ABSTRACT
It has been more than two decades since the introduction of the IBM PC legitimized the direct usage of computer tools by the knowledge worker. In the ensuing years, the diffusion of personal productivity tools in the workplace continued to accelerate, aided by the maturation of many supporting technologies: local area networks, graphical user interfaces, personal productivity software suites, Internet navigation via a browser, increasingly portable devices, and software to support workgroups. Today’s typical knowledge worker in a U.S.-based firm is a savvy computer user who demands reliable support services for networked and Web-based applications in the workplace and, in many cases, anytime/anywhere.
