At a time when consumers are asked to tighten their belt across the European Union, it is interesting to review how the XXI technology benefits are spread between industries and consumers.
I lived in Italy, UK, Belgium, and therefore I will limit my case studies to these three countries.
Anyway, thanks to the open internal market, most of the companies are actually multinational companies, whose practices extend beyond individual EU Member States.
But I will stretch my review across three decades, starting from when, in mid-1990s I finally surrendered and got a mobile phone (I waited for the GSM service), and then reviewing also other utilities.
This article is focused on extending the knowledge economy to Low Income Countries.
As for the reference to proliferation- it will become clear along the next few pages, followed by a list of bibliographical references, should you be interested in reading more.
This article was originally planned as a more detailed (and practical) document, but, due to the lack of time, I decided to just share the core conclusions and the introduction.
Cum grano salis
In this seventh article and last article of this series (beside the bibliography), a reality check.
You can share ideas, dreams, or “what ifs”, but, in the end, experience is built by the interaction with reality- not by thinking about an alternative reality.
In this article I would like to share some practical experience on how to temper the fury of over-excited zealots of innovation-through-patterns.
In this fourth article, patterns within the consumer electronic industry, used as a case study on applying patterns across industries; therefore, it is assumed that you read the previous articles.
Why consumer electronics? Because it seems to take increasing space on our newspapers- as if choosing a mobile phone or netbook were to be a critical issue for our well-being; therefore, a case using to see how patterns delivered through technology are influencing our everyday life.
Since at least late 1980s, replacing is cheaper than repairing: ask to repair your digital camera or the screen of your netbook, and you will be asked amounts often exceeding the replacement cost- with a newer and better model.
And what happens to the old one? It is dumped somewhere- often in developing countries, while all those “recycling” symbol on boxes that make us feel eco-friendly forget to say where and how it will be recycled.
This is the first short article of a 7-article series on change, that I will post along the month of September.
The purpose is quite simple: share, through case studies and examples, an approach that I used in my prior activities joining technology and change, and focusing on the change itself.
A short commentary to share (again) some doubts and ideas about what I could define… the separation of the Cyber-church and the State.
Today is Sunday, and, as it is becoming my tradition, I enjoy watching at specific issues (e.g. political polls) from a different perspective.
In this case, biology.
Actually, the inspiration is the constant flurry of partisan bile that I read on my wall on one of my Facebook profiles (the one where, for historical reasons, I have mainly Italian connections).
The title of this article is both a provocation and a simple statement of facts.
It is funny to observe as something that was often the most critical issue with startups and growing SMEs is now visible in sensibly larger organizations.
The issue? The temptation of reducing risk by spreading too thin across multiple line of activities.
In theory, this could mean having multiple “fall-back” opportunities, should one or more of the alternatives fail to deliver the expected results.
In reality, this implies that you have multiple initiatives to coordinate- a tough call, made even more difficult to manage if you are within a competitive environment, where external issues could require a constant refocus.
In this article, taking the lead from the first public speech of the European President, a “what if” story on the application of the streamlining approach to the external relations of the EU 27.
In the private sector, e-procurement has been on the table well before the Internet became accessible.
I will focus only on ICT procurement: from computers to consulting, to any associated services and infrastructure.