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Showing posts from February, 2016

Digital Transformation - A Revolution in Precision Through IoT, Mobility and Analytics

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Fog of War Sensors allow us to digitally monitor our physical world, and take real-time action on the data from afar.  Plant managers, in fact, can manage multiple manufacturing locations around the world in real-time via sensors and Internet connectivity.  Drone pilots in the Nevada desert; project military force by flying combat missions around the world via sensors and remote control.  Trucking companies can track and manage, via telematics, thousands of trucks, trailers and their cargo all across the country in real-time.  As automation increases due to advances in sensors, bandwidth, artificial intelligence, algorithms and machine learning - precision becomes not only possible, but also all-important. The “fog of war” describes a chaotic and competitive environment filled with unknowns, uncertainty and imprecise data.  In a not so distant past, military leaders suffering in the "fog of war," desperately sought answers to four key questions: Where are my enemies?

Competing in Digital Transformation and Mobility

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The C suite must understand the battle they are fighting before they can develop and implement a winning digital transformation strategy.  The commercial battlefield is data, and the effectiveness and speed of competitors’ information logistics systems will make all the difference.  The C suite’s overall doctrine must be achieving information dominance in their target markets.   Information, however, is trivia unless it results in correct insights, which leads to right actions at the right time.  In the book, The Principles of War for the Information Age, author Robert Leonard writes, “If I can develop and pursue my plan to defeat you faster than you can execute your plan to defeat me, then your plan is unimportant.”  It’s not the ability to collect more data faster, or analyze it faster, it is the ability to understand and act on it faster.  Businesses that can “understand and act with speed” will dominate those which are slower.  In mobile commerce, the ability to identify the m

Digital Transformation and Mobility - Macro-Forces and Timing

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Economies are changing.  Industries are changing. Markets are changing. Consumers are changing and shopping differently. As competitive advantages evolve into market standards, areas of competition move. Today we see fields of competition move to data utilization and digital transformation initiatives. When considering how your company needs to digitally transform, there are three very important questions to ask: How am I defining digital transformation? What is motivating me to digitally transform? Why should I digitally transform now? As a definition for digital transformation I use - rethinking, redesigning and restructuring technology and business models to more quickly and effectively respond to and engage employees, partners and customers in digital environments. To answer the questions about motivation, I propose there are eight key forces at work today that are motivating digital transformation: Real-time mobile apps and data Real-time sensor data (IoT) Real-ti