What is one of your biggest challenges as a leader of a company when it comes to technology? It is most likely staying on top of current hardware and software trends, deciding what technology fits your business needs, and integrating that new technology into your current infrastructure. It is not only a matter of process challenge, but it is a …
To Have and to Hold: Married to the Internet of Things
For several years we have been carefully observing the evolution of the Internet of Things (IoT). For those not familiar with the term, it refers to the connectivity of virtually every modern “smart” device that is being manufactured for the home, office, automobile … you name it. If it has a “chip” and can access Internet, then it is at …
Predictive Analytics and the Future of Cybersecurity
Today, cyberspace operates like a warzone. Attacks are intelligent and measured, the enemy is at your backdoor, and your best guys, your IT team, are on the front lines. If you planned on being Switzerland – neutral and unassuming – it’s time to face reality. Cyberattacks happen to the best of us, with no warning and no way to retaliate …
Are We Big Data Ready? Beyond the Easy Answers of Clicks and Response Rates
For some of us, extracting intelligence from “big data” has been a practice for decades or more. We simply didn’t have a convenient buzzy term for it. What hasn’t changed over that time is the necessity to extract meaningful, actionable intelligence and apply it to grow a business. Factoring each business’s unique environment, opportunities, competition, resources, limits, etc. are all …
Exploring the Future of Work: SMACtalk Podcast with Adobe’s Jon Perera
What will the future look like? For businesses today this may be one of the most commonly asked and pressing questions. With the pace of change accelerating at breakneck pace, companies no longer have the luxury of depending on what is working today in order to sustain profits. As fast as companies rise today, they can fall. And for most …
Oracle’s Recent Acquisition of NetSuite is anything but Business as Usual. Here’s What You Missed.
Organizations strategically acquire other organizations every day—it’s but one move in the cyclical dynamic of enterprise growth. Every once in a while, though, one of those acquisitions warrants a big-picture discussion, not just a press release. Oracle’s late-July, $9.3 billion-dollar acquisition of NetSuite is one of those instances. Here are the cliff notes: Oracle is a large-scale enterprise database provider …
User Experience is About to Have Its Day
Digital transformation has taken root as a top priority within most modern companies. The customer experience stands out as a key brand differentiator in this technological shift, because customers can easily find a competitor if their digital experiences do not live up to their expectations. As user experience (UX) drives the sales cycle, IT and software professionals stand at the …
Will Smart Cities Make Society Smarter?
The year is 2036. You ride to work in your automatic car, chatting with a coworker from across the country via virtual reality (VR) glasses. Her VR image is crystal clear, like she is sitting in the backseat of the vehicle with you. You arrive at your destination and press a button, then your vehicle zooms off to your designated …
How Executives Can Use Disruption to Stay Ahead
Disruption is hardly a new business concept; change is the only constant. But are you actually prepared for it? According to a Click Z survey, more than 75 percent of respondents were aware of “digital transformation” as an industry term, but less than half had a plan to address it. Technology and business model changes are only half of the …
Here’s Why Mobile Applications Are the Augmented-Reality Hybrid
This post is sponsored by Samsung Business. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Augmented reality (AR) is a big deal. No, it didn’t come along the way we expected, via some expensive headset or pair of glasses. Instead, the smartphone serves as the gateway for millions of people to enjoy an AR experience. Scores of people have been walking around …