Gavin is the Founder of Disruptors Co, one of Australia’s leading independent strategy and innovation companies. Gavin advises firms on strategy, marketing, product development and innovation. He is also a member of the Orbits program, the influencer network of award winning analyst and advisory firm, Constellation Research. Gavin advises boards and leadership on innovation strategy, marketing, data-driven product development and corporate venturing. Gavin is on the board of Vibewire, a youth-led social enterprise based in Sydney, Australia and on the Technology Advisory Group for Good2Give – the workplace giving platform. ...
Read moreThrough Vibewire I have been working with young people for over seven years. It’s a not for profit association whose aim is to be a launchpad for young change makers. In the time that I have been involved, I have been astounded by the way that, given an opportunity and some nurturing, young people can truly accelerate their professional and personal trajectory. We have run hundreds of events – some large scale and some barely more than a meeting. We have provided project experience and internships for hundreds of people who have gone on bigger and better things. And we have seen dozens of social impact and tech startups incubate, grow and scale.
But it is largely a thankless task. Just as soon as we launch one cohort of young people into the world, another comes along. The challenges remain the same:
And in many ways, Vibewire’s programs of spaces (coworking for young people), skilling (workshops), startups (mentoring and support) and showcasing (amplifying the work of young people through events and online promotion) have been designed to consistently deliver these outcomes. But it’s difficult to maintain. Hard to attract sponsorship and support. After all, Vibewire has always been youth-led and youth-run, and as such, our teams are constantly learning the ropes. Learning what it takes to build corporate relationships. Learning what it takes to deliver on project promises. Learning the business of creativity and business.
I am often asked what keeps me involved.
My involvement in Vibewire is beautifully summed up in this great speech by Eric Thomas. It’s a gift of love. An investment in the next generation. And a mark of respect for the futures of the young people who come through Vibewire’s doors.
Bottom line: Enterprises are impatient to translate their investments in cloud apps and the insight they provide into business outcomes and solid results today.
The following insights are based on a series of discussions with C-level executives and revenue team leaders across several industries regarding their need for an Intelligent Cloud:
Welcome to the Era of the Intelligent Cloud
The more enterprises seek out insights to drive greater business outcomes, the more it becomes evident the era of the Intelligent Cloud has arrived. C-level execs are looking to scale beyond descriptive analytics that defines past performance patterns. What many are after is an entirely new level of insights that are prescriptive and cognitive. Getting greater insight that leads to more favorable business outcomes is what the Intelligent Cloud is all about. The following Intelligent Cloud Maturity Model summarizes the maturity levels of enterprises attempting to gain greater insights and drive more profitable business outcomes.
Why The Intelligent Cloud Now?
Line-of-business leaders across all industries want more from their cloud apps than they are getting today. They want the ability to gain greater insights with prescriptive and cognitive analytics. They’re also asking for new apps that give them the flexibility of changing selling behaviors quickly. In short, everyone wants to get to the orchestration layer of the maturity model, and many are stuck staring into a figurative rearview mirror, using just descriptive data to plan future strategies. The future of enterprise cloud computing is all about being able to deliver prescriptive and cognitive intelligence.
Consider the following takeaways:
Who Is Delivering The Intelligent Cloud Today?
Just how far advanced the era of the Intelligent Cloud is became apparent during the Microsoft Build Developer Conference last week in San Francisco. A fascinating area discussed was Microsoft Cognitive Services and their implications on the Cortana Intelligence Suite. Microsoft is offering a test drive of Cognitive Services here. Combining Cognitive Services and the Cortana Intelligence Suite, Microsoft has created a framework for delivering the Intelligent Cloud. The graphic below shows the Cortana Analytics Suite.
Apttus, a leader in Quote-to-Cash automation, cloud-based enterprise software is announcing the Apttus Intelligent Cloud today. The Apttus Intelligent Cloud drives desired behaviors from everyone on the revenue team and provides prescriptive information to company decision makers to significantly enhance Apttus’ category-defining Quote-to-Cash applications, maximizing revenue for Apttus customers. The Apttus Intelligent Cloud includes the full Apttus Quote-to-Cash Suite, Incentives Suite, and Intelligence Suite. The graphic below defines the Apttus Intelligent Cloud. In the interest of full disclosure, I am an employee of Apttus.
