Enterprise Applications Infrastructures and Solutions. The interoperable enterprise applications and solutions array of the future is possible with the capabilities present in the latest releases of today’s generation of technology products. What is lacking is enterprise capability to deploy these new solutions, guided by VOI and strategic intent. Over the next five years (2003–2007), enterprises will develop the solutions, capabilities, and relationships necessary to achieve this goal.

Development of Community of Practice Model. Communities of practice are the dominant organizational models for knowledge creation and sharing. The level of awareness of community of practice principles varies from industry to industry, but between 2003–2008, this concept will prosper in all settings.

Mobile Work and Learning Pilots. Today, leading-edge enterprises are developing wireless environments and launching pilot programs to facilitate mobile work and learning activities. Over the next two years (2003–2004), most enterprises will use such pilots to develop mobile and even ambient environments.

Enterprise-based Development of Ambient Intelligence Environments. The mobile work and learning pilots will lead to more ambitious infrastructure and application development in 2004–2008.

Full Ambient Intelligence Environments as Described in ISTAG Report. By 2009–
2010, the fully functional ambient environment could be put in place, as described by the European IST Advisory Group in its scenario report (supported by inputs from 35 European experts). Five ISTAG elements come together sufficiently to support ambient intelligence: 1) very unobtrusive hardware, 2) seamless mobile/fixed Web-based communications infrastructure, 3) dynamic and massively distributed device networks, 4) natural feeling human interfaces, and 5) dependability and security.

Reinvention of Best Practices,
Business Models and Strategies

Even today, some leading-edge enterprises are engaged in the first waves of reinvention enabled by knowledge interoperability standards and infrastructure development. By all reasonable accounts, we can expect a significant acceleration in the reinvention of best practices for learning and knowledge management after 2005–2006. In addition, reinvention in business models will be driven by the emergence of new best practices, probably after 2002–2007. Finally, enterprise strategies for knowledge are beginning to be reinvented now and will have substantially developed by 2007–
2008. These processes of reinvention will be continuous and ongoing.

Put simply, the prevailing judgment of practitioners and technologists is that by 2010, it is feasible that all of the pieces will be in place to support ambient environments and the new ways of experiencing knowledge presented in Chapter 1. There remains the prevailing question: to what extent will enterprises reinvent their knowledge ecologies, business practices, business model, and strategies to take advantage of their e-knowledge opportunities?

Resources on Timeframes
for Reinvention

K. Ducatel, M. Bogdanowicz, F. Scapolo, J.Leijten, and J-C. Burgelman. 2001. Scenarios for Ambient Intelligence in 2010. IST Advisory Group, European Commission Community Research, February.
John Hagel and John Seely Brown. 2001. Your Next IT Strategy. Harvard Business Review.
Taylor, James C. 2001. Fifth Generation Distance Education. Australian Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs, Higher Education Division, Higher Education Series, Report No. 40, June.
Hunter, Richard. 2002. A World Without Secrets. New York: John Wiley & Sons.