Over the forthcoming years it must be expected that all aspects of life on Earth will change drastically and dramatically, be this through climate change, technological advancement or economic transition. On analysing the ‘eighties’, or even the ‘nineties’, the changes which have occurred from then to the present day are nothing short of amazing. Most children and teenagers cannot imagine a lifestyle which does involve such technology (or gadgets) as mobile phones and laptops. These applications have become firmly inter-linked with everyday life and are now a way of life rather than a ‘flashy’ gimmick, as they were often referred to as in their infancy. In a similar way, such technology has had the same impact on businesses and the environment they operate within. Mobile telephones are prevalent amongst employees in most industries and e-mails, databases, spreadsheets and various other programmes have, to a degree, rendered the pen and paper nothing more than a ‘supporting act’. With such major changes occurring in such a short space of time, it appears businesses will continue to experience extreme and drastic new environments. How they react to them will determine their success and longevity within their markets.  There is only one thing certain about the future of business – it will always be changing!

Business revolves around consumers and, in the main, satisfying their needs and desires. However, clever marketing and propaganda can often mould consumer groups in to thinking they need a certain product, service or brand. Therefore, the key drivers of how business progresses will be consumers coupled with economic, political, environmental, social, technological and legal factors. During the course of this essay, each of the factors will be analysed and suggestions on their effects provided.

Ray Kurzweil, a renowned computer scientist, predicts “We won’t experience 100 years progress in the 21st century – it will be more like 20,000 years of progress at today’s rate. Within a few decades, machine intelligence will surpass human intelligence, leading to the Singularity: technological change so rapid and profound it represents a rupture in the fabric of human history. In practical terms human ageing and illness will be reversed; pollution will be stopped; world hunger and poverty will be solved. Nanotechnology will make it possible to create virtually any physical product using inexpensive information processes, and will ultimately turn even death into a soluble problem”. (Extract taken from article ‘Readying a radical business plan’ on money.cnn.com). Whilst the above views may be deemed ‘far fetched’, the reality is that technological advancements in recent times may also have been classed as ‘unachievable’ only a few decades ago.

Appendix 1 attached is a document produced by British Telecom which contains a predicted timeline of technological inventions. The shear volume of predicted inventions and in many cases their immense advancement in technology clearly demonstrates the opportunities and threats which businesses face. Highlighted are a number of particularly interesting suggested inventions. It must also be considered that along with positive innovations, there will always be people with counter productive motives who thrive on damaging innovations. BT’s timeline predicts such potentially damaging developments as ‘Viruses’ aimed at toys, Jigsaw viruses, ‘Phishing’ of on-line banking, Corporate ‘cyberwars’ and terrorists using GM to pollute crops and damage economy. With this in mind businesses will have to pay added attention to security as improved technology equates to improved criminals.

 Climate change and growing concerns over the environment are likely to have a major impact on the way business is conducted in the future. At present legislation regarding the conduct of firms with regards to the environment is extremely evident (eg. REACH – A new European Community Regulation dealing with Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of Chemical Substances). However, a major problem is that many large industrial countries, such as the US and China, fail to comply or ‘sign-up’ to international legislation, such as the Kyoto Protocol (February 2005). They hold too much global power, at present, for legislative action to be effective against them. Therefore, it must be hoped that support is gained from amongst these countries populations, as ‘people power’ can play a major role in convincing politicians. However, climate change resulting in the widening desertification and rising sea-levels present opportunities for major engineering projects and potential ‘big business’ ventures. For example, by guiding the sea-level ‘overflow’ into areas with limited water such as Sudan, Ethopia or the Sahara desert, a positive outcome could be extracted from a crisis. Business can be created by supplying the answers which may save cities such as London, Venice and New York from flooding, whilst regenerating water-starved countries in Africa and Asia. The other side to the argument is that technology will become available to reverse or counter-act global warming, and indeed BT predict that the hole in the Ozone layer will have disappeared by the 2050′s. However such optimism is not shared by the  majority of environmental experts who fear consequences of Armageddon proportions in the not to distant future.

New technology is continuously being developed, with today’s ideas becoming tomorrow’s reality. New fuels, greater computer capabilities and advanced machinery should all play a major role over the coming years. Many production lines are presently almost fully automated, so the question is what will be the next step technologically? Will computers / robots carry out the administrative / supervisor roles as well as the production ones? Will we see an Artificial Intelligence based Managing Director, and if so who are his/hers stakeholders? Will new technological advancement make companies more efficient and LEAN, but ultimately lead to a race of AI based humanoids running a world where humans are no longer the dominant species? These are questions which cannot be answered at present, but simply considered as a possibility.

With new technology will come new pharmaceutical advancements. Cures for diseases such as AIDS and cancer may be just ‘upon the horizon’, while who is to say age reversal treatments or life prolonging tablets will not be as common as vitamin tablets in 20 years time? Such advancements would create huge new business opportunities, with an even larger and older population businesses would have to adapt to service a new consumer group with new ideas, views and desires.

