Constellation Connected Enterprise 2017's first day continued with another series of expert panels on exponential technologies. Here are some of the highlights from the afternoon's sessions.
How to change business models in the modern age:
One panel discussed how companies with entrenched cultures and business processes can successfuly pivot to new ones. The key lies in the perspective and orientation one takes when seeking change, panelists said.
"We ask who is the customer, and what are they really buying," said Jason Wild, SVP of global innovation at Salesforce. "Are they buying software licenses? Maybe, but what we want them to buy is digital transformation. If it's [an Amazon customer], are they buying 450 SKUs? Or are they buying convenience?"
True change is created outside the boundaries of traditional structures, said Scott Pulsipher, president of Western Governors University. "If you ask the people who are running the current business, they're in a world of constraints," he said. "If the goal you have is to design something for the future, but also maintain ongoing concerns, you will never prevail."
Samsung's software innovation team, which is based in Silicon Valley and not Korea, reflects this mentality. "My job is 100 percent to defend the guys I hire out here," said Samsung corporate SVP Sunny Kim. He cited a Samsung's Family Hub line of refrigerators, which include interactive touchscreens where family members can share calendars, notes and otherwise stay organized. The software that went into driving that fridge was created by a four-member team in the U.S., one that innately understood the longstanding tradition of refrigerators as a means for familys to share information, Kim said.
Pulsipher of WGU pointed to Amazon's approach to financing third-party sellers on its platform. Rather than look at it as purely an opportunity to make money off interest, Amazon leveraged its superior trove of operational data about its sellers—from volume of sales to return percentages and customer reviews—to make determinations for credit much more quickly and with less risk than traditional scoring methods. Amazon benefits not only from financing fees but increased revenue-sharing as third parties sell more. "How did this happen?" Pulsipher said. "Someone just looked at it differently. You have to look around corners."
Augmented and virtual reality rising:
Is there serious potential for commercial applications of augmented and virtual reality in the enterprise? Yes indeed, if you look at the example of Pokemon Go. The augmented reality smartphone game generated a whopping $600 million in just three months during its initial release last year, providing an irrevocable proof point that end-users want to interact with their devices in this manner. Panelists at CCE mulled the broader implications of augmented and virtual reality in enterprise applications.
The subject of using Youtube videos to figure out how to build things, cook recipes and perform other tasks—such as fixing a leaky faucet—came up. Augmented reality applications, which can annotate and overlay images on videos in real time, change the stakes. "It's a Sunday night, you've got a plumbing problem," said Brian Katz, enterprise architect and strategist at Oath. "What if instead of making a house call and charging you $100, he could walk you through it [with augmented reality] for $20?"
Making your brand iconic:
There are millions of brands and products in the world, but only a relative few can be considered iconic. Is there a prescription for creating iconic products? While not quite a blueprint, a set of guiding philosophies does exist, said Soon Yu, author of the new book Iconic Advantage.
An iconic product stands out uniquely, relevantly, but also timelessly, Yu noted. "Over time, you become the standard bearer for that distinctive relevance." As people, we all have the ability to be distinct through a particular legal entity, namely our signatures, Yu added. "When you think about your business, and the clients you're looking for, what's your signature? If I was to poll three of your customers and ask them, would they say the same thing?"
Signatures can have many facets, such as features—take Nike's air bubble sneaker soles. There's also style, evidenced by Burberry's skillful use of classic English plaid patterns. Even silouhettes can have a signature: Look no further than a bottle of Corona beer with a lime wedge stuck in the top.
Perhaps the most important aspect of a product's signature is the experience, Yu said. He pointed to Apple's device packaging, which many buyers end up keeping rather than discarding in the trash. "It's a work of art," Yu said. "It's something of beauty that's worth keeping."