Each of the past three centuries was dominated by a single new technology.
The 18th century was the era of the great mechanical systems accompanying the Industrial Revolution. The 19th century was the age of the steam engine.
During As a result of rapid technological progress, these areas are rapidly converging
in the 21st century and the differences between collecting,
transporting, storing,
and processing information are quickly disappearing.
Organizations with hundreds of offices spread over a wide geographical area routinely expect to be able
to examine the current status of even their most remote outpost at the push of a button.
As our ability to gather,
process, and distribute information grows,
the demand for ever more sophisticated information processing grows even faster.