Holger Mueller is VP and Principal Analyst for Constellation Research for the fundamental enablers of the cloud, IaaS, PaaS and next generation Applications, with forays up the tech stack into BigData and Analytics, HR Tech, and sometimes SaaS. Holger provides strategy and counsel to key clients, including Chief Information Officers, Chief Technology Officers, Chief Product Officers, Chief HR Officers, investment analysts, venture capitalists, sell-side firms, and technology buyers. Coverage Areas: Future of Work Tech Optimization & Innovation Background: Before joining Constellation Research, Mueller was VP of Products for NorthgateArinso, a KKR company. There, he led the transformation of products to the cloud and laid the foundation for new Business Process as a…...
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LONDON—13 April 2016—NetSuite Inc. (NYSE: N), the industry's leading provider of cloud-based financials / ERP and omnichannel commerce software suites, today announced the expansion of its business operations into The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg (Benelux). This accelerated expansion includes the opening of NetSuite’s Benelux headquarters in Amsterdam; a strategic alliance with Deloitte in Belgium; and new customers such as Transavia, ESOMAR and Qardio in Holland and Zembro in Belgium. In conjunction, NetSuite unveiled NetSuite OneWorld for Benelux-headquartered companies. This move is in response to the growing opportunity for cloud ERP and rising demand for NetSuite in the Benelux region, particularly from innovative, fast growing and international businesses.MyPOV – Good intro, summarizing well what NetSuite is up to. Good to see a physical presence with a headquarters, good to have customers in the first paragraph. And yes, the BeNeLux region has attracted an above share of international company headquarters, for a number of reasons.
“Our new Benelux operations are the latest steps in NetSuite’s European expansion and our commitment to providing businesses in the region with software and services that meet both their regional and global needs,” said NetSuite CEO Zach Nelson.MyPOV – Good quote from Nelson, addressing the usual European concern with US based vendors – are they really committed to the complexities in the region...
Since its inception in the UK in 2002, NetSuite has established a strong footprint in Europe and has taken the lead as the #1 cloud ERP software vendor in the region. Due to NetSuite’s powerful OneWorld product, NetSuite has a large number of global enterprise customers operating subsidiaries in Europe and in the Benelux region. In the Benelux region alone, NetSuite has more than 850 subsidiaries and legal entities of companies like Misys, American Express Global Business Travel, Commvault, and Meltwater running their mission critical business processes on NetSuite OneWorld. The NetSuite OneWorld solution provides companies with multi-subsidiary management and global financial capabilities to run business operations in the region in a two tier model, implementing NetSuite at the subsidiary level while maintaining their legacy, on-premise systems at headquarters.MyPOV – Good to see the traction for NetSuite – but also interesting to see that the vendor has followed its customers – who have taking the OneWorld product earlier with no in product vendor support to run countries on the European continent. Given NetSuite arrived to the UK 14 years ago – a very prudent expansion strategy for NetSuite, slower even than e.g. client server era based expansion in Europe of e.g. Oracle or PeopleSoft.
Market OpportunitiesMyPOV – Always good to quote the market opportunity. Local vendors with presence of SAP and Oracle on the high end, Unit4 all the way to specialists like Raet will see a new competitor that usually isn’t shy in the market place.
Offering a friendly business environment and home to fast-growth companies in technology, media, banking and other industries that have embraced cloud computing, Benelux represents the latest step in NetSuite’s commitment to Europe. Gartner estimates the ERP applications market for Netherlands and Belgium to be $724.1 million in 2015, growing to $849.8 million in 2018 (Source: Gartner, “Enterprise Software Forecast, 2015 Q4,” December 2015).
“Businesses in the region are already seeing the advantages that a flexible, scalable system with rich international capabilities like NetSuite can provide,” said Mark Woodhams, SVP & Managing Director of NetSuite EMEA. “We’re excited to help more businesses in the Benelux countries transform their operations with the #1 cloud ERP.”MyPOV – Good quote from Woodhams. BeNeLux companies will certainly see the value of a cloud based offering.
