Posts

Showing posts from December, 2013

A New Perspective on Enterprise Mobility and 2014 Requirements, Part 1

Image
Many of us have spent years (some of us decades) working on enterprise mobility designs, development and implementations.  These projects, for the most part, started as tactical implementations for specific LOBs (lines of business).  They involved usually one app, connected to a specific back end system and database.  Over the years these projects evolved to include multiple data sources and business processes.  Today, CIOs and IT departments are being tasked with mobilizing the entire enterprise IT environment.  This task, I propose, requires a new way of looking at enterprise mobility. Earlier this month (December 2013) I spoke on a panel with Forrester Research's John McCarthy in London.  We were discussing the current and future state of enterprise mobility.  McCarthy stated that 2014 would be the year of "complex mobility" and would cause "Y2K-like" events in many enterprises.  He added that ERP like investments may be required in many enterprises in orde

Operational Tempo, Faster than Real-Time, Enterprise Mobility and the Next Y2K Event

Image
I often discuss the concept of operational tempo  in my digital transformation and mobile strategies sessions.  I define operational tempo as the speed or pace of operations.  The advent of broadband Internet, mobile devices and mobile applications have dramatically changed our expectations for the operational tempo of businesses.  None of us are willing to wait 8 minutes for a response on a product availability query from our smartphone.  None of us want our turn-by-turn navigation app on our iPhones to update only once every three minutes.  We seek real-time operational tempos, or perhaps even faster than real-time. How can a mobile application be even faster than real-time?  It can know what you need before you even ask!  Mobile apps that are context aware can predict what you will need without you even asking for it. Let's imagine a service technician driving to his/her next job site.  The apps (and connected back-office systems) review traffic flows, guides the service tech

Digital Transformation, 3D Laser Scanning of Assets, Mobile Devices and Field Services

Image
It this short video I share more on the merging of the physical world with the digital and how that is impacting industries, markets and businesses in many different areas.  Learn about 3D Laser Scanning to create digital representations of physical objects to improve field services and asset management.  Enjoy! Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFKfsE28Lms&feature=share&list=UUGizQCw2Zbs3eTLwp7icoqw ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation Cognizant View my profile on LinkedIn Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Browse the Mobile Solution Directory 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 digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with

Digital Transformation, Mobile Technologies and Customer Engagement Models - Transilio

Image
Imagine this scenario if you would - you pick-up a prescription at the pharmacy.  At the POS (point-of-sale) the pharmacist asks permission to send informational video clips related to the medicine you are taking and the health issue you have.  These are sent to your mobile device, tablet and/or laptop.  You agree.  At 6 PM you receive a text or email with a link to a short video that opens with a greeting from your local pharmacist and then continues educating you about the medicine and the correct way to take it.  The following day, at 6 PM, you receive another education video from your local pharmacist with information about exercise and other dietary advice related to your medicine and illness.  This continues for 5 days on a schedule. This same technology platform can be used to send short form video clips of information, on a schedule, related to any complex product or issue - think human resources, financial services, technology, equipment, etc.  This technology platform repre

Merging the Physical with the Digital for Optimized Productivity

Image
I write and speak a great deal about digital transformation , however I don't think I have yet clearly defined it and its relevance to businesses.  Let me step back and start by saying my working definition of digital transformation is the application of digital technologies in a manner that enables new types of innovation, businesses models, behaviors, products and services.  Often digital transformations disrupt the status quo, traditional business paradigms and accepted best practices as a result of the merging of the physical world with the digital.  The process of merging, changes many things and we will consider a few of them here. Figure 1 In a study conducted in October 2013 by Cognizant, 247 executives were surveyed and shared that 73% of core business processes will need to be modernized to meet cost, agility and new market pressures over the next 24 to 36 months.  I believe these "new market" pressures are a direct result of digital transformations happe

Thinking about Enterprise Mobility, Digital Transformation and Doctrine

Image
Last week I was in Europe speaking and teaching enterprise mobility and digital transformation strategies.  I worked with several large multinational companies where I heard the same questions asked, "How do we convince our executives that we must change, and invest in change?  How do we establish a culture of innovation, capable of winning in a world of digital transformation?"  The change they were referring to had to do with the convergence of the physical world with the digital and its impact on markets.  These changes are introducing new ways of selling, marketing, manufacturing and moving products in a digital world that is rapidly being transformed as a result of innovations in social, mobile, analytics and cloud technologies.  We are seeing entire industries and marketplaces turned upside down as a result of these innovations.  How can companies deal with all these changes at the pace required to remain competitive? I have been pondering those questions since.  How

