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Showing posts with the label digital disruption

The End Game of Digital Transformation

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Digital transformation requires participants to have a vision for and understanding of what they are trying to achieve and why. In fact, the lack of a clear digital strategy is the second biggest mistake companies make in digital transformation, right behind moving too slowly, according to the middle managers we surveyed. Digital strategies, however, should evolve out of a documented, enterprise-focused digital transformation “doctrine.” The purpose of a digital transformation doctrine is to create a unified understanding of why digital transformation is needed. An organization’s doctrine should influence its strategy, its operating model and the tactics it uses to compete. A simple example of a doctrine could be: The digital transformation of our marketplace is changing the behaviors of our customers and the nature of our competition.  We must embrace and respond to these changes by creating a digitally agile business, and employing digital technologies and strategies. We will ac

Merging the Physical with the Digital for Optimized Productivity

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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

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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

Enterprise Mobility is a Component of Digital Transformation

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Companies don't want enterprise mobility.  They want increased sales, lower expenses, better products, improved customer service and more profits.  They want to be survivors during this period of massive digital transformations.  What do I mean by digital transformation?  I mean the fact that entire industries are being changed before our eyes because the physical world is merging with the digital.  I mean big data analytics, mobile applications and broadband connectivity to the internet through mobile devices that introduce completely new business models, processes, products and markets.   In order to be a survivor in this competitive climate, companies must have a clear understanding and vision of what digital transformation is, and how it is impacting their industry, market, products and company. I met with a large national paper manufacturer today.  They have yet to start any mobile application projects internally.  I wonder if they have ever read about the impact of digital

The Race for Sensors to Supply Big Data and Enterprise Mobility

Today's competitive marketplace requires companies to collect more data, analyze more data and utilize more data to improve customer interactions and engagements.  Mobile devices are exceptionally designed to assist in this effort.  Apple's iPhone comes with an inventory of sensors: Touch Voice GPS Proximity Ambient Light Accelerometer Magnetometer Gyroscopic I listened to an IT expert in the CIA give a presentation on how they could use the sensors on a typical smartphones to uniquely identify the walking style and pace of individuals.  For example, the intelligence agency may suspect a person carrying a phone is a bad guy.  They can remotely switch on the smartphone's sensors and record the walking style and pace of the person carrying the phone and match it with their database records.  SCARY ISN'T IT!? Those are just a few of the sensors available that integrate the physical world with the digital.  Read this article I wrote to learn more about the i

Strategic Enough to Matter, Code Halos and Mobile Apps

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Gartner IT Budget Forecast If a massive herd of elephants were charging at you from 20 meters away, would taking a small step forwards or backwards improve your safety? NO!  In many situations it seems that is how companies are approaching mobile strategies.  They are staring massive marketplace transformation in the face, but responding by just starting a few mobile app POCs (proof of concepts). In James McQuivey's book titled, Digital Disruption:Unleashing the Next Wave of Innovation , he states that competition in business is rapidly moving to a focus on knowledge of and engagement with customers .  Companies are developing an understanding of " code halos " (their customers' digital footprint or history of activities on the web, at a location and in various database systems) and they must now use this data to better engage with customers through their customers' " engagement format of choice " which is increasingly on a mobile device. Finding

Crowdsourcing, Collaboration and Enterprise Mobility

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I spent time with a company recently that identified one of their strategic initiatives for 2013 as being crowdsourcing.  Are you familiar with the term?  Here is Wikipedia's definition, "Crowdsourcing is the practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people." This company, we'll call ACME Inc., is purposely asking their employees to contribute ideas which are then reviewed, voted on, and the winners identified and rewarded.  I love it!  Now to be sure this is all very new to ACME Inc., but I applaud their thinking!  If employees know their ideas can make a difference and be recognized, and that actual thinking will be rewarded, then the sky is the limit on innovative thinking within a company!  All too often employees think only certain bestowed titles and roles in the company are paid to think, while the rest of the brain power in the company is put on sleep mode. I am here to tell you - in the comi

Swarming, Mobility, Speed and Digital Disruptions

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Digital disruptors like social media, mobile communications, analytics and cloud services are introducing crazy new dynamics into our world.  These dynamics are impacting our industries, markets, businesses, management disciplines, politics and even our culture today.  I believe we have only just begun to recognize some of the impacts of these disruptions.    We use Facebook to schedule the protests, Twitter to coordinate and YouTube to tell the world. ~ Egyptian Activist One of the impacts of digital disruptors is the increasing emergence of swarming or swarm intelligence. Here is a definition, “Swarming involves the use of decentralized forces against an object or opponent, in a manner that emphasizes mobility, communication, autonomy and coordination or synchronization.” ~ Wikipedia Swarming, although perhaps unrecognized, is precisely what the Egyptian Activist was referring to in the above quote.  The ability for autonomous or semi-autonomous groups to

Digital Disruption and Enterprise Mobility

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This week in the March 18, 2013, edition of The Wall Street Journal was an article titled Built Not to Las t by Alan Murray.  This article reviewed the book Digital Disruption by Forrester executive James McQuivey.  I loved the article and have now downloaded the book to read in its entirety.  I guess it is true that people like to hear what they already believe.  McQuivey identifies many of the trends I am also seeing in the market today. In his book McQuivey argues that technology has made it possible to launch companies without large amounts of capital, proprietary labor pools or vast swaths of intellectual property. Increasingly, anyone with a powerful idea can assemble the tools to make his idea a reality. Here are some of my favorite excerpts from Murray's article: "The only defense to this massive attack [from digital disruption competitors], Mr. McQuivey says, is to mimic the enemy.   The consequences for existing companies, if you believe Mr. McQuivey, are e