European DatacentresMyPOV – A key move by NetSuite to address the European data residency and privacy concerns. With the invalidation of the EU / USA Safe Harbor act, the installment of the Privacy Shield and related uncertainty (more here) can only be countered with EU based data centers (nice move on the localization to British English on the headline!). NetSuite has been relatively late to have EU based data centers, so good to see the vendor addressing this in late 2015. A must have table stake for business in Europe.
NetSuite opened two major European datacentres late last year, one in Amsterdam, Netherlands and the other in Dublin, Ireland. The two datacentres support NetSuite's growth in Europe and meet the needs of the increasing number of European companies that are adopting NetSuite's cloud to more efficiently manage and transform their businesses. Both datacentres are fully operational with live customers. NetSuite has started provisioning new EU customers in the EU, and plans to move existing EU customers to the datacentres in the coming weeks.
New PartnershipsMyPOV – Good to see a partnership announcement as part of the initial come to market. Shows NetSuite has done its homework before the announcements. It also speaks to the power of the NetSuite brand and reputation that the vendor could sign up a major partner like Deloitte.
NetSuite and Deloitte partnered to extend the strategic alliance to Belgium. Deloitte Consulting in Belgium provides implementation, finance transformation, change management and a full breadth of consulting services to businesses in the Belgian market seeking to gain business efficiency, grow revenues and expand globally with NetSuite cloud ERP.
In addition, NetSuite also has a vibrant partner ecosystem in the region. Solution providers such as E-Litt and ERP FastForward have helped NetSuite establish a strong footprint in the Benelux region.MyPOV – Good to see there is more than Deloitte in the partner system.
New CustomersMyPOV – Always powerful to have customers on a press release – especially when it is the launch to new countries / regions. Good to see different industries and different countries covered.
New customers announced today include Transavia, ESOMAR, Qardio, and Zembro.
Transavia Airlines, a leading low-cost carrier serving Europe, has selected NetSuite OneWorld to help execute its ambitious plans for growth. Transavia will replace a legacy AS 400-based system at its office in the Netherlands and an Infor system in France with NetSuite OneWorld. Transavia plans to use NetSuite to run its mission-critical business processes across Europe including financials, financial consolidation, multi-subsidiary management, procure-to-pay, reporting, and support for multi-language (English, Dutch and French), multi-currency and multi-country tax compliance.
ESOMAR, the global trade association for market, social and opinion researchers founded in 1948, has implemented NetSuite OneWorld to drive global business and membership growth. ESOMAR is now relying on NetSuite OneWorld for enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM) and website content management after replacing Exact ERP, an on-premise CRM and a content management system (CMS) that used to support its website. NetSuite OneWorld can deliver ESOMAR key benefits including increased efficiency and a real-time view of its business across its 5,000 individual and 500 corporate members in more than 130 countries and business intelligence for management at its headquarters in Amsterdam, as well as 50 of its local representatives.
Qardio, fast growing smart health solution provider, has implemented NetSuite OneWorld to fuel its business growth and expansion into new global markets. Qardio uses NetSuite OneWorld to manage its mission-critical business processes including accounting, financial consolidation, procure to pay, order management, inventory management, customer relationship management (CRM), multi-currency (US Dollars, British Pounds, Euros), and multi-country tax compliance across its head office in San Francisco, and subsidiaries in the UK, the Netherlands and Asia.
Zembro, the Belgium-based creator of the first intelligent armband specially designed for the elderly, has selected NetSuite to meet its ERP and CRM needs. The company is now running its mission-critical business processes including billing, inventory management, customer relationship management (CRM) and multi-currency management for Euros and British Pounds on NetSuite.
New Product: NetSuite OneWorld for Benelux-Headquartered CompaniesMyPOV – Good to see not only sales and marketing and delivery extension – but also product extension. Obviously doing business only pitching NetSuite to subsidiaries is missing out on a lot of the market. But having the necessary product extension and localization ready in time shows good timing.
NetSuite OneWorld gives today’s businesses the ability to expand and transform their organisations and reinvent their business models to meet the ever-changing demands of their markets and the expectations of their customers. NetSuite OneWorld supports tax compliance in more than 100 countries, 20 languages and 190 currencies, along with the capabilities for global businesses to transact in more than 200 countries and dependent territories around the world. It allows multinational corporations in the region to more efficiently manage their subsidiaries without the high upfront costs and deployment hassles of on-premise software.
