The 3rd innovation wave – Why insight and intelligence will matter to you and your business

I was looking at old blog posts and in Nov 2010 I wrote about the on coming storm of data as an emerging consequence of cloud. The reality was the emerging social and business collaborations where creating new social , business and industrial networks. I predict the rise of AI into these networks will become an increasing factor in 2014 and beyond as social intelligence becomes part of the workspaces and user experience. How this AI will manifest will be a combination of advanced applications and automation in platforms that are starting to emerge within some industries using integrated information, mobility devices and social business processes to drive new services. AI in that sense is not just a automated response but design innovation led user services that better match and follow users lifestyles and daily activities. To do this will require a multiple approach to platform and device design thinking that combines different levels of service and network integration. A few examples leading this emergence can be seen in:

• Telecoms supply chain networks – the development of integrated content and social ecosystems and multi-media services.

• Retail supply chain networks – physical and virtual retail mall experience and integrated mobile media device services. Recognition that the catalog and its distribution is a total service chain.

• Complex engineering supply chain networks – the augmentation of digital simulation and content of manufacturing and product engineering as a seemless multi-systems flow.

I see this as a 3rd evolution of technology innovation from loose coupled organizations and tight coupled integrated organizations that may have in the past served creative and managed project and product development. Today a combination of internal and external networks are a “new normal” that the CxO will need to address beyond traditional organizational and project service solutions.

The new crowd sourcing and funding platforms like eYeka and CircleUp are part of this new 3rd innovation wave, Some Service providers and consultancy like McKinsey and Accenture I see are also starting to reorient their approaches towards this federated design approach.Some systems integrators like CSC are also establishing a hybrid approach to the service layer with proper investment in IP led initiatives like ServiceMesh that will enable better consistency across multi-providers and solutions at the systems level and not just the contracts level. A consequence may well result in 2014 with the need to audit current digital transformation providers and multi-sourced services to check whether they are moving in the right direction for value creation and value efficiency.

Nov 2010: While business and technology environments shape events, developments also shape what these environments mean and change seems to be faster then ever. So insight and knowledge of the environment and behaviours will be essential in being able to better understand how best to respond and position you and your business.

The word “transformation” is a description of the alteration in a state of a system. But while transformations have been going on for as long as recorded history, transformation of the developments and behaviours have become more intertwined.

Lessons learnt from AI and the computer gaming industry

The development of artificial intelligence AI has long been a goal since the 1950s and the developing of computer programs for chess gaming. Not until the 1980s did computing seriously start to challenge and beat human Grandmasters. But these are arguably not real world problems as the conditions and game play are within strict rules and simple predefined pieces.

The lessons learnt are very similar to the current challenges and emerging changes that we see in the business world.

One may well ask why should this be relevant to cloud computing when the story of services and implementation may follow traditional lines of infrastructure and services. The answer is that positioning the right cloud solutions as a cloud provider or seller is affected by the level of understanding and insight of the industry and value propositions. But more importantly, from the consumer and buyers side; the level if information and insight to needs and buying behaviour is becoming increasingly more digital across a range of online channels, devices and services.

Events, data and transactions are more than ever interactive and follow patterns of choice and relationships in a marketplace. Understanding these will bring new competitive advantage and new emergent opportunities.

#CloudComputing #AI #Digital #DigitalEcosystems