The computer industry is an industry that is  affecting  every

          person as its technology  spreads.   A  major  component  of  the

          computer industry, and  one  that  should  have  a  great deal of

          impact in the  future  is  that  of  office  automation.   Office

          automation can best be  described as "intellectual mechanization"

          or  the  replacement  of intellectual  tasks  through  mechanized

          means.[1] The implications of office automation for the corporate

          office of the future  are  wide  ranging  and  significant.   The

          purpose of this paper will be to  examine these implications in a

          systematic manner.  First the user requirements in the office  of

          the future  will  be  discussed followed by an examination of the

          technological requirements which will be  needed  to  meet  these

          user requirements.   To complete the analysis, a selective review

          of the office automation (OA)  vendors  will be undertaken to see

          which vendor comes  closest  to satisfying both the technological

          and user requirements of the future.


             Before we begin to analyze the user requirements in the office

          of the future, we must first gain a  perspective  of  the present

          situation and  problems  in  the  conventional  corporate office.

          Edward J. Laurie in his work, Computers, Automation  and  Society
                                        __________ __________  ___  _______

          provides a survey of the  situation.   He sees the major problems

          being: the antiquated method of file cabinets and  the  resulting

          loss  of  records,  duplication   of  efforts,  inefficient  mail

          systems,  expensive  communications,  bottlenecks  and  expensive

          storage costs.[2] Another  drawback  of  the conventional office,

          according to Bro Uttal, is that the office worker of today is not



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          as productive as could be possible.  In fact it is estimated that

          the  productivity  of white-collar workers has  not  risen  since

          1980. [3] These then are the major  problems  and  inefficiencies

          confronting  today's  office.   We  will now examine  the  user's

          requirements that would lead to the elimination of  many of these

          problems.


             One could say that the need for adequate  communications  will

          probably be  the most important requirement in tomorrow's office.

          Effective communications will  guarantee  the  continuous flow of

          information by providing worker to worker communications (between

          workstations)  in  a  corporation.[4]  Communications  will  also

          reduce many telphone converstations, interoffice mail, buck slips

          and  memorandums.   As  we  will   see   in   our   technological

          requirements  review,  many  of  the  communications  systems  of

          today's office can be drastically improved to bring  us closer to

          a more efficient office of the future.


             Access  to   information  via  a  workstation  will  become  a

          necessity  for  the average worker in the office of  the  future.

          The information needed  should  not  be  confined  to  a  certain

          department, rather it should be  accessible  at  a  departmental,

          divisional level and, if necessary, from an outside data base.[5]

          This  requirement  will enable a worker  to  extract  information

          quickly and efficiently, without getting held up in corporate red

          tape.


             Document generation will  be  supplied by a comprehensive word



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          processor which will be user friendly to allow  executives to use

          the system in addition to secretaries.  The word  processor  (WP)

          system will also allow a user to edit another person's work right

          at  their  own   workstation.[6]   An   extensive  and  effective

          electronic filing system must also be set up in the future office

          to  eliminate  the  overstuffed  filing cabinets, and  provide  a

          secure  and  paperless way to save  important  documents.[7]  The

          information stored in the electronic file will  be in the form of

          data, graphics, text, audio or video.[8]


             A popular trend in computers is the  personal  computer  (PC).

          The PC will  also  have  an  impact on tomorrow's office as users

          will  require  and  utilize  it  more  and more.  The five  major

          applications of the PC will  be  word  processing,  spreadsheets,

          graphs, data  base  processing  and  data  communications.[9] The

          effective use  of  PCs  will require a user to download corporate

          information  right into a spreadsheet.[10] Personal computers  in

          tomorrow's office will also be  linked  together to allow for the

          interchange of information at the microcomputer level.[11]


             A  requirement  that  is  alluded  to  by the Booz, Allen  and

          Hamilton   Study   of   1982,  is   the   "activity   management"

          requirement.[12] This refers to the personal management functions

          that  will  be  available  in  the  office of the future.   These

          functions would  allow  a  person to create his schedule, pass it

          around, and set  up  meetings,  all  without  leaving  his  desk.

          Moreover, they  would  allow  the user to access a "tickler file"




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          which would constan