Smartphones - Expect Innovation in Decision Support

A recent study released by Pew Research shows the ownership of smartphones in the US has continued to increase over all other forms of personal electronic device. “Today, 68% of U.S. adults have a smartphone, up from 35% in 2011.” Also, “tablet computer ownership has edged up to 45% among adults”, as compared to 3% five years ago.

At the same time, personal computers have stayed at about the same level of ownership, meaning that relatively speaking, the use of small mobile devices has grown relative to computers.

Indeed, research shows that the use of smartphones and tablets for accessing the internet far exceeds the use of computers for that purpose. At a time when a growing percentage of data available to people now resides in the cloud, this is a significant trend. It means that decisions are increasingly made by people getting their data from the cloud through the use of smartphones.

Smartphones and tablets are very different from computers in important respects. Obviously, they have very small screens compared to computers, which means that websites need to be formatted so they can be read on those smaller screens. The best way to accomplish this is to have the websites prepared using ‘responsive design’, under which the website detects the type of device attempting to access it and presents the data in a format that is suitable for that device. Many organizations are using this technique to present information.

Another major difference between mobile personal devices and laptops is in that the former have less computing power than laptops or other computers. That means that people who must use data for more complex decision making must either use a computer to do the analysis or else, if they are using a smartphone, have access to online tools that will interact with a smartphone. Or else, they need apps that incorporate online analytical capability.

In certain fields, online analytical capability is getting richer. Certainly the power of smartphone apps is growing considerably.

As an example, most companies present their investor relations information in a special section of their website. Some present this information using responsive design.  Some others, far fewer at this point, make available IR apps for smartphones. The apps format key information for the smartphones and in some cases make available online analytical capabilities through those apps.

Investment decisions can be complex decisions and is an area where a great deal of innovation is going to happen over the next few years to reflect the growing use of smartphones in making decisions. Watch for a lot more apps and a lot more analytical capability where investors can select the data that is needed for their decisions and analyze it on their smartphones.

   

IT is entering a new World Order on the Cloud

While the cloud has been in existence for several years now, and many enterprises have made use of it, in some cases considerable use, nevertheless we haven't yet seen the degree of cloud usage that will prevail in the near future.

The basic economy has changed in fundamental ways, meaning that many products traditionally seen as pre-digital industrial age are now essentially digital products. In other ways the digital content has grown enough to enable the products themselves to be characterized as digital. Automobiles spring to mind. The internet of things will do the same for many more products. This means that the products must have the capability to be shared quickly and must enable the use of large amounts of data. It also means that customers expect what they always expect of digital products - instant gratification.

This is a challenge for those offering such products and many enterprises don't have the infrastructure to handle the IT demands of this new economy. Therefore they must use the cloud.

The applications and the data they use must be on the cloud in order to compete. Data must be portable and able to be analyzed using advanced analytics online. Also, it creates a need for more structured data, that is platform independent and amenable to shared analysis.

These are major changes for business. The time to start moving on it is now. For more on this idea, check this link.

The Case for Real Time Data Analytics

Companies often approach the analysis of data, particularly big data, as a historical event. In other words the data is gathered and stored for future analysis. This, however, may not be the best way to gain the most benefit from that data.

Real time data analytics is founded on the recognition that data is created every day through transactions with customers and others. This data can be useful in offering better service to customers. The earlier it is put to use, the better it is likely to be.

CRM systems are founded on this principle. However, two problems often arise. The data is not analyzed on a timely basis. Also, a CRM system does not always pick up all the relevant data. And CRM systems often do not embrace complete data analysis.

Analysis of the data in real time means that service can be improved right away, if not for the immediate transaction being conducted, but at least for all future transactions. It is useful to think of data analytics in terms of real time analysis, at lest for those data items that offer the most potential for business improvement.  For more details on this subject, click this link.

Tablets are still the Future

The use of mobile devices for internet applications has been increasing drastically. At the same time, Enterprises' interest in tablets has waned from the early days of their introduction, largely because of their lack of compatibility with enterprise systems.

This is all changing and will change considerably over coming months and years. The reason is that tablets are very good for mobile workers, which represents a large segment of the workforce, and are extremely good for internet applications. Moreover, they are destined to be compatible with enterprise systems as developers and others work towards that goal.

