MOVING RIGHT ALONG: As If It Wasn’t Hard Enough to Link Stationary Computers

The computer market is more of a moving target than ever. Forrester Research, a high-tech research firm based in Cambridge, Mass., expects unit sales of mobile computers to top 9.5 million by 1996. (‘Mutants’ include sub-notebooks, personal digital assistants and specialized handheld devices.) Forrester also gleans from a survey of MIS people that the mobility revolution poses a ‘huge, unseen challenge’ to Fortune 1,000 companies. Even as mobile computers proliferate, ‘the MIS executives interviewed have few clear plans for managing these devices: 26% say they ‘have no idea’ as to who will manage mobile computers in three years.’ Forrester urges corporate MIS people to ‘focus on building the communications infrastructure and application development’ needed to maximize the utility of those little digital critters – which suggests there’s an opportunity for vendors who can help the process along.
Copyright Adweek L.P. (1993)