4. Information Technology

Information technology is changing at an extremely rapid pace. The following items should demonstrate two concepts. The first is that technology is a tremendously complex topic, involving sophisticated technical devices and processes occurring in an ever-changing industry. The second is that change is not only guaranteed but also extremely rapid. As this report unfolds, these two concepts should remain paramount to the reader, as they provide a baseline for a number of recommendations.

• The cost of computing power drops roughly 30% every year, and microchips are doubling in performance power every eighteen months. (Business Week, "The Information Revolution," from "The Employee Handbook of New Work Habits For A Radically Changing World.") [ Authored by Price Pritchett, Pritchett & Associates, Inc., Dallas, Texas, 1994,]

• You’re in Paris, and you decide to use your American Express card. Getting credit approval involves a 46,000-mile journey over phones and computers. ... The job can be completed in 5 seconds. (Peter Large, "The Micro Revolution Revisited," from "The Employee Handbook of New Work Habits For A Radically Changing World").

• The information supply available to us doubles every 5 years. (Richard Saul Wurman, "Information Anxiety")

• Randall Tobias, former Vice Chairman of AT&T, offers this comparison to explain the astounding rate of advancement in computerization: "If we had similar progress in automotive technology, today you could buy a Lexus for about $2. It would travel at the speed of sound, and go about 600 miles on a thimble of gas." (John Naisbitt, "Global Paradox")

• There are 30 - 40 million users of the Internet (plus or minus 20 million), growing at a rate of approximately 10% per month.