Cars are becoming rolling smartphones

Businessweek had an interesting article recently discussing how automakers are putting more and more technology into their vehicles.  I'm most familiar with Ford's Sync technology and I'm really impressed by it.  Not only does do the usual in-car functions such as voice navigation and 911 assistance, but it also essentially turns your phone and MP3 player into hands-free, voice activated devices.  So not only can you make and receive calls using the in-vehicle microphone and speakers, but the system will also read your texts messages to you and allow you to send certain generic reply texts using only voice commands.  You can also control your MP3 player with commands such as "Play Genre: Rock," "Play [Artist]," or "Play Track: [Song Title]."  


The best part about Sync, however, is that it's only a $400 option on new Ford vehicles. Ford reported that vehicles with Sync move twice as fast off their dealer lots and that non-Ford owners are three times as likely to consider the brand after viewing demonstrations of Sync. Also, used cars equipped with Sync, on average, sell for $200 more in auctions than those without it.  It's obvious that Ford is really dialed-in to what consumers are demanding in terms of connectivity features in their vehicles.

To read more about Sync click here.

Robots to the Rescue!

A company named Kiva Systems has developed robots that operate many warehouse functions currently performed by humans.  The company has combined three technologies - WiFi, digital cameras, and low-cost servers - into these robots which allows them to perform order fulfillment functions. The servers work in real-time, receiving orders, immediately dispatching robots to bring the required pods to the worker fulfilling the order, and then returning the pods to their storage locations. The robots receive their orders wirelessly, while using cameras to read navigational barcode stickers on the warehouse floor.

The techology has already proven very promising.  Kiva lists Walgreens, Gap and Zappos as some of their largest customers, with Walgreens planning to have 1,000 bots in its warehouses by next summer.  Zappos' Vice President of Fulfillment is quoted in the article as saying, "It's exceeded all of our expectations, doubling the productivity of our pickers and cutting our energy costs in half."  So not only are these robots more efficient than humans, but because they don't need air conditioning or much lighting, they also save on warehouse energy costs.  Maybe it's time we humans start watching our backs! 

http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/apr2009/id20090415_876420.htm

HP looking to simplify IT

HP recently announced a new company-wide initiative dubbed Instant-On, which is an effort to package its hardware, software and consulting services that can be offered as a single purchase, instead of three or more purchases as it's currently done.  The effort is aimed at helping large enterprises reduce IT complexity and becoming more responsive to internal needs as well as the needs of their customers.  By integrating the work of its hardware, software and services divisions, HP says it can help companies navigate disruptive trends such as the influx of mobile devices and the introduction of cloud computing services.  This will, in effect, allow large enterprises to uses technology to provide better, faster service to their customers, even as business requirements and consumer expectations keep changing.  


HP's primary goal of this initiative is to reassure IT buyers that all the different divisions of HP are working toward a common goal of reducing complexity and simplifying management for IT teams.  If HP can successfully deliver on this promise, the instant-On initiative will be a sure hit with IT departments around the world.

Do you have space for a revamped Myspace?

Myspace.com recently announced that it will be rolling out a completely revamped site on Wednesday, November 3.  Now I know you're probably thinking, "So what!?"  It seems to most the the social networking site is past the point of no return, with Facebook drawing well over twice the traffic during the month of September.  And the disparity is only growing.  But that's why I find this story interesting.

Apparently, Myspace realizes it can no longer compete with Facebook, so it's changing its focus.  It will not longer be a social networking site, but rather with the remake it will transition to a social entertainment site.  Now, visitors will be greeted by a mosaic of tiles featuring the most popular videos, music, and news on the site. Entertainment content, not friends, is meant to be the focus.  Myspace acknowledges that the change will likely drive away a portion of its current user base but believes it will result in positive net users over the long run.  Also, users can now sync their accounts with other social media sites such as Twitter, YouTube and even Facebook.  There is also a push to roll out innovative mobile apps and a revamped mobile site.  


I'd like to see the revamped site survive if it can offer something new and different.  However, the deck is stacked against Myspace.  No online business has ever managed to turn itself around after falling out of favor with the public.  Nevertheless, I may just be curious enough to create a new account to check it out.

