[KPMG] Almost all C-suite executives at large enterprises believe data and analytics (D&A) are important to their business, but most are struggling to become data-driven businesses -- and more than half say they don't even know what data to collect. The truth is that most business leaders are not yet able to visualize or contextualize [...]
[IDG] IoT will drive greater adoption of big data and analytics to source and store large quantities of data generated by connected devices and make sense of it for real-time decision-making. In 2014, IDC expects horizontal IoT solutions and data analytics to drive adoption of IoT beyond the consumer market to meaningful enterprise scenarios. Partnerships [...]
At the 2014 CES, the Cisco CEO presented some of what Cisco's vision for Internet of Everything (IoE) are, and it entailed some very interesting ideas. Whether it's watching live and on-demand video on any device, receive contextual content and advertising on second screens, Smart Street Lighting, Catching thieves through your connected home or Avoiding [...]
Think Customer First - let's make 2014 the year of Excellent Customer Service! We all understand that superior customer service is critical to our business and that the quality of our customer experience can have a dramatic impact either positively or negatively. And the whole company´s responsibility is to deliver exactly that. Customer service is [...]
[CIO.com] The cloud is no longer an "if" for many businesses, it's a given, says Tony DiBenedetto, founder of technology services provider and cloud solutions specialists Tribridge. Most businesses already work in the cloud, or store data there, or deploy applications from the cloud, he says, and as a result the cloud will be the [...]
[Gartner.com] This is an important number, demonstrating a real objective to adopt the latest systems. The fact that more than half of respondents are looking at new ways to use data, and investigating new data science initiatives, will mean a massive boost for industry growth. However, according to the survey, organizations struggle most with understanding [...]
[ISG] Sourcing strategies continue to evolve in response to changing business requirements. The traditional RFP (Request for Proposal) has been an effective tool in enabling competitive pricing and efficient oversight of service delivery. But as client organizations mature and their approaches to sourcing become increasingly sophisticated and ambitious, new models are needed to allow for [...]
The 3rd Annual Future of Cloud Computing Survey, sponsored by North Bridge Venture Partners and GigaOM Research, is the industry’s broadest survey. In five years, more than three-quarters (76 percent) of respondents expect hybrid clouds to be the core of their cloud strategies overtaking public and private clouds The fastest growth today is in IaaS, [...]
Multi-sourced IT operating environments are entering the mainstream as clients leverage best-of-breed capabilities and match highly specialized service providers to specific business requirements. While the potential benefits are significant, managing a team of multiple providers in a complex operation is easier said than done. Read more here..
(Forbes/McKinsey) Data on its own, is nothing more than 1s and 0s. The companies that succeed today do three things well: 1. Use analytics to identify valuable opportunities. 2. Start with the consumer decision journey. 3. Keep it fast and simple. This goldmine of data is a pivot-point moment for marketing and sales leaders. Read [...]
As companies seek to move more of their spending from operations or running the business (currently around two-thirds of the average IT budget) to new projects and innovation, they are embracing the as-a-service model. Limited IT Outsourcing Growth and Increased Volatility is what we will see in the future, according to Gartner. Read more here...
In this presentation, McKinsey talks about the massive shift happening in customer experience today from moments of truth to customer journeys. Customer journeys are a discreet set of interactions a customer has with a brand to accomplish a task. Just think about all the ways you interact with a cable company when you’re setting up [...]
With a top-down view and bottom-up technology capability, IT can quickly and reliably respond to the changing needs of the business with optimized yet highly standardized solutions. With ITaaS, technology solutions can be deployed as needed, when needed, and bill only for what is used. This allows IT to be a strategic enabler of the [...]
Datacenters can be Key Barrier to Innovation [IDC Study] Unfortunately, problems in the datacenter are limiting effective use of datacenter capacity. Eighty-four percent of IT and facilities executives in this study reported that they had one or more incidents in which datacenter facilities constraints in power, space, or cooling or asset management problems or uptime issues negatively [...]
