????這種狀態一直持續著，直到變化再次來臨。

????現在，一場由技術驅動的革命正在悄然醞釀，引領這股潮流的是無處不在的移動設備、云計算和工作場合所需的一批全新軟件。未來的經濟狀況如何，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，從醫療保健業到零售業，無不如此。在我們向這種經濟形態進發的過程中，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的實力。

????在我們每個人置身其間的“企業”生活中，很容易感受到這種變化帶來的影響。現在我們整天都要用手指敲敲點點，摁這摁那，工作地點和設備都比以前要更多樣化。一旦公司管理層阻止一些關鍵數據的傳播，或是某個重要觀點被限制在大家無法獲知的小范圍內，我們的工作進度就會放緩。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。現在幾乎各行各業都有適用的新軟件，它們能讓員工重新掌握信息的威力。比如用RelateIQ就能在手機上查看最新的預期銷售情況，用Elementum就能了解供應鏈的瓶頸何在，用Zendesk就能隨時隨地查閱客戶反饋，用Workday就能了解人力資源發展的趨勢和差距。那種笨重的企業級軟件無意間妨礙信息在企業內部共享的時代已經一去不復返了。

????個人電腦的革命讓IT進入了每個辦公室，而平板電腦和智能手機的崛起則產生了更加深遠的影響，即它們能將信息傳遞給企業以外的各種人和各種場所。企業現在必須自問，如何用更好的數據來武裝內部的每個人，讓整體業務更具競爭力。化妝品連鎖店絲芙蘭（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早在收入報告陸續完成前就能獲得關于最新促銷和菜單變化的定性及定量數據。無論是醫生還是飛行員，幾乎所有工作都會因為獲得正確信息而提升績效。

????從更宏觀的層面來看，大家會發現信息技術已開始重塑各種產品。如果說上個世紀工業和信息技術在產品制造中主要起輔助作用，那下一輪革命就將是新技術對產品和服務同時進行重塑。

????保險業和信貸業的創業公司正在運用大量個人化信息及人口數據提供更精確的費率并為客戶提供更優質的貸款產品。奈飛公司能戰勝百視達，不光是因為它擁有創新的商業模式，還在于它能挖掘并利用好海量信息來為客戶創造更相關的體驗，甚至能對獲得的內容施加決定性影響。在通用電氣公司（General Electric），杰夫?伊梅爾特正在率領團隊將軟件和飛機引擎上的傳感器收集的數據創造性地整合起來，最終能為航空公司節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的氣候模式數據，有望幫助農業更好地預測玉米產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.