A lack of user-friendly technology in the marketplace is exacerbating a digital divide in the workforce between those who can use technology effectively and those who can’t and is likely to provoke a backlash among users, according to a new Technology Predictions for 2007 report from consultancy Deloitte.
The research predicts that technology vendors will focus increasing resources on the user interface in their products this year, and adds that “certain products have become unnecessarily complex and unusable, due to the incomprehensibility of their user interface”
“Businesses cannot afford to have a digital divide in their labour force,” said Deloitte technology partner David Tansley. “They need to be in a position where the vast majority of employees interact with the vast majority of the technology needed to do their jobs with little need for training.”