Invited Plenary: Partnering for Global Technology Management

MP40.1 Plenary: Benefitting from Information Technology

• Albert M. Erisman; The Boeing Company, PO Box 3707, MC 7L-69, Seattle, WA 98124;

Information technology is touching every corner of the processes and products of many businesses today. When technology is used to automate an old process, it often adds cost and falls short of its goals, but when it is used to enable new ways of doing things it can transform both products and work often with tremendous benefit to the business. This close linkage to the business suggests that the major benefits of technology come when the technology development is done in close collaboration with business needs. I will discuss some recent and emerging technologies and show their impact in airplane design and support, and some ideas for getting technology out of the research environment and put to work.