Does it seem as though your company has no clue about innovation? It's especially frustrating in the IT field, where innovation occurs at breakneck speed in the industry as a whole, yet despite this most companies, even those in technology fields, are strictly followers. Are the boardroom executives to blame, as this article suggests?

"For many boardrooms, IT innovation is seen as a risk. The first question many senior executives ask when confronted with a proposal for new business technology is: ‘Who else is using it?’ Government will generally recoil from IT products that are not well-proven." - Innovation must be fostered, Computing, 08 Mar 2006

Yes, but that doesn't let IT executives off the hook. The article suggests (1) following Google's lead by setting aside a portion of the budget for working on "new ideas". Google reserves 20%, but anything is better than nothing. (2) avoid using technical jargon. (3) make an environment that fosters innovation. Good ideas? Sure. But are they actionable?

Google pulls off the first one because their leadership is composed primarily of tech geeks. Most companies have non-technical decision makers at the helm, as described in the quote above. What's a poor IT exec to do? Build a business case. Learn how to pitch an idea from your audience's perspective, without technobabble, and be prepared to practice, practice, practice until you get it right.

And if you can't wow them with a truly innovative idea, at least don't fall too far behind. Find out everything you can about what your competitors are doing. The fear of falling behind may be the best way to spur your board into action.

10:28:55 AM    

What do CGI-AMS Inc. and Northrop Grumman Corp know about Virginia's heartland that would prompt them to hire hundreds of software engineers and build multimillion-dollar technology centers there? Ellen McCarthy provides a number of answers in Mining Coal Country for Tech Workers - Economics, Politics Send Contractors Into Southwest Virginia, (Washington Post, January 2, 2006)

• rents are cheap
• traffic is light
• talent is available

Are you thinking "duh" to the first two, but "huh?" to the last? Don't be so surprised!

"The area turns out plenty of résumés that the companies want to see. Local officials drafted a study to show that 4,566 computer science degrees were awarded in the past five years by colleges within 100 miles of Lebanon [Virginia], including Virginia Tech, Radford University and James Madison University."

But the overriding driver for businesses?

• 'Most companies expect to save 30 to 40 percent on projects done through a process dubbed "onshore outsourcing," or "farmshoring." The average salary for the 300 people CGI-AMS expects to hire in Lebanon, for instance, will be $50,000 -- far above the town's $27,606 average annual wage but about half the salary an advanced software developer in Northern Virginia might earn.'

And while the salaries may be a bit higher than oversees outsourcing options, there are advantages beyond the fact that some government contracts insist on U.S. workers for security purposes. As I've blogged about in the past, a number of studies have found the cost of outsourcing is frequently underestimated. Issues related to time zone separation and cultural differences must be factored in when outsourcing to places like India. Southwest Virginia has a distinct advantage here. Even the spread of corporate culture is easier to handle when workers can rotate in to headquarters for occasional training and team building exercises. Adding this to the list of reasons:

• U.S. citizenship and/or work location may be required for some government contracts
• Cost to overcome time zone and cultural differences is lessened
• Cost for the occasional face-to-face meeting is lower

Then there's the political angle: government wheelers and dealers are helping make these deals even more attractive. In Virginia, Governor Mark Warner would love to boost his approval ratings as he plots a path to run for President,. Similarly in Kentucky, SAIC has expanded in the hometown of Rep. Harold "Hal" Rogers (R), who controls some of the purse strings for homeland security spending. The Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce, sponsors a number of programs with this goal in mind. So add to the list:

• economic incentives

And have you wondered yet, "why Lebanon, VA?" Perhaps it's the '$1.65 million in federal grants that, along with funds from the state's tobacco commission, was used to install fiber-optic cable necessary for tech companies to operate.'

• technical infrastructure

This is where my favorite topics come into play, because without the bandwidth to communicate electronically and transfer large files and databases, distributed work simply won't work. Lebanon branch offices could become a development island, leaving the workforce to react to a constantly shifting govenment contracting environment. An integrated workforce can more easily be tasked to fill in holes across the entire company, enabling long-term economic advantage for the area.

The parting thought: 'Speculation about when a Starbucks will appear is rampant on the streets of Lebanon'.  I'd say as soon as the execs move in!

5:31:37 PM    

Three points:
(1) I'm back, after a much too long break from blogging, (2) the blog is different, and my views have expanded quite a bit - from telework to distributed work and beyond, and (3) I hope to hear from you - email me at dolan@software.org.

P.S. If you've subscribed to the "Telework Times" news feed in the past and want to stick to just telework-related posts, you might prefer to switch to my news feed from the "telework" category.

5:18:29 AM    

According to a press release, Teleworking Works at MAPICS; The Clean Air Campaign Honors Software Company's Innovative Business Practices For Yielding Major Environmental and Operational Benefits, (BusinessWire, Oct. 14, 2004), Teleworking is working well for the Atlanta-based IT solutions provider MAPICS. The except below lists the benefits achieved, as well as the collaboration tools they implemented to help secure those results (my emphasis added). "

In addition to the environmental benefits gained, teleworking has enabled MAPICS to improve its operational processes. For example, BellSouth and MAPICS developed the first contract of its kind consolidating billing for high-speed access for home offices and voice phone lines into one monthly invoice. MAPICS has implemented many tools to facilitate collaboration among employees and with clients as well, including an information portal, instant messaging, web meetings (for data sharing of documents and viewing other items being used on a computer) and voice conferencing to ensure complete, continuous and consistent communication.

