Today, the building blocks are in place for engineering self-monitoring, self-predicting, and self-diagnosing systems. This creates enormous potential, for it not only means that one system can talk to another system, but that this interconnectivity can reach worldwide. A smarter planet is a place that allows communication between cash registers and supply chains, between cars and toll booths, and between roads and street lights.

To work smarter, we’ll need smarter organizations that can enhance and benefit from employee expertise and creativity, rather than inhibiting them. Transforming the collaborative infrastructure and processes of our workplaces will enable knowledge workers to take advantage of an instrumented, interconnected, and intelligent planet. Many organizations around the world are already showing the way. The Smart Work continuum shows how we can improve as we increasingly embrace change.