English 421Y: Technical Writing Online

For my third research blog, I again wanted to look specifically at web browser features that companies would want and need. The place that I found information was the Univeristy of Washington who did a study to find out what the browser needs of researchers were:
http://uwnews.org/uweek/article.aspx?id=47237

The main point that this paper hit on was one that should have been obvious to me; as technology grows, so does the need to store and analyze ever growing stockpiles of data. People want to be able to store and retrieve various different types of data, all at the same time, as fast as possible. They also want greater computational power to be able to analyze data faster. This responsibility may depend more on other software, but running data through online databases may still require the use of a web browser. With added amounts of data comes the need for added security. People not only want layers of protection to preserve the integrity of their data, but they want backup servers so that no data will not be lost if something goes wrong.

Another thing that researchers stressed as being important was communication. They wanted to be able to communicate with others in real-time to be able to collaborate on projects. Going along with this, they also wanted greater data sharing capabilities as well as group scheduling and project management functions.

The last point made in this article was the need for adequate training. Many researchers knew that there was technology available to them that would greatly streamline their work, but could not use it because they did not know how. These people want experts to share their knowledge with others, because if it is easier to complete projects, the more of them can be completed in the same amount of time.

As I start writing our white paper, I will definitely incorporate these needs. These functions can be extended to almost any company that uses the internet and showing the reader which browsers satisfy these needs and which ones don't will make their decision much easier.