Let us Break the Time Barrier—Anytime Computing

Thanks to the advances in communication technologies, the costs of connecting to our beloved ones over distance have become negligible. The provision of bandwidth, access to connectivity, and integration of cameras into almost any mobile device allows us to perceive what is happening with our communication counterparts visually. The emergence of telepresence robots even provides us with a remote presence in distant locations. Virtual and augmented environments blend virtual information worlds and physical settings into each other. All these developments together allow better communication and collaboration over distance. During the COVID-19 pandemic, an accompanying cultural and organizational transformation has also been triggered, allowing us to embrace and leverage these technological developments and thus enabling a new way of working. Employees fulfilling their duties from their homes has become the new normal. The traditional office with assigned seating is getting replaced by coworking spaces used for specific occasions, rather than being used on a daily basis. Business travel is losing importance due to in-person gatherings changing to online meetings. In a nutshell, the constraints of space determining presence at a specific location are mitigated by communication technologies that are bringing people together virtually over distance.