Knowledge Workers

Are you responsible for providing IS services to knowledge workers? Knowledge workers might include writers, editors, planners, managers, lawyers, doctors, clergy, and faculty teaching at any level of education. Knowledge work is work that is based on researching, extending, applying, and distributing information in one form or another. This type of worker might prefer to use a desktop or notebook PC with a full complement of productivity software. Even though the work of knowledge workers doesn t tax the limits of the operating system or of locally run software, these workers might prefer storing documents locally and having the choice of using this software with or without a network. They could be using their notebook computers not only at work but also while on the road or at home. On the other hand, many of these professionals might be equally well served by a thin-client/server device and software solutions. It s a matter of how you, the IS professional, balance the needs and work habits of your user base with IS resources.

Use a combination of thin-client and local solutions for knowledge workers.

As the table on page 9 indicates, knowledge workers might prefer to have about half their tasks executed locally and half through a thin-client/server solution. I would say that tasks might logically be divided along these lines: frequently used productivity tools are used locally, and infrequently used productivity tools are run on the server. This split assumes that other kinds of tasks such as e-mail, information management, scheduling, and any applications specific to the company can save local resources by being run in a thin-client/server scenario. Desktop icons for e-mail and other thin-client/server applications would look identical to the icons for starting local applications. The only difference would be in the execution: whether the application executed locally or on the server. Again, deciding how and when to use thin-client/server technology is a matter of optimizing the professional s time and computing resources, and of making sure that mission-critical applications are always available, regardless of the proverbial rain, snow, sleet, or hail.