Archives For IBM IOD

Information on Demand 2012_Post Conference Wrap-up

October 30, 2012 — 1 Comment

Nate Silver – Author of “The Signal and the Noise”

 

As we shift our focus from the mania of IOD to Super Storm Sandy and settle back into our weekly routines, it strikes me just how much I was saw and learned at this year’s IOD. Having missed the last two IOD’s due to reasons that I won’t get into here, I was a bit overwhelmed at first by the sheer growth in the number of Keynotes and Sessions/Tracks to choose from and the . I went to several Partner sessions on my first day of IOD (Sunday) to get a flavor for the InfoSphere Information Server 9.1/MDM Server 10.2 roll-out plans and to mentally/physically prepare myself for the activities to follow. It was clearly not enough. I found that once the official event kicked off I was juggling 2-3 sessions for every time slot available over all 4 days. I literally was slammed right up to the last event on Th before bolting for the airport. As I sit at my desk in the Client Site facility that I work out of I am having withdrawal symptoms in terms of the limited amount of information and activities that my days now consist of. I will soon be counting the days until next year’s event.

For the Captain’s of Industry whom follower my blog and Tweets, let me leave you with a few carefully chosen take-aways in terms of strategic direction and leadership;

1.- The leverage and exploitation of Information is, and forever will be, the most significant and sustainable source of Competitive Advantage that your organization has available to it. It is up to you to set the strategy and direction for your organization to capitalize on this. Do not subordinate this responsibility to your Marketing or IT folks. It is your’s alone. Own it and Lead the charge.

2.- Advanced Analytics is not a fad (unlike the term “Big Data”). It is a core competency that every Information-driven Enterprise must establish, nurture and make pervasive across all aspects of your business activities. To be successful, you must have a healthy mix of Decision Scientists, Analytics Geeks and Pragmatists who in aggregate are the core of  your “Analytics Center of Excellence”. Under your direction and leadership they must foster a “culture of analytics-based decision making and planning” for your entire enterprise.

3.- All Enterprises need true “Strategic Partners” in order to be successful. There are many who claim to be such, but few who meet the mark in terms of overall capabilities, track record, thought leadership and innovation. I continue to believe that IBM is uniquely positioned as “The Strategic Partner of Choice” in the marketplace, no matter what Vertical segment of Industry, Government or Academia you represent. However, success cannot be achieved by simply choosing  the best strategic partner. You must take full responsibility for the delivery of all strategic outcomes and manage/optimize the relationship to achieve this. I cannot emphasize this requirement enough. You are the master of your own destiny here and cannot be passive or dis-engaged in order to be successful.

Step up to these challenges Business Leaders and you will achieve the Competitive Advantage and other Strategic Outcomes that you need to remain successful/viable in your business endeavors.

 

 

In Big Data, Business Analytics, Governance, Information Governance, Information Management
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Information on Demand_Wednesday 10/24/2012

October 25, 2012 — 1 Comment

Wednesday at  IOD provide another opportunity to drink from firehose of “Thinking Big”. The day was kicked off with two very lively presentations/talks  featuring Jeff Jonas, IBM’s Unstructured Analytics “Guru in Chief”,  followed by Nate Silver (“The Signal and the Noise”), who is a real Data Scientist by anyone’s definition. This was the red meat that the  assembled masses needed to get themselves amped up for Day 3.

 

Day 3

The 3rd day of IOD provided me with a wealth of opportunities to deep dive into some particular areas of interest/focus i.e. Business Glossary, Metadata, Industry Models, Information Governance, Customer Case Studies, etc. I found plenty of opportunities for this and was continuously juggling my schedule throughout the day to sit in on the richest of these discussions. One o

f the most compelling sets of presos were on the newly branded “Business Information Exchange (BIE). BIE is the V9.1 bundling of Business Glossary, Metadata Workbench and several other components in the InfoSphere Information Server stack into a “business friendly” suite for managing the enterprise’s Controlled Vocabulary, Business (and Technical) Metadata. The platform allows for Business Stewards and Information Governance professionals to manage Compliance, Impact Analysis and Lineage across their enterprise landscapes.

