Mobile Expert Interview: SAP's Mimi Spier on Big Data, Analytics, IoT and Enterprise Mobility

I had the privilege this week to interview SAP's Mimi Spier on data strategies for IoT and enterprise mobility.  She also demonstrates how connected stadiums and 3D filming of live sports events can revolutionize professional sports.  Enjoy!

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kjqHIAyTTU&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
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 many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Mobile Expert Interview: Microsoft's Rob Tiffany on Mobile Strategies for Device Management

It is not everyday that I get to interview a mobility expert from Microsoft, but I got lucky at Mobile World Congress 2014.  It was with great pleasure that I cornered Rob Tiffany, Worldwide Technical Lead for Windows InTune, a mobile device management and services platform.  I follow Rob Tiffany on Twitter so recognized the honor. I have to admit I was ignorant of all the mobile device management services and solutions that Microsoft has.  No excuses now though!  Enjoy!

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv6kDfnUYNY&list=UUGizQCw2Zbs3eTLwp7icoqw&feature=share




*************************************************************
Kevin Benedict
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
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 many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Mobile Expert Interview: Micron's Michael Rayfield on the Latest Developments in Mobility

I felt like buying stock in Micron after this interview I recorded today at the Mobile World Congress 2014 in Barcelona, Spain.  Disclaimer - I don't have any investments in Micron, but after Michael Rayfield helped me understand where Micron's products could be found in mobile devices today, I am second guessing my portfolio.  Enjoy!

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFNbb_HRmRg&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
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 many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Mobile Expert Interview: VMware's Sanjay Poonen on Their Acquisition of AirWatch

I had the privilege of interviewing VMware's EVP and GM of End User Computing, Sanjay Poonen today on the strategy behind their recent acquisition of mobile device management and security vendor AirWatch.  In this interview we talk about enterprise mobility strategy, the future of mobility, cloud, social platforms and content.  Enjoy!

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iC7pchre3sE&list=UUGizQCw2Zbs3eTLwp7icoqw&feature=share



*************************************************************
Kevin Benedict
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
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 many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Mobile Expert Interview: Moshe BenBassat CEO of ClickSoftware

I surprised Moshe BenBassat at the Mobile World Congress 2014 with an ambush interview, but we have known each other for many years so he agreed to it.  In this interview we talk about artificial intelligence, ClickSoftware's latest acquisition and developments in the enterprise mobility market.  Enjoy!

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HN43jSvK1ao&list=UUGizQCw2Zbs3eTLwp7icoqw&feature=share


ATTENTION!  Cognizant is hosting a lunch and learn in Santa Clara, CA on February 27th from 12-2 PM on the subject of Beyond Digital Asset Management: An IT Roadmap for Next Generation Digital Marketing.  Forrester Analyst Anjali Yakkundi will be sharing from her research there as well. If you would like to attend, here are more details - http://app.certain.com/profile/web/index.cfm?PKWebId=0x5873675f2e.

*************************************************************
Kevin Benedict
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
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 many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Mobility is Good for Humanity - MWC 2014

Enterprise mobility is changing the world and transforming the way business is done today.  It is also changing politics, societies, education and cultures.  In this short video, recorded in Barcelona before the start of the Mobile World Congress 2014, I discuss a few of the ways mobility is good for humanity.  Enjoy!

P.S. You may notice several video clips this week that feature me wearing sunglasses.  It is not a fashion statement.  You would not benefit from any fashion statement received from me.  I had a "Bob Costa" eye thing going on for a few days.

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hv-I8AJKBic&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
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 many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

For All Who Missed the Mobile World Congress in 2014

I compiled this silly video of Day #1 for all of you that did not get to attend the Mobile World Congress in 2014. You can sit back in the comfort of your homes and offices and make fun of us Barcelona lemmings.

You may also see several clips this week that feature me wearing sunglasses.  That is not a fashion statement.  You would not benefit from any fashion statement received from me.  I had a "Bob Costa" eye thing going on for a few days.  Enjoy!

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-sHwqzgFH8&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
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 many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Mobile Expert Interview: Christy Wyatt CEO/President Good Technology

It has been a business day #1 here at the Mobile World Congress 2014 in Barcelona!  My feet are killing me!  I started MWC 2014 interviewing the CEO and President of Good Technology, Christy Wyatt.  In this interview Christy shares her insights and opinions are where the market for mobile device management and mobile security is heading, plus information on their new cloud based products and planned acquisitions. Enjoy!