The growth of nations such as China and India will have a considerable impact on the business world. With huge populations (China 1.3 billion and India 1.1 billion) willing to work in ‘inhumane’ working conditions for negligible wages, it is difficult for westernised developed countries to compete on price and output. Whilst quality may be an issue on some products from these countries at present, eventually they will gain the experience to match and maybe surpass western standards. However, as Maslow’s ‘Hierarchy of Human Needs’ explains, people’s expectations rise over time. Thus the people of China will not tolerate such hardships indefinitely, and will eventually demand parity with their western counterparts. This is already evident in India where I.T. personnel previously earning around 25% of their American counterparts salary, are now demanding around 70%.

The possibility of a major war or conflict can never be ignored. The world wars severely slowed down many aspects of business, but also accelerated technology in the form of weaponry, vehicles and munitions. Most nations are spending heavily at present in developing and manufacturing highly technical weapons. Should a Third World War occur, the results could catastrophic. The effect this would have on the World is obvious, but it could equally have a massive effect on business with the emphasis possibly changing on which countries to deal with. Many countries who have been involved in conflicts often gain many allies, and thus such partnerships continue through business once the conflict is over.

Space travel and exploration has long been viewed as the ‘next logical step’ of mankind. In 1969, when man first stepped foot on the moon it was envisaged that regular space travel would exist in the next decades. Political wrangling, disasters, international conflicts and economic issues have slowed down the progression, but it is highly likely that at some point in the future a major emphasis is placed on exploring our neighbouring planets and beyond. The previously mentions events such as climate change, limited resources and fuels, growing populations combined with man’s ambition to always achieve more may be the driving factors behind ‘big business’ investing heavily in space exploration.

Much of international business is based on fluctuations in countries currency. Therefore, in future years we may see a World currency, which all countries adapt to. This would make trade between countries much easier, yet would be open to misuse and corruption if not policed correctly.

Cultural and language barriers between business people has often been the cause of many issues. With business transactions increasing becoming international, such issues must be addressed and overcome. Religions, such as Islam, which dictate how believers lead every function of their life could become increasingly prominent in deciding which countries do business with each other.

2020 looks to be an exciting, scary and complex year, but there again, put yourself back to 1998 and look how the World has changed since then!!

Choosing a Business Mobile Phone

When choosing a mobile phone for personal use, the buyer is usually looking for the latest style, the hottest color and all the little extra features that a phone can offer them. When choosing a phone for business, however, it is best to choose a phone that suits the needs of the business, not one with a lot of extra gadgets that you will probably never even use.

When choosing a business phone, the main features that you may want to look for

include:

1.              Large screen

2.              Easy to use interface

3.              Email capability – preferably via Blackberry Mobile email

4.              Calendar capability

5.              Camera if you are in a business that needs a camera phone

Obviously these are features that you would not be looking for on a standard phone for personal use but you just never know when any or all of these features may come in handy for your business. There are several other things to keep in mind when looking for the perfect business mobile phone for you.

A company that you may want to look into for help in finding the perfect business mobile for you is Telaustralia. They carry phones from top manufacturers such as Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, Samsung, LG, and 02 mobile phone hand sets. Also you can choose to get a phone for free with a 24 month plan or contact them to purchase one of their phones or handsets outright.

Nokia is the traditional market leader for Mobile Phone handset sales, but over the past 2 years has faced much stiffer competition from the likes of Motorola, Sony Ericsson and Samsung who’s mobile phone handsets are gaining popularity. For typical Business use, longevity and reliability we still recommend Nokia Mobile Phone handsets followed by Sony Ericsson.

If you want your Business Mobile Phone handset to be a useful Business tool and not a play thing full of gadgets you wont use, heres a few tips that may be useful in selecting your next phone.

Consumers usually select a mobile phone based personal preference with brand, size, colour, flip phone or not etc. For a Business user however, selecting the right Business Mobile Phone handset to do the job should always be a matter of substance over style.

As we have number portability in Australia you are no longer locked into one network or provider for your Business mobile Phones. With telaustralia you can bring your Business Mobile phone with you or we can provide a handset as part of your deal and have access to the Telstra Mobile Phone Network or the Optus Mobile Phone Network.

Some of the features you need for your Business mobile Phone are -

Do you need a flip phone or block style?

  Usually this is just personal choice but in some cases there are functional issues that dictate. eg. are you in an environment where there is a lot of dust? A flip Phone or clam shell style may be more suitable as it closes after use and this may reduce  (but not altogether eliminate) the amount of dust that gets into the key pad and screen. Are you likely to drop or have impact on the mobile phone? If so a rubberized tradesman type of mobile phone may be more suitable.

http://www.telaustralia.com.au/all-products.html

Battery Life

 Long battery life is essential for your business mobile phone, especially when traveling or on the road a lot. There is nothing worse than running out of charge at an inappropriate  time – usually in the middle of an important call.. Look for mobile phones that use a lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery rather than a nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH) one. Li-ion batteries weigh less and provide 10 to 20 percent better performance than their NiMH counterparts. You’ll want a mobile phone with a rated talk time of at least 3.5 hours, preferably closer to 5 hours. If your mobile comes with a desktop charger, shell out for the travel charger since it’s significantly smaller and easier to pack for business trips.