NetSuite OneWorld for Benelux-headquartered companies is localised and designed to meet the business needs, regulatory and tax compliance of regional businesses, and brings them an agile and flexible cloud software application to run their mission-critical business processes with unmatched global financial capabilities in the industry. This comprehensive set of capabilities include: global currency and accounting, comprehensive tax compliance, country-specific tax support, country-specific reporting, local bank and payment support, local language support and robust development platform that allows businesses in the region to customise the software to their specific needs and integrate with other third-party applications. For more information about NetSuite OneWorld for Benelux-headquartered companies please see the separate release issued today.MyPOV – Good to see all statutory, regulatory and localization demands addressed. Not a trivial task and good to see it achieved in product today. Next step will be go lives of customers, and never an area for a vendor to rest.
“The Benelux countries are home to many vibrant, innovative and fast-growing businesses – whether they be local disruptors or regional HQs of global organisations - exactly the sort of organisations that have created efficiencies, grown and transformed their operations with NetSuite,” said Craig Sullivan, Senior VP of Enterprise and International Products for NetSuite. “We see the region as the natural place to expand and hope to become NetSuite’s next European success story.” […]MyPOV – Good quote from Sullivan. A common beachhead for US vendors, avoiding the larger and usually more demanding larger economies of Germany, France and Italy in a first step.
Good to see NetSuite expanding into Europe. For our taste the vendor may have waited long, possibly even too long to achieve a similar market position as in North America. But Europe is expensive not only for sales and marketing activities but also for the product and operational extensions required to be build and maintained. The good news is that NetSuite has been able to watch the market for a long time from the UK, so we can assume the vendor knows exactly what it is getting into. Europe has entrenched vendors, starting with SAP and every country has local vendors with strong customer bases, take e.g. Unit4 in The Netherlands and Belgium. But NetSuite has the understanding of more in tune with the 21st century business processes such as omnichannel support and more. As these practices become required best practices in Europe over the next years, it will be good to see NetSuite leveraging this advantage.
On the concern side, NetSuite now needs a European roadmap. European companies are export oriented and very well connected, a common market with the E.U. has created inter-dependencies beyond what NetSuite customers in North America are used to with NAFTA. The Top 3 trading partner for The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg is… Germany. And close behind France. So BeNeLux based customers will ask for support coming for these countries soon – pretty sure NetSuite is aware of that and has a plan.
But for now congrats to NetSuite who has achieved a remarkable ‘all in’ the BeNeLux from a go to market (local headquarters), product (localized version), services (partnerships with service providers) and delivery (local data centers) capability. Few vendors get that all done for a market launch and seldom we can dissect such a complete offering in a press release, so congratulations. Now we will be watching for the next round of local customer go lives.
Carole oversees the Constellation Executive Network, an executive community for innovative senior leaders who value strategic guidance from trusted advisors who understand the power of disruptive technologies. Carole brings over 15 years of marketing, strategic account management, and operations experience, specializing in high technology and professional services. She holds a BA from Santa Clara University and a MBA from Thunderbird, School of Global Management. ...
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We live in a business world where keeping ahead of the competition matters. If you’re not a first mover, you at least want to be the best mover, the fastest to market, or the best in your class. Incremental change is applauded, but the true rewards go to those who seek to transform organizations and execute.
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Wal-Mart Profit, Revenue Beat Expectations; US. Sales Up More Than Expected. Yahoo Finance
Big Box Throwdown: Target Vs. Walmart. Forbes
It’s been a rocky ride, but Wal-Mart has pulled out of a heavy stock slide. Looking back to June 2015, Fortune splashed the news with a provocative article on Wal-Mart’s newly appointed CEO titled “The Man Who’s Reinventing Walmart.” It kicked off by stating, “CEO Doug McMillon may be the best-prepared executive to lead Wal-Mart since Sam Walton. Here’s how he’s guiding the retail giant in the Age of Disruption.”
McMillon and his executive team spent time with Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg when they visited the Facebook office back in 2014. What struck me is this endorsement because she’s considered by many to be the “holy grail” among astute, truly capable leaders. Sandberg stated, "Usually when you meet leaders, you get a sense that they’re focused on one or the other: execution of their current business or innovative ways to grow. What’s interesting about spending time with Doug is that he’s clearly on both. His conversations, his questions—he’s on both.”