Video Link:  http://youtu.be/UkzT6GpB_fQ



*************************************************************
Kevin Benedict
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
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 many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Smart Machines, Code Halos and Digital Transformation

I am excited to share a guest blog article today from my colleague Rob Brown who works at The Center for the Future of Work at Cognizant.  In this article he shares his insights on the future of smart machines, analytics and code halos.

***
Gartner’s Tom Austin presented a webinar titled “The Emerging Era of Smart Machines Changes Everything” recently (www.gartner.com).  The scenario he paints canvasses where automation and robotics will be taking business processes – not to mention society and employment – in relatively short order.  

As we've been saying – seemingly forever – in this industry, efficiency gains through automation are fundamental to the future of Business Process Services (where “the platform becomes the process”, etc.).  But the explosive information yield against complex algorithms (“Analytics”) that comes from automation are where the REAL action and value lie; as a result, analytics is now the biggest buzzword in the IT services industry, for better or worse.

In so many respects, Gartner’s Smart Machines scenario harmonizes perfectly with our Cognizant Code Halos thinking, and I especially like its exploration of the marriage of automation and analytics (“Smart Machines”: can be platforms, devices, and literally anthropomorphic, C3PO-type robots).    Collectively, Gartner’s work segments flavors of automation into “Movers” (autonomous vehicles, like the Google Car), “Sages” (information-based helpers), and “Doers” (machine-focused helpers).  Cutting edge endeavors like Google Deep Neural Net, IBM’s Watson, and Microsoft’s Research Elevator showcase where the confluence of automation/ analytics are headed.

Why is this happening now?  Gartner notes these forces are accelerating due to better hardware and algorithms.  As an example, Gartner cites the thinking of Ted Horvitz’s work in Artificial Intelligence here, in aerospace, healthcare, and learning (via TedTalks) here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpoVh9xwdD4.

In our Code Halos work, we’re also emphasizing both these attributes (automation to “make processes cheaper, make processes smarter”), but also highlighting UX and interfaces, e.g., “make processes beautiful”.    It is in the mix of these forces that makes Code Halos (and “Smart Machines”) resonate so powerfully.  Layering analytics and “meaning making” on top of the resulting data is where the future lies.

What are the consequences?  What really struck a chord for me was some of the data that Tom presented on the impact on employment as business processes and functions are disrupted.  The “dark side” view is presented in the form of Frey and Osborne’s work at Oxford (Per Frey and Osborne: “About 47% of total U.S. employment is at risk over the next decade or two”).

Arresting to be sure – but is it time to prepare for the Human Zoo just yet?

Per Gartner, what Frey and Osborne’s work doesn’t take into account is that net-new jobs will be created as a result of these trends, and also that current jobs of today will actually be enhanced by the transformation automation through technology brings (in keeping with the “Song of Hope” theme we see in work on Code Halos).   While Gartner’s models DO see a scenario of ~17 percent of “routine”, repeatable tasks being truly disrupted by 2020, they also show that 49% of jobs are patently unaffected, and the remainder actually being ENHANCED by the confluence of automation and analytics.   So, lots to think about there – especially how routine, repeatable business processes will be transformed.

So what’s next? In the short-term, Tom advises keeping on the lookout/engaging with Digital Personal Assistants in the next 2-3 years.  In doing so, he also recommended reviewing a rather compelling video from Apple on the subject, circa early 1990s, showing just how far we’ve come, and still have to go... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bjve67p33E

Robert H. Brown
Global Director, BPS Strategy
Cognizant Center for the Future of Work

*************************************************************
Kevin Benedict
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
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 many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Mindset - Strategic Enterprise Mobility and Code Halos

Mindset  - a set of assumptions, methods, or notations held by groups of people that is so established that it creates a powerful incentive within these people or groups to continue to accept prior behaviors, choices, or tools. ~ Wikipedia

More photos are being taken than ever before, but Kodak went bankrupt.  More movies are being watched than ever before but Blockbuster went bankrupt.  More books are being purchased than ever before, but Borders went bankrupt.  Why is Pandora and Spotify so popular?  Why are Google Search Advertising, LinkedIn and Facebook making so much money on advertising when the traditional media and publishing companies struggle?

