« March 2007 | Main | May 2007 »
April 30, 2007
Cutter Summit 2007 - Stowe Boyd on Web 2.0
Stowe Boyd is taking the stage on Web 2.0. He describes it as a very important revolution in the space of social apps that is itself transformative. He says that taking up blogging towers over everything else he has ever done in his career. It trumps his getting a degree in computer science, or all the years of working for large corporations. Being part of a large global network has been personally transformative for him.
Stowe talks about social applications as being one of the most important things in industry.
Innovation as iteration is the subject now. Innovation isn’t always something you plan in advance, and sometimes you don’t know where you’re going. I take it that he describes Web 2.0 as a place that is inherently innovative.
Web 2.0 - He says there’s a lot of controversy around whether the term itself fits. He says yes, and that Web 2.0 is also viewed as a collection of metaphors, like “Web as Platform;” “Social Web;” “Open;” “Bottom-up;” “Simple; Focused Apps;” and “Open Source Technologies.” All these apply.
It is also a collection of technologies, like LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP); RSS (Really Simple Syndication), XML, AJAX (Asynchronous Javascript and XML), Ruby on Rails, etc. [This is indeed another universe with a language all its own. I’m wondering how I might explain some of this to my mom…]
With the surging proliferation of Web 2.0 companies, some of which already don’t exist since Stowe made the slide, he says that people are asking if this is another dot-com bubble. Stowe says, no, because the economics, technologies, players, and their goals, are different than the late 1990s.
So far I’m still trying to capture the specific business economics. He’s talking about Web 2.0 technologies being very inexpensive, and in some cases, are free. Revenue is mostly through advertising. Then there’s the notion of the term, “Freemium,” whereby there is a limited amount of access to content and functionality for free, and above that, the user pays a premium. I’m stunned that Stowe is describing a recent Web 2.0 conference that was attended by 3,000 people, with another 4,000 going through the expo. Observation: It’s becoming mainstream.
Social networking means … me first. The individual is the new group: my passions, my people, my markets. Stowe is saying that in this new world, he learns about tech trends for example, by his social network connections, through the internet, and not through large media outlets.
Next is the notion of the “Buddylist” being the Center of the Universe. “I am made greater by the sum of my connections, and so are my connections.” (I am reminded of an adage I once heard from Prof. Rick Jarow of Vasser College, where he said (on creating community) that another word for a “community” is - a “market.”)
Web 2.0 is the world that blogs built; also, the blogosphere is doubling every 5 or 6 months, and that it is a worldwide phenomenon. Stowe says regardless of the number of readers that a given blog has (number of readers), that it still has value simply because of the [social aspect of its existence.]
Blogs and craigslist represents a 1-2 knockout punch to conventional media. Example: craigslist.com has been “credited” with knocking 37 percent off of classified advertising in the San Fransisco - Bay area.
Conversation flows through networks; media holds the pieces but not the content, and to understand what is going on, you have to be “in the flow.” [I am reminded of an article that I once wrote entitled “A Global Digital Nervous System.” I referred to some of Peter Russell’s ideas on Gaia theory originally advanced by NASA’s James Lovelock. For the complete text – click here.]
I'm really looking forward to the panel discussion to follow. Much about Web 2.0 is sure to come from this impressive list of experts, including Sylvia Marino (edmunds.com), Andrew McAfee (Harvard Business School), JP Rangaswami (BT Global Services) and the inimitable Ed Yourdon. For Ed's observations and keynotes etc. on Web 2.0, go to his blog here.
Posted by Mike at 03:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Cutter Summit 2007 - Rob Austin on Learning from Expert Innovators
“The future belongs to those who know how to create new things.”
- Rob Austin, Harvard Business School.
At the opening keynote for the Cutter Summit 2007 conference, this tag line is what caught my eye in Rob Austin’s assertion for a Cutter Council Opinion entitled, “The Future of IT Value Creation in a Global Economy."
Rob’s is taking the stage right now, and his keynote is on “Learning from Expert Innovators.” I always have loved Rob’s engaging style; it’s a great way to launch the Cutter Summit. Innovation is the theme of this year’s conference.
He starts by saying “Why IT needs a new (business value creation) trick.” I get the sense that he’s going to build upon the Cutter Council report assertion that says the following:
“In developed economies, creating business value with information technology will soon be less about reducing costs and improving efficiency (the traditional cost-side value creation objectives) and more about supporting activities that leads to new markets, products, services, and strategies (revenue-side value creation objectives); many IT managers have cost-and efficiency based management reflexes that prepare them poorly for this shift”.
