"having the most influence on consumer and business lifestyles in the next five to 10 years."
GartnerGroup Identifies Future Trends in Computing Technologies; Seven Companies to Demo Advanced Technologies at Spring Symposium/ITxpo 99
SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 22, 1999--GartnerGroup Inc. (NYSE:IT) today announced that its Emerging Technology Pavilion will feature seven vendor companies which exemplify future computing trends that GartnerGroup analysts identified as having the most influence on consumer and business lifestyles in the next five to 10 years.
The Emerging Technology Pavilion is a featured component of GartnerGroup's Spring Symposium/ITxpo 99 conference, which opens today in San Diego and runs concurrently with GartnerGroup's Dataquest Predicts 99 conference.
The exhibitors will demonstrate technologies and products that include: fingerprint recognition systems that will replace the need for computer passwords; a second-generation "virtual assistant" that enables users to access information by phone using voice recognition technology; and wearable computers that incorporate speech recognition technology and wireless radio frequency (RF) networks to allow "hands-free" and "eyes-free" communication with information systems.
According to research from Jackie Fenn, GartnerGroup research director and vice president, Advanced Technologies, these emerging technologies often affect planning issues important to information technology (IT) managers and even the work styles of employees themselves. Fenn has identified how emerging technologies fit into three distinct eras of computing: networked, contextual and spontaneous.
One feature of the era of networked computing, which began around 1997 and will continue through the end of 2001, has been a work force struggling to keep pace with a constant flood of E-mail and real-time information feeds.
"As we emerge from the era of networked computing, we will head into an era of contextual computing, identifiable by a proliferation of computing devices in the home, at the office, in the car and on the person," Fenn explains. "This trend offers users greater continuity between tasks and activities as they move through locations and context -- a benefit and a downside in that it may compound the interruption-driven work style that already plagues many professionals," she concludes.
In the era of spontaneous computing, information will be accessible at any time or place thanks to wireless technology and portable or wearable computing systems. Fenn's research examines the profound impact these technologies will have on work styles and time management.
"Between now and 2007, information access will become a secondary activity that can be achieved while the user is performing some other task, leading to a generation of true multitasking and higher overall productivity," Fenn observes.
"What is important about the GartnerGroup Emerging Technology Pavilion is that the exhibitors will show that these concepts aren't just ideas that are 10 years away, but are already being incorporated into products that will start hitting the market between now and the end of the year," Fenn says. "It is important that the IT community understands how to evaluate these concepts, not just as computing trends but in the context of specific workplace needs."
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES PAVILION COMPANIES
Each respective company provided the following information:
Digital Persona Digital Persona provides mass-market solutions for personal digital identification based on biometrics. The company's U. are U. Fingerprint Recognition System enables customers to log on to their Windows systems and replace all their passwords with the convenience and security of a fingerprint. Digital Persona's U. are U. for the Enterprise enables NT users to fingerprint-enable the Windows log-in process for local and domain log-in, offloading the MIS cost associated with password management.
eFax.com eFax.com is an Internet service for individuals and corporations. It provides a personal fax number for the user that allows faxes to be automatically forwarded to the individual's E-mail account. eFax.com allows your company personnel to have access to their faxes wherever and whenever they access their E-mail.
General Magic Designed for today's mobile professional workplace, the Portico service enables users to access, retrieve and act on information using any telephone and a normal speaking voice. The only second-generation virtual assistant available today, Portico integrates voice mail, E-mail, address book and calendar information as well as content available on the Internet, such as company news and stock quotes. Information may be accessed over any telephone using magicTalk, General Magic's intelligent, natural-voice user interface, or through any leading Web browser.
SyVox SyVox Corp. is a leading-edge solution provider for the locally mobile IT market. By combining speech technologies, wireless RF networks and wearable computers, SyVox solutions allow hands- and eyes-free verbal communication with information systems, thus improving productivity by as much as 30 percent. SyVox's Pick2Voice (P2V) is an application for directing resource flow in distribution and warehouse enterprises.
Virtual Ink Virtual Ink is the leader in the development of business collaboration technologies that improve the productivity and creativity of any meeting. Mimio is the first completely portable digital meeting assistant that turns any existing whiteboard into an electronic whiteboard and connects to your PC and the rest of the world.
Visual Insight Visual Insight's Advisor is the first complete environment that allows users to prototype and produce customized interactive applications in a matter of hours. Advisor brings the power of interactive data visualization to users as a stand-alone application or in combination with existing data mining and analysis applications.
Worlds Inc. Worlds Inc. is the market leader in 3-D Internet technology. Corporate focus is on business-to-business applications delivering an immersive 3-D experience to online users who are represented as articulated characters known as avatars. Worlds technology supports voice-to-voice chat, streaming audio and video, and E-commerce. Clients include IBM, Disney, Sony, Visa and L.M. Ericsson.
About GartnerGroup
As the world's leading authority on IT, GartnerGroup provides clients with a wide range of products and services in the areas of IT advisory services, measurement, research, decision support, analysis and consulting. Founded in 1979, with headquarters in Stamford, Conn., GartnerGroup serves Fortune 1,000 companies from 80 locations worldwide. GartnerGroup's unique capabilities and resources help bring clarity to the direction of the world's hottest and most volatile industry. Additional information about the company is available on the World Wide Web at www.gartner.com.
Participation in the GartnerGroup Emerging Technology Pavilion at ITxpo 99 does not imply direct endorsement by GartnerGroup.
Portico, magicTalk, SyVox, and Mimio are trademarks of their respective companies.
CONTACT:
GartnerGroup
Carol Wallace, 203/316-3749
or
TSI (for GartnerGroup)
Cindy Morgan-Olson, 212/320-2230
colson@tsipr.com
or
Josh Lefkowitz, 212/320-2277
jlefko@tsipr.com
KEYWORD: NEW YORK
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