Business computing now needs to catch up with gaming. Check it out:
(Business, The (London) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Sep. 24--The business end of IT is finally catching up with the leisure and entertainment side of computing when it comes to developing products aimed at an international user base.
PC operating systems and computer games are global products, while back-office enterprise software has generally been developed to suit the needs of locally-based businesses. Anyone playing the latest shoot-'em-up PC game expects the same high-quality product to be instantly available in any games store in the developed world, while companies running mission-critical applications to manage their payroll or recruitment are often restricted to localised IT companies.
But business software developers are now starting to realise that it makes more sense to sell their existing software internationally rather than develop new software to expand into their home market.
US-based Lawson's entry into the European business software market with the recent acquisition of Intentia is a case study in the increasing globalisation of the IT industry. Rather than expanding its business in the US, Lawson is taking its product global, using back-office software applications developed in its home market to cut costs and control supply management in its target sectors across the world. Two of Lawson's key specialisations are healthcare and local government. Rather than, for example, using its local government niche in the US to expand into the federal government software market, Lawson is opting to remain a niche player, but on a global scale.
It is translating software products originally developed in the US into languages as diverse as French and Japanese. Europe is a key market for the US developer. Like many other US companies, Lawson is learning that Europe is made up of many different cultures, each with its own attitude to areas such as healthcare and local government. In common with other US-based organisations, Lawson opted to make the UK its first choice for a foray outside the US markets and the company is currently engaged in early-stage negotiations with the NHS.
The potential rewards for niche enterprise software operators which can overcome initial national hurdles are potentially huge. Cost savings identified in healthcare in the US can be translated into similar economies in Birmingham or Beijing.
Similarly, recruitment software developed by Lawson for use in the US healthcare system can be used to hire staff all over the world. By having common hiring criteria across entire industries, it will facilitate unprecedented movement in global labour markets. Nursing qualifications gained in Shanghai or Stockholm will be instantly identifiable in New York or London.
The development of global software standards by business software companies such as Lawson and the market leader, Germany-based SAP, is having the same effect on back-office business software that Microsoft has on the desktop 20 years ago. It is streamlining and standardising business supply chain management and human resource management, as staff control is now called, on an international basis. Enterprise software developers believe that this process will be hugely beneficial to business.
But if back-office enterprise software such as that provided by companies like Lawson is becoming more of a global product, then so is the increasingly complex array of hardware used by organisations across the world. Motorola's purchase of Symbol Technologies is an example of the way in which hardware manufacturers are now beginning to pay more attention to the needs of business.
In the past, Motorola's chief focus has been on taking on Nokia, the global market leader, in the consumer mobile phone market. While it has produced business phones, these have generally appealed to individual users rather than being rolled out across entire organisations. But there is now growing evidence that companies such as Motorola are starting to understand that modern organisations need a whole array of devices and that the globe-trotting executive who wants a slim device that doubles as a phone and e-mail reader to slip into a suit pocket does not represent the only non-consumer market.
Healthcare is a one example of a sector that has a great many professionals with very specific IT needs. Doctors, nurses and pharmacists need to keep track of all types of hospital equipment, ranging from a scalpel to X-ray machine. New advances in radio-frequency (RFID) chip technology also mean that healthcare professionals can keep a constant track of medication using a scanner incorporated into a variety of mobile devices. This will not only cut down on the theft of drugs from hospitals but save lives by keeping a closer watch on the medication administered to patients.
Analysts believe that the acquisition of Symbol will enable Motorola to offer devices that will allow organisations to use devices that are extend intranet intelligence right from the warehouse to the boardroom.
Who knows? By allying this hardware with the international back-office software, healthcare and local government may soon start catch up with the games industry.
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Copyright (c) 2006, The Business, London
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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