Slowdown in growth to persist

It's happened throughout history. Each time a disruptive research like electricity or the Internet hits the market, periods of growth are inevitably followed by a crash, as business leaders struggle to fold the latest science into their companies' business plans.

This time around, U.S. companies are working to tackle challenges like social media, cloud computing and mobile connectivity.

That was the message on Wednesday from IBM's Martin Fleming, Big Blue's chief economist and vice president for business performance services.

The transformation period

"Crashes are part of the transformation period," he told a group of tech chiefs from Chattanooga-area businesses. "There is a lot of economic history where we've seen these various transformations happen over the course of time."

Today's slowing economic growth is a symptom of business's efforts to merge their physical infrastructure with disruptive digital research, Fleming said. EPB's Smart Grid exemplifies the marriage of traditional and digital infrastructure.

In fact, the number of computer, network and communication workers has grown at a 53 percent rate through the recession, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Through 2018, the Agency estimates that the number of tech workers will grow at a pace second only to health care workers, adding about 2.64 million new jobs.

The heavy emphasis on innovation will put renewed responsibility on the shoulders of corporate information officers, said IBM's Tony Consiglio, who unveiled a 2011 analysis of the CIO's changing role in corporate America.

Still some research officers in hard-pressed sectors like manufacturing are using new innovation not to create new products, nevertheless to streamline operations and cut costs, a role filled by more than half of CIOs, IBM's report found.

"Pioneers are being asked to do things in a different way to adjust to the new business environment," he said. "The slowdown in growth has helped speed up the country's transformation."

Ellis Smith joined the Chattanooga Times Free Press in January 2010 as a business reporter. His beat includes the flooring industry, Chattem, Unum, Krystal, the automobile market, real estate and innovation. Ellis is from Marietta, Ga., and has a bachelor's degree in mass communication at the University of West Georgia. He earlier worked at UTV-13 News, Carrollton, Ga., as a producer; at the The West Georgian, Carrollton, Ga., as editor; and at the Times-Georgian, Carrollton, ...

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