Mobile Commerce News Weekly - Week of December 8, 2013

Image
The Mobile Commerce News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news, articles and links related to mobile commerce and marketing, mobile payments, mobile money, e-wallets, mobile banking, mobile ads and mobile security that I run across each week.  I am specifically targeting market size and market trend information. Also read Enterprise Mobility Asia News Weekly Also read Field Mobility News Weekly Also read Mobile Cyber Security News Weekly Also read Mobile Health News Weekly Also read Mobility News Weekly Looking for an enterprise mobility solution?  Read the Mobile Solution Directory Here ! Digital security firm Oberthur Technologies has partnered with mobile services specialists mBank in a project aimed at bringing together the m:Wallet solution from OT’s MoreMagic subsidiary and mBank’s experience in branchless banking, to provide mobile branchless banking including merchant payment, money transfer, loans, credit and insurance.   Read Original

Mobile is Causing a Y2K Event in the Enterprise - Forrester Research

Image
I had the privilege last week to present alongside Forrester Research's enterprise mobility expert John McCarthy in London.  I was able to write a full page of notes from his presentation that I share here with you. The Age of Cheap and Cheerful Mobile is Over!  It's now going to be complex and innovative which equals expensive. "Enterprise Mobility will be as transformative as the introduction of ERPs,” ~ John McCarthy.  Seems CIOs will use enterprise mobility as a driver for change to transform old systems that cannot support the real-time and speed requirements of a mobile era. Smart products (i.e. Internet of Things/M2M) are much cheaper today because of the evolution of mobile platforms and security. Mobile apps guide people in their physical world.  Merging physical context with virtual intelligence to take the next most likely action (context aware). IT Systems will become much more proactive, because they will be context aware and know your patterns and hab

Reducing Conjecture with Enterprise Mobility and M2M

Image
Mission critical enterprise mobility is all about removing blind spots from people and processes. ~Kevin Benedict The competitive battlefield of 2014 will increasingly involve data.  It will be about collecting, transmitting, analyzing and reporting its meaning faster and more efficiently than competitors.  If you can digitally represent locations, events, activities, resources, job skills, assets, schedules, materials, job statuses, etc., in remote and mobile locations accurately, then you have the ability to introduce incredibly powerful algorithms and AI (artificial intelligence) capabilities that will greatly enhance your ability to optimize processes automatically within your software systems.  WOW!  That was a mouth full!  If you have hundreds of locations, projects and job sites and thousands of assets and remote workers, your future viability as a business is likely to depend on your ability to rapidly and efficiently introduce AI into this environment. Let me introduce a

The Master Plan for Enterprise Mobility and the Role of Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence

Enterprise mobility and digital transformations are ultimately about enabling AI (artificial intelligence) and human collaboration to provide better and faster data driven decision making. ~ Kevin Benedict If you agree with the statement above (it's not mandatory), then what does it take to actually deliver on it?  I believe this is where digital transformation and artificial intelligence comes into play.  First, let's discuss digital transformation.  Wikipedia's (one of my most favorite sites) definition is, "Digital transformation refers to the changes associated with the application of digital technology (i.e. going paperless) in all aspects of human society." Geography and locations can be digitized through digital maps, satellite images, overlays, GPS tracking and on-the-ground sensors (with embedded wireless chips)  that report on all kinds of measurements and activities to a central server.  The status of machines can even be monitored through wireless

The Mobile Strategy and Management Challenge

Image
Believe it or not, a fair number of people like my workshops on mobile strategy.  The problem though is a fair number don't.  Why?  Sometimes developers come into my sessions, stay for 15 minutes and then leave.  They were expecting to learn how to develop mobile apps, or how to secure and integrate them with back-office systems.  They had no interest in learning about enterprise wide mobile strategies. Enterprise wide mobile strategies are increasingly a business and IT leadership issue.  They involve brand, product and service strategies.  They involve plant operations, logistics and transportation.  They involve asset management, field operations and sales.  Enterprise wide mobile strategies touch every corner of the business.  Enterprise mobility is no longer an IT issue, or just a technical discussion.  Enterprise mobility is a C level discussion today.  Because of this mobile solution vendors must change their marketing strategies to address the needs of both business and I

Kevin Benedict Speaking with Forrester Research in London on December 6th

Image
Greetings All, I am speaking along with Forrester Research's John McCarthy on mobile led transformation in London on Friday, December 6th from 4 PM-7 PM.  If you are interested in attending the details follow: ************************************************************* Kevin Benedict , Head Analyst for Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud (SMAC) Cognizant View my profile on LinkedIn Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Browse the Mobile Solution Directory 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.