The BIE discussions continued into the domain of the Industry Models where I saw the long-term roadmap for the models from several years ago playing itself out in real-time. Th

e Industry Models are now moving into the domain of Information Architecture (IA) where unstructured information is organized using constructs as Controlled Vocabulary, Taxonomy and Metadata Tagging. This has been a critical requirement for some time now given the growth of unstructured and the rise of “Big Data: (yes, you heard me use the term in positive vain.

It is clear to me now that IBM has delivered on promises made several years back regarding “Putting the Business in the Drivers Seat” in respect to both Information Governance and Information Management. The entire Information Management Ecosystem is fully aligned with this ideal (Data Warehouses, Business Analytics, BI, etc.). As a result they are no

w without the exception the end-to-end leader in Business Informatics and Advanced Analytics. The portfolio they have created is not only Best in Class, but fully integrated from the Top Down and Bottom Up. Additionally, they have created the most flexibility along the way to integrate these capabilities into any type of enterprise landscape, not matter how heterogenous.

Captains’ of Industry take note. “IBM has positioned themselves as the Strategic Partner of Choice to support your organizations’ “Analytics Vision” no matter how large or small it might be. You owe it to your organization to engage with them in a conversation about  this journey at a time in the near future. Planning is critical to success so don’t hesitate.

Today is the final day of the IOD Death March and it is a full one as always. I will provide my review of the final day in my Friday (10/26) posting.

 

In Big Data, Business Analytics, Compliance, Governance, Information Governance, Information Management , ,
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Information on Demand_Tuesday 10/23/2012

October 24, 2012 — 1 Comment

Tuesday’s Theme at IOD was Big Analytics and IBM did it right. There was something for everyone in the offerings of the day. I was most impressed by the sheer number of Customer Applications by Industry Segment, much less the breadth of the portfolio that IBM has assembled since its initial acquisition of Cognos and SPSS.

 

Day 2

The day began with a presentation by Steve Mills, whom I refer to as the “Big Dog of the IBM Software Group”. Steve provided a good overview of the entire Information Management and Business Analytics strategy as it is currently being executed across the entirety of IBM. One could not walk away unimpressed by the sheer magnitude of IBM’s commitment to this space of the market, much less their accomplishments to date. It is clear to me that in spite of some very seasoned and formidable competition in the market, that IBM has “taken the hill” and plans on holding onto it.

For Industry Leaders out there take note; “Analytics is hard to do” no matter where you are starting from maturity-wise and in spite of you having committed your organization to becoming “an analytics-driven enterprise” it will be a long journey to get to such pervasiveness. Critical to success will be the selection of a Mentor/Partner whom will help facilitate wide cultural adoption and tangible results. Given my knowledge of the market, IBM is uniquely positioned to support you in this quest. They have acquired  a brain trust of Decision Scientists who come from all sectors of the Analytics Community. Two of the most impressive groups in the Analytics Portfolio are; the Decision Management and Risk Analytics teams. Both were constituted from companies that have been acquired (ILOG, SPSS, Algorithmics, etc.) along with IBM’s own deep bench from Research, GBS and SWG. They have a clear mandate to support Customers in accelerating their time to value and delivering strategic outcomes from each Analytics Initiative undertaken. True Yeoman’s Work in my view.

As we begin Day 3 I am going to “keep buggering on” (Sir Winston’s favorite line) and will endeavor to dig deeper into “All Things Big” in Information and Analytics here at IOD. I will be spending my time digging deeper into customer applications and testimonials as this is the real value in attending an event like this.

Stay tuned my Captains of Industry. I will report in tomorrow with an update and deeper insights for all of you to consider.

 

In Business Analytics, Information Management, Regulations , ,
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