that arose in the European Scan meeting and provides key implications for companies. Authors: Samantha Blighe, Rob Edmonds, and Robert Thomas. 11 pages. Index Keywords: Human Resources; Innovation; Technology Management.
News The summaries below describe current activities and programs not included in the B-I-P membership but of potential interest to members. New Report from Media Futures The spread of residential broadband-data service has begun and promises to change fundamentally how people use the Internet. Adoption of Residential Broadband Services, the latest report from SRIC-BI's Media Futures program, helps companies plan for the major changes that broadband services will spark in their industry—including telecommunications, consumer electronics, Internet services and content, mobile-data services, and the printing, publishing, and paper industries. It forecasts the speed at which broadband service will be adopted by households worldwide and offers a brief look at current broadband developments in specific national markets. The report is based on a comprehensive bottom-up market-development model of Internet use and household adoption of cable modem, DSL (digital subscriber line) and wireless-to-the-home broadband technologies in national markets throughout the world. For more information about Media Futures, telephone: +1 650 859 4600; e-mail: info@sric-bi.com. New Learning-on-Demand Report Learning is all about communication, and communication can become muddled—or fail completely—because of cultural differences. eLearning vendors and users need to understand the impact of corporate and national cultures on eLearning success. Both groups can benefit from aligning eLearning with cultural expectations, and they can even use eLearning as a tool for cultural change. A number of innovative companies are already tackling cultural issues as eLearning heads toward the global mass market. eLearning and Culture, the new report from SRIC-BI's Learning-on-Demand multiclient research program, presents a framework for identifying international opportunities in eLearning, with a particular emphasis on cultural factors. The framework shows how vendors can monitor opportunity signals in a country or region that point to readiness for eLearning. For more information about the Learning-on-Demand program, telephone: +1 650 859 4600; e-mail: info@sric-bi.com. |
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