Information Technologies — Challenges of the 1990S: A Company View

Abstract

The major challenges of the 1990s in the field of information services have already evolved from the so-called “information explosion” of the latter part of this century — namely, 1. coping with the volume of information and 2. processing it faster. Technologies that are already in place will become more sophisticated to help information specialists process their product to meet the needs of their diverse customer base. These constituents include colleagues within the company at all levels of management and from several departments, mainly sales, marketing, regulatory, research, and finance. Our customers outside include health-care professionals of various disciplines, as well as the more knowledgeable and active consumers. The latter group will likely form a larger percentage of our clients in the 1990s

The main technological aids that assist us presently are the computer, FAX machine, and the telephone. Computers help us retrieve, organize, store, and then reorganize, reretrieve, and disseminate large volumes of information. The availability of electronic mail facilitates dissemination of information and contributes to making the entire process more global. All three methods assist and create more pressures for communicating information ever faster. The advent of voice mail with the telephone and electronic mail via computers has eliminated “telephone tag,” and has already changed the nature of communicating both questions and answers among office staff at local subsidiaries and the head office, as well as with the field sales force. The 1990s will force us to be more economical with time, as well as technical resources to target information capabilities better to customers' needs