Okay, this is Wal-Mart– a massive company. Or course the CEO is going to be noticed. But everyone has to start somewhere. Now ask yourself, who doesn’t want to be the “best prepared” or get recognized for making positive waves within an industry or company?
Whenever I read Fortune magazine, I learn something new about business, leadership, technology and startups. It’s one of my standard go-to sources on up-and-comers, most admired companies or leaders, and the biggest or brightest of the bunch. Wal-Mart’s CEO now has Sheryl Sandberg as one of his go-to resources.
Consider your go-to sources for information. Like any good leader, you probably have a list of sources that serve as advisors - whether it’s your personal board of directors or your actual company board of directors. And with any good board of directors, you need one that has a representative mix of leaders and trusted advisors who have expertise in different disciplines to help ensure that you look at all the angles when working on solving a problem or honing your strategy.
One of Constellation Research’s best-kept secrets is that our analysts regularly serve as go-to advisors for executives and business professionals around the world who work for innovative big brands, such as Emirates, or global technology leaders, including SAP. They’re sought after as qualified judges skilled at selecting top technology or leadership award winners for the likes of the 2016 IBM Beacon Awards, the Direct Marketing News 2016 Marketing and Tech Innovation Awards, and of course, our own 2016 SuperNova Awards that recognize leaders in disruptive technologies – this just scratches the surface.
As Holger Mueller, one of our key analysts, pointed out in our virtual water cooler, “the product creation/innovation aspect is key for enterprise success - for all CXOs.” To achieve this, you want to stay focused and skilled at execution, while continuously looking externally to identify the best and fastest way to innovate.
One of the quickest ways to stay on top of disruptive technologies and powerful new business models is to connect with other executives and savvy analysts, like those in the Constellation Executive Network. You get both a sounding board and the option for getting advice any time from our analysts as your trusted advisors.
Constellation analysts focus on studying different technologies and the business outcomes gained by making use of the right ones at the right time. Their raison d’etre is to share this knowledge with business leaders who don’t settle for the status quo, want to make a major impact in this world, and want to get things done quickly because there’s no time to waste in this Age of Digital Disruption.
We’re now offering a free trial to our Constellation Executive Network mobile app for qualified executives. It delivers unrestricted, uninterrupted access to Constellation Insights to keep you ahead of the curve. You’ll gain an insider’s vantage point to content and unique destinations like the IBM Design Center that Constellation analyst Alan Lepofsky just visited in Austin, Texas.
My name is Russell Scibetti and I have an extensive background in sports business, including CRM and database marketing, interactive and digital marketing, social media, corporate sponsorships and activation, and applied market research. From 2007 to 2014, I worked for Arizona State Athletics, Comcast-Spectacor (Philadelphia Flyers) and the New York Jets to manage and implement CRM, database marketing, market research and other technology-based sales and marketing initiatives. In 2014, I joined KORE Software as their VP of Product Strategy, where I am responsible for the strategic vision, planning and development of the KORE ProSports Ticketing, Sponsorship and Suites/Premium software products. I earned my MBA in Sports Business from the W.P. Carey…...
Read moreI had the opportunity to give a Competitive Advantage talk at this year’s MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference and they recently posted a recording of the session on YouTube, so I’m excited to share it with you all here.
In the presentation I try to remind everyone that while CRM might not be as “sexy” as some other current big data and analytics topics, the importance it plays in your business cannot be overlooked. Then I go through several examples of ways CRM both consumes and creates data along with some insights you can get from it. I hope you enjoy it!
Andy Mulholland is Vice President and Principal Analyst focusing on cloud business models. Formerly the Global Chief Technology Officer for the Capgemini Group from 2001 to 2011, Mulholland successfully led the organization through a period of mass disruption. Mulholland brings this experience to Constellation’s clients seeking to understand how Digital Business models will be built and deployed in conjunction with existing IT systems. Coverage Areas Consumerization of IT & The New C-Suite: BYOD, Internet of Things, IoT, technology and business use Previous experience: Mulholland co authored four major books that chronicled the change and its impact on Enterprises starting in 2006 with the well-recognised book ‘Mashup Corporations’ with Chris Thomas of Intel. This was followed in…...
