Kevin Benedict Ponders the Future

The Benedicts Mobile technologies are having a massive impact on our economy, society and culture.  Much is written both here and in many other places about these impacts and changes.  In this article, however, I am going to share some personal ways mobile technologies are having a significant impact on our family. I publish articles, videos and newsletters daily about mobile and SMAC technologies and trends.  I can continue writing and publishing uninterrupted no matter my location in the world as long as there is Internet connectivity.  This was not possible even a decade ago.  I am still amazed by it.  Today, I can and do publish content from airplanes via WiFi! Our son graduated last year from Boise State University and went immediately into training and schooling in preparation to serve as a military officer.  While going through training his class had a social media team that would post updated pictures of their training and exercises to Facebook nearly every day.  This

In this short interview recorded in Chicago last week, I explore the meaning of industrial strength enterprise mobility with DSI Global's Partner Manager, Dave Edeal.  Enjoy! Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzAugPrduJ8&feature=share&list=UUGizQCw2Zbs3eTLwp7icoqw ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict , Head Analyst for Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud (SMAC) Cognizant View Linkedin Profile Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility ***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.

August traditionally has the fewest number of readers on www.MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com  of any month.  However, despite it being August, we hit a major milestone this year that I wanted to share.  I have been writing and publishing content related to enterprise mobility since 2006, but I started tracking the number of page views in 2009.  As of this month we passed the 3 million page views mark!  This includes over 1 million page views on www.MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com and over 2 million page views on my blog http://kevinbenedict.ulitzer.com . I want to thank every one of you who faithfully read through my articles, newsletters and watch my video interviews optimistically searching for some small bit of useful information :-)  Thank you!  Thank you! Thank you! I also want to take a moment and ask a favor of you.  I am currently surveying my community to learn the latest information on how they are viewing and implementing enterprise mobility, mobility trends and how or

In this interview with Telstra's GM of Enterprise Mobility Solutions, Amardeep Toor, we discuss Telstra's full enterprise mobility strategy for Australia including cloud based mobile solutions, MEAP/MADP and delivery strategies.  We also talk about Telstra's nearly $20 million investment in Kony Solutions.  Enjoy! Also, please, please, please don't forget to take my enterprise mobility strategy survey today!  By taking it you will get the final results for free! Survey: http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e81h7ar7hklpypms/start Video Link: http://youtu.be/1K8vTXBGbFo ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict , Head Analyst for Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud (SMAC) Cognizant View Linkedin Profile Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility ***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinio

This week I am in Chicago speaking on mobile strategies and trends.  While in Chicago I was able to interview DSI Global's Partner Manager, Dave Edeal.  In this interview we discuss mobile trends, Oracle and mobility in manufacturing.  Enjoy! Video Link: http://youtu.be/BVuy6GGLuqs ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict , Head Analyst for Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud (SMAC) Cognizant View Linkedin Profile Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility ***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.

As a SMAC (social, mobile, analytics and cloud) Analyst, I spend my days researching, writing and presenting ideas to companies and audiences.  One of the most important subjects these days is how to develop and implement the best possible information logistics systems.  That means utilizing and processing collected data in the most advantageous and efficient manner possible to further the ambitions of the business.  That goal is perfectly understandable for a business - collecting business data and transactional data is expected, but when it is your personal data (Code Halos) that is being collected we often feel differently.  For example, I love having my TripIt, Marriott and Delta mobile apps know about me, my preferences and my past, present and future travels, but I don't want that information shared with other vendors (or home burglars) without my permission. In this article, my colleague Ben Pring, Co-Director of the Center for the Future of Work at Cognizant is kind e

In this short video, recorded last week in Sydney, Australia, I discuss how investing in enterprise mobility solutions can save you money and capture more sales. Enjoy! Video Link: http://youtu.be/WFU627n98ag ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict , Head Analyst for Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud (SMAC) Cognizant View Linkedin Profile Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility ***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.

I had the good fortune to participate on two panels with Emma Lo Russo, CEO and SMAC expert at Digivizer yesterday at the Cognizant Community Sydney 2013 event.  Digivizer's mission is to deliver the digital footprint of the people you know and the people you really should know.  I find the topic of digital footprints incredibly interesting, and hope you do as well! Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVDWoQ7U3u0&feature=share&list=UUGizQCw2Zbs3eTLwp7icoqw ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict , Head Analyst for Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud (SMAC) Cognizant View Linkedin Profile Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility ***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

I am in Sydney, Australia speaking at the Cognizant Community Sydney 2013 conference and meeting with companies and SMAC (social, mobile, analytics and cloud) experts this week.  In this short video, I interview veteran mobility expert and International Delivery Manager for Retriever Communications , Damien Moriarty about how their roots in industrial grade mobility give them a unique approach to mobility. Keep your ears open for the unique way Australian children's voices can carry throughout an entire hotel. Video Link: http://youtu.be/jB32iQC9Etc ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict , Head Analyst for Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud (SMAC) Cognizant View Linkedin Profile Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility ***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim

Books and Reviews Three of my colleagues here at Cognizant, Malcolm Frank, Paul Roehrig and Ben Pring, are writing a new book on the subjects of SMAC (social, mobile, analytics and cloud), digital and business transformations, and successful strategies for navigating through them.  The concepts in this book resonate with me.  I see enterprise mobility and B2C mobile app strategies as key components.  In this article, we get a sneak preview from the book.   Several weeks ago we outlined the concept   of “ Code Halos™ ” – aka our digital fingerprint – and discussed how    “personal” Code Halos are migrating into enterprise computing. We also analyzed the areas in which “organizational” Code Halos are changing what businesses do and how they do it. In this post we advocate how Code Halos create a repeatable pattern of disruption across a wide range of industries; by studying this pattern we have developed a business model – the Crossroads Model™ – to help business and technolog

I had the honor of interviewing a brilliant entrepreneur and SAP mobility expert, Greg Donaldson yesterday in Sydney.  I love his thinking.  He doesn't need to conquer the world, he just wants to provide SAP users with great mobile apps, in the cloud, for a low cost. Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDC1WQrRFuE&feature=share&list=UUGizQCw2Zbs3eTLwp7icoqw ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict , Head Analyst for Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud (SMAC) Cognizant View Linkedin Profile Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility ***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.

I am in Australia this week speaking SMAC (social, mobile, analytics and cloud) and meeting with companies to discuss their strategies.  In this short video, filmed on the beautiful beach in Manly, Australia, I share on enterprise collaboration strategies. Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fofJ4FhAbMc&feature=share&list=UUGizQCw2Zbs3eTLwp7icoqw ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict , Head Analyst for Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud (SMAC) Cognizant View Linkedin Profile Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility ***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.

It is true that enterprise mobility is about the eight Rs - getting the right information , to the right person , at the right time , in the right place , in the right amount,  on the right device, in the right format so they can make right decisions , but there are even more benefits.  Enterprise mobility can also be about saving money that can be invested more profitably in other places.  Let me share a real-life scenario: A large distributor of consumer package goods and fresh food, with many delivery trucks would often run out of inventory that customers along their routes would request when the drivers arrived.  These requests represented potential sales that could not be captured because the products were not available in the trucks.  The end result was sales were not being maximized. What were some possible ways to solve this problem? The distributor could reroute the delivery trucks back to the warehouse to load more product, but that would delay deliveries to other cus

Nike FuelBand As I was working this morning I become annoyed that my Nike FuelBand kept rubbing against my MacBook Pro keyboard while I was typing.  The Nike FuelBand is my first wearable (M2M or IoT) device.  It is a bluetooth enabled sensor inside a wristband.  The sensor has an accelerometer that records the level of activities you participate in during a 24 hour period.  When you press a button it syncs its recorded data with your iPhone.  The iPhone in turn uploads the FuelBand data into your Nike account in the cloud. Once the data enters your mobile app on the iPhone and/or your account in the cloud, it analyzes it against past and future activities, recorded goals and other measurements.  On nearly every screen you are encouraged to be social, and to share your activity data with friends, family and the Nike social family.  There is also a whole lot of gamification going on.  You can escape and survive all kinds of dangers presented in a game on the Nike cloud site by kee

I took inventory of my personal SMAC (social, mobile, analytics and cloud) environment this morning while sitting in a coffee shop next to the Boise river.  On Tuesday I recorded and published my first Google+ Hangout On Air.  I interviewed mobility expert Bob Egan using our MacBook Pro video cameras and Hangout On Air, YouTube streamed it live and then automatically posted the recorded version to my YouTube channel .  Wow!  Implementing SMAC strategies, even at the micro-level, is empowering! Boise foothills I am reading a book on military strategies now called Maneuver .  In this book it identifies "force projection" as one of the benefits of workforce mobility and maneuvering.  Force projection means the ability to extend one's influence over great distances.  This is often enabled through the strategic use of high tech assets.  I would add to that personal SMAC assets. While sitting in my office in beautiful Boise, Idaho, I used a social platform, Google+, th

I read with interest (no pun intended) an article today titled, The Future of Mobile Payments and Banking , from Cognizant's banking and financial services expert Tony Virdi.  In the article he identifies a number of mobile and digital trends he is seeing in 2013 including: Changing consumers behaviors and demands are driving transformation within the banking and payment processing industries The volume of digital (mobile and Internet) banking transactions is growing exponentially The role of the bank as a physical venue or outlet has changed as most transactions are moving online or mobile Digital bankers [I read mobile/Internet bankers] are rapidly becoming the new power base Retail banks are increasingly dedicating discretionary budgets to investments in digital solutions Banks can increase their wallet share and income by offering more and better digital services Banks are increasingly focused on m-commerce as a means of both providing better customer service as well as

Each of us are surrounded by our digital choices, preferences, activities, history and experiences that are captured as data and analyzed by the systems and websites we use.  Why did Google, a company known for its search engine, develop a mobile operating system?  They recognized the importance of mobility, and the fact that we would be accessing all things digital through these devices.  They wanted to optimize their ability to collect data and analyze it through mobile devices and the mobile web. Here is a recent excerpt from an article written by Ben Pring on this subject, "What one key characteristic separates today’s high-flying outperformers – such as Apple, Google, Amazon, Netflix and Pandora – from fast-followers, wannabes, and laggards? It’s a precision focus on the information that surrounds people, organizations, products and processes – what we call Code Halos ™." My colleagues Malcolm Frank, Ben Pring and Paul Roehrig recently recorded an excellent short vid