I use the MS Office example because my workplace still uses Office 2003. Why? My answer... traditional secretaries. Most of the secretaries at my workplace have been with our firm for several years and are very comfortable with the technology currently in place. These traditional secretaries do not want nor feel the need to waste time learning all the bells and whistles of a new Office suite, even if it would make their lives easier. These secretaries (and their outdated Office suite) do, however, conflict with the young associates entering the firm. The associates, like I, prefer the latest and greatest Office suite. As my generation slowly outnumbers the priors, our technology will replace theirs. Such is my analysis on several "slow to adapt" organizations. People can be a greater barrier than the costs and availability of technology.
Friday, September 24, 2010
4. Change
Some businesses stay ahead of the technology curve, while others fall behind. Yet those companies that have fallen behind will have to make an upgrade at some point in time, be it today or in 10 years. This being said, why do some companies try to maximize the time between basic upgrades (i.e. MS Office 2003 --> MS Office 2007--> MS Office 2010)? I think in many cases they wait for the employees, not the technology, to evolve.
Friday, September 17, 2010
3. Work Virus
A few lessons from IT class popped in to my head today at work. To begin, my work computer was infected with a virus. I am not sure where the virus came from, but part of my job is monitoring web content for our clients, so the number of sources is infinite. Viruses like spyware are no doubt a mammoth security concern for law firms as the majority of the documents stored in firm databases are confidential. Once the virus was discovered, a member of the IT department hauled-off my old computer and replaced it with a new one. I am not sure what the cost of a new computer is to the firm, but obviously price was no issue. This occurrence made me wonder what specific threat the virus posed to the firm. Could the intruder actually break the firewalls and other security gates guarding our data? Could the virus collect information that can be later used in phishing attempts to trick employees into releasing sensitive company passwords? I have heard of such happenings before. The IT department must have their hands full.
The other lesson that came to mind is that 20-40% of all spreadsheets contain incorrect or incomplete data. This statistic has plague my every work day since I learned of it. As an intern, I spend a large portion of my time at work compiling spreadsheets. Many of the reports I create are used by firm partners and other higher-ups in to make decisions on prospective clients. As such, if my data is wrong, an attorney may be pitching a client on false pretenses. With this in mind, I began brainstorming various preventative measures I could use to avoid entering incorrect data. Unfortunately, I could not think of any timely alternatives to what I already do to insure that my data is correct. Right now I use "copy-paste" and spell-check to avoid spelling errors, and of course, a thorough visual review to insure that the data cells are organized in to the correct columns and rows. What else is there?
Friday, September 10, 2010
2. Yahoo Could Bring Lawmakers "Downstream"
http://www.cio.com/article/612263/New_Yahoo_Site_Targets_Issues_in_November_US_Elections?source=rss_news
Yahoo launched it's new Ask America site today. The goal of this new social networking site is to provide every citizen with a centralized forum to comment and debate on critical issues in the upcoming November elections. If successful, Ask America might be used by lawmakers to better understand the public whom they represent, allowing them to tailer new laws that satiate the demand of their "consumers".
Unlike topic scattered blogs, tweets and facebook comments, Ask America provides a centralized source for raw online public opinion. If yahoo is able to further specify demographic/geographic characteristics of Ask America users, they may be able to provide politicians with unique statistical and informative reports regarding the public they represent. Such data could give certain lawmakers a competitive edge in the upcoming elections. Along with access to public opinion polls (i.e. Rasmussen Reports) and other sources, Ask America should promote politicians looking to compete on analytics. Who knows? Ask America, if successful and used correctly, may influence politicians to act more on public demand and less on private interest.
Yahoo launched it's new Ask America site today. The goal of this new social networking site is to provide every citizen with a centralized forum to comment and debate on critical issues in the upcoming November elections. If successful, Ask America might be used by lawmakers to better understand the public whom they represent, allowing them to tailer new laws that satiate the demand of their "consumers".
Unlike topic scattered blogs, tweets and facebook comments, Ask America provides a centralized source for raw online public opinion. If yahoo is able to further specify demographic/geographic characteristics of Ask America users, they may be able to provide politicians with unique statistical and informative reports regarding the public they represent. Such data could give certain lawmakers a competitive edge in the upcoming elections. Along with access to public opinion polls (i.e. Rasmussen Reports) and other sources, Ask America should promote politicians looking to compete on analytics. Who knows? Ask America, if successful and used correctly, may influence politicians to act more on public demand and less on private interest.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
1. Google Chrome
Two years ago, Google plunged vertically into the slim Internet Browser market with the launch of Google Chrome. Today, Chrome is the third most widely-used internet browser, trailing only to Internet Explorer (the market leader) and Firefox. [1] What is the source of this success?
Its Google and thus its simple! Chrome, like it's search-engine forefather, is a simplified, more user-friendly version of an existing product. Consumers will rarely have to consult a help button for chrome and they will not have to worry about keeping up with new versions. In fact, a key selling point for Chrome is that, unlike Internet Explorer, it updates often and automatically (there will be no Google Chrome 7.0) and consumers rarely notice.
Additionally, Chrome is a major step towards Google's manifest destiny "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful"[2] and I commend them on their approach to product development - give the consumer what they want, minimize the clutter, and make it easy to use. Imagine if the corporations we work for were capable of developing an effective information system with an interface consisting of one input box and a logo. For obvious reason (i.e. sensitive information protection, slow internal networks, inadequate finances, inadequate human resources, etc.) many companies use complicated internal information systems that require training and patience (i.e.Worldox). Could Google's next move be horizontal into Corporate systems? Can their simplistic approach to data processing be implemented among firms struggling with too much clutter? Or did they already do that with Goggle Docs and I didn't get the memo?
Its Google and thus its simple! Chrome, like it's search-engine forefather, is a simplified, more user-friendly version of an existing product. Consumers will rarely have to consult a help button for chrome and they will not have to worry about keeping up with new versions. In fact, a key selling point for Chrome is that, unlike Internet Explorer, it updates often and automatically (there will be no Google Chrome 7.0) and consumers rarely notice.
Additionally, Chrome is a major step towards Google's manifest destiny "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful"[2] and I commend them on their approach to product development - give the consumer what they want, minimize the clutter, and make it easy to use. Imagine if the corporations we work for were capable of developing an effective information system with an interface consisting of one input box and a logo. For obvious reason (i.e. sensitive information protection, slow internal networks, inadequate finances, inadequate human resources, etc.) many companies use complicated internal information systems that require training and patience (i.e.Worldox). Could Google's next move be horizontal into Corporate systems? Can their simplistic approach to data processing be implemented among firms struggling with too much clutter? Or did they already do that with Goggle Docs and I didn't get the memo?
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