????這種狀態(tài)一直持續(xù)著，直到變化再次來臨。

????現(xiàn)在，一場由技術(shù)驅(qū)動的革命正在悄然醞釀，引領(lǐng)這股潮流的是無處不在的移動設(shè)備、云計(jì)算和工作場合所需的一批全新軟件。未來的經(jīng)濟(jì)狀況如何，幾乎將完全取決于我們是否能利用更好的信息做出更明智的決策，從醫(yī)療保健業(yè)到零售業(yè)，無不如此。在我們向這種經(jīng)濟(jì)形態(tài)進(jìn)發(fā)的過程中，那些能最大限度地利用好這些趨勢的公司將最終擁有最強(qiáng)的實(shí)力。

????在我們每個(gè)人置身其間的“企業(yè)”生活中，很容易感受到這種變化帶來的影響?，F(xiàn)在我們整天都要用手指敲敲點(diǎn)點(diǎn)，摁這摁那，工作地點(diǎn)和設(shè)備都比以前要更多樣化。一旦公司管理層阻止一些關(guān)鍵數(shù)據(jù)的傳播，或是某個(gè)重要觀點(diǎn)被限制在大家無法獲知的小范圍內(nèi)，我們的工作進(jìn)度就會放緩。簡言之，如果沒法獲得需要的信息，我們就會變得毫無用武之地?，F(xiàn)在幾乎各行各業(yè)都有適用的新軟件，它們能讓員工重新掌握信息的威力。比如用RelateIQ就能在手機(jī)上查看最新的預(yù)期銷售情況，用Elementum就能了解供應(yīng)鏈的瓶頸何在，用Zendesk就能隨時(shí)隨地查閱客戶反饋，用Workday就能了解人力資源發(fā)展的趨勢和差距。那種笨重的企業(yè)級軟件無意間妨礙信息在企業(yè)內(nèi)部共享的時(shí)代已經(jīng)一去不復(fù)返了。

????個(gè)人電腦的革命讓IT進(jìn)入了每個(gè)辦公室，而平板電腦和智能手機(jī)的崛起則產(chǎn)生了更加深遠(yuǎn)的影響，即它們能將信息傳遞給企業(yè)以外的各種人和各種場所。企業(yè)現(xiàn)在必須自問，如何用更好的數(shù)據(jù)來武裝內(nèi)部的每個(gè)人，讓整體業(yè)務(wù)更具競爭力?；瘖y品連鎖店絲芙蘭（Sephora）讓店員和顧客在iPad上就能方便地獲取信息。通過社交工具，連鎖餐廳Red Robin早在收入報(bào)告陸續(xù)完成前就能獲得關(guān)于最新促銷和菜單變化的定性及定量數(shù)據(jù)。無論是醫(yī)生還是飛行員，幾乎所有工作都會因?yàn)楂@得正確信息而提升績效。

????從更宏觀的層面來看，大家會發(fā)現(xiàn)信息技術(shù)已開始重塑各種產(chǎn)品。如果說上個(gè)世紀(jì)工業(yè)和信息技術(shù)在產(chǎn)品制造中主要起輔助作用，那下一輪革命就將是新技術(shù)對產(chǎn)品和服務(wù)同時(shí)進(jìn)行重塑。

????保險(xiǎn)業(yè)和信貸業(yè)的創(chuàng)業(yè)公司正在運(yùn)用大量個(gè)人化信息及人口數(shù)據(jù)提供更精確的費(fèi)率并為客戶提供更優(yōu)質(zhì)的貸款產(chǎn)品。奈飛公司能戰(zhàn)勝百視達(dá)，不光是因?yàn)樗鼡碛袆?chuàng)新的商業(yè)模式，還在于它能挖掘并利用好海量信息來為客戶創(chuàng)造更相關(guān)的體驗(yàn)，甚至能對獲得的內(nèi)容施加決定性影響。在通用電氣公司（General Electric），杰夫?伊梅爾特正在率領(lǐng)團(tuán)隊(duì)將軟件和飛機(jī)引擎上的傳感器收集的數(shù)據(jù)創(chuàng)造性地整合起來，最終能為航空公司節(jié)省上億美元的燃油成本。近期被孟山都公司（Monsanto）以10億美元并購的Climate Corporation公司深入分析了兆兆字節(jié)的氣候模式數(shù)據(jù)，有望幫助農(nóng)業(yè)更好地預(yù)測玉米產(chǎn)量并做出更好的耕種決策。

????That is, until everything changed – again.

????Now a new technology-enabled revolution is brewing, led by ubiquitous mobile devices, cloud computing, and a new wave of software confronting the workplace. And as we continue to move toward an economy that's almost solely defined by our ability to make better decisions with better information, from healthcare to retail, power will eventually concentrate in those companies that can take advantage of these trends most substantively.

????It's easy to grasp the impact of this change in the context of our own individual "corporate" lives. We now swipe, tap, and thumb our way through the day, working from more locations and more devices than ever before. We're slowed down when corporate hierarchy blocks the dissemination of critical data, or when a relevant insight is stuck in an inaccessible silo. Simply put, when we can't get to the information we need, our roles are rendered useless. New software is emerging for nearly every job type and industry that will put the power of information back into the hands of employees. You can pull up the latest sales prospect from a phone with RelateIQ, see where a supply chain bottleneck emerges with Elementum, check-in on customer feedback anywhere with Zendesk, and spot workforce trends and gaps with Workday. Gone are the days of clunky enterprise software that inadvertently throttled how knowledge was shared in a corporation.

????And while the PC-revolution brought IT to every office, the rise of tablets and smartphones has had the profound effect of delivering information to people and places beyond office walls. Enterprises now must ask how arming everyone in their organization with better data will make their overall business more competitive. Sephora empowers store associates and customers with easily accessible information about the latest products on iPads. Through social tools, Red Robin gains qualitative and quantitative data about the latest promotions and menu changes well before revenue reports trickle in. From doctors to pilots, there's almost no job function that can't be enhanced with access to the right information.

????Zoom out, and you can see how information technology begins to rewire the very products that are built. If the last century was defined by industrial and information technologies aiding the production of goods, the next revolution will be about new technologies redefining the goods and services altogether.

????Startups in insurance and lending are using extensive amounts of personalized and population data to more provide accurate rates and offer better loans to consumers. Netflix didn't triumph over Blockbuster simply because of its innovative business model; its power is in the troves of information it mines and leverages to create more relevant experiences for customers, and even to dictate the content it acquires. At General Electric (GE), Jeff Immelt is pushing a creative mix of software and data gathered by sensors on a jet engine, which will lead to saving airlines hundreds of millions of dollars in fuel costs. The Climate Corporation, which recently sold to Monsanto for a cool $1 billion, crunches terabytes of weather pattern data, helping the agriculture industry predict better crop yield and produce better farming decisions.