Corporate Canada faces a communications-complexity challenge: MacDonald

The next generation of Canadian workers loves to communicate, but communication technologies can be a trap, according to John MacDonald, president of MTS Allstream Inc.'s enterprise division. Companies that learn to reconcile these facts will fare better than those that don't, he figures.In a speech before the Toronto Board of Trade this morning, the telecom executive pointed out that members of the "Y" and "echo" generations are hooked on collaboration. They maintain blogs, use instant messaging and text messaging to stay connected, and keep pages on social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace.Corporations must accommodate this connective trend to support the future workforce, MacDonald said. "Companies that don't cater to that will have trouble attracting and retaining the best and brightest."But communication can also be something of a ball-and-chain. People are inundated with email messages, text messages, instant messaging chats, and voice mails. Ubiquitous network connectivity fosters a perpetual working environment that encompasses the home, the office, cafes, golf courses - everywhere. "Broadband-induced stress" can result, MacDonald said, namely "the notion that you can never escape."However, "people are becoming dependent on communication," he said. Although this represents an opportunity for telcos such as MTS Allstream, it's no good for carriers to try to profit from a broken paradigm."Making technology your servant...as opposed to your master" is the answer, MacDonald said, outlining various ways in which businesses can both embrace communication in preparation for hyper-connected employees, and keep broadband stress at bay.It's no surprise that he raised unified communications (UC) as one of the solutions - MTS Allstream sells UC systems and services. But beyond combining voice, data and video applications for a cohesive end-user experience, companies must come to grips with what MacDonald called the "human infrastructure" - a concept that says human interaction is inherently complex and difficult to track. One person's email inbox is another's annoyance. One supplier might insist on discussing transactions in person, another might say phone calls are fine.Networked EconomyAdd to this the idea of the "networked economy," MacDonald said. Businesses increasingly find that the value of their operations reside not only in the products and services they sell, but also in the interactions between employees within the office walls, as well as with supply-chain partners outside of the corporate headquarters.Another aspect companies must consider is "invisibility," MacDonald said. Teleworking and offshore outsourcing ramp up the person-unseen quotient. Collaborative support systems such as video-integrated applications help create a corporate community even if participants are rarely in the same room.Making use of "Web 2.0" technologies such as blogs, wikis and social networking platforms aid that effort, MacDonald said. But they also seed the corporate ground for the next-gen workforce, which is used to collaborative environments.MacDonald pointed out that a skills shortage plagues companies - few IT, telecom and network managers understand the new applications, or their implications. He suggested that businesses should strengthen their comprehension here if they mean to thrive.Regarding overall competitiveness, MacDonald parroted the common line that Canadians need to embrace innovation if the country wants to succeed in the global marketplace."We've become complacent," he said, chastising Canadians for resting on their laurels - the lead we once held in communications technology has vanished.As a competitor and customer of BCE Inc. and Telus Corp., MTS Allstream is of two minds about those firms, after Telus first announced it would bid on BCE, but ultimately pulled back. On one hand, MTS Allstream is "trying not to be distracted by what's going on around us," MacDonald said. But at the same time his company is concerned about how the BCE-Telus on-again, off-again merger will impact wholesale prices. "I'm worried," he said.

Corporate Canada faces a communications-complexity challenge: MacDonald

News | June 27, 2007

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