Online Information Conference - Day 3; The Digital Company in 2013

How will technology change the way organisation operate and do business with one another?
The task of understanding how we use information whether as casual browser, consumer or scholar has been one of the elements examined rigorously on the last day of the Online Information Conference.
The JISC National Observatory project studied how eBook usage in academia operated, what was required and what was needed by students and librarians alike. Traditionally trusted sources (such as journalists) were no longer seen as credible as they once were. "Print is dead" said one speaker. David Nicholas meanwhile gave us a stark warning to start understanding how users interact with information (based on our traditional assumptions - not the way we would like to think) we need to adjust our models accordingly, that much is clear.
The irrefutable conclusion was that things were going to change with the demand for information online continuing to rapidly increase.
In attempting to meet that demand, it is essential for content providers, whether publisher or amateur to understand how users operate when searching.
Dennis McCauley, Director, Global Technology Research of the Economist Intelligence Unit came to talk to us about what the digital company would look like in five years time.
McCauley explained the research his organisation has conducted recently found that there will be a greater age of collaboration - why? Because it is much harder for firms to go it alone, there will be a need for organisations to "let go" he said.
Technology will remain the greatest influencer of business change and it will cause excessive complexity, such as the change of business models and the changing nature of demand for a company's products, he added.
Because customers will continue to become more tech savvy, there will be a great increase into the importance of online communities, this will be beneficial in that organisations will get to hear what their customers think (whether they like it or not) as well as the risk of mob mentality should your cross them.
This all ties in with the collaborative behaviour McCauley outlined. There is the expectation that some of the best ideas will arise from improved interaction with their clients.
Social networking applications will be widespread in the enterprise organisation; those that don't like this idea will need to start accepting it and with it give their trust or get left behind.
In summary McCauley gave us these points to consider
 There will be no big tech jumps in next 5 years - although e-books will become more widespread
 Technology will be used more effectively but differently in an organisation
 Collaborative technology will be mastered
 Obstacles include: rigidity in organisations, tight budgets, skill shortage and security concerns