A study of home informatics and a business plan for family information software

Abstract

Information technology has been a dominating tool in many industries. Computer sales in home segment accounts for 33% 1 Although Personal Computers are becoming more and more popular, home information management is relatively limited. According to the U.S. Bureau of Census, there were 22.8% of household have personal computer in 1993. By the linear interpolation of 1984, 1989, and 1993 data, PC penetration in US household should be 37% or higher by year 2002 However, the 1998 survey conducted by NIT A of Department of Commerce revealed that the household PC penetration has reached 36.6% in 1997. Bill Gates predicted that PC penetration at household will reach 60% in year 2001. The high penetration rate of PCs in the household did not reflect the success of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) type of integrated solution for the home IT applications. According to Forrester Research, "The basic windows metaphor is over 25 years old, and Microsoft is failing to advance the user interface. Vendors like Apple, MetaCreations, or America Online have the opportunity to graft distinct and consumer-focused interfaces on top of Windows" [Forrester Research, 1999]. As the PC platform reaching its maturity as stable processors and operating systems, there is a slow down in PC related technology innovation. In home informatics, we believe that there are three important issues related to the diffusion of family information management: 1. Home PC network. 2. Home automation. 3. Family oriented user interface This study will investigate what hindrance the development of home informatics, particularly in family information management. The focus has been placed on the user interface applications. A new concept for PC user interface, Homesoft, is proposed with a prototype demonstration. With this new interface, PC manufacturers and Internet portal service providers can utilize this concept to develop a more user-friendly system for American families. Homesoft will provide an integrated solution for domestic applications just like the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system for enterprises. This proposed concept will include technical specifications for hardware (Electronic pen and tablet), Software (event planning, communication, time management, and information support systems), and their interfaces (simple and family-oriented). In addition to the technical concept, the market research and financial plan with feasibility analysis are the essences for this research study. The business plan for Homesoft is created as an exercise for taking a software concept into a business development project.