Add new comment

Larry Downes, coauthor of Unleashing the Killer App, suggests that a "dramatically different model for business computing is emerging" (see see article in CIO Magazine) based on ubiquitous computing.

The industrial supply chain of goods and services will be accompanied by a parallel supply chain of information passed from process to process by embedded computers. Processes themselves will manipulate data to be transmitted to other parts of the information chain.

Downes offers a number of features for this new business information architecture that reflect a move away from monolithic software packages. Instead, the architecture relies on modularised software packages that are closely honed to a particular process.

Of course, a vital element in the success of a truly information based business architecture is the acceptance of open standards. Only with widely accepted and clear standards will it be possible to implement cost effective information automation between partners in the supply chain. Having said that, it is hard enough to achieve effective management of information within a single organisation. Clearly we have a way to go before the new business architecture that Downes envisions will become a reality.