Teleworking's major impacts operationally have been increased productivity, decreased sick time and improved morale. Most importantly, telecommuting has fostered greater levels of trust between managers and employees and has been the facilitator of more effective communications."

The telework project started in response to the Olympic games in Atlanta in 1996, and has grown to include over half of its worldwide staff. That's no small potatos in a company with annual revenue of $161.3 million (FY03). The company announced their first virtual office in Woburn, Mass back in December 2001, so real estate savings are part of the benefits mix as well. Network World's Jeff Zbar covered this event as well in his Jan 28, 2002 article, Mapics shutters facility in favor of virtual office. He writes, "Not only will this save the company thousands each month in rent, utilities and insurance, it will also eliminate commutes ranging from 15 minutes for Hofmann to two hours for a colleague who drives in from southern New Hampshire."

Transition plans included training on how to telework and how to set up a home office, peer counceling, and technical support. Weekly meetings were scheduled "to review current business practices and how processes may need to adapt to a virtual world."

In addition to the benefits to employees and the company, "MAPICS customers also benefit from the shift to a virtual office because the company’s employees will further increase their understanding of the challenges facing manufacturers who are moving toward virtual operations and remote collaboration," making Telework a Win/Win/Win/WIN situation. Nice going, MAPICS!

10:58:29 AM    

'"Anyone who is anyone will not be here," said one senior trader at a major bank.'

With the Republican National Convention in New York next week, businesses in Manhattan are encouraging telework and updating their emergency preparation plans as well. Yes, gridlock can be assumed, but when you add in the potential for terrorist attacks during this high-profile event, you have some pretty fierce motivation for folks to telework. Some businesses are even using the event as a trigger to test their "hot sites" - alternative computing facilities ready at a moments notice to take over if the primary location becomes unavailable.

A survey by the Human Resources Association of New York found that 71% of employers within four blocks of Madison Square Garden (the site of the convention) said they had staff who would work from home, and 38% said some of their workers will relocate to alternate offices. Beyond the four-block radius of the Garden, employers said 60% would have staff telecommute, while 35% said employees would work from alternate locations.

'"We are almost thinking of it as four extra snow days," says Dan Fanok, human resources director at WPP's Mediaedge:cia.'

'We are encouraging people to stay home, except for those who really have to come in, like those in print production," says [Foote Cone & Belding] spokesman Bill Haney. He estimates that 250 of FCB's 750 employees will come into the office next week. The rest are being given the option to take vacation days. '

For some companies this is simply business as usual: '"As you can imagine at a company like ours, telecommuting is an option for many workers, and lots of us take advantage of that regularly," Verizon spokesman Eric Rabe said.'

• CONVENTION ABSTENTION, BULLS & BEARS TO FLEE THE ELEPHANT STAMPEDE By JENNY ANDERSON (New York Post, August 26, 2004 )
• Bizfolk'll be busy lying low BY SOO YOUN (New York Daily News, August 26, 2004)
• GOP Stop: New York Shops Develop Contingency Plans For Convention By Joe Mandese & Michael Shields (, August 27, 2004)
• Search Google News for more articles on this topic
  

10:51:07 AM    

An August 24, 2004 press release from Plumtree Software, Inc. caught my attention: Plumtree Unveils Nine Customer Case Studies; ROI Ranges From 564% on One Deployment to $4 Million on Another.

Plumtree, a leading enterprise portal provider, details a total of nine case studies in its "No Empty Portals" white paper (free download, registration required).  FTN Financial reported the 564% ROI, Ford Motor company reported a savings of $4 million per year in communications, mail, and distributions costs; and Best Buy projected a 3-year ROI of several million dollars in increased sales revenue.

The white paper explains the evolution of the portal industry. Portals first supplied a single place to access all the content and services users needed to do their work, then expanded with additions such as integrated collaboration, content management, and search capabilities. But portals now are evolving into an application framework for integrating services from separate base applications, often running on different platforms. These new "service-oriented" or "composite" applications provide seamless solutions to business needs of their users.

11:13:05 AM    

Microsoft's latest initiative is to expand the capabilities of Office with new tools for collaboration, communications, planning and document handling, according to the New York Times article Ambitious Package to Raise Productivity (and Microsoft's Profit) (Steve Lohr, August 16, 2004). As an example, a worker using Word, Excel and Outlook will be able to quickly access related information in a corporate database.

Microsoft views collaboration as the next step in increasing worker productivity, and economists and analysts agree, according to the article.

'The low-cost, networked communications of the Internet make it a possibility. But there is a long way to go. Analysts estimate that 95 percent of today's workers use the telephone and e-mail for team projects.'

The article quotes Microsoft's in-house use of web conferencing as proof of the new efficiencies:

'The company's use of LiveMeeting, a Microsoft conferencing program, has increased to 40,000 hours a week from 2,000 hours a week a year ago. Mr. [Anoop ] Gupta [, vice president of Microsoft's real-time collaboration group,] says that one of every five face-to-face meetings can be replaced with Web conferencing tools, and Microsoft estimates that it will save $70 million in reduced travel this year.

'"What is productivity? It's finding the right people and information, and not wasting a lot of time and energy with telephone tag," Mr. Gupta said. "It means less time in airports and rental cars, and more time doing productive work and with your family. I think people understand and relate to these problems."'

3:57:36 PM