Connected World: Liquid Time and Place
We live in a connected world, where converged networks are changing the way we live, says a new CSC report, Connected World: Redefining the Geography of Business and How We Work and Play. (Download the report.) This is the third in a series of four articles in which csc.com examines eight connectedness trends identified by the report.
Liquid time and place
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Related Information: Download the Connected World report. (PDF, 10 MB) Join the Connected World discussion at the Leading Edge Forum blog. Read the previous article about the report. Learn about CSC’s Leading Edge Forum. Contact us and let our experience help you produce results. |
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Even time and place don’t mean the same in the connected world. New technologies and new networks bring about a new phenomenon: liquid time and place.
"Fixed time and place becomes liquid time and place as the boundaries defining work time, work place, personal time and personal place dissolve," Connected World says. In the connected world, time isn’t rigid – it’s fragmented, it flows. Place is liquid when digital activities happen outside of their usual locations.
Time and place shifting has hit the enterprise. Work patterns have traditionally followed the sun. But the distinction between day and night is less important. Zurich Financial Services outsources its application development and support services to CSC, which supports Zurich’s business units around the world. CSC staff in India work a variety of shifts to match the different local time zones of Zurich and other global clients, regardless of what time it is in India.
The connected world also allows the flow of information to remain uninterrupted whether someone is in an airplane, a hotel room or a coffee shop with a wireless hotspot.
Time shifting has already rooted itself in the consumer world, where TiVo and its competitors let viewers watch their TV shows whenever they feel like it. Sling Media is doing something similar with place shifting. Its Slingbox device sits at the TV and redirects the TV signal to a computer or PDA, which can be anywhere with an Internet connection. Other players have come up with similar devices.
"In the past we were limited in our shifting by where we could run wires in the house," says Dominique Purcell, co-author of the report and CSC’s global offering executive for the Mobile Enterprise, "but with global networks we are no longer confined by wires or clocks."
While liquid time and place make it possible for individuals to get information when and where they need it, it also blurs the lines between work and play. "There is no fixed ’daytime,’ ’work time’ or ’work place’ for you," the report says. Depending on how we manage the blurring, that could be good or bad.
Pervasive presence and location
"As we become more connected, understanding someone’s context before we connect to them is increasingly important," the report says. "Is the person busy? Is the person at an industrial site or in the office?" Technology that helps us understand presence – where people are and what they are doing – is increasingly important.
Instant messaging is the key presence software, which is moving from the consumer world into the corporate world. It’s also moving beyond simple text messages. The Capital Wireless Integrated Network, or CapWIN, coordinates emergency response among more than 30 government bodies in the Washington, D.C. area. CapWIN keeps track of both availability and identity of individuals so that if a disaster happens, the responders online who are best equipped to deal with that disaster can work together.
The latest IM tools include voice and video chatting as well. These aren’t just novelties. "Having visual, not just textual, presence is powerful," Connected World says. "The more senses that are engaged, the stronger the presence will be." In a world where customers, partners and employees are rarely in the same city anymore, video and voice chat can build trust and simplify collaboration.
New technology also tracks the physical location of people. A radio-frequency ID badge used by CSC client BP helps it track employees in case of an emergency. It can also warn them when they enter a dangerous area where protective equipment is required. Location-based tracking, frequently using global positioning systems, helps other companies track their fleets and field service personnel.
For consumers, location-based systems can deliver advertising tailored to them when they enter an area. Less obtrusively, GPS systems in a car can feed them information about what they’re looking at, when they’re looking at it.
Better presence and location technology will help us remain available to others even as we become more mobile. "Virtual presence may not be as good as physical presence," the report says, "but it is the next best thing."
Note: The term “liquid time and place” is adapted from Stancombe Research and Planning, a marketing and social research firm based in Paddington, Australia.