Authors, analysts and executives from a number of Internet-oriented companies offered a wide range of predictions and visions for the future virtual workplace during a two-day program on "Envisioning the eWorkplace" at the Cap Gemini Ernst & Young Center for Business Innovation. The event was cosponsored by Cap Gemini and eRoom Technology, a provider of collaborative software and services.

The Virtual Knowledge Repository

The program featured an online conference with presentations about how companies are preparing for the future and collaborative virtual workplaces.

Professional services organizations, for example, will see increasing advances in best practices through the capture of data in a single, virtual workplace repository, predicted Kim Rideout, director of business development for professional services automation at Peoplesoft. She added that future consultants might never meet face to face but will be able to share knowledge extensively through online training in virtual workplaces.

Business-to-Employee Strategies

Future developments in collaborative technology will help organizations place a stronger focus on business-to-employee, rather than business-to-business, strategies, said Ian Swanson, vice president of global knowledge and e-implementation at The Seagram Spirits & Wine Group.

Furthermore, such initiatives as e-surveys and e-learning will improve how businesses grow and make use of their human capital, according to Bipin Patel, director of management systems at Ford Motor Company.

Public relations professionals will also see changes in how they work, according to Paul McKeon, chief business officer of Ketchum, which is working to create a "digital dashboard" with PR tools for personalization, collaboration and knowledge management.

Across industries, more and more applications currently delivered as boxed products will be distributed as services in the future, said Bob Parisi, managing consultant for managed application hosting services at USinternetworking.

Sketching a Blueprint

"This was the embodiment of the type of exchanges that will drive a future governed by a virtual workplace," said Francois Gossieaux, vice president and chief marketing officer for eRoom. "It is our hope that the ideas generated over the two days can serve as a rough blueprint for the next decade and bridge some of the gaps as the workplace becomes even more distributed."

Cap Gemini's Center for Business Innovation is a research and development organization that examines emerging management trends, problems and solutions. The center aims to help businesses evolve by creating new service offerings and providing value for clients.

Transcripts of the "Envisioning the eWorkplace" program will be archived and available online.