Read moreThe answer is, of course, because that’s what a Technology Vendor wants to sell! Before the products are deployed business outcomes and solution architecture is required. For a Smart City its complex as there are conflicting requirements for de-centralization of Citizen targeted Smart Services; versus centralization requirements using ‘big data’ for more efficient City Management.
Citizen gain value from de centralized Smart Services that place them at the center of a personalized benefit, (as an example Uber Cabs versus Traditional Taxi management), but as demands for some degree of regulation of Uber also show, the same citizens want and require a level of City Governance.
Its proving tough to figure out the details of a diversity of business values for Smart Cities, as not least of the issues is how to include citizens as significant stakeholders. It’s difficult to identify a reasonable, (what ever that might be defined as), cross-section of citizens to play a meaningful role in defining their Smart City requirements. A big part of the problem is the citizens’ lack of knowledge as to what is possible and therefore what to define as one of their valuable requirements.
A potential way to overcome this is to bring into the discussion the new entrepreneurial start-ups that are targeting Citizen centric Smart Services. (If you are unsure as to what Smart Services are and why this is a game-changing element in the market today read Sell more today its Digital Business, survive tomorrow and its Smart Services). Certainly for a project team, or a workshop, introducing the wide range of possibilities from these Start-Ups will invigorate thinking as coverage ranges from Sports clubs and teams, through to local shopping schemes. The biggest concentrations of Start-Ups targeting the highest value to widest number of citizens are focussed on four areas; Availability of Parking; Optimum Route planning; Traffic Congestion; and Transport Options.
Not surprisingly the four options focus on the common frustrations of citizens in moving around their (crowded) city in pursuit of every day activities, and, like Uber demonstrates with Taxi Cabs, citizens want the focus to be on their personal requirement of the moment. Currently Transport timetables, booking Taxi cabs, even if online, all focus on the management of the resource provisioning, (Bus, Train, Taxi Office, etc), not on the location and personal travel plans of the customer/citizen.
Smart Services can, and increasingly are, being deployed in Cities without any link to a Smart City initiative, but that removes huge amounts of vital planning data from being made available to the City Management. Smart City initiatives must provide a business welcome plus facilitating infrastructure for Smart Services in exchange for the receiving/ exchanging certain data.
CityMapper, a Smart Service available in several major cities is a good example of this, and if you are not familiar with CityMapper then explore it now! To be a commercial success CityMapper currently only offers their service for London, Paris and New York, so sponsorship to add a particular city under a Smart City initiative is necessary. It is obvious why a citizen, or a visitor, might use CityMapper, but conversely the amount of data with real value for city management on where, and how, people are travelling using public transport that CityMapper can provide is huge.
As CityMapper requires the data on public transport operations the scope for establishing a win / win data exchange is clearly large. Public transport doesn’t operate in isolation from other factors; buses are subject to road traffic delays; Sports or other events cause demand peaks, etc. The Smart City infrastructure is not just the provision of high quality connectivity network services, not even about hosting and provisioning Cloud Services; it is also about establishing and facilitating data exchanges between the many participants.
Smart Cities are huge collaboration ecosystems where third party entrepreneurs bring high value citizen Smart Services that encourage Citizen participation in exchange for City management data on scheduled services and analytical data on patterns. All too frequently Smart City Management has been concentrated on City Management generated Big Data analysis for operational improvement, without adequately recognizing the importance of Smart Services ability to both provide and make use of the data.
There are Smart Services Start-Ups that focus on the Smart City Management aspects using a mixture of IoT sensing and Smart Services, (based on IoT), to add new types of data in combination with existing data to introduces new capabilities. Not surprisingly the four focus areas are well aligned to current City Management targets; Urban Planning; Environmental, Waste Management and Energy Grids. However the outcomes created and speed of responses these new Smart Services can bring are very definitely different due to the types and time scales of the data processed.