Kodak had the opportunity to compete in digital photography, digital photo apps and Instagram type social networking sites - but they didn't.  Why?  It's a mindset thing.

Blockbuster had the opportunity to compete in video rentals online, streaming movies/TV shows and setting up social sharing sites like Vimeo, Vine, YouTube, etc. - but they didn't.  Why?  It's a mindset thing.

Blackberry couldn't imagine that users would prefer a larger screen to a physical keyboard.  They thought mobile devices should be reserved for work.  They couldn't imagine a mobile device as a computer or as an entertainment center.  They couldn't wrap their heads around the idea that people would want to browse the Internet using a mobile device.  Why?  It's a mindset thing.

The term Code Halos refers to another mindset.  Here is a definition from my colleagues at The Center for the Future of Work, "Today’s outliers in revenue growth and value creation are winning with a new set of rules. They are dominating by managing the information that surrounds people, organizations, processes and products — what we call Code Halos™."  Did you catch that?  They are dominating by "managing the information that surrounds people, organizations, processes and products."  This is the revenge of the data scientists!

Let's talk about Google.  Google has a very simple UI (user interface), but behind the scenes they are geniuses when it comes to managing the information that surrounds people, organizations, processes and products.  Pandora gives us great music, that we want to listen to, based on information that surrounds us.  Amazon recommends books and movies based upon information that surrounds us and products we have chosen in the past.  They give us an amazingly simple one-click purchasing processes and free shipping based on membership and account information about us.  This experience is addicting.

Google also treats by blog articles differently.  A person new to blogging could copy a blog article of mine and post it on their site.  It would not, however, be treated the same by Google.  Google knows I started blogging in 2006, have over 2,700 articles published mostly on the topics of enterprise mobility and digital transformation and close to 4 million page views in the past 5 years.  They give me a higher "Author Ranking" than a new blogger.  They use all of their collected information to build algorithms to find meaning-making through all the noise on the Internet.  They want to provide the best search results possible for their users.

I get treated differently by Delta, Hertz and Marriott based upon my loyalty, frequent use and past business with them.  I am spoiled and will do silly things to maintain this treatment.  They treat me different, not because of me, but because of the information about me.

In today's world, successful companies will use mobile apps, websites, big data analysis, the Internet of Things and other kinds of GPS tracking solutions, videos, photos, historic preferences and social networking information as sensors to collect information, analyze and find meaning.  Meaning-making is how companies learn how to attract you, keep you and treat you right.

I read an article yesterday, http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/02/when-you-fall-in-love-this-is-what-facebook-sees/283865/, that describes how Facebook can recognize relationship patterns of people falling in love and entering a serious relationship.  It was an article capitalizing on Valentine's Day sensitivities.  They can then target particular ads that align with these patterns.  That might seem a big creepy, but when companies do this in the right manner, it just seems thoughtful.  For example, when I land at a connecting airport and turn my iPhone on, I appreciate the Delta app telling me the terminal and gate location of my next flight.  It understands I am traveling, my location, my scheduled flights and gives me context aware information.  It uses the sensors (GPS), my activities, my schedule and my reservation to assist me.  That is a winning formula.

Is your company adopting a "Code Halo" mindset?

*************************************************************
Kevin Benedict
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
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 many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

If You Can't Support Strategic Enterprise Mobility - An Extinction Event Draweth Nigh

It is difficult to solve a problem, if one does not recognize they have it. ~ Master Benedict 

Today that problem is the maturing of enterprise mobility.  Why is that a problem?  Because once the basics of enterprise mobility have been figured out by the market, and I am suggesting most of them have, the focus rapidly shifts to the strategic utilization of enterprise mobility.  When this shift happens, many companies are going to be left behind.  We who work in the Center for the Future of Work at Cognizant call this a "cross-roads" moment leading to an "extinction" event.

Think about enterprise mobility as an electrical grid.  When all the parts from power generation to distribution are finally complete and electricity is available - what happens then?  The answer is nothing until enterprises figure out how to use it to help their business.  Likewise with enterprise mobility.  Just because you can communicate and transmit data to mobile devices does not mean you have achieved anything meaningful or useful.   It is the strategy on how it will be used to the benefit of the business that is meaningful.