 Travel

If your travels take you overseas, you’ll want a tri-band GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) Mobile Phone, which operates on networks (GSM 900/1800/1900) in Europe, Asia and the US.

Features

You’ll also want a handset that features a hefty address book — at least 300 names with support for multiple entries per contact. Some Mobile Phones allow you to include information such as email, Web and street addresses with your contacts. You can enter all that information one key at a time, or you can get a Mobile Phone with the ability to synchronize with Microsoft’s Outlook on your PC. Nokia PC Suite allows you to load address book and other software on to your lap top and back up as required and import other information such as calendars, pictures & songs to your phone.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth equipped Mobile Phones are a must these days. If your PC or handheld doesn’t feature integrated Bluetooth support, you can purchase an adapter to add this functionality. Then you can browse the Internet using your Mobile Phone as a wireless modem. You can also use Bluetooth to synchronize phone numbers and addresses between your Mobile Phone and other devices.

 Another advantage with Bluetooth is that many cars now come equipped with Bluetooth hands free so there no need to get handsfree kits wired up in your vehicle. If you vehicle isnÕt already equipped with Bluetooth, portable and rechargeable handsfree kits such as Blue Ants Supertooth 2 are available and very low cost. These usually clip to your sun visor and are portable from car to car.

 Internet

 Even better, skip your notebook altogether. Fast Internet access is rapidly becoming a common feature in mobile phones. Most GSM Mobile Phones support GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) networks, which offer always-on Internet content and data services, enabling access to Web browsing, email and multimedia content at around 56Kbps. 3g Data is carried at speeds of up to 3.6Mbps with planned speeds in Australia of over 40Mbps using HSDPA. Many mobile phone manufacturers including Nokia & Sony Ericsson are now taking advantage of the RIM BlackBerry Licencing and including Blackberry Mobile email on their mobile phones.

 If you spend most of your time away from the office meeting with clients, you may want to consider a smart phone, which combines mobile phone and handheld functions in one unit. These phones are larger and much more expensive than standard handsets, often costing as much AU$1,200, but they eliminate the need for two separate devices.

http://www.telaustralia.com.au/mobile/mobile

Depending on your specific company profile, the number of phone lines your business will need can vary. While you certainly don’t need one phone line per employee, you also don’t want to cut too many corners.

To help you decide how many phone lines your business will need, consider the following: 

The majority of your employees are in the field:  If you have a construction company with 50 employees and only four of them work in the office, leaving the rest at job sites, you don’t need 50 phone lines. Instead, you would be wise to purchase four lines for your office employees, plus one voicemail line and one or two lines for your fax machines. You can vary this configuration of course. If your business is very busy, consider purchasing three or four lines for faxes.

You have a large volume of incoming and outgoing daily calls:  If you own a telemarketing company with 25 employees, each making phone calls 8 hours a day, you should consider purchasing 35 or 40 lines just for the calls your employees make. Adding another two lines for faxes is a good idea as well.

As a rule of thumb, if your business has about 15 employees you should consider purchasing one phone line for every employee who makes calls in your office. But if your business has more than 15 employees, a cheaper solution is to move to a dedicated circuit that contains 24 phone lines.

Interestingly enough, if your business is growing, you will actually need fewer phone lines per employee as the number of employees increases. While this increased number of employees will most certainly be making more calls, the probability is low that every employee will be making or receiving calls at exactly the same time. Most likely, when one employee hangs up the phone to do some work, another will be picking up the phone to make another call.

To get an understanding of your business’ phone call volume, go over your phone bill’s itemized list of calls to determine the number of calls made during peak times. A better approach is to scan your phone bill and determine whether every phone number is being used. If several of your phone numbers are set as inbound faxes or are set for your security system and are not currently being used, then you most likely have too many lines.

On the flip side though, if customers, employees or associates complain that they keep getting a busy signal when calling your business, you probably need to add some more lines.

Before rushing out and buying more phone lines, make sure to troubleshoot the bottleneck in your phone system. It could be caused by a card failure that caused you to lose ten lines in your phone system. If after troubleshooting your hardware and you find no problem, order additional lines to match the number of people affected by the shortage of lines. Perhaps the Human Resources department hired 20 more people and did not tell you. If during peak calling times, 10 people in your office can’t get outside lines, order 12 more lines.

In summary, the number of phone lines you business needs depends on the number of employees in the office (as opposed to out in the field) and the volume of their calls during peak calling times. Taking a look at your business’ past calling records will help greatly in determining the number of phone lines needed.