TheAppGap: New Blog Discusses the Future of Work

Focuses on Collaboration and Technology;
Feb. 8 Roundtable to Feature Industry Experts, Futurist

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – A new blog debuts today to help those who are tired of using yesterday’s technology to solve today’s business problems.

TheAppGap.com is an editorially independent community blog that will become the hub of discussion, news, practical advice and rich content about collaboration and the future of work, the worker and the workplace. It provides the millions of small business owners and corporate workgroups who are frustrated with the “spreadsheet shuffle,” with a new source of practical advice and information on the latest trends available to help them work smarter, not harder.

“The computerized spreadsheet was invented 30 years ago, and it just hasn’t kept up with the demands of today’s business user,” said Josh Holbrook, director of enterprise research at Yankee Group. “In the Anywhere Enterprise, where workgroups are seldom in the same location, the need for up-to-the-minute status updates and better communication all beg for a more technologically advanced solution. The solutions are out there, but people either don’t know about them or aren’t sure how to implement them. That’s where TheAppGap can really help.”
Webinar to Discuss the Future of Work

On Friday, Feb. 8, 2008 at 1 p.m. Eastern time, TheAppGap will host a kick-off event that will be the first in a series of webinars focused on “The Future of Work.” The webinar will feature Holbrook; Steve King, senior advisor at the Institute for the Future; and Jim Ware, co-founder of the Work Design Collaborative and The Future of Work.

The round-table discussion will be moderated by Bill Lucchini, vice president and general manager of Intuit Inc’s (Nasdaq: INTU) QuickBase, the sponsor of TheAppGap. Topics to be addressed include:

* What are the biggest obstacles to people being more productive and successful at work?
* How technology will change the way work gets done in the future – both with small businesses and with larger enterprises?
* How will the role of IT change as new Enterprise 2.0 tools become more accessible?
* Are we really looking at the end of the hierarchical organization?

Registration for the roundtable is available at: www.theappgap.com/fow1
TheAppGap: Sharing Ideas, Getting Advice

TheAppGap.com will focus on the gap between the applications and toolsets that people use to work and the solutions that they truly need to be more productive, efficient and successful. Eight well-known bloggers are teaming up to create a larger online conversation, posting from their different perspectives and stimulating predictions on the future of work and the office, the perennial challenges facing organizations, collaboration and productivity in the workplace, reviews of new products, emerging innovations and new business practices, and the occasional amusing diversion.

The inaugural bloggers are:

* Patti Anklam, Networks, Complexity, and Relatedness blog.
* Jim Ware, Future of Work Weblog.
* Shiv Singh, The Workplace blog.
* Jenny Ambrozek, 21st Century Organization.
* Matthew Hodgson, Matt’s Musings.
* Jon Husband, Wirearchy.
* Russell Shaw, IP Telephony, VoIP, Broadband blog.
* Bill Ives, FASTForward blog.

“Our customer research has shown a sizable gap between the tools people have at their disposal and the tools people need to work efficiently,” said Lucchini. “We’re thrilled to be able to help provide a place where people can get advice about how to work smarter, share ideas and find out about new tools and practices that will help close this gap.”

TheAppGap.com is produced by Beeline Labs in association with Corante.

Other resources: The QuickBase Team Collaboration blog