When companies get strategic they recognize that mobility is about the following:

  • Real-Time (operations, business processes, reporting, analysis and information)
  • Speed (of communication, data collection, data and business processes, data analyzing, reporting query results, etc.)
  • Insight (context and meaning-making from data)
Can you imagine using a turn-by-turn navigation system with a built-in 60 second delay?  It would be useless because you move much faster than that.  I have experienced this many times.  You jump into a rental car parked in a garage, enter the address to your destination, and exit the building.  The problem, the navigation system takes 4 minutes to find itself.  The cars backed up behind you don't want to wait 4 minutes.  That is not helpful.  Slow and delayed turn-by-turn navigation is worthless.  Likewise, slow and delayed responses from mobile apps and backend systems are not at all helpful.  They can prevent the world's greatest mobile app from being usable.

Companies that are ready to get strategic with enterprise mobility are now realizing that the biggest tasks ahead involve transforming their entire IT infrastructure to support a real-time world.  I recently heard a Forrester Analyst predict that the transformation to a "real-time" and mobile ready infrastructure would match the effort and expense of implementing many ERPs.  

This is a challenge that will be front and center in 2014.

www.capriza.com


*************************************************************
Kevin Benedict
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
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 many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Kevin Benedict Interviews Digital Transformation Expert: Jitin Agarwal on Managing Digital Assets and Code Halos

Mobility is forcing companies to rethink just about every part of their business.  Product catalogs are becoming mobile apps.  Marketing brochures are becoming videos, PDFs, email messages or mobile apps.  Maps now are apps. Books, music, videos and paper envelopes with letters in them are all digital today! Much of the physical is being transformed into digital, and then sent to mobile devices these days.  How effective is your company at keeping up with these transformations?  How do you effectively manage the massive amount of digital assets that are being created by your company monthly?  How do you ensure digital brand integrity?  How do you update your marketing and informational collateral worldwide in a digital world?

Information based industries like financial services, banks, education, healthcare and many others are finding their worlds are being turned upside down as a result of digital transformation.  Because of this chaos (and fun), I reached out to a colleague of mine Jitin Agarwal, Venture Leader at Cognizant to learn his thoughts on these changes and what his venture is doing to help manage this digital transformation.  Enjoy!

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnnG0ktnEAY&feature=share&list=UUGizQCw2Zbs3eTLwp7icoqw


ATTENTION!  Jitin Agarwal (the Venture Leader I interviewed above) is hosting a lunch and learn in Santa Clara, CA on February 27th from 12-2 PM on the subject of Beyond Digital Asset Management: An IT Roadmap for Next Generation Digital Marketing.  Forrester Analyst Anjali Yakkundi will be sharing from her research there as well. If you would like to attend, here are more details - http://app.certain.com/profile/web/index.cfm?PKWebId=0x5873675f2e.

*************************************************************
Kevin Benedict
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
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 many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Mobile Expert Interview: Mayank Mehta

I had the good fortune of interviewing Capriza's VP of Products, Mayank Mehta yesterday on a Google+ Hangout OnAir.  I asked him about enterprise mobility trends, mobile platforms, mobile strategies, app development and more.  I hope you find this informative and useful!

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MsNsPSE0cw&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
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 many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Mobile Technology, Roman Roads and Legionaries - Director's Cut

In this short 10 minute video you will learn how enterprise mobility and the Roman Roads share much in common.  This is the Director's Cut that includes all the clips in one video and the 13 similarities between enterprise mobility and the strategies of the Roman Legionaries.  I had fun making it and hope you have fun watching it.  Enjoy!

Video Link: http://youtu.be/8B76oLJy8kw




*************************************************************
Kevin Benedict
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
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 many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

My Themes in 2014 are Real-Time, Speed and Insight

I spend most of my time researching, writing and speaking on enterprise mobility, the IoT and digital transformation.  All of these discussions are related to the concept of Code Halos.  Code Halos (see video) are digital profiles of people, places, things, organizations, etc.  They are all the digital data about something that can be collected, and analyzed together with time and place to provide insight. Insight into more effective customer engagement models, more effective business processes, more effective product development strategies, etc.