I am amused and bemused by Rob’s opening slide: he’s showing pictures of the latest hot rage in Denmark as a way to make his point about value creation in IT: He’s showing us – (I’m not kidding here) a designer trash bin: the Vipp. A really cool sexy (yes) trash bin. How has design and innovation managed to create a product (pedagogically interesting?) that is now marketed as a fashion item? It is, unbelievably, hot because of it’s appeal as an ART OBJECT!
A Trash Can as an Art Object. And here’s the punch line. It sells for more than 500 euros. Add about 36% to convert to dollars. “Expert assembly by European craftsmen.” So it’s not even made by low-cost factories in China.
Rob’s point: The action [in this game] is on the REVENUE SIDE of the income statement.
This is about as far as you can get from competing on cost – It’s not about selling well because it’s cheaper, (it’s about selling even though it costs more), because IT’S BETTER. Rob is saying that this exemplifies the change on how we function in the world.
This company has figured out how [creativity and] INNOVATION has made it possible for people to be willing to pay 500 euros or more - for a trash bin.
We (IT) have already done the cost-side trick; now it’s time to do the revenue-side trick – THAT is the future of IT. The problem – as Rob says in the Assertion (above), that most managers have reflexes that prepare them poorly for this.
Posted by Mike at 09:30 AM | Comments (0)
Cutter Summit 2007 - Day 1
Well, here I am at the Cutter Summit once again, which promises to be a fantastic program on Innovation. The event is being held at the Royal Sonesta hotel in downtown Cambridge overlooking the Charles River with the Boston skyline in all its splendor. I can't believe how this area has evolved over the years. I remember being a student here over 25 years ago, and it was a run down warehouse district. Like Hoboken and Jersey City across from lower Manhattan, this has become a hip place after all these years. Here's a view from the hotel.
I also clipped a conference description off the Cutter website:
Innovation has become the new business-IT obsession. But really, what is "innovation"? And what does it mean for your enterprise? At Cutter, we believe innovation is a reliably repeatable process — one that is required to develop novel markets, product, services, and strategies that provide real economic value to the organization. At the 11th annual Cutter Consortium Summit conference, you’ll discover:
* How you can nurture an innovative culture in your organization
* How you can be a Risk Entrepreneur and use risk as a catalyst to innovation
* How one company has been able to make its enterprise architecture investment pay huge innovation dividends
* How to become a leader who not only has passion, but who can make a lasting impact
* How you can put the headline-making Web 2.0 technology and social trends to work for your enterprise, and
* How CIOs can balance cost-cutting pressures with the need to innovate.
The annual Cutter Consortium Summit is unlike any other conference you've ever attended. It provides a live venue for IT and business professionals to meet and debate with one another and noted experts in the IT field. The intellectual give-and-take is second to none. Discover why business and technology professionals return each year — and why you should join them!
Posted by Mike at 08:36 AM | Comments (0)
April 18, 2007
More Thoughts on Ireland's Software Industry
In a previous post I offered the question, "Is Ireland a Talent Magnet?" and from various statistics about the health of the software industry, the answer was a resounding yes. Being called Europe's Silicon Valley is no small moniker, with Ireland exporting billions of euros worth of software each year, while the country's entire population of 3.7 million is only about 1/3rd that of New York City alone. Goodness!
In light of that, I think back on a conversation I had with Seamus Gallen of Enterprise Ireland a couple of weeks ago over dinner. He told me that as attractive as Ireland is for technologists, it's still difficult to attract and recruit young people, and have them stay. As a result, some companies have no choice but to outsource work to places like Eastern Europe or India in order to design and build products. That means companies have to establish a core competence in managing outsourced development, which is no easy task.
During a panel discussion, I was asked a very pointed question by an audience member. In light of the many negative stories about outsourcing gone awry, could I share a maxim or two about what companies do when outsourcing goes well? I had to be thoughtful about this, and I hope I succedded, but what came to mind ironically, was a U.S. based client of mine that had outsourced to - of all places - Ireland. (I realized it could have sounded like I was sucking up to my Irish audience, but really I wasn't :)
In this example, I recalled two distinct characteristics of their projects, which showed lower defects than other projects that we had benchmarked, along with higher productivity. First, they were very careful about how much parallelism they attempted between the requirements/analysis phase and the design/code/test phase. This was important because these two disciplines represented the teams split across continents. Secondly, they did not use large teams. Instead, the offshore Ireland team was a small(er) cadre of engineers, compared to the monstrous army that was applied on other projects that were outsourced.