SAP Now Has Its Head in the Clouds

CIO.com recently posted an article reporting that SAP announced at the Tech Ed Conference in Las Vegas that its customers will now have more options and tools for deploying the SAP's software on private clouds.  As we all know, SAP is a major supplier of ERP systems to major corporations.  With this new initiative, SAP is closer to offering completely cloud based ERP systems.  Once such systems become reality, there will be little reason for a company's employees to be located at a single location.  So virtual offices, such as those discussed in The Advocate article quoting Dr. Schwarz, will become ever more popular.  Not only would this save employees time from not having to commute everyday, but more significantly it would allow firms to employ a global workforce without regard to geographic office locations.  Armed with a laptop, an employee can set up an office anywhere he or she can find Internet access.

The Jesus Phone Disciples

CIO.com recently published an article entitled 12 Types of Cell Phone Users That Drive Us Nuts.  As the title suggests, the article contains a humorous slideshow of 12 type of cell phone users that just don't conform to social norms.  While I initially read the article for my own entertainment, I began to think about the process of how society reacts to new technologies and how norms, as well as faux pas, form over time.  There always seems to be an evolution as to how devices are used and thought of by society, and if you fall behind the curve...well, you end up in an article on CIO.com. 

One of the annoying types listed by the article is "The iPhone Snob or 'Jesus Phone Disciple'".  Apparently, it's no longer cool to show off and brag about your iPhone - that sort of behavior is now reserved for MacBook Pro users.  And although I've never owned iPhone, in the past I could have been labeled as a "Mr. 'I Can't Look Away From My BlackBerry'".  At a previous job, I parked two blocks away from my building and was often guiltly of reading emails on my BlackBerry for the entire two block trek.  And even though I no longer have that device, I still find myself doing it with my new smartphone.  It's something I'm working on, a work in progress if you will. 

So which faux pas are you guilty of?!  Come on, I fessed up, now it's your turn!

Dell Getting Serious about Networking

An article posted on CIO.com today announced that Dell has hired away a former Cisco executive, Dario Zamarian, to head up its networking division.  Zamarian will be the first vice president ever dedicated to Dell's networking division, which signals that Dell is putting more emphasis on networking than ever before.

As we talked about in class, more and more data and software are moving into "the cloud", which means that network usage will continue to grow rapidly in the coming years.  Networks are also being increasingly taxed by the rapid proliferation of mobile search.  It used to be that someone had to be sitting in front of a computer in order to perform a Google search or surf the internet.  Now with smartphones, those same people can surf the internet anytime and from anywhere, leading to many more searches being performed overall.

Dell has clearly recognized this trend and is now playing catch up in the space.  Just a few weeks ago we saw them engage in a pricing war with HP over 3Par, a leading, high-end storage vendor specializing in cloud services.  By the time HP finally emerged victorious, the two companies had bid up 3Par's stock price to a multiple several times higher than it was at the beginning of the war.  It seems that Dell isn't giving up, however.  It is now speculated that Dell may try to acquire Brocade, another storage networking player.  It'll be interesting to see if there will be further consolidation in the sector as the big guys who are behind the curve acquire smaller, more innovative firms.

Investing in IT

As we saw in the Zara and Schwab cases, there comes a time in almost every organization's life cycle when it must make a decision as to whether or not to invest in or upgrade it's information technology.  When that time comes, it is important for the company make a multi-factor assessment which should include itself, its customers, competitors and partners.

The company must assess itself to determine whether its employees and management are capable of implementing and utilizing the new system.  It must also consider what its strategic advantages are and whether the new system will further those advantages or hinder them.  As the article Putting the Enterprise into the Enterprise System explains, an IS must be customized to fit the business rather than the business process being altered to fit the IS.

Secondly, the company must consider what its current customers value most about the goods/services it provides.  Will the IS further promote these factors or detract from them?  Furthermore, will the new system allow the company to attract new customers by offering different or better products/services?  What about current customers?  Will they be continue their relationship with the company or will the new system alienate some of the them?  We saw in Zara that their customers value contemporary fashions, reasonable prices and ever changing selections.  If the implementation of a new IS would require the company to raise prices, how many customers would that drive away?  Would the company realize other benefits to make up for the loss of customers?  That was likely a very key consideration in Zara's decision.

It's also important to look at what the company's competitors are doing with their IS.  Are they gaining a strategic advantage as Schwab's competitors were by offering low cost brokerage accounts?  It only takes one competitor to change the face of an industry and drive its competitors into bankruptcy.  This phenomenon is mostly readily evident in the retail book sales where Amazon has become the dominant player and is driving Barnes & Noble into bankruptcy.

