IT tools for the 2006 workplace

What new IT tools can you expect to encounter in the workplace this year? The key phrase is 'increased inter-operability' or, in English, different types of IT software, hardware devices, the internet, office networks and telecommunications systems working together better.

Throughout last year, software vendors signed interoperability agreements with hardware companies, other software companies, mobile phone and PDA makers, and online businesses including email and instant messaging giants. These deals will help ensure software and web applications work with, or link to, each other in a useful way during the year.

On the Microsoft front, if you work for a large organisation you probably won't see Microsoft's new operating system, Windows Vista, on your work desktop this year but smaller businesses and home workers may decide to upgrade early. Windows Vista has a new look and is supposedly easier to navigate than Windows XP. Its graphic features are said to be better designed to support workers who run software for photo editing, computer-aided design and other engineering applications, and new security features can be set up to require users to perform administrative tasks to confirm their intentions or credentials. Happily, Vista is supposed to be better than XP at managing information and finding documents and emails.

Online collaboration tools will be increasingly important, and accessible. Such tools - made available via online collaboration software and telecommunications providers - use secure online sessions to provide workers with a dashboard on a computer screen.

Video, presentations and interactive aids such as electronic whiteboards can be shown at the same time, with audio and voice calling provided over the telecommunications link.

New software from vendors such as Ectus also mean web users can access a collaborative session online after it has completed and type in questions throughout. When the session owner later compiles a response, they can see which part of the session the visitor was accessing. Such tools are valuable for businesses offering online training, education or for presentations to international offices, shareholders or business partners in different time zones.

Technologically, videoconferencing has been out of the dark ages for some time, and this year is easier to implement, more affordable and reliable.

IT vendors that design software to automate large business processes like finance, supply chain management, customer relationship management and human resources (called Enterprise Resource Planning or ERP vendors) are buying each other out at a rate that makes inter-operability between ERP brands almost redundant. However, if you want a different brand of software for specific areas of your business - for example point of sale, payroll or warehousing - ERP brand vendors will accommodate you by ensuring their software is made inter-operable with software you want.

Other software trends include the ability to access parts of larger software systems online without paying for a full software license; the use of fully outsourced bureau services for processing business functions such as payroll; and entry level financial and database software offered free for smaller businesses. This allows software vendors to grow loyalty and make money as a small business grows and upgrades.

On the hardware front, this year will deliver laptops that let you log in using your thumbprint, and smarter mobile work devices with accompanying mobile workforce applications for job management, mobile ordering and system access. There will also be an Apple computer with an Intel (PC) processor and printers smart enough to advise you how to print, and print photos and documents from memory cards without the aid of a computer.

Mobile phones will continue to be used as support tools for fixed line systems, but some businesses will use the mobile as the sole telecommunications handset on desks. Mobile services will continue to be developed so that the mobile phone as a device becomes useful beyond voice and data communications for example, the phones can already be used to activate security doors and pay for parking via text message.

On the mobile network front, Econet has announced it will build New Zealand's third mobile network to compete with offerings from Vodafone and Telecom.

Non-cellular wireless network services will continue to develop through the efforts of companies such as Woosh and with the emergence of a new wireless standard, WiMax, which will extend the range of WiFi.

Beyond cellular (mobile) communications, this could be the year an IP telephony system arrives in your workplace. These use the general data network of a business (rather than a dedicated voice switch) to carry voice calls so the call can include data and video components as well.

With IP telephony, administrators can see the status of phone extensions across all branches or departments in one view. Workplace telephony opens up and calls can be routed more intelligently to those best equipped to deal with them.