In this week's edition of news for CIOs and IT pros, we bring you the latest on the Internet of Things, digital transformation, and the importance of change agents. Read on for more.
Enterprisers News: July 6-9, 2015
How the Internet of Everything is impacting everyone
Is the Internet of Things for consumers or for the enterprise? We saw a lot of debate and good arguments on both sides in the news this week. On the business side, Alex Scroxton brings us a fascinating article about how IoT is being leveraged to combat the global problem of honeybee decline. A more noble and worthwhile use case than a connected fridge, he argues.
This point was also mirrored during Robin Wauters' interview with Marcus Weldon, CTO of Alcatel-Lucent, in which Weldon says that “IoT is about enterprise, not about consumer.”
On the other side of the fence, however, Stacey Higginbotham in an article for Fortune says that the consumer aspect can't be ignored. In fact, she says the possibilities for greatness in an IoT future depend on consumers buying into it through connected devices.
But, as much as IoT is a buzzword in the tech industry, Higginbotham points out that 87 percent of consumers have no idea what the Internet of Things is. Those that do, like Preston Gralla, might say it's their worst nightmare. This may be especially pertinent as it relates to the trust and privacy issues that are sure to arise as consumers become more aware of data collection and use by IoT brands.
So, what's the takeaway for CIOs and IT leaders? Futurist Thornton May makes a strong case for why IT executives need to build their IoT strategy now if they haven't already. Asking “What can we do with smart things?” must be a key question driving that strategy in order to remain competitive.
If you still don't know what IoT means to you, Scott Nelson, CTO of Logic PD, offers a handy breakdown of how the Internet of Things is impacting – and disrupting – everyone in the C-Suite.
Digital transformation starts with trust
Driving digital change is a challenge that most IT leaders are faced with today, but it's not always clear how they should go about it. If you're looking for a place to start, David Weldon says to look to the end user to get a better grasp on why you are transforming in the first place. Jack Ramsay from Accenture makes the point that it's not enough to assign the digital undertaking to one person, such as the Chief Digital Officer. He argues that it's more important to have a digital culture than a digital individual.
Regardless of how you approach digital transformation, IT must establish trust and credibility with the entire enterprise in order to be effective. In this interview with Enterpriser and CIO of the American Cancer Society Jay Ferro, IT executive recruiter Martha Heller gets Ferro to share the top four strategies his IT department employed to build the business's confidence in IT.
That reminds me…
This week Erika Morphy, a contributor for Forbes, wrote about her unexpectedly pleasant experience battling a wrongful debt from an ISP. She gave all the credit to the FCC's new consumer complaint system. The Enterprisers Project covered this very initiative back in April, and Enterpriser David Bray, CIO of the FCC, credits his network of change agents as key to making it happen.
CIOs on the move
Paul Cassell named CIO At Pico
