On Friday I attended ITAC's annual conference, held this year in Baltimore, MD. The meeting earns high marks for being well run, and as you can see, the setting was beautiful. I was surprised to find that the 100+ attendees weren't your typical seminar goers, but a real community of colleagues who - by and large -already knew each other, attending ITAC conferences every year to reconnect.

The Conference theme, "The Evolution of Telework: Lessons from the Past Empowering the Future," celebrates ITAC's tenth anniversary. ITAC also announced new research by the Dieringer Research Group, revealing that home-based telework, at least one day a month, has increased 40% since 2001.

Early in the day, ITAC president Tim Kane answered the question of which division within an organization "owns" telework: "At first it was Real Estate, then it moved to IT, but the tip of the spear is now pointed at the HR department to solve the people problems."

John Starke spoke passionately, elucidating the Telework Consortium's view that technology is still the issue that's holding back more people from teleworking. With the right tools in place (i.e. real-time video communication tools), workers can and will collaborate intuitively. While the people problems are real, many of them center around the issue of trust, and video tools will minimize these issues by facilitating trust through rich communications. The photo here shows John at the conference, speaking to the slide "Why do we Gather in a Place?". Think about it! There are many reasons why, some of which can be provided just as well through video-enhanced meetings (though there will always be those that don't, like the excellent chocolate cake the hotel served!).

Linda Whitmer, Director of the NetTech Center in Winchester, outlined the partnership between NetTech and the Telework Consortium. The NetTech's record of success paired with the technologies and expertise of the Telework Consortium is the first step in creating a model community  in Winchester, VA. This model for the nation will demonstrate a new 21st Century work tradition as a viable reality, here and now.

Copies of both Linda and John's presentations are now available on the Telework Consortium's website, along with the press release, at http://www.teleworkconsortium.org/pressreleases/default.asp.

Overall a highly worthwhile conference, both in informational value and in networking opportunities. Nice work, ITAC!

1:58:09 PM    
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