Welcome to the first class blog. In this space, we will bring forward the IT issues of the day to relate our classroom discussions to emerging real-world topics.
Our focus during the first week of class has been the profound changes that IT can enable. Over the past few days, we have seen a series of reports about how firms are embracing these changes to go downstream and get closer to the customer. These changes range from the marketing of products [WSJ article] to location-based services [CNN article]. What do you think - how has the emphasis on moving downstream and closer to the customer changed how you shape and work? What else can firms do to move more downstream?
Meanwhile, the mobile market is heating up. Microsoft is betting $1 billion on their new mobile O/S in an attempt to fight against the Droid and the iPhone [MSNBC], while Blackberry rules the corporate market, maintaining an impressive 70% market share [CIO]. Our class has been talking about the importance of location shifting and moving power to the handheld device - these stories point out how we are just getting started in the mobility phase. What do you think of the mobile market - how should we think about "work" differently now?
The last series of stories over the past few days deals with Google's jump into the talk market. The new app appeared with gmail earlier this week and is now live, with over 1,000,000 calls placed in the first 24 hours [Tweet from Google]. Yet, analysts argue that Google will not compete with Skype [Business Week]. What do you think - how will these evolving firms alter the competitive landscape of the telecom market? How will this change how we collaborate in the future?
