Mobile Devices, Management Structures and SMAC, Part 1

One of the best whitepapers I have read in a long time is, Don't Get SMACked - How Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud are Reshaping the Enterprise.  What I particularly like about this paper is its courage in predicting the future and exposing trends that most people may not yet be tracking.  I am a mobile guy, and mobility is deeply integrated into all aspects of SMAC (social, mobile, analytics and cloud).  Without mobility, many of the trends identified in this paper simply would not be happening.

Here is an excerpt, "The vast majority of Global 2000 companies currently manage through a command-and-control hierarchy.  However, millenials prefer to work in heterarchies instead of hierarchies.  What is a heterarch or "wirearchy" as it is also called? It is a dynamic network of connected nodes (most often connected via mobile devices) without predefined priorities or ranks." ~ Don't Get SMACked, Future of Work, Cognizant, November 2012

If you work in a big company and are in a hurry to find an answer, would you rather contact a person with the right title, or a person with the right answer?  Most of us would choose, "The person with the right answer!" Wouldn't you?

The following excerpt discusses power in terms of where the most emails are sent, not just where the titles lie, "In these networks [wirearchies], status is earned through knowledge and a willingness to share... the organizational chart may represent bestowed power, while the e-mail chart may represent earned power."  What does this mean?  It means the real powers in an organization are with those who know things and are willing to share them, not just the people with the titles.

SMAC trends are changing the very manner in which organizations operate.  SMAC is not only shaking up management structures and the way companies operate, but also countries and world politics.  Yikes!  I for one, as a political science major in college, find the SMAC trend to be a fascinating one to watch evolve.

I recommend companies developing an enterprise mobility strategy today, spend some serious time understanding the SMAC trend and how the mobility platforms being considered can help your organization support and evolve with this trend.

Read Part 2 in this series here.
Read Part 3 in this series here.

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Kevin Benedict, Head Analyst for SMAC, Cognizant

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Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and SMAC analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.