Tricky thing about these two attributes is that to choose them gives the appearance of increasing schedule risk - just the thing that management abhors. But in actual reality, when all was said and done, the projects came in faster and with fewer defects than projects which overlapped the analysis and build phases, and used large teams.
So, my advice to companies that feel they must outsource is to consider applying this tactic, even if it seems to be the opposite of what every cell in your body is screaming for you to do.
Posted by Mike at 07:54 PM | Comments (0)
April 06, 2007
A Conference NOT to miss...
...is the annual Cutter Summit, which will be held on April 29-May 2 in Cambridge MA. I *never* miss it; Along with the POPTech Conference in Camden Maine, it goes on my calendar and everything else simply revolves around it. The topic this year is - Innovation, a subject that matters more than ever in today's creative economy, if your company doesn't want to be another 'also-ran.'
This year the Cutter Summit is moderated once again by my dear friend and mentor, Tom DeMarco. If you've never been to an event with Sir Tom, then you simply haven't lived (yet). Tom was the first POPTech moderator as well, and it's because of Tom that I originally went to POPTech, which I've now done for 7 years. So here's my advice - find anything that Tom DeMarco is involved with and follow him.
A weblink describing it all is here http://www.cutter.com/summit/2007.html?utm_source=mah&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=summit
Finally, I decided that I'd excerpt the invitation that Karen Coburn, president of Cutter, had issued to her own invitee-list. I included it because in her own articulate style, Karen describes exactly why this event is so special. So pretent that she's written this for you, click on the link, read about it, and if it's right for you, come join us. It's a great skull session if there ever was one, with some of the neatest people you'll meet in the business. Our own Cutter party...
====================
Dear Friend,
Very soon, a small group of high-level business technology executives will join thought leaders from around the world to explore the key issues surrounding business-enabling IT innovation, tapping into the experience of experts they might never encounter otherwise.
You are invited to join this intimate gathering in Cambridge, MA, 30 April through 2 May for Cutter Consortium's Summit 2007: Focus on Innovation.
You'll experience:
- Insights from Paul Robertson, Cutter Senior Consultant and founder of the famed Medici Quartet on how you can learn to enjoy a leadership process that harnesses uncertainty to stimulate the vital creative energy your organization needs to be innovative and remain competitive.
- New perspectives on Web 2.0 and what it means for your organization from Cutter Senior Consultant and social media guru Stowe Boyd.
- Guidance on applying skills in risk entrepreneurship from Cutter Fellow Bob Charette that will enable your organization to understand what truly drives its customers' needs, positioning it to innovatively meet those needs before any of its competitors can.
- Robust and global research on the characteristics of people, teams, and enterprises that innovate successfully and repeatedly, and that you can apply to your organization from Cutter Fellow and Harvard Business School Professor Rob Austin.
- Challenging insights from DTE CIO and Cutter Fellow Lynne Ellyn, on the question "Is Innovation a Relevant Concept for IT?"
- Cutter Senior Consultant and Mays Business School Professor Rogelio Oliva, will lead the group through a Harvard Business School case on innovation and enterprise architecture.
- Agile and refreshingly provocative moderating of the event by Cutter Fellow Tom DeMarco that brings a level of depth, insight, and humor to the task that, simply stated, is found nowhere else. You'll interact with the experts, through keynotes, the panel debate and discussion that follows each keynote, at breakfast and luncheon roundtables, and informally, in unstructured time designed for continuing the discussion.
In addition, Sunday 29 April is packed with pre-conference workshops led by Cutter's internationally recognized experts, that will allow you to drill down on specific topics and challenges in an even smaller setting.
Summit 2007 will reveal fresh ways to think about innovation, and return you to your organization equipped with new vision and tools. The registration fee is $1,995 -- more details can be found at: www .cutter.com/summit/2007.html.
I hope you will join us and experience innovation first-hand.
Karen Fine Coburn
President & CEO
Cutter Consortium
www.cutter.com
Posted by Mike at 03:59 PM | Comments (0)