There is not enough understanding that IoT driven Smart Services transform not only what can be read for data, but the speed and type of reaction that can be made for operational improvement in a Smart City. The challenge is to change the approach from the traditional view of increasing centralization creating optimization through planning, to one of adding ‘real time’ de-centralized localized responses. (Smart Cities – Service level improvement through de-centralization)
Examples of citizen Smart Services, Uber and CityMapper, are not the only way to see, and understand, elements that will/are making up the Smart City ecosystem. Private sector office buildings and businesses are finding their own business reasons for adopting IoT enabled Smart Service capabilities. Deloitte are keen to demonstrate their new head office in Amsterdam called The Edge which uses 28000 IoT sensors to enable Smart reactions to events and activities; whilst consumer adoption of IoT devices to enable Smart Homes continues as an ever increasing upward curve.
All of the above means that a Smart City, like a physical city, requires an Architecture in which IoT sensing and Smart Services play a large and increasing part. That statement could have been written ten years ago, and indeed on searching the term Smart City Technology Architecture three of the most interesting papers on the topic where written more than five years ago; see 1) 2) and 3). There approach, findings, maturity index, together with the case studies are still valid in many aspects and worth reading. The big BUT is that they were written before the advent of IoT and Smart Services started the transformation of Business and Technology.
The summary points of the impact are stark;
IoT and Smart Services change the entire direction of technology, transforming Business capabilities, more importantly changing citizens as consumers expectations.
Government moves using Smart Meters have had less impact on the consumer management of energy than consumers’ own decision to adopt IoT based Smart Home technology to control their heating.
Designing, creating and deploying the next generation of City management already has a look of being built on last generation technology which is unlikely to deliver the transforming efficiencies expected, or even to meet the citizens expectations.
The Next Blog in this series will expand on and detail the following diagram to illustrate a Smart City Architecture that incorporates Smart Services;
New C-Suite
Holger Mueller is VP and Principal Analyst for Constellation Research for the fundamental enablers of the cloud, IaaS, PaaS and next generation Applications, with forays up the tech stack into BigData and Analytics, HR Tech, and sometimes SaaS. Holger provides strategy and counsel to key clients, including Chief Information Officers, Chief Technology Officers, Chief Product Officers, Chief HR Officers, investment analysts, venture capitalists, sell-side firms, and technology buyers. Coverage Areas: Future of Work Tech Optimization & Innovation Background: Before joining Constellation Research, Mueller was VP of Products for NorthgateArinso, a KKR company. There, he led the transformation of products to the cloud and laid the foundation for new Business Process as a…...
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R “Ray” Wang is the CEO of Silicon Valley-based Constellation Research Inc. He co-hosts DisrupTV, a weekly enterprise tech and leadership webcast that averages 50,000 views per episode and blogs at www.raywang.org. His ground-breaking best-selling book on digital transformation, Disrupting Digital Business, was published by Harvard Business Review Press in 2015. Ray's new book about Digital Giants and the future of business, titled, Everybody Wants to Rule The World was released in July 2021. Wang is well-quoted and frequently interviewed by media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, CNBC, Yahoo Finance, Cheddar, and Bloomberg. Short Bio R “Ray” Wang (pronounced WAHNG) is the Founder, Chairman, and Principal Analyst of Silicon Valley-based Constellation Research Inc. He…...
Read moreIn interviews with over 100 digitally focused, modern CMO’s, shared common challenges in the transformation of their roles and with the support of new digital business models. The top 20 modern marketing challenges (not in order of importance) include:
As the head marketing role evolves, Constellation identifies archetypes of the modern CMO. Using an approach that considers marketing strategy versus marketing execution and audience development versus audience acquisition, four distinct personas emerge (see Figure 1):
While few CMO’s can bring all four personas to the table, modern CMO’s bring on lieutenants to balance out their weaknesses. Given each of the personas must perform to a different set of metrics, CMO’s must identify which areas they need to prioritize. For those prioritizing on audience acquisition, brand and demand generation tend to gain focus. For those focusing on audience development, communities and internal communication projects are prioritized. The modern CMO role will require he or she to manage the portfolio against changing business models and the digital transformation ahead.
Are you ready to transform marketing? How will you develop the four personas of the modern CMO. Add your comments to the blog or reach me via email: R (at) ConstellationR (dot) com or R (at) SoftwareInsider (dot) org.