Data and in particular big data is a major element of future business strategy and the applications for analyzing big data must be on the internet because no enterprise systems will do an adequate job. Therefore mobile devices will be used more and more for analyzing big data.

That is a major shift in their importance. The real power will reside on the internet and the tablets (and phones for that matter) will be able to access and leverage that power. This will have a big impact on the way people work and the way enterprises use data.

For an article on tablet sales recently, click this link.

Major Survey shows Big Data Gaining in Importance

A recent survey by Unisys Federal shows the increasing importance of big data in both government and business. The survey showed that 46% of government respondents planned to hire outside consultants to help with big data projects. It also showed that many companies are becoming more cognizant of the value of big data analysis for their own business strategic purposes. There is increased recognition that big data is an important component of business strategy.

A significant problem both government and business face is that they do not have the infrastructure to support big data analysis. However, there are cloud-based tools that can do the job and this is where most companies and governments need to go. Big data will lead to a considerable increase in cloud activity over the next few years. For a good summary of the survey findings, click here.

The Internet of Things is Gaining in Use

The Internet of Things (IoT) gained prominence a couple of years ago and has been slowly gaining steam since then. It involves linking a variety of items, such as appliances, household items and clothing to the internet so that those linkages can be used to convey or analyze useful information. A recent survey by IDC shows that IoT applications are growing in numbers.

"Among the top IoT applications cited were office security and video surveillance, smart building controls, billable services, financial analytics, healthcare analytics and healthcare diagnostics."

We can expect to see massive growth in the IoT over the next few years. For more on the IDC survey, check out this link.

Parents use Social Media to Help with Parenting

A recent Pew Research Study of a large sample of parents of children under the age of 18 reveals that most parents use social media in various ways to help with their parenting. 83% of mothers say that they receive useful information at least to some extent. Fathers a little less. They also respond to good and bad news from other parents, and receive actual support for their parenting needs, with 45% of mothers strongly agreeing that they receive support and another 35% somewhat agreeing.

The most commonly used social media is Facebook, with Instragram coming second. LinkedIn and Twitter come last, but still are used by quite a number of parents.

For more details on this research, check out the Pew Website.

The Automobile Goes the Way of the Buggy Whip

There certainly are some fundamental threats to the traditional automobile as we know it. The efforts to move away from gasoline engines is not new but gaining in tempo. Also, the idea of self driving cars has a lot of support and merit, given that it would save tens of thousands of lives when mature.

Google of course is pursuing this by unveiling a concept car that looks like a Smart Car, but would be self driving. The Blade Car shows a lot of promise and also features futuristic design rather than the boxy look of the Smart Car. And then there is the Tesla, and electric vehicle which is developing a dedicated body of devotees. Although rather expensive now, no doubt the prices will come down.

A quick overview of these vehicles can be found here .

And then there is the latest urban trend of group sharing, as evidenced to some extent by the Uber phenomenon. Many big city dwellers have forsaken car ownership for several years. However, the idea of sharing will accelerate this and is especially popular with the Millenials, who are less interested in ownership of things in general than any generation in recent memory. All of this will have a major impact on the auto industry and on the economy.

It seems inevitable that the automobile is headed on a crash course to its own destruction or at least its re-creation.

 

Tech Addiction - The New Health Hazard

The evidence is mounting that tech addiction is causing major health problems for people, even at extremely young ages. That evidence indicates that this major addiction causes memory loss, vision impairment, weigh gain and low self esteem, the latter in part caused by lack of skill in direct personal social interaction. It's a problem that is growing and needs to be addressed with a variety of social programs. A short summary of some of the evidence is in this article.

Cyber Security Economics

Management of many companies are missing some important opportunities in the area of cyber security. Opportunities that could be avoided by applying some simple rules of economics. For example, one principle of economics is that the entry cost into a type of business plays an important role in determining who can enter into it. For hackers, the entry cost is quite low, so the system encourages them to enter the business of hacking. The answer is to raise the entry cost to prohibitive levels. This can be done by enhancing the difficulty of hacking the system, which means raising barriers to unauthorized entry.

That sounds simple and basic, but it requires a lot of planning. The big issue these days is that automation is pervading all aspects of the business, and security has not kept up with it. Many new systems do not include strong security measures, and because of the proliferation of different systems, certainly are not integrated across the company. And risks vary tremendously among these different systems.

