This article is reprinted with permission from the May 1991 issue of International PC Business.
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One of the most exciting developments of the 1980’s was the wave of new technologies that improved the way people communicate globally.
Breakthroughs in computer and communication technologies including satellites, laptop computers, facsimile machines, electronic mail, voice mail and videoconferencing, have brought people and companies closer together through the spontaneous sharing of information. Most people were amazed at how modern communications brought the Persian Gulf War into our living rooms live. Yet, the same immediate information-sharing occurs every day inside and among major multinational companies.
These companies, facing the relentless pressure of global competition, are constantly seeking to improve the way they access, interpret and share information. To appreciate what further improvements may lie ahead in multinational computing and communications, it is helpful to look at three trends shaping the way people do business in a global economy: (1) the emergence of the "global workgroup", (2) the decentralization of information, and (3) the rise of the mobile executive.
The Emergence of the Global Workgroup
Today's highly competitive global business environment presents a dilemma: while problems become more complex, the time available to solve them decreases. Challenges and opportunities can arise overnight, and companies must be able to respond quickly. This means teams of experts or "global workgroups" - usually consisting of people from many parts of the globe - must be assembled on a flexible, often ad hoc basis, without leaving their offices. There simply isn't time or money to bring people and papers together in one place.
Computers and communication networks must be employed to support global workgroups that can start work immediately and seamlessly. At Apple Computer Inc., we often refer to this as “spontaneous collaboration.”
For example, a team of engineers may be called upon to discuss a new input device for entering non-Roman scripts such as Chinese, Arabic, and Japanese into a computer; a network of sales representatives may work over the weekend to create an international service contract for a perspective customer; or a team of marketing managers may be assembled to discuss the international launch of a new product.
The challenge in such dynamic environments is to allow the individuals to focus their attention on the problem at hand, rather than the delivery systems for communicating as a team - especially considering potential technology and language barriers.
Today, events can occur anywhere in the world that require quick action - an oil spill in Alaska, a nuclear catastrophe in the Soviet Union, or oil field fires in Kuwait. In these and other instances, specialists throughout the world interact with one another through various computing and communication technologies to solve a problem.
Although the daily “corporate fires” do not make the news, they are just as important to a company. Multinational corporations throughout the world share an urgency to move information throughout their global communication networks in a timely manner. This allows them to service and support a worldwide network of global partners and customers. Without this ability, they would be in danger of losing their competitive position, not to mention millions of dollars. There is still a long way to go in addressing a diverse group of people considering most global communication networks assume the world speaks English.
The rapid increase in the power of personal computers allows people anywhere in the world to use information in ways that are most meaningful to them. The multilingual capabilities and graphic-oriented interface built into Apple's personal computer line take these concepts one step further by allowing anyone around the world to communicate in his or her language - while using one universal Macintosh model. With the Macintosh, only the system software changes from language to language.
