Homeworking and e-business in Scotland

In a new report for the Scottish Enterprise E-Business Group, Future Trends for E-Business to 2011, Giraffe Consulting suggest various likely scenarios, among them the increase in flexible, mobile and home working practices, as well as more virtual collaboration and virtual companies. Key to this, say Giraffe, will be a much wider adoption of useful technologies, enabling real-time, anytime, anywhere access to business systems. Overall they conclude that: "SMEs will have greater dependence on ICT for business success."

Just as important is their rider. "However, the experts also believe these opportunities may not be realised if companies do not
have the vision and understand the benefits of pursuing these changes; they do not understand the dangers and risks in continuing without adapting to change; and they do not take action through cultural inertia."