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Instagram roundup: Disruptive business models, digital investments
2016 Fusion CEO-CIO Symposium caught on Instagram: Follow along as senior news writer Nicole Laskowski chronicles sessions on disruptive business models and digital investments.
SearchCIO's senior news writer, Nicole Laskowski, recently attended the 2016 Fusion CEO-CIO Symposium in Madison, Wis. The show is an intimate gathering of C-level executives who come to talk IT, business strategy and the next big thing. One of the major themes this year: how to create a better customer experience.
Our Instagram collection gives you a bird's-eye view of the sessions on digital investments and disruptive business models. Follow Laskowski as she takes readers inside the 2016 Fusion CEO-CIO agenda, including snapshots from sessions such as "Workplace transformation in the digital age," presented by Michael McKiernan, vice president of business technology at Citrix, and "Beyond the hype: Is your business a candidate for IoT," a session given by Rick Davidson, president and CEO of Cimphoni.
DAY ONE: Disruptive business models and the customer experience
Wed., March 9, 8:50 a.m.: "Enhancing customer experience with software analytics"
Abner Germanow, senior director of strategic marketing at software analytics company New Relic, said companies good at software tend to share three characteristics: They're organized for change, they can move with speed and scale, and they have a culture of measurement and alignment. During his presentation, Germanow provided evidence that tweaking and deploying new code is correlated to higher revenue growth (data from Puppet Labs).
Wed., March 9, 10:45 a.m.: "Beyond the hype: Is your business a candidate for IoT?"
Rick Davidson, president and CEO of Cimphoni, said the Internet of Things (IoT) business case for service companies may not be as obvious as it is for businesses that make physical products, but it could be a lucrative path to pursue. It was the first of two sessions given by Davidson. The second, which happened on the second day of the show, focused on what he called the "cognitive enterprise," which relies on technologies that can learn and even reason. He sat down with Laskowski to talk about how CIOs can prepare the enterprise for cognitive computing.
Wed., March 9, 1 p.m.: "Connecting process to people"
Gartner's Bruce Robertson took the stage in a session about the most common resource leveraged as the engine of business: people -- or, human capital. Businesses have worked hard to standardize operations and processes, but doing so turns employees into machines rather than giving them the space to think on their feet and respond to an individual customer's needs. Indeed, the customer experience and the employee experience are related so it's important that organizations make sure they amplify each other, according to Robertson.
Wed., March 9, 1:55 p.m.: "Workplace transformation in the digital age"
Michael McKiernan, vice president of business technology at Citrix, talked about how he ushered in new designs for the workplace in an effort to bolster collaboration -- a process that brought both successes and failures. One of his key insights for CIOs was a five-step framework he used to transform the office:
- Define the problem
- Design/build collaborative workplace
- Enable/deliver technology
- Mindset and capability change
- Deliver human and business outcomes
DAY TWO: IT transformation, disruptive business models
Thurs., March 10, 8:25 a.m.: "Entrepreneurship and IT transformation: Can they co-exist?"
Rick Boelter, president at Boelter Beverage Group (left), opened the second day of the conference to talk about how entrepreneurship and IT transformation could co-exist -- especially in a third-generation family-owned business that's growing. Boelter was joined by Don Hook, CTO who heads up IT, where they shared how they're trying to find a balance between standardization and a family-owned business feel. A big part of the job falls to Hook, who said he had to start by addressing critical elements first such as disaster recovery.
Thurs., March 10, 10:40 a.m.: "Responding to a customer revolution -- From digital to cognitive enterprise"
During his second session, Rick Davidson discussed what he called the cognitive enterprise, which relies on data and algorithms to learn about the customer in an effort to push services and products to a specific individual. He said the customer journey in this cognitive enterprise has already started with the "see me" phase via sensors and the Internet of Things but will eventually transition to a "guide me" phase via predictive analytics and virtual concierges such as Amazon Echo (a device that got a lot of love at Symposium). Get his full presentation and watch Laskowski's post-presentation interview with him on why the cognitive enterprise will require AI investments and skills.
Thurs., March 10, 12:40 p.m.: "Collaboration: Platform for accelerating change"
Nathan Coutinho, director of collaboration solutions at CDW Corp., a provider of technology products, said consumer apps like Periscope and Snapchat are driving innovation in the enterprise. In Coutinho's presentation, he went over four phases of the app revolution (pictured), and then three steps to accelerate change:
- Listen to the people
- Reimagine the experience
- Modernize platforms
Thurs., March 10, 1:55 p.m.: "Success and leadership in a post-digital world"
After implementing analytics, mobile apps and Agile processes, what comes next? How should CIOs lead in a "post-digital world"? Mark McDonald, managing director at consulting company Accenture, said business and IT leaders need to stop thinking about technology as merely a tool to reach customers. They need to start using technology to forge whole new ways of delivering their products and services to deliver the "outcomes" people want.
Keep an eye on other 2016 events for senior IT and business leaders. Let us know what shows your organization plans to attend. And follow SearchCIO on Instagram to see events through the eyes of our reporters.
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