WSJ has a collection of articles as part of its Tech report. Two interesting ones:
Visualisation Software: “Executives in a broad range of industries around the world are finding that information-visualization software helps them make critical business decisions by cutting through information overload. Instead of wading through endless spreadsheets and text analyses, executives can get a quick overview with the graphics offered by visualization software, and still find whatever level of detail they need with a few clicks of the mouse. Some are even finding that the visual presentations allow them to see patterns they wouldn’t have noticed otherwise…The market for visualization software is heating up for a number of reasons. More-powerful PCs are able to use the software on desktops. The new emphasis on corporate governance means that top executives have to have a better fix on all aspects of corporate results — and visualization software helps them do that. And corporate cutbacks mean that companies don’t have the staff to analyze a lot of data coming in, so visualization software enables those left to be more efficient.”
Wikis: “Wikis are Web pages to which anyone can make changes. They make it easy to add, change or delete online material without having to learn a complicated programming language — or get anyone’s permission. As a result, they allow companies and work teams to trade ideas, share intelligence and track projects. Wikis are a modest version of one of the hottest product categories in technology today: collaboration software…Their simplicity has enabled wikis to spread informally within organizations, much in the way that instant messaging first took off. Individuals or departments install them, often without the help or knowledge of the corporate information-technology department, and they gradually spread as more people see their benefits…A wiki page looks like any Web page, but with a difference: With the click of a button, a visitor can add new material to the page or change what’s already there. Others can see it once they refresh the page. This isn’t as disruptive as it sounds; all changes are tracked, and earlier versions can be restored if important information is deleted.”
