1776 - The idea of outsourcing has its roots in the `competitive advantage` theory propagated by Adam Smith in his book The Wealth of Nations.

Narrow margins, skills shortages and better business understanding drive the uptake of managed services.

Municipalities provide managed services. IT companies can too, if they`re smart.

The paperless office is a dream not likely to become reality for the foreseeable future.

Gartner has published a set of guidelines for formulating e-mail retention strategies.

1780 - Steam engine inventor James Watt obtains a British patent for letter copying presses, which James Watt & Co produced that year.

Efficiently managing IT assets can save IT departments time, resources and money. Why then isn't ITAM being adopted at high speed?

Leasing is not the be all and end all of the IT equipment disposal problem, Gartner says.

1980s - Desktop computers become more popular within business, so there is a constant eye on the cost of the technology. Industry watchdogs, like the Software Publishers Association and the Business Software Alliance, are formed to educate and 'police' organisations in regard to copyright infringement on software.

Increasing data volumes, changing storage technologies, regulation, legislation and day-to-day operations have turned the storage arena into a battleground for overall control.

A burgeoning e-discovery industry is developing in the wake of corporate governance clampdowns.

1725 - The oldest known form of data storage is used by one Basile Bouchon, who uses a perforated paper loop to store patterns to be used on cloth.