Please let us know if you need help with your Digital Business transformation efforts. Here’s how we can assist:
Role: Vice President and Principal Analyst focusing on the IOT of Customer Experience and how the cloud is driving more flexible, agile, and robust customer service and customer experiences. In-app or in device customer service is the future. Coverage Areas: Next Generation Customer, Digital Marketing Transformation Bio: As a Vice President and Principal Analyst at Constellation Research, Inc, Petouhoff works with Fortune 100 and 500’s Senior Leadership teams to create strategic customer experience (marketing, sales and service) solutions which engage customers, build brands and grow businesses. Combining her experience as a former Forrester software analyst, PWC systems integrator and change management consultant, Petouhoff leads executive workshops to discuss to not only…...
Read moreNICE Systems announced that it has received four prestigious Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service. NICE won three Silver Stevie® Awards in the Contact Center Solution New Version category for the following:
NICE’s Sales Performance Management Suite also took home a Bronze Stevie® in the Incentive Management Solution category. The suite provides the end-to-end ability to create, manage and distribute all aspects of a commissions program. It automates the process of commission, bonus, and incentive administration in support of any type of variable pay strategy to deliver a pay-for-performance system that rewards employees for achieving targets that align with business strategy.
The 10th Annual Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service are the world’s top sales awards, business development awards, contact center awards, and customer service awards. Finalists were determined by the average scores of 115 professionals worldwide, acting as preliminary judges. More than 60 members of several specialized judging committees determined the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements from among the Finalists during final judging earlier this month.
“Entries to the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service continue to grow every year, further validating the essential roles that business development, customer service, and sales play in business success,” said Michael Gallagher, president and founder of the Stevie® Awards. “The widespread support of this program made the 2016 competition that much more intense among finalists. The judges were deeply impressed by the winner’s accomplishments and we congratulate all of the winners on their commitment to excellence and innovation.”
“We are honored to have received four Stevie Awards in recognition of our leading customer engagement solutions,” said Miki Migdal, President of the NICE Enterprise Product Group. “NICE is committed to providing organizations with all the tools and information they need to create outstanding customer experiences and to make sure their employees are fully engaged, informed and prepared for every interaction. The innovation of our solutions is grounded in this mission.”
Details about the Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service and the list of Stevie® winners in all categories are available at www.StevieAwards.com/sales.
@drnatalie petouhoff, Constellation Research
Covering Customer Service, Customer Experience and Digital Transformation
Role: Vice President and Principal Analyst focusing on the IOT of Customer Experience and how the cloud is driving more flexible, agile, and robust customer service and customer experiences. In-app or in device customer service is the future. Coverage Areas: Next Generation Customer, Digital Marketing Transformation Bio: As a Vice President and Principal Analyst at Constellation Research, Inc, Petouhoff works with Fortune 100 and 500’s Senior Leadership teams to create strategic customer experience (marketing, sales and service) solutions which engage customers, build brands and grow businesses. Combining her experience as a former Forrester software analyst, PWC systems integrator and change management consultant, Petouhoff leads executive workshops to discuss to not only…...
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Starting something new is exhilarating, daring and, at times, even daunting. People who create know this. Having an idea isn’t the hardest part. Getting that idea off the ground is – building adoption, clarifying value, then scaling that idea to realize its full impact in the world.
Building a sustainable, vibrant developer community is hard work. It isn’t just about APIs, SDKs or toolkits. It’s about working together to solve problems. Engaging community members wherever they are. Defining a long-term strategy that benefits all. Creating real revenue and business value to flow to everyone. Promoting those successes. And doing the hard work every day of supporting, servicing, communicating with, adjusting when necessary, and expanding the ecosystem around the community.
They are creating such a place. A place where ideas become tangible. A place to access technology that is essential to people’s everyday lives – money, finances, and identity. A place they call Capital One DevExchange.
It’s time that banking and financial services catch up to the rest of our digital-enabled lives. They still believe that information, technology and great people are the magical combination needed to drive innovation. But they also know that great people – including great developers, engineers, and product visionaries – are everywhere. And they want to work with you.The challenge isn’t just to convince people to devote their engineering and development resources to working with them. It’s also to make sure you have a voice in this community.
Maybe the world is changing? Nice to see people being considered as a key component!
@drnatalie petouhoff
Covering Digital Transformation