Addressing this disparity requires high level planning at the board level and also senior management. A mistake often made is to leave it to the IT department. That's a big mistake. It's a major strategic issue, not a technological one, and needs to be addressed as such. For more on this area, check out this link.

Post Snowden IT Security Practices

Two years ago, Edward Snowden, a former contractor with the US National Security Agency, revealed details of various surveillance programs of individuals and companies undertaken by the government. The revelations had a big impact on the way people view IT based functions like email and social media.

Nevertheless, research conducted by Pew Research indicates that a large portion of the public has heard little of Snowden, despite the huge publicity. (30% of adults had heard a lot about it, 56% had heard a little and 6% had heard nothing.) Those who have heard of it often did make changes in their behaviours regarding communications through IT based media, but many more did not. (34% of the 30% made changes  in their behaviours, such as reducing their use of social media and using email less.)

To quote the study, "One potential reason some have not changed their behaviors is that 54% believe it would be “somewhat” or “very” difficult to find tools and strategies that would help them be more private online and in using their cell phones. Still, notable numbers of citizens say they have not adopted or even considered some of the more commonly available tools that can be used to make online communications and activities more private:

• 53% have not adopted or considered using a search engine that doesn’t keep track of a user’s search history and another 13% do not know about these tools.
• 46% have not adopted or considered using email encryption programs such as Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) and another 31% do not know about such programs.
• 43% have not adopted or considered adding privacy-enhancing browser plug-ins like DoNotTrackMe (now known as Blur) or Privacy Badger and another 31% do not know such plug-ins.
• 41% have not adopted or considered using proxy servers that can help them avoid surveillance and another 33% do not know about this.
• 40% have not adopted or considered using anonymity software such as Tor and another 39% do not know about what that is."

The study shows that there is a fairly significant lack of knowledge of the tools available to preserve privacy, something that could be remedied with educational and awareness programs.

For more n the Pew research, check out this link.

Security Reviews are Good Business

Amid growing concern about cybersecurity, many businesses have grown a patchwork of security systems that have become dis-functional. The lack of effectiveness reflects itself in both the disparity of the systems and the consequent difficulty of managing them, as well as their simple inability to deal with security threats on a comprehensive basis. Businesses in such a position can lull themselves into an unwarranted sense of security.

The solution lies in taking an organized, planned and enterprise-wide approach to security, developing systems that complement each other and ideally have a commonality in their management requirements.  Security reviews by a professional can be money well spent in these cases. For one perspective on this important area, check out this link.

Is Open Data Useful? Depends on who you ask.

A recent major study conducted by Pew Research sampled the opinions of a wide spectrum of Americans on the use to which they put open data. It also asked their opinions on whether such data was useful or could be.

One of the major findings, not surprisingly, was that the usefulness of open data in the minds of the public depends on whether people trust the government or not. Those who trust the government place a higher value on open data and those who do not, don't. Generally speaking.

It is expected that open data will grow exponentially over coming years and that it will be used for everything from weather forecasting to renewal of fishing licences.

An excerpt: "Few Americans think governments are very effective in sharing data they collect with the public:
Just 5% say the federal government does this very effectively, with another 39% saying the federal government does this somewhat effectively.
5% say state governments share data very effectively, with another 44% saying somewhat effectively.
7% say local governments share data very effectively, with another 45% responding somewhat effectively.
Somewhat larger numbers could think of examples in which their local government either did or did not do a good job providing information to the public:
19% of all Americans could think of an example where the local government did a good job providing information to the public about data it collects.
19% could think of an example where local government did not provide enough useful information about data and information to the public.
Relatively few Americans reported using government data sources for monitoring what is going on:
20% have used government sources to find information about student or teacher performance.
17% have used government sources to look for information on the performance of hospitals or health care providers.
7% have used government sources to find out about contracts between government agencies and outside firms.
The low percentages likely reflect the fact that open data is relatively new and not yet comprehensive. AS time goes on and applications develop, there seems little doubt that these percentages will grow. For a more detailed look at the findings of the study, click this link.

Data Rules

Last month, the US Secretary of Commerce announced the appointment of a Chief Data Officer to the Department of Commerce.

This move exemplifies the importance of data in our world. One of the major effects of the proliferation of digital technology and its interconnectedness has been the creation and availability of vast amounts of data. There is widespread recognition, in business and in government, that this data is a valuable resource.

This recognition shows itself in business with the growing use of analytics for everