Posted by Scott Morris on Thu, Apr 08, 2010 @ 04:45 PM
Unless you've been "off the grid" and on vacation deep in the jungle, you know that Apple released the iPad on Saturday (4/3/10). I've read a significant number of reviews now, and clearly opinion is divided. What cannot be denied is this: the iPad changes the game...for all of us.
What grabbed my attention for this blog is an article I read at the VoIP Monitor, Truphone Gives Apple iPad Owners a Voice. In summary, the iPad will begin to work as a VoIP phone. Now, currently, the iPad can't multi-task, so if you're on the phone, you won't be blogging and checking facebook at the same time. However, that capability is not far away. I asked myself, "will this impact the business phone system industry?"
Additionally, this morning, Marc Benioff announced Cloud 2.0. It's a shift from software as a solution to the "facebook age" of business. Total transparency. Real time support and service. Complete company integration.
That means that we are quickly moving to a time and space where bandwidth will dominate, all of our life will be coordinated on a simple, easy to carry tablet (rumors that Google has one on the way are growing), and business foundations, including their communication systems, will change - forever.
Now, as I talk with people daily, I am finding more and more people who have no idea how to fully use the business phone systems they currently have. How in the world are they supposed to keep up with the brainiacs that keep changing technology on them? And what does that mean for so many business who are faced with the impending technology shift, but stil haven't embraced their current technology?
Here are 5 things a company can do to prepare for what's ahead.
- Admit you have a problem keeping up and understanding. That's half the battle right there.
- Get help. There are a number of great movemens springing up that help people think through their business strategy with regards to developing technology. At TTM, we are working through that too. Guiding our clients through the Information and Communication Technology landscape is something we take seriously.
- Find someone inside your company that is a total tech geek - who really loves all this iPod, iPad, iPhone, Google, Chrome, yada, yada, yada stuff and begin to give them some encouragement to think through how that technology could effect and improve your current business
- Sign up for the TTM blog! It will cover these kinds of issues and help you wrestle through these issues for your company. (Form is just to your left!)
- Take time every so often to unplug everything, have a glass of wine and listen to the soundtrack from The Shawshank Redemption or Miles Davis (any album). Technology can destroy your soul, and no business is worth that.
Admittedly, these 5 steps are just a starting point.
What do you think will help companies adjust to the quickly shifting technology landscape?
Are you concerned?
What help do you wish you had?
Comment below and let us know...