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ETD News - March 1999 Page 1 of 2 ETD News Editorial Teleworking has never been easier - at least from the technological viewpoint. This is one reason behind the rapid rise in the number of European teleworkers reported below. My latest PC, a palm top running Windows CE, lets me travel with my work in progress, and simply pop it into a docking cradle on my return to update my main computer at home. Sadly, none of the hardware or software seems European. So will European products and services do better as teleworking becomes more mobile and broadband? Europe is doing well in the base technologies with Ericsson and Nokia having significant shares world wide in mobile communications while Vodafone’s purchase of US-based AirTouch gives it the largest cellular phone network user base in the world - over 23 million. But, as with the Internet, higher areas of wealth creation will be found in software and value added services. European successes like Autonomy (an intelligent agent) are swamped by those of Amazon.com (now with bases in the UK and Germany), Yahoo and the like. Europe has a rich pool of ideas and talent, as our columns continue to show. Our challenge is to package this knowledge and market it world-wide. The European Telework Online web site is making a good start. It is widely recognised as the world’s leading web-site about telework, and several articles in this edition of ETD News shows how new information and services are positioning it well for the global marketplace. Even more essential than products and services, however, is how European individuals and companies exploit telework and teletrade and address the challenges of the networked economy to improve their competitiveness. These topics have featured prominently in many of the events and initiatives reported below. Looking ahead, Telework ‘99 and various ETD presentations, also referenced in this edition, should help equip you to address these challenges. David Skyrme Editor, ETD News. Rapid Growth in European Telework The number of teleworkers in Europe doubled from two million to four million between 1997-1998 according to new figures published by the European Commission. But this is only scratching the surface of the opportunity, with up to 60 million jobs already "teleworkable" according to estimates from European Telework Development (ETD), and the proportion of teleworkable jobs set to grow rapidly in future years. Denmark sets the pace Denmark has overtaken the Netherlands and Britain in acceptance of telework, says ETD. New tax rules encourage employers to provide PCs for employees to use at home and this, coupled with relatively low unemployment levels and an increasingly open approach to management, means that up to one in ten Danish workers now telework for all or part of their working week. Britain continues to lead the major countries, with Germany now making rapid progress and France and Italy trailing. In northern Europe, telework is mainly driven by individuals and enterprises; in the south and in rural areas by publicly funded schemes for economic development. The table below estimates what proportion of the work force were teleworkers at the end of 1997, both for those in formal company schemes and those who telework informally. Teleworkers as % of workforce Country Formal Total 1. Denmark 3.9 9.7 2. Netherlands 3.0 9.1 3. UK 1.1 7.0 8. Germany 1.1 1.9 11. France 0.1 1.1 12. Italy 0.2 0.9 13. Spain 0.0 0.6 A fuller table will be found in Telework 98: Status Report on European Telework, published by the European Commission. Market barriers disappearing Telework markets are in rapid evolution, with historical barriers diminishing and increasing attention from governments, employers and individuals. The 1998 EITO report suggests that a mature market will have emerged by 2005, presenting significant opportunities for suppliers now and over the next few years. A new 13-16 billion ECUs European Commission programme, due to start January 1999, has "new methods of work" as one of it's primary targets. Telework 98 Report: http://www.eto.org.uk/twork/tw98 EITO 1998: http://www.eto.org.uk/eito Standing Room Only Horace Mitchell A keynote session on "Work Nouveau" attracted one of the largest audiences at the European Commission's IST Conference and Exhibition in Vienna, December 1998. The event provided highlights from Europe's current "Fourth Framework Programme" of research and technology and a preview of the new Fifth Programme. It was standing room only for the New Ways to Work session, which was also broadcast to other venues round the world through video conferencing. The session, chaired by Ian Culpin, coordinator for European Telework Week, opened with a "Snapshot" of European Telework from ETD Programme Director Horace Mitchell. He used analysis of data from the 1998 Telework Status Report, EITO98 and other sources, to conclude that the focus for European telework should be "success through differentiation". The presentation is available online at: http://www.eto.org.uk/etd/files/ist98hm David Leevers of BICC gave a stimulating insight into the use of virtual presence techniques to enable teams spread across different locations to work together effectively, and how high speed mobile communications can enable telework methods to be applied to outside environments such as construction sites as well as to offices. Hermann Maurer, Chairman of the Institute for Information Processing and Computer-Supported New Media, presented new results from studies in knowledge management and knowledge transfer. The session was completed by Larry Taylor of TTP Communications, with a look into the future of communications, showing how technologies could be used for a wide range of business and personal activities while travelling as well as in ones own and others' offices. Video clips from the European Telework Awards 1998 provided the backdrop to a very successful event. At the same conference, European Telework Development exhibited the European Telework Online web site, and hosted briefings by the new W.I.S.E. forum and the MIRTI project (see separate reports). IST: New Methods of Work This is one of four "Key Actions" to be addressed in the 13 billion Euro Information Society Technologies (IST) Programme, launched in February 1998. The