The Future of Work?

As companies become accustomed to seamless global telecommunications , we will eventually see companies with thousands of employees and no central office. Indeed we may even see a companies with no employees at all - just electronically-connected freelancers who live and work wherever they want across the globe. Imagine that this freedom allows people to get more of what they want out of life - money, engaging work, or time with their families. It’s not for everyone, but it is certainly the future for the likes of many Gizmag readers and our writers – the early adopters of the world. The Greater Richmond Technology Council, in partnership with Sprint, is exploring this topic in depth at TechSummit 2005, to be held on December 15 at the Richmond Marriott. TechSummit 2005 will look at the strategies, tools and applications being used successfully - nationally and locally - to change the definition of "work" and "office". One of the highlights of the event will be a keynote address by Thomas H. Davenport entitled "Thinking For A Living," designed to ask and answer the question "How can you tell whether your employees are working when their job is to think?" Mr. Davenport, a nationally recognized management expert, speaker and author, is listed by Consulting magazine as one of the nation's top 25 consultants. His most recent book, "Thinking For A Living: How to Get Better Performance and Results from Knowledge Workers" was named one of Fortune's top three books of 2003. He holds the President's Chair in Information Technology and Management at Babson College in Massachussetts, and is an Accenture Fellow.

TechSummit 2005 will feature two presentation sessions and a moderated panel discussion.

The first session, "The Changing Landscape of IT and the Future of Work" will be presented by David Hummelberg, Vice President, Information Technology, Capital One. Capital One currently has a "Future of Work" program involving 1,500 of its knowledge workers, who have been outfitted with Wi-Fi-enabled laptops, Voice over IP software phones and portable printers - these workers can now do business from anywhere within Capital One's 24 buildings in the United States and the United Kingdom. Mr. Hummelberg will outline how IT has driven Capital One's business model, and its "Future of Work" project.

The second session, "Work Without Wires: Tools, Applications, Security" will be presented by Mark Muratore, Sprint Sr. Solution Engineer. This presentation will address how the advent of WiFi/WLAN technology has revolutionized the concept of "office", and the security and privacy issues raised by using wireless technology as a business communication and computing platform.

The third session, a moderated panel entitled "Reality IT", will discuss the practical application of the "Future of Work" model in two Richmond companies: Capital One and CyMed. Capital One will be represented on the panel by Larry Ebert, VP of Facilities Management, CyMed, Inc. by Dale Kivi, VP of Development. Both Ebert and Kivi will speak about the real-world issues their companies faced in implementing "Future of Work" initiatives - system architecture, system and user security, and accessibility. The panel will be moderated by Robert Diggles of Northrop Grumman.

TechSummit 2005 will conclude with a lunch, with a keynote address by Thomas H. Davenport entitled "Thinking For A Living," designed to ask and answer the question "How can you tell whether your employees are working when their job is to think?" Mr. Davenport, a nationally recognized management expert, speaker and author, is listed by Consulting magazine as one of the nation's top 25 consultants. His most recent book, "Thinking For A Living: How to Get Better Performance and Results from Knowledge Workers" was named one of Fortune's top three books of 2003. He holds the President's Chair in Information Technology and Management at Babson College in Massachussetts, and is an Accenture Fellow.

The Greater Richmond Technology Council's partner in presenting TechSummit 2005 is Sprint. Sprint is a leader in the development of wireless communications technology, and continues to be recognized as a communications innovator.

The Greater Richmond Technology Council is an association of businesses and organizations working together to promote the success of technology companies, and the growth of the technology sector of the Central Virginia economy.