Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud - SMAC

I am speaking at a Cognizant user conference this week in Scottsdale, AZ where social, mobile, analytics and cloud are the central themes.  Cognizant uses the acronym SMAC to refer to these four technologies integrated into one grouping. This event follows the Oracle Open World and SAP TechEd events this month where these same four technology trends were also highlighted.

This SMAC (social, mobile, analytics and cloud) grouping makes sense to me.  The SMAC acronym is also a far better marketing acronym than SCAM would be.  Can you imagine saying, "I would like to talk to you about a SCAM."  Not so good!  MACs would also not be a good acronym as it is too closely aligned with our iFriends.  MASC would just make it seem like we were hiding something, so SMAC works for me.

SMAC also makes it past my "pocket test."  I reach into my pocket, pull out my iPhone 5 and examine what I do with it.  I use SOCIAL apps (Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Blogger, etc.) on my iPhone.  I use it while MOBILE as my mobile communication and mobile data device.  I use Google Search, and its ANALYTICS everyday, as well as Weather and flight status apps.  I use all kinds of CLOUD based mobile apps including news apps, banking apps, and all the social apps everyday.  So my pocket test says SMAC is relevant.

The words I keep hearing around this SMAC stack are "multiplication effect" and "force multiplier."  Here are a couple of definitions around "force multiplier":

• A factor that dramatically increases (hence "multiplies") the effectiveness of an item or group.
• A capability that, when added to and employed by a work force, significantly increases the productivity potential of that force.

I personally think of Twitter and Blogger as force multipliers in my work.  I can communicate and share information with thousands from my home office in Boise, Idaho by effectively using social networking solutions in the cloud.

I invite you to watch what SAP's CIO Oliver Bussman said to me the other day on the subject of SMAC in this video interview.  I also interviewed Ingo Piroth, SAP's VP of Mobile Services, North America, on the concept of SMAC (see video interview at minute 3:03), where he states that SMAC is probably the biggest conversation topic at SAP right now.

It appears that you will be hearing more SMAC talk from me in the future.

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Kevin Benedict, Head Analyst for SMAC (Social, MOBILE, Analytics and Cloud), Cognizant

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