other main themes are: Systems and Services for the Citizen Multimedia Content and Tools Essential and Emerging Technologies Alongside its main emphasis on research and technology development the programme will support related market stimulation activities and socio-economic research. As well as EU Member States many other countries are cooperating in the programme, including those in Central and Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean regions. A central part of Europe's "Fifth Framework Programme", the overall theme is "Creating a User-friendly Information Society". As well as a special focus under the New Methods of Work theme, telework opportunities can also be supported under several other themes, notably applications for the disabled, group and interpersonal networking, mobile working, and networked organisations. There is a New Methods of Work Focus Day in Paris on 23rd February (see Events later in this ETD News). The European Commission have announced that the first Call for Proposals in the IST Programme will be on 16 March 1999. Helpful information focused on telework-related aspects of the programme can be found at: http://www.eto.org.uk/gat/agendas/an990223.htm Official details of the whole Fifth Framework Programme are at: http://www.cordis.lu/fifth/home.html Take Your Partners . . . for the new Information Society Technologies Programme, now being launched by the European Commission following sign off by the Council of Ministers in December. There is a general facility for declaring your interests and seeking partners for projects, online at: http://www.cordis.lu/src/t_004_en.htm For projects in the New Methods of Work theme and related fields, European Telework Online is providing information about the programme, ideas for projects and assistance with project formulation: http://www.eto.org.uk/fp5 New Database of Telework Resources A source of great frustration for managers tasked with evaluating and implementing telework is the difficulty of tracking down useful information and contacts. This is about to change for the better with the launch of a new online "database of telework resources" at the European Telework Online website. At launch the database already contains information about some 1,600 items, including: websites and web pages books and reports magazines and associations articles and commentary programmes and projects products and services audio-visual items (e.g. CD-ROM, video, webcasts) case studies each of which has been selected because of its relevance. Users can search the database by topic or by type of resource. With each resource comes a description, together with contact details. If the resource is online, there is a direct link to the source. In the case of books there are direct links to buy the book online. Users can add their own comments and reviews about existing resources and can add information about new resources with a few keystrokes - for example if you have written a book or a report or created a relevant web page you can enter its details. The resources database complements the existing online events calendar, which enables event organisers to directly enter details of forthcoming events. These new facilities are expected to increase usage levels at the European Telework Online website from the year end 1998 130,000 hits a month to about 600,000 hits a month by mid-1999. The resources database is at: http://www.eto.org.uk/resource Telework Employment Contracts CD-ROM fills a long-standing need An excellent CD-ROM from the MIRTI consortium provides a wide range of example employment contracts made between employers and workers in a telework context. Produced in five languages (English, French, German, Italian and Spanish), the CD provides case studies and contracts from the public and private sectors in several countries. Also on the disk are useful explanations and advice sections for employees, companies, freelancers and local authorities. The CD can be ordered via European Telework Online: http://www.eto.org.uk/books where there are also links to the MIRTI websites. MIRTI is the result of a project in the Telematics Applications Programme (TAP). WISE New Initiative The "Work, Information Society and Employment Forum" (W.I.S.E.) has been formed as a follow on action to the European Telework Charter initiative. Based in Vienna and led by Professor Josef Hochgerner, W.I.S.E. aims to undertake research into the socio-economic aspects of work in an information society context. An initial meeting was held in Brussels in November in connection with the European Telework Awards. Another outcome from the Charter Initiative, linked with the W.I.S.E. forum, is the book Work and Employment in the Information Society, edited by Josef Hochgerner and Ferdinand Lacina. Details of both book and forum are online at: http://www.eto.org.uk/resource Practical Help in E-commerce A new network, formed with the support of the European Commission, DG3, is focused on delivering a more practical level of help to small firms in understanding and using e-commerce techniques. The Centres of Competence Network brings together organisations that work at national or local level to promote the use of e-commerce. During 1998 the network arranged visits by members to organisations that are doing particularly useful work in this field, including: a meeting at the European Commission, Brussels a visit to Media Plaza in Utrecht, Netherlands a visit to the 3Suisses "Digital City" in Lille, France a visit to Échangeur, Paris. Each meeting provided opportunities to see how different organisations are tackling electronic commerce, as well presentations by network members about their own and their customers' experiences. Reports on these visits and links to the organisations concerned are online at a temporary site provided by European Telework Online pending formalisation of the Network's organisation and plans for 1999: http://www.eto.org.uk/ttrade/ecom-ctr European Telework Development (ETD) is an initiative supported by the European Commission (DGXIII) as part of the Advanced Communications Technologies and Services (ACTS) programme. European Telework Development News Editor: David Skyrme E-mail: david@skyrme.com Tel/Fax: +44 1635 25 35 45 Web: http://www.eto.org.uk/etd/news/index.htm Read The Next Page Return To Contents List