The tables have turned. The days when businesses had the coolest technologies and toys have given way to consumer-led gadgetry. Cost reductions in technology and a rise in world wages have given access to technology to billions of people whether it is a pay-per-use phone or an Internet café. So what does it mean for business leaders that need to drive growth and the CIO that is supposed to make it all work?

Last month Microsoft's Steve Ballmer and Cisco's John Chambers delivered an unusual communication to the industry; that while Microsoft and Cisco would be competing on several fronts in the field of unified communications, they will also be cooperating to ensure that their products work together. So what does this really mean?

I have been working on my parent's house for the last several years, so I have become an expert at shopping online and in stores for building supplies. It seems like every time I buy a tool or building supply, I get hit with a survey. How was my shopping experience? What will my buying trends be over the next three months? Do I tend to work on projects myself or hire general contractors? At first pass, we all probably get a little annoyed with the bother of surveys. However, when I get asked to participate in a survey, I think about our business here at Getronics and how we want to continue to improve our solutions and services.

To soften the impact I thought I’d spend a little time to explain some of the key new concepts and where our old favorites have moved.

Once again, I find myself in the fourth quarter of the year and wonder how I arrived here so quickly. But this one is excitingly different for us at Getronics. Just a few weeks ago, we became a subsidiary company to KPN. Now, with the strength of our new parent company combined with our respected Getronics name, we continue our established strategy of focusing on delivering workspace, applications management and the associated consulting and technology transformation services throughout the world.

Globally, the combination of KPN and Getronics will further increase our lead in the Information and Communication Technology services sector. Our strong financial position and growth in resources and expertise for innovation bring about greater opportunities for us to continue to grow as a service provider. This furthers our goal of equipping our clients’ workforces with technology, services, and solutions for achieving high performance objectives.

This last issue of The Workspace Wire for 2007 is packed with ideas in a number of areas that we believe help support organizations to achieve high performance. These include looking at strategic initiatives around best practices such as ITIL v3 and comparing the Unified Communications offerings of Microsoft and Cisco. We also explain the benefits of conducting a security survey, and finally, we explore how today’s trend toward personalized technology will impact the workspace of tomorrow.

I hope The Workspace Wire has been beneficial to you in 2007. Have great holidays! I look forward to sending you our first issue next year.

Regards,
Marilyn Nelson
Getronics
Vice President
North America Marketing & Communications