VIRTUAL FIRMS MAKE THE OFFICE OBSOLETE.Byline: Mary Mary, the mother of Jesus Mary, in the Bible, mother of Jesus. Christian tradition reckons her the principal saint, naming her variously the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady, and Mother of God (Gr., theotokos). Her name is the Hebrew Miriam. Vanac Akron Beacon Journal The Akron Beacon Journal is a morning newspaper in Akron, Ohio, and published by Black Press Ltd.. It is the sole daily newspaper in Akron and is distributed throughout Northeast Ohio. The paper places a strong emphasis on local news and business. When Karen Brown needs a break from work, she gets up, stretches and goes downstairs to play with her kids, Amanda, 11, and Brock brock n. Chiefly British A badger. [Middle English brok, from Old English broc, of Celtic origin.] , 19 months. Five years ago, Brown left her traditional corporate job at health insurer An individual or company who, through a contractual agreement, undertakes to compensate specified losses, liability, or damages incurred by another individual. An insurer is frequently an insurance company and is also known as an underwriter. Cigna Corp. to become a work-at-home computer software consultant. Late last year, after learning her longtime long·time adj. Having existed or persisted for a long time: a longtime friend; a longtime resident of Detroit. longtime Adjective friend Mary Morlan would be downsized from Cigna, Brown asked Morlan to join her as a partner. The two launched Data Now Corp. as a virtual corporation in January. What is a virtual corporation? For Brown and Morlan, it's a business that designs, installs and supports custom applications for Lotus Notes Messaging and groupware software from IBM Lotus that was introduced in 1989 for OS/2 and later expanded to Windows, Mac, Unix, NetWare, AS/400 and S/390. Notes provides e-mail, document sharing, workflow, group discussions and calendaring and scheduling. , IBM's popular computer networking
Computer networking is the engineering discipline concerned with communication between computer systems or devices. software. Data Now is virtual because it has no office. Its 15 or so employees and contractors communicate electronically from far-flung homes and businesses. They come together in clients' workplaces to solve problems or at coffeehouses for staff meetings. It is one of the fastest-growing business forms, largely because of the recent explosion of information technology. ``People are talking about `officing,' '' said Lisa Kimball, a partner in Metasystems Design Group Inc. of Arlington, Va., a virtual consultant that helps organizations use information technology. ``The idea is that the line between home, community and business is getting fuzzier and fuzzier. Offices will become resource centers. People will use their laptops wherever.'' But while technology has made communication easier, it has been no substitute for face-to-face contact, Kimball said. In fact, two virtual drawbacks are feeling isolated and focusing so much on technology that you miss the social aspect of business, she said. Brown, who found several of her employees and consultants by networking on the World Wide Web, has set up chat rooms for the workers to get together several times a day. They have names such as ``Boardroom,'' ``The Laboratory'' and ``Water Cooler.'' When Morlan needs to make a photocopy, she drives to her nearby Kinko's store. The business's bookkeeper comes to Morlan's home on Saturdays to justify the books, pay bills and do payroll, she said. Both, admitted night owls, say they put in longer days because of their informal work arrangement. But they count the time as more productive. |
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