Scan Monthly No. 012February 2004 |
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Signals of Change
Automating Research
SoC041
Researchers in the United Kingdom have developed a molecular-genetics robotic system that "originates hypotheses to explain observations, devises experiments using a laboratory robot, interprets the results to falsify hypotheses inconsistent with the data, and then repeats the cycle." Astronomers have developed a system that decides on its own when and how to seek out more images to supplement its own data. These two developments mark a new level of automation for research processes. Automation will help scientists deal with infoglut and will enhance their ability to characterize and understand extremely complex systems. But will it also shut them off from too much of the research process, making them miss the unexpected and serendipitous discoveries that figure so prominently in the history of science and human endeavor?
Conversing with Images
SoC042
The current popularity of cell-phone/camera combinations raises the question, Will they change the way we communicate? Cellcos (mobile network operators) certainly hope so because of the increased traffic that images could generate. Some signs indicate that the cameras are a fad and that use will quickly taper off. But the possibility of creative users' developing new ways of sharing experiences and communicating with each other is not far-fetched. Some concerted promoting and maybe a little sacrifice on the part of cellcos may be necessary to encourage and foster the change.
Recycling IP
SoC043
An increasing number of companies are checking "out in the garage" for idle or unused intellectual property (IP) that other parties might be willing to pay a pretty penny for. Whether it's unused film footage, discarded TV commercials, or idle patents, idle or discarded IP often represents wasted shareholder value.
Public Perceptions of Nanotechnology
SoC044
Perception isn't reality, but sometimes it might as well be. And the public's perception of nanotechnology may present some challenging hurdles for the technology if the industry doesn't quickly come up with definitions, nomenclature, and informed public discussions about nanotechnology's benefits and dangers. The public will form opinions based on misperceptions and partial or incomplete information in the absence of facts. Regulators lack not only research and test data to develop policy but even the language and definitions to know exactly what they are regulating.
Insights
| Making Information Easier to Find | View summary |
| D04-2458 | Download this Insight |
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The continuing explosion of undifferentiated information in digital format (both on the Web and in proprietary databases) creates an increasingly desperate need on the part of knowledge workers for tools to navigate the morass. Adopting the classic strategy of fighting fire with fire, information-technology researchers are developing digital tools to bring order out of the digital chaos. This study examines four of the many techniques that researchers are currently exploring and bringing to market. Categorization software "reads" and tags (into various categories) electronic documents according to specified parameters. The system then brings up appropriate documents when users specify the categories of interest to them. Text mining tools also "read" content but set up links among documents rather than classifying the documents into static categories. Database-search tools allow knowledge workers to search across various distributed relational databases that have different formats and structures. The Semantic Web is the planned system still in development for tagging information with standard identifiers that will bring some order to the chaos that is currently the Web. This study examines each of these approaches to making digitally coded information easier to find (including approaches that integrate one or more of the listed approaches) and compares the strengths and utility of each approach for various purposes and contexts. Author: Marcelo Hoffmann. 11 pages. |
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| The Case for Voice over Internet Protocol | View summary |
| D04-2459 | Download this Insight |
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Voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) has finally received the spotlight in the business press, with Cisco and Vonage VoIP initiatives and sales taking the lion's share of the limelight. This study, a collaborative effort with SRI Consulting Business Intelligence's Digital Futures program, provides an objective assessment of current developments in the VoIP arena. VoIP saves money and provides strategic flexibility to business users—benefits that will prove irresistible. Some analysts have taken to predicting imminent doom for some telecommunications companies and business models, but in fact, carriers too can benefit from cost savings and from a roadmap that supports enhanced agility. Although VoIP fits the definition of a disruptive technology, the authors maintain that carriers' ability to add value depends less on the method of switching than on the agility of their infrastructure. Today is too early to tell if carriers will execute wise strategies to increase their agility, but a combination of technical flexibility plus influence over regulatory decisions will potentially preserve prominent roles for many present players. Authors: David Klemitz, Michael Gold. 21 pages. |
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| RFID Comes of Age in Manufacturing and Supply-Chain Applications | View summary |
| D04-2460 | Download this Insight |
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Radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology has already become a major facilitator of various manufacturing techniques and concepts such as just in time, just in sequence, mass customization, lean manufacturing, order to delivery, build to order, deliver to order, and build to market. In the supply-chain and logistics arena, RFID holds the potential to enable solutions such as supplier-relationship management, vendor-managed inventory, virtual warehouses, adaptive logistics management, transport-management software, reverse logistics, and supply-chain intelligence. RFID also holds the potential to bring a real-time dimension to enterprise-resource–planning systems. But the road to RFID success in the supply chain will not be smooth. Concerns about return on investment, standards, and the scalability of data-handling capabilities are well founded, and pilot projects can't provide sufficient experience to answer them definitively. Conflicts between supply-chain partners may emerge much as they did in the implementation of online business-to-business marketplaces. Some supply-chain participants are worried that they will have to bear the cost of RFID systems while other parties reap the benefits. But businesses are forging ahead with implementation, particularly in the manufacturing domain, where a company can exercise control over standards and the resulting data. Recent high-profile supply-chain implementations by Wal-Mart, the U.S. Department of Defense, and Gillette are not the only ones in process. The turbulent process by which technology standards and applications emerge has begun for RFID. Author: Martin Schwirn. 15 pages. |
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| Evolving CRM | View summary |
| D04-2461 | Download this Insight |
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In the relationship between companies and their customers, power has shifted to customers in recent years as consumers have become increasingly savvy about evaluating products and services. As a result, companies are looking to improve their relationships with customers as a means of differentiating themselves from competitors. Advances in information technology are giving marketers the tools they need to find out specifically what consumers want, deliver suitable products and services in a convenient manner, and cultivate continuing relationships with customers. Though this realm of customer-relationship management (CRM) is only a decade or so old, it has already progressed through three generations of development, moving from simple management of customer-contact information to direct facilitation of interactions with customers via corporate Web sites, call centers, and in-person transactions. Several developments are influencing this rapid evolution of CRM, including the development of partner-relationship–management systems, the introduction of customer-retention products, add-on analytic capabilities for traditional CRM products, outsourcing of customer-contact centers, and industry consolidation. Author: Paul R. Merlyn. 12 pages. |
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Calendar
Scan™ Briefings
The biannual Scan™ Briefings in which Scan staff present Scan analysis and findings in Menlo Park, California, will take place on:
- 20 May 2004 at 8:00 am
- 21 October 2004 at 8:00 am
Scan™ Abstract Meetings
Scan abstract meetings (in which SRIC-BI [now SBI] staff participate in a free-form discussion of current Scan abstracts) are open for client observation/participation on:
- 17 March 2004 at 9:00 am
- 19 May 2004 at 1:30 pm
- 21 July 2004 at 9:00 am
- 22 September 2004 at 9:00 am
- 20 October 2004 at 1:30 pm
- 26 January 2005 at 9:00 am.
Watch List
The Scan program's scanning and research processes identify areas on the periphery of your organizations's focus that constitute potential opportunities or threats. The areas that we decide bear watching go on Scan's watch list of defining forces that are transforming the business environment. Current watch-list topics include:
