A compilation of some interesting references about three topics related to the new digital world: eCommerce, eTV, eWork; particularized for Spain
eCommerce:
Now it is posible to buy online many things.
Groceries (http://www.citylogo.es/supermercados.aspx): Recently groceries have joined this trend, but still having an extra cost that stores claim as preparation and delivery expenses (however it seems they do not take into account real state savings, shelves sorting,…):
*Hipercor/El Corte Ingles: http://www.hipercor.es/hipercor/frameset.asp 902 66 70 72 (free >120€ with loyalty card or pick up in store. Otherwise 6€)
*Froiz: https://compraonline.froiz.com/ 4€<=50,3€>50,2€>100,1€ pick-up
*Mercadona: https://www.mercadona.es/entrada.php 7,21€
*Not in my city yet (Valladolid): Carrefour (groceries - http://www.alimentacion.carrefour.es/), Eroski (groc. - http://www.compraonline.grupoeroski.com
Others not available: gadis(supposed to be the cheapest store according to Gov stats), El Arbol, Día, Lidl…
However it has to be noted that existing ones lack detailed description of products (i.e. ingredients), like in WalMart that curiously is still only trialling (beta) with online shopping for groceries section
For non-groceries, eCommerce is much more extended, e.g. Carrefouronline: http://www.carrefouronline.carrefour.es/noalimentacion/HomeTecnologia.aspx
However, there are some products that are more difficult to buy online like: parapharmacy, ligth bulbs,... (of course there has not been an exhaustive search to prove this…)
Finally some general stats about eCommerce in Spain: "Spain has a challenge to overcome in eCommerce: only 49% of enterprises has corporate web, 39% buys online and only 7% sells online [source Information Society Report'08 Telefonica: 2.1.5 Comercio electrónico http://e-libros.fundacion.telefonica.com/sie08/aplicacion_sie/ParteA/contenidos/02_01.html ]
eWork: (telecommuting and virtual teams)
A very efficient and productive way of working (from home), increasing the life quality. Number of teleworkers steadily increasing. Just try it and you will never stop:) IT tools can make you feel as if you were in the office (telepresence, collaborative work tools,...)
Telework (telecommuting, remote virtual teams,...) means a revolution in the way of working using off-the-shelf technologies generally available. By reducing or even fully removing the need to travel for work purposes, it certainly saves large amounts of time and money (real state,...). Besides these two clear quantifiable benefits it also increases productivity (stress and tiredness caused by travel, decreases office noise) while improving the personal life balance and contributing to the environmental preservation (diminishing personal CO2 footprint) and reduced traffic accident risk. These huge advantages can only be enjoyed with advanced IT tools that virtually resemble face-to-face meeting environments beyond plain audio or videoconference.
All references below prove these statements and show that telework is a global trend representing a huge growth opportunity. E.g. a recent ranking of "best places to work"showed that telework (together with conciliation) is what employees most value; also the use of technology in meetings save 20% in travel
Telework is basically about enhanced communications and represent therefore the core essence of the telco business.
There are some commercial offers around telework solutions but with a limited/basic offer, just based on VPN connectivity through ADSL.
Different legislative initiatives are undergoing in several countries to oblige enteprises to offer this way of work to their employees. When approved on a general basis the telework business case will certainly boost even more.
Moreover surveys of teleworkers indicate a maximum level of satisfaction: once you have it you never leave it
Some stats:
Figures:
-UK:
--two thirds of the UK work force wants to be working from home by 2012
--37% UK workers only consider roles offering flexible working
--number of UK teleworkers climbed from 2.3 million to 3.1 million, or about 8 percent of all UK-based workers, between 1997 and 2005. National legislation mandating that employers consider flexible work arrangements for parents of children under six year
---British Telecom, which has 80,000 employees, found productivity rose 31 per cent among its 9,000 teleworkers, due to lack of disruptions, stress and commuting time.
-US:
--number of telecommuters in the US is around 25 million telecommuters In raw numbers, the US might have more telecommuters than Europe, but other data suggests that the US workplace culture might lag on a percentage basis. A mid-2007 Dimension Data survey
-Japan:
--In Japan, another culture notable for long hours, private firms and the Japanese government are encouraging increased telecommuting to enhance work/family balance. In February 2007, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported the national government planned to offer t
-Savings (money, time, sustainability,...)
--33 million of teleworkers (US): could reduce Gulf oil imports by 24 to 48%, reduce greenhouse gases by up to 67 million metric tons a year, and save as much as 7.5 billion gallons of gasoline each year; avoid 154 billion miles of driving and save $25 bi
--teleworkers would enjoy the equivalent of an extra 5 workweeks of free time each year
--By 2008, 41 million corporate employees globally will spend at least one day a week
teleworking, and 100 million will work from home at least one day a month.
Commercial offers:
An integrated/advanced telework solution with collaborative work and virtual meeting tools, domestic telepresence systems, connection with facility based videoconference rooms, bidirectional broadband (uplink). A truly real office experience without moving
Important aspects for the definition of the service include customer orientation, remove culture barriers that hinder telework, a scorecard to show the productivity benefits,…
No full-fledged offering found in the market yet:
-Verizon launched a basic telecommuting service back in 2000 [http://www.networkworld.com/news/2000/1004verizon.html]
-Microsoft Office Live Meeting
------REFERENCES
*Telework Association http://www.tca.org.uk/ , http://www.tca.org.uk/magazine.html (until winter'07) 7,000 people and organisations have joined us since we started in 1993; collaboration Future Work Forum ; The Teleworking Handbook which has already sold 10,000 copies. £34.50 per year
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telework
*Goth, Greg, "News," Distributed Systems Online, IEEE , vol.9, no.1, pp.2-2, Jan. 2008 http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/iel5/8968/4455611/04455613.pdf?tp=&isnumber=4455611&arnumber=4455613 -> Gajendran and Harrison "The Good, the Bad, and the Unknown about Telecommuting: Meta-Analysis of Psychological Mediators and Individual Consequences." http://www.apa.org/journals/releases/apl9261524.pdf
*[Affiniti (communications integrator); Telework Association, the UK's telecommuting advocacy organization http://www.tca.org.uk/resources/magazine/21CworkerMagazineWinter07.pdf]
*[Research conducted by Kate Lister and Tom Harnish in 2008][IEEE]
*[www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070205TDY02007.htm]
*[Gartner 9/05 http://www.gartner.com/resources/122200/122284/teleworking_the_quiet_revolu_122284.pdf]
*[http://www.telcoa.org/id33.htm Telework Coalition: many more facts can be found here]
*[Australia forecast http://www.marketresearch.com/map/prod/1060695.html]
*RANKING DE LAS MEJORES COMPAÑÍAS PARA TRABAJAR: 'Un empleado contento es más productivo', El 'teletrabajo' y la conciliación es de lo más valorado, El uso de la tecnología en reuniones ahorra un 20% el gasto en viajes
http://www.elmundo.es/mundodinero/2008/05/20/economia/1211282635.html
*telework Spanish PA Ministery (Plan Concilia): http://www.map.es/prensa/archivo_grafico/galerias/2006/02/2006_02_10.html , http://www.map.es/prensa/notas_de_prensa/notas/2006/10/20061008 , http://apunteselectronicos.wordpress.com/2008/12/05/seguimos-esperando-el-teletrabajo-seguimos-perdiendo-eficiencia/
*Commercial services:
-Speedy teletrabajo (negocios): http://www.emprendedoresnews.com/notaR/teletrabajo___nuevo_servicio_de_telefonica_para_pymes-2376-4.html
-Telework Corporations: http://empresas.telefonica.es/asp/catalogo_servicios/comunicaciones_privadas/datos/teletrabajo/acceso.htm ; (facility based offers: business: workstation product: "integral workspace" starting from 95,61 €/month; for corporate segment the "outsourcing of workplace")
*teletrabajo TEF: http://www.telefonica.es/rc2006/telefonica/informe_rc/caseStudy3f1d.html?context=2760256&instanceid=2784039&lang=es¤tContext=2720018 , http://www.lukor.com/ordenadores/noticias/portada/06110308.htm , http://sociedaddelainformacion.telefonica.es/jsp/articulos/detalle.jsp?elem=106
*old news(emerging telework): http://www.elmundo.es/sudinero/noticias/act-10-3.html
*Asociación Española Teletrabajo: http://www.aet.es/
*libro "TELETRABAJO: Trabajar y vivir la red". 2004 http://www.fiap.org.es/aldia_1.htm
*The telecommuting imperative HBR: http://discussionleader.hbsp.com/hbreditors/2008/07/the_telecommuting_imperative.html -> article Journal of Applied Psychology ; Undress4Success--The Naked Truth About Working From Home (John Wiley & Sons, March 2009): http://undress4success.com/telework-pros-cons ; http://www.home2office.com/ http://www.home2office.com/themovie/
*Home Sweet Office http://www.wired.com/culture/culturereviews/magazine/16-10/st_essay -> researchers from Penn State analyzed 46 studies of telecommuting conducted over two decades and covering almost 13,000 employees ; more than $15,000 per year to provide an employee with 200 square feet of cubicle
*Spanish legislation: Proposición no de Ley sobre flexibilización de horarios y el teletrabajo como medida de conciliación personal, familiar y laboral (161/000320 Spanish Parliament)
It mentions an European Directive (not sure if European Flexible Working Directive…)
http://www.infomaticsonline.co.uk/itweek/analysis/2087206/law-encourage-teleworking
http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/2002/07/feature/dk0207104f.htm
http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=6369
*More recently, when the U.S. Patent Office launched its hoteling-telework program in 2006, the organization mandated a training program with more than 20 hours of intensive, hands-on instruction
eTV:
Beyond satellite and IP pay TV offers, now there are many online offerings to enjoy digital content without the need to previously download it, such as:
*TV channels (either online or recordings of own productions like serials already broadcasted): all the national public channels (Antena 3, Telecinco, TVE (1&2), Cuatro, la Sexta), regional channels (like ETBSat live broadcast),… Also outside Spain with BBC iPlayer (UK-only), Hulu (US-only http://www.hulu.com/),...
-Hulu: than 100+ content providers, including FOX, NBC Universal, MGM, Sony Pictures Television, Warner Bros.... 900+ current primetime TV hits such as The Simpsons, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Office the morning after they air, classics like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The A Team, Airwolf and Married...with Children, movies like Men in Black, Ghostbusters, and The Karate Kid, and clips from Saturday Night Live, Friends and other popular TV shows and movies.
*TerraTV, ADNStream,… allow to watch online movies (and serials,…) free ad-based or pay per view
*Why Movies Disappear from iTunes and Netflix http://blog.wired.com/business/2008/12/itunes-netflix.html Content industry probably has to rethink their distribution model (similar thing happened with online music)
*Progressively HD content is becoming available online
http://www.antena3.com/PortalA3com/home.do
mms://a217.l881320216.c8813.e.lm.akamaistream.net/D/217/8813/v0001/reflector:20216
http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/television/guiatv/
http://www.antena3.com/teleporlared/GestorWeb?opera=getPagina?id=47800?idP=44719&urlVideo=http://wms.antena3tv.com/oc_webcam&imagen=ondacero.jpg
http://www.rtve.es/
http://rd.terra.es/r/http://www.terra.es/A5/5>Terratv
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/watch-online/
