Higher Value electronic communication - The challenge of integration.

To achieve the higher value characteristics of electronic communication - that is users working less, and the "system" more - we need the various electronic services better integrated.

Here's a scenario:
I've booked an appointment for a business meeting, say, and the meeting has been cancelled.
What I'd like is :-

• The cancellation get's forwarded to my smart-phone, so I'm immediately made aware.
• Without any action on my part, my calendar for the day is automatically analysed, and some improvements offered me (perhaps by automated voice as I drive or stand up on the train), I accept them with a single button press.
  These might be the calendaring need I had programmed weeks before - of visiting an antique shop.  I  am now in it's vicinity (2 miles) with sufficient time to spare (30 mins).
• The shop's phone number is automatically looked up, and prompts me to phone to make the appointment (the shop doesn't use the inter-web thingy).
• The rescheduled appointment for the business meeting comes through and  I accept it. (They had the necessary viewing rights on my calendar to arrange a suitable time).  This causes my flight rescheduling to be automatically requested.  The systems automatically selects the best 3 options for me based on (and displaying) the details that matters most to me, viz flight-time, total time, connections, and window seating.  I accept with a single button press.
• My hotel and restaurant appointment adjustments are automatically handled.  Messages of the required type are sent to the appropriate booking systems.  The status is tracked and conveniently displayed on my smart phone.  All being well, everything will be rescheduled in the next 12 hours, which is OK as I fly in 3 days time.  If they aren't in that time frame, the system knows this and will continues to escalate to me, and/or my chosen PA/travel-agent, .  
• The new flight schedule will take me to a different city, that I have wanted to visit for some time to catch up with one of my business partners.  The calendar and associated systems knows this, and is prompting me to confirm a request to be sent out to that party.  All is needed is a single button press.
• And on and on it can go.....

This scenario is mainly centered around calendaring, with interfaces to email, booking systems, the phone etc. but there are many more scenarios with other electronic applications.

But how to achieve this?

The challenge is the integration, or interfacing, of the electronic services and systems.  This requires a number of things

1. Protocols to be established for the information flow.  
2. The accommodation in the various electronic services applications to handle these information flows, and provide management similar to those in the scenario above.
3. The actual infrastructure established between the various parties - perhaps simply internet connectivity, and a message broker service.

The protocols (1) have largely been established.  There are a number to choose from.  The accommodation in the applications (2) is an investment - worth it if it gets used, not otherwise.  The required infrastructure is there - more systems are now internet connected, and message broker services available.

The Challenge

We are not seeing the amount of integration that I would like, and I think the reason is human, not technical.  It's the challenge of two organisations being willing to make the investment in the integration when they cannot independently manage the success of it.  They need to partner.  Corporate Managers often prefer survival to risky innovative endeavours with partners, often  in foreign industries.

An Alternative - A Google universe.

The best integration I am observing is coming from Google.  Calendar, with cloud docs, with cloud email, with blogging, with RSS reader, with directory services, with photo publishing, with ....

OK it is not yet providing the value in my scenario, but with integration to Google mobile, location and presence information, and Google's continued march into new application areas, they can start to provide more and more of these higher value electronic communication services.  And they do not have to deal with partners in foreign industries - they just need to play nicely with other departments of the same Co.  The corporate motivation must be here, so we will surely see it.

It's not over

Once we achieve this integration, there are still challenges to improve further the value of electronic communication. We need a PA service, we need to rise to the challenge of the clash of cultures, anticipate it, and have it silently accommodated.  We need to effectively federate local knowledge, making it also silently, seamlessly incorporated into the services.   Electronic communication has very, very long way to go yet.