Microsoft's commitment to PC technology has kept it investing in operating system and officeautomation software for the last decade while losing more than two-thirds of its market share in smartphone operating systems and delaying its entry into the fast-growing tablet business--places where Apple has had astoundingly profitable revenue growth.
First, as back-office jobs (susceptible to automation) have declined in importance, front-office jobs (which require certain bundles of skills, especially social skills) have increased.
Susan Fleming, who authored a report by the General Accountability Office, told the U.S. Senate panel that such automation could have shut off the Sissonville line within minutes.