The Information Explosion (and the case for Business Process Integration)
"These vast size of data being generated, archived, managed and exchanged is driving the need for business process improvement and business process integration."
Rollin Ford, Wal-Mart’s CIO, earlier this year stated “Every day I wake up and ask….how can I flow data better, manage data better, analyze data better”. Not surprising when you consider that Wal-Mart processes over 1 million client business transactions every hour and manages databases over 170 times the size of the entire Library of Congress (the largest library in the world). However, Wal-Mart is not an isolated phenomenon. We are in an era that has been referred to as the “Industrial Revolution of Data”. The Economist calls it the “Data Deluge” and describes data as “the new raw material of business, on a par with capital and labor”.
In 2005 we created 150 billion gigabytes (or 150 exabytes) of data globally and this year (2010) a whopping 1,200 billion gigabytes (or 1,200 exabytes) of information is projected to be generated. Digital data is increasing at a compounded growth rate of 60% per year and this growth rate is expected to increase dramatically going forward. Google now manages 35,000 queries each second and processes more data in half a day than the US Postal Service is expected to manage and deliver all year (about 5 petabytes worth, or 5 million gigabytes). Corporate America is expected to archive 27 billion gigabytes (or 27 exabytes) of data this year alone.
Continue reading “The Information Explosion (and the case for Business Process Integration)” »
How to Justify Application Modernization to your CFO – Episode 2
In our last episode, our hero (you, of course) was preparing to make an ROI-powered business case for Application Modernization to your CFO. We covered your current resources, your goals, and steps 1-4 in the process.
This episode unveils Step 5 – Conducting a Project Scope.
A Project Scope may also be called a Project Study or a Requirements Analysis. The name is not of importance; the Input, Activities and Output are. So let’s go through each of those in some detail.
Input to a Project Scope
Before starting on a Project Scope, we need some basic ingredients:
- A sensible modernization initiative with promising ROI potential
- Significant interest from the business
- At least a small mandate from the executive level
If you haven’t yet achieved these necessary inputs, I encourage you to review steps 1-4.
Continue reading “How to Justify Application Modernization to your CFO – Episode 2” »
Redchester is the new capital of Switzerland
I may get berned at the steak by Swiss federalists for spouting hearsay, but I've heard some stories that I must share.
Those clever Swiss folks learned long ago that being neutral can have considerable political and economic benefits. Why choose sides when you can carve out a profitable niche in the middle?
This lesson can be equally well learned and applied to making IT decisions. I often find organisations defining themselves as an AS/400 or a .NET shop as though these are mutually exclusive identities. It's true that Rochester and Redmond are at almost opposite sides of the country, but their technology stacks can come together to form a happy place that I have christened Redchester.
Redchester - a happy place
Redchester is a place where teamwork produces better results than solo endeavor. In plain English, it's where the power of IBM's midrange systems meets the personal productivity benefits of Microsoft's product suite. In Redchester data flows freely but securely between systems so that each citizen always has the information they need where and when they need it.
The best news of all is that Redchester is not a fictional place, although, I confess, it is not the new capital of Switzerland. Recently I came across a couple of real-life customer stories that brought the benefits of unifying the IBM and Microsoft stacks into sharp focus for me. Continue reading “Redchester is the new capital of Switzerland” »
The State of Global Data Synchronization
My introduction into Global Data Synchronization started in 2002 as an IT manager for an early adopter of Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN) standards in the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry. At the time, CPG companies were the only sector actively synchronizing item data in the United States. Since then, GDSN adoption has expanded to many other sectors with the latest entrants being Food Service and Healthcare. (If you are new to GDSN, check out our Jargon Buster page.)
LANSA folks at U Connect 2010
I’ve just returned from a very busy, well attended U Connect 2010 conference held in San Antonio where this increased activity was evident.
As GS1 US celebrated their 10th year for the conference, it was obvious that there were a lot of new companies in attendance. It was exciting to see how the momentum has picked-up for the GDSN initiative and how the standards are being adopted by more and more companies as a better way of doing business. There are now more than 5 million GTINs (unique trade items) in the GDSN network, exchanged between 92 countries! (Find the latest stats by opening this PDF version of the GS1 Global Registry Statistics report.)
The LANSA team met throughout the week with companies at all stages of adopting Data Synchronization methods and tools. We have many customers that have been using the standards for a number of years that are looking to expand the use of attributes, increase the use of integration with their ERP and/or PIM (Product Information Management) systems and increase the number of trading partners they exchange item data with. For the newer entrants, they are learning from the companies that have come before and are looking for integrated, smart solutions right out of the gate so they get the most value for their investments.
Continue reading “The State of Global Data Synchronization” »
The Business Challenge of Going Mobile
With the rampant explosion of wireless smart phone devices in the marketplace, it should be no surprise that more and more businesses are delving into the mobile world. Whether it's for productivity gains by arming staff with more ready access to data, or from marketing pressure to remain competitive and become more visible and viable with prospects, or to meet customer trends by appealing to the next generation audience – today's business applications are going mobile.
Beyond email and messaging services which are already widely used, mobile applications could range anywhere from event registration or other form-based applications, scanning for inventory updates, field worker schedule task lists to shopping cart applications and marketing schemes based on GPS locations and more.
Less than a decade ago, the choices were largely between Palm OS or Windows Mobile, and the primary challenge with wireless business applications involved available bandwidth and network coverage. Data throughput capabilities were, and can still be, more limited, with spotty reception in some remote geographical areas. Today, there are so many more devices that support varying platforms and operating systems (Apple iPhone, RIM Blackberry, Google Android, Windows Mobile, Palm Pre, Symbian, etc), and so much more diversity in application technologies along with faster networks and coverage. With such diverse and ever changing capabilities along with aggressive competition for market share, the business decision of going mobile is no simple matter and constantly evolving.
Continue reading “The Business Challenge of Going Mobile” »