"The Guardian earlier this week published an interesting article about a Scottish entrepreneur who hopes to persuade major UK companies that offshoring jobs overseas is not the only way to save money. 

Michael Wolff

Michael Wolff is convinced that companies can save costs and keep jobs in Britain by outsourcing work to a network of highly skilled homeworkers." 

"Mr Wolff believes the internet, and particularly the increasing availability of broadband, can be used to set up a network of like-minded, capable and keen workers. In so doing, some of the jobs that are being offshored to low cost labour countries could be saved. It is not so much offshoring as home-shoring, a phrase that is starting to catch on in the US at least."

Online collaborative networks of home-based workers equipped with the latest communication technologies could do the trick according to Michael.

"He has dubbed this homeworking as "ki-working," borrowing the word ki -- which loosely translated means trusting relationship -- from the Japanese."

I have talked to Michael in the past and have offered my humble advice on what technologies had to offer to the vision he is bringing about.

Unfortunately, what I expressed, is that the conferencing and collaboration industries are still trying to grasp the critical importance of user-centered, contextual and task-oriented technologies.

We have good tools and brilliant features in many of the systems that are around but very few have been designed with the user in mind from the beginning.

The systems we see today are assemblies of features and facilities that one has to adjust and fit into to make one's own work become in some way facilitated by them. And that is not what we really need.

Yes, some tools have come a long way, but we are still light-years away from delivering anything capable of the simplicity, smartness and integration/interoperability that Michael Wolff and his ki-workers need.

In my view, such technology is so distant, that its achievement may actually come from completely unexpected directions and providers. At least in the beginning. The joining of smaller, apparently less sophisticated communication and collaboration tools may do many a trick we just seem to be unable to solve yet.

If integrated in a "method" of working that gave way to spontaneus transparency, exchange and mutual support, these loose collaboration componets/tools could indeed provide much greater benefit and immediate application than any of the high-octane sophisticated conferencing tools of today.

Fuel for good thought.

More info about Ki-work.