Code Halos can effectively support predictive analytics.  The Code Halo around an account helps you make predictions about future engagements and interactions.  When particular events happen (customer requests a service ticket) and you reach a certain step in a business process (service tech scheduled), plus your location and calendar data all suggest you are going to a particular customer that owns a particular piece of equipment then the context of your actions can accurately be determined and this information can be used to predict your future needs.

Once the context of an action is known, all kinds of things can be programmed to happen automatically.  Warranty information and product manuals can be downloaded to a mobile device.  The location of the customer and the equipment needed to be serviced can be identified.  The customer can be automatically notified as the service tech nears.  This is just the start.

Some of the themes I am focused on in 2014 are real-time, speed and insight.  If you are busy, multi-tasking and mobile - you will benefit from predictive business apps that are context aware, programmed to take advantage of Code Halos and offer you enormous value.  Here lies the challenge.  In order to capture this value, you need both mobile and back-office IT infrastructure capable of supporting the speeds of a moving, mobile user.  Time, location, actions and events are ever-changing and happening all around you.  How do you capture this information, analyze it and predict next steps and future needs?  That is not easy and will, for many companies, involve a lot of updating and replacing of slow, siloed systems.

For more on this subject register for the upcoming Forrester and ClickSoftware webinar here http://go.clicksoftware.com/Forrester-ClickSoftware-Webinar-Registration.html.

Webinar: Beyond Big Buzzwords - Predictive Business Apps
Date: February 11th
Time: 11:00am EST/16.00pm GMT
Speakers: Michael Gualtieri, Principal Analyst at Forrester Research and Katelyn Burrill, Product Marketing Manager at ClickSoftware

*************************************************************
Kevin Benedict
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
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 many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Digital Transformation and Wearables at the Personal Level

I have invited my colleague, Ben Pring, Co-Director of the Center for the Future of Work at Cognizant, to share with us his personal experiences with IoT and wearables.  His articles and insights can often be found at the site www.unvenlydistributed.com and he has a book coming out in a few weeks about how the digital lives of people, “things” and organizations are changing the rules of business.

***

If you’re a pretty dedicated fitness type (like me) you’ve probably noticed the steady increase of technology into many different aspects of your chosen fitness regime or sport over the past few years. If you’re a runner you’ve probably run in a race where you use a timing chip attached to your shoe. If you play tennis you know your Graphene-based YouTek Head racquet is a far cry from the wooden Stan Smith Wilson you learnt with. And if you’re simply kicking a ball around in the back yard with your kid you’re probably conscious that the $150 Nike Ordem soccer ball you got him for Christmas is something of an upgrade on the old “placcy Wembley” that you had when you were his age. [This is a reference that only someone who grew up in 1970s north London will get!]

So the notion of technology seeping into our sporting hobbies is no big deal. But what – I would contend – is a big deal is the explosion of technology that the work out world is on the cusp of and what impact this is going to have on Health and Fitness (another 1970’s reference for you digital immigrants out there!) over the next few years. Sport is very much at the heart of the “Cambrian explosion” that The Economist highlighted a few weeks ago.

Let me walk through just a few quick examples of some of the things I’m seeing as I try and keep to my five-days-a-week regimen; and then a few thoughts from the couch as I recover and dream about the one handed backhand down the line winner on Championship point that brings me my first Wimbledon title. [“Unknown 51 Year Old Englishman Wins Wimbledon! Knighted on Center Court by Queen!” – The Daily Telegraph].

Nike Fuel Band – still a good conversation starter at parties (even though it’s been out a couple of years) the Fuel Band does a great job of tracking your movement and output count. And it’s a pretty useful watch when you wake up in the middle of the night. The dashboard on your computer/tablet is the best I’ve seen amongst the wearable monitors (much better than the Fitbit which I’ve also tried but didn’t take to). If you’re in a good work out groove the Fuel Band will probably make you feel pretty smug; if you’re not, it will only confirm what you probably already know – that despite your best intentions, you’re still a lazy bum.

BitGym - a running machine with built in TV screen that contains videos of runs you can do as you move precisely nowhere wherever you are. The other day I was in Orlando, FL and I did a 5 mile run through downtown Auckland NZ. Then a couple of weeks later I was in Auckland and not only did that real run but then ran the next day on a machine through London. Then last week I was in England and did that actual run. Someone needs to invent a word for how weird that is!

Garmin Forerunner 620 – the Usain Bolt of sports watches, this does everything except actually do the running for you. Apparently Garmin are working on that currently.  My only problem with it is that wearing it perhaps gives the impression to other folks that I think I am Usain Bolt. It’s very hard to convey irony through a watch.
Click Image to Enlarge

As the wearable, quantifiable self, Internet of Things wave continues to develop these early stage examples are going to become more common, more varied, and more useful as people see the impact even small data can have on their health and performance. Check out Novak Djokovic’s “Serve to Win” to get inspired by what you can achieve if you start really paying attention to the impact your diet has on your training program. Although also check out “Drop Dead Healthy” by AJ Jacobs if all you want to do is work out your inner cynicism!

The infusion of wearable sensors into clothing – like rugby shirts that monitor heart rates and tackle impacts – is just beginning. Soon your golf shirt will mold the perfect swing, your glasses will live stream your 10k PB, and your socks will tell you the optimum moment to rehydrate.

The digital perimeter advertising at soccer, Hawkeye instant replies in tennis, 10 yard line virtual overlays in football, which we’ve all grown used to, are simply the first waves of a new era of tech in sports which will see more change in how the world plays in the next 10 years than we’ve seen in the last hundred. It literally is going to be a whole new ball game.

One last thought; JetBlue DirecTV must be the apex of human achievement to allow you to follow live English soccer while flying from Boston to San Francisco. When I was my 11 year’s old age there was one live game of soccer on TV a year. Because it was so exciting and rare I sat in front of the TV from the start of the pre-game build up, six hours ahead of kick off, right through until the post-game wrap at 10pm. Nowadays, I can watch The Irons (West Ham United Football Club to you mate) lose – in color, in HD, while I’m sitting over Hastings, Nebraska. If that doesn’t blow your mind, I don’t know what will …


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Kevin Benedict
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
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 many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Mobile Expert Interviews: Feedhenry's CEO Cathal McGloin

I had the privilege of interviewing Feedhenry's CEO, Cathal McGloin on enterprise mobility, mobile strategies, mobility trends and how he is positioning Feedhenry to address them.  I also had the chance to ask him to share advice on what companies should consider when developing their enterprise mobility strategy and roadmap.  Enjoy!

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5M96IbOUu8&feature=share&list=UUGizQCw2Zbs3eTLwp7icoqw

Learn about mobile strategies in the retail, travel & hospitality industries with @Cognizant & @Moovweb on 2/6, 10am PST http://www.moovweb.com/webinars/cognizantrth/

*************************************************************
Kevin Benedict
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
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 many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Bracing for Change with Enterprise Mobility

I spent last week working with four brilliant technology analysts in Chicago.  It was -40 degrees Fahrenheit with the windchill. Who would schedule a meeting in Chicago mid-winter?  Even in the conference room it was cold, and we were all wearing coats and scarves! It made for a great adventure and after a brief 36 hour delay in my flight, I am back in the home office.

What did I learn last week?  For starters, more words to add to my vocabulary.  I learned how to use words like gravitas and nascent.  Two words rarely used in Boise, Idaho.  "That potato farmer has both expertise and gravitas, and he is always looking for nascent varieties of spuds."  Sorry, can't say I have ever heard that said.  I did, however, learn a great deal about how real analysts work and organize their research projects.  They taught me much about where technology is today, and where it is rapidly going over the next two years.

Three of my colleagues at Cognizant have just finished a book that will be in all the bookstores in a few weeks.  I had the chance to read much of it, and it provides brilliant insight into digital transformation across industries and markets and explains how to transform business models and IT infrastructures to be successful.
As a result of everything I learned last week, I am impressed that IT infrastructures must  be rapidly upgraded to support "real-time everything."  Mobile computing, the IoT (internet of things) and the advent of broadband Internet have transformed how we think, work, play, communicate and engage in commerce.  If we are going to host our memory, analytics, turn-by-turn navigation, business processes and business solutions in the cloud and access them through mobile devices, we have major work to do in backend infrastructures.  I believe the companies that will be successful in the next five years are those that can guide their organizations best through this age of digital transformation.

*************************************************************
Kevin Benedict
Senior Analyst, Digital Transformation Cognizant
View my profile on LinkedIn
Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
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 many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

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