[Internet.com] Can Your Systems Ever Be Completely Secure? The answer to this question has to be "no." That’s because it’s not possible to know what previously unknown vulnerabilities may be discovered in your systems and the software that you run. The question that you can try to answer is "How easily could my systems be [...]
If business-relevant information is not well managed, secured and analyzed, it can become an underutilized asset or ”worst case”a legal and competitive liability. Nearly all of the IT and business executives who responded to a recent survey recognize this risk, and say they understand the importance of having an enterprise information management (EIM) strategy. Even [...]
A paraprosdokian is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader or listener to reframe or reinterpret the first part 1. Where there's a will, I want to be in it. 2. Since light travels faster than sound, [...]
[Ventana Research] The proper use of technology enables businesses to be more efficient. Our recent research into technology for business innovation found that 56 percent indicate innovative technology is very important, yet only 9 percent are very satisfied with theirs, showing plenty of room for improvement. As we enter 2013, businesses have more choices than [...]
Spectacular startup success often becomes a game about scouting and recruiting. A common mistake entrepreneurs make is recruiting team members early on simply because they look the part. In the long run, it doesn't matter if on paper, someone's perfect. You want people that can actually do the job. That VP of Sales candidate that [...]
The security community spends a lot of time worrying over the hidden costs of compliance and risk management programs--but what about the hidden returns? Creative technology executives can often find ways to gain far more value beyond risk mitigation or regulatory conformance from the monitoring and policy enforcement technology and procedures they put in place [...]
As western companies analyze their costs and commitments in light of outsourcing and overseas companies determine their focus and security offerings, it is clear that outsourcing could undergo some significant shifts in 2013. In addition, outside factors such as economic trends and transportation costs could force the hands of some outsourcing firms and businesses in [...]
With 2012 just about behind us, it’s worth looking at the top ten things we (Panorama)  think will transpire in the global ERP industry in 2013. Here are just a few highlights from the past year: The U.S. Air Force pulled the plug on its $1 billion ERP implementation Several other high-profile failures and lawsuits [...]
IT chiefs find that domestic outsourcing (as opposed to offshoring) is becoming more attractive as it delivers advantages such as agility, speed and innovation Read more here ...
Although this is not a completely fresh report, I think it's still valid in many important aspects: to understand how innovation can be realized from outsourcing engagements. While innovation has been explored and prized within businesses for decades, it is a relatively new topic in the context of outsourcing. And as such, the perceptions what [...]
The amount of data in the world doubles every 18 months. Here's a look at eight real-world big data deployments in a variety of industries. Read more here..
ORLANDO, Fla., October 23, 2012— Gartner, Inc. today highlighted the top 10 technologies and trends that will be strategic for most organizations in 2013. Analysts presented their findings during Gartner Symposium/ITxpo, being held here through October 25. Read more here ...
A 2012 Gartner survey on 419 organizations in Europe and the Americas reveals growing alignment between business competitive drivers and sourcing strategies. Actual drivers, frequency of update and results show how businesses, CIOs and sourcing managers are increasingly in alignment. Impacts Sourcing strategies from 2012 onward must deliver competitiveness improvements and cost control, forcing CIOs [...]
Many organizations are employing outsourcing in more, often-higher-level functions, according to Deloitte's 2012 Global Outsourcing and Insourcing Survey, despite an association with the politically charged issue of offshoring, which could hamper outsourcing's use. The survey also produced insights on ways organizations can achieve higher levels of satisfaction and savings from outsourcing. Click to read more [...]
In 2011, the IT outsourcing industry was marked by smaller deals, leery customers, profit-squeezed IT service providers and a lot of cloud computing talk. Much of that could continue next year, but as our 12 predictions for 2012 indicate, you can expect some new IT outsourcing developments--maybe even a few firsts. Read more here ...