Finally, companies need IS that are compatible with their vendors and distributors.  Today, many business processes are automated and so all players in the supply chain must be have IS that can "talk" to one another. Failure to implement such systems will make it more difficult for a company to work with its supply chain partners and may mean that the company will be cut out of the chain and be forced to find other partners, or simply shut its doors.

Social Networking: Best Suited for the Little Guys?

Much has been said about how social networks are revolutionizing the way businesses interact with their customers.  Certainly large companies were the first to jump on the bandwagon, setting up Facebook accounts and Twitter feeds.  Now we're seeing small businesses, and many part-time businesses, joining the revolution and setting up their own pages.  Not only that, but many of these mom and pop operations exist solely on social networks.  They use their pages as their virtual storefront and oftentimes their only storefront.  And why not?  These pages are free to create and maintain, while traditional websites designed by professionals can easily cost several thousand dollars and don't provide the same level social interaction with customers.

Personally, I only interact with small local companies on Facebook and Twitter.  For example, I follow (or "like") Red Zeppelin Pizza here in town.  I often check for their daily specials and will sometimes eat there based on that.  However, I'd never follow Pizza Hut or Papa John's on a social network.  And it's not because I'm a pizza snob.  I do, in fact, eat at those places but there just something about a large company trying to go downstream on a social networking site that seems contrived.  When I visit these places, I don't feel especially appreciated as a customer, so why should I believe they care about me on Facebook?  With local places it's different.  When the owner is there and talking to customers, you feel appreciated and when I see their post on a social networking site I can attach a friendly face to the post.  What this shows is that a company can't separate its virtual communications from its live interactions with customers.

And speaking of mixing food with a dash of social media, I'm sure many are aware of the food truck revolution that is sweeping the country.  This new cottage industry owes its popularity largely to Facebook and Twitter.  Because a food truck's location largely depends on where they can find a parking spot, these businesses must be able to quickly and effectively broadcast their daily location to their customers.  They do this by tweeting and posting status updates every morning, which often leads to long lines of customers by lunchtime.  This business model would simply not work without social media and so it is a great example of how technology can be the primary enabler of new business ventures.

Click here for an article on Baton Rouge's food trucks!

Surviving in the Mobile Space

As Prof. Schwarz posted on his blog this week, the world of mobile devices is in a period of rapid change and innovation.  It appears that both Microsoft and RIM are at inflection points with their mobile platforms, and their actions in the next year or so (possibly less) will determine their viability in this increasingly competitive market.  Point in case, Palm would have been forced to declare bankruptcy had HP not come in and acquire them at the last minute.  While their WebOS operating system was widely considered to be one of the best, if not the best, on the market, they made poor decisions when it came to hardware design and their selection of carriers. 

Although Microsoft and RIM have much healthier balance sheets than Palm did, they both risk being squeezed out of the market if they don't innovate.  The article Prof. Schwarz linked from cio.com talks about how companies are increasingly giving their employees choice when it comes to their mobile device.  If this trend continues, I can't help but believe that this will spell disaster for RIM.  As someone who suffered for three years with a company-issued Blackberry, I must say that there's no chance I'd ever purchase such a device for myself if given the choice.  The OS is clunky, outdated and sometimes downright unpleasant to use.  There were high hopes that the revised OS on the BB Torch was going to change all that, but alas it didn't.  Furthermore, if a mobile device company wants to survive in today's world, it needs not only an attractive and intuitive operating system but also an ecosystem built around that operating system. 

Apple does a good job of this by integrating iTunes and iBooks into iOS.  Tomorrow Apple will be announcing a new Apple TV tomorrow and I'd be shocked if that isn't integrated as well.  Because I'm a Google fan, my device of choice is, of course, an Android device.  When I purchase the device I was amazed at just how easy it was to get up and running.  Upon first turning on the device, it asked for my gmail login and I was off and running.  It had imported all my gmail contacts, google calendar, gchat friends and emails into my phone without me having to do a thing.  And of course, all these things are continuously synced between the phone and desktop applications.  I just can't envision how RIM can compete with such ecosystems when all they do is produce the Blackberry.  Microsoft, on the other hand, is better positioned and may have a fighting chance given the opportunity for Office and XBOX integration.  Not to mention its experience with enterprise systems and ability to throw mountains of cash at the effort.  Now it only has to overcome the stigma of its products being "uncool" (props to Apple for that).