A new trend in IT is just around the corner but before we examine this new trend, let us look at a few pre signals.

• Web based project management tools are becoming available more in numbers. Search web for "Online Project Management Tools" and you will get a long list.
• Critical Chain Project Management is fast replacing traditional method of project management where plan used to be complete with allocations before the work started. Now, resources are preferred to be allocated when they are most ready.
• Companies that deliver Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) are planning to launch web based IDEs. For eg, Netbeans.
• People in multi shored IT companies are fast realizing that sometimes they do not know people who are delivering work to them but work still gets delivered on time. Weekly telephonic or video conference call with the offshore coordinator is usually enough.
• Delivery team for a mission critical project is no longer packed in a single shore with IT Manager sitting near to business while the Project Coordinator with his / her developers in some other part of the world. These are the days where distributed teams are formed to minimize delivery risks.
• Information can be securely exchanged over internet using secure protocols. 128 bit encryption is said to be so strong that the encrypted information can not be broken for a trillion years with current technology.
• Internet connectivity has improved over the last 5 years. DSL has changed the shape of internet access. I remember the days, way back in 1998, when getting a 2 MBPS link was only possible for companies and they used to pay heavy yearly fees for it. Now DSL connection of up to 8 MBPS is readily available to home users.
• More and more people are becoming aware of the earnings through internet.

Coming back to where I was, the new trend is about virtualization of IT companies. Soon there will be time when IT companies with big and artistic avenues with thousands of people working from there will no longer be seen. There will be offices nevertheless, but just for the sake of showing some physical presence due to requirements of law of the land. Most of the associates will be working from the locations of their convenience.

This is inevitable in my opinion due to the following reasons.

Software development has become a very costly affair. Top management always think about cost cutting is some way. Avoiding physical infrastructure could be a lot of savings. IT Companies invest a lot of amount to create infrastructure and environment for their people. The intention is to create a healthy place where people can meet and form teams. A well knit team is considered to be essential success criteria and hence the investment but a few companies have started to change the model completely. Teams are still essential but people are allowed to work from the locations of their choice. The only investment made by these new companies is to create a virtual platform where teams can be formed online and the work is also distributed online. People can make selections online about the work packets they want to work on and also the people and managers they want to work with. If it is essential for people to meet due to some reason, company invests for their transportation and hiring a premise for 1 - 2 days where people can meet and then disperse when there is a synergy, bonding and common understanding. The costs are reduced drastically by this approach. If people after meeting their team mates (whom they knew virtually before) found that they are not comfortable in the real world, they can choose to change projects after finishing current work packets. This flexibility is expected to provide a lot of comfort to associates.

Compare Manufacturing Industry with IT just for a short while. While Manufacturing Industry needs a lot of raw material and physical infrastructure like storage areas, machine installations, electrical wiring, big sheds etc. before people can start working, what does IT need? It needs people who understand business requirements, people who can write specs based on requirements, people who could code as per specs and people who can test the code to match with specs before delivery. The only external equipment IT people need is a Computer and yes of course their creative juices and logical system (brain). PCs are readily available at homes of most IT people these days and to couple with the fact that DSL connectivity is readily available to anyone at lower costs that can be used to securely connect with the main systems, it would be much convenient to work from the convenience zones rather than coming to offices that could be many miles away and reaching there is a increasing pain with increasing bad traffic conditions.

IT work force is increasingly stressed these days, there are reports of impotency, imbalances, family tensions in the news every other day due to this increased stress level. People want to work in a stress free environment. This is the reason why Critical Chain Project Management is fast becoming way of life for IT managers. Allocating work to human resources when they are most ready to accept it is the key to success. Also, people increasingly want to choose the work they want to work upon rather than being allocated to a project by the company managers and feel like prisoners until released.

So how does it impact customers? If people are so freely moving here and there and choosing work, how do these companies ensure timely delivery with quality. As said before, answer is by deploying critical chain project management techniques and by dissecting work to finest grains before allocation. An entire book can be written about these subjects.

Summary is that Web2.0 IT Development & Support companies are just around the corner and the days are not far when most of ITians will be working from their convenience zones. Changing companies would mean change of URL in their browsers. Of course there will be interviews but in online mode (combination of VoIP and webcam chat).

One company that I know has recently started operations in this fashion is eConcinnity.com (http://www.econcinnity.com).

Note :- The concept presented here is different from www.elance.com or www.rentacoder.com which are more of IT market places rather than IT work forces.