SMAC Tsunamis and Mobile Strategies

I was reminded these past few weeks of the many challenges organizations have keeping their business and IT strategies aligned with rapidly evolving technology innovations and changes in their marketplaces.  Two weeks ago I attended a military related conference and listened as the different military branches shared their mobile strategies and the processes they must follow in order to bring new solutions online.  Yikes!  It is incredibly challenging as their administrative processes for acquiring new technologies typically take years, but mobile technologies are evolving much quicker than that.

Even though the military processes are necessarily cumbersome for acquiring new technologies, testing them, and then going through formal RFPs and contract negotiations, their strategies for how to use mobile solutions are well defined.  This is different from the commercial sector where it is often relatively easy to acquire new technologies, but there lacks a mobile strategy to support it.

Last week I taught mobile strategy and SMAC (social, mobile, analytic and cloud) strategy sessions in England, Scotland and Belgium.  It was a crazy travel schedule, but what an adventure!  I was again impressed with the need for more combined training between business and IT - training that educates business on the possibilities of these technologies, and IT on what it takes to support them.

Social, mobile, analytics and Cloud, plus the Internet of Things are hitting markets like a tsunami.   One of the key points I emphasize in my strategy sessions is that this SMAC tsunami, or the "Nexus of Forces" as Gartner describes them, is approaching and overtaking companies whether it fits into their three year plan or not.  Companies don't operate in a vacuum.  They can't always dictate the timeframe of technology waves and innovations.  Somehow companies must recognize these important trends and change rapidly from a Plan A, to a Plan B or C in order to remain upright.

I am seeing entire industries overturned by these technologies.  I am seeing new business models appear and rapidly changing competitive landscapes.  The questions I get asked daily now are,  "How will these technologies impact my industry and business, and how should we respond?"  It is interesting to note these are mostly business strategy related questions.

The military, although they have slow processes, often have well defined strategies.  In the commercial sector I see relatively fast processes but a lack of strategies today.  This offers enormous opportunities for companies that can see these tsunamis approaching, get prepared and use these forces to achieve competitive advantages.

I will be discussing many of these new trends, innovations and strategies tomorrow on a live webinar at 11 AM EST.  I invite you to join me.  Mike Karlskind, VP of Service Optimization Strategies with ClickSoftware, and I will be discussing, "The Role Big Data Plays in Real-Time Enterprises, Mobile Strategies and Field Services."  Register Here!

Registration Link: http://go.clicksoftware.com/role-big-data-plays-with-real-time-enterprise-mobile-strategies-and-field-services.html?utm_source=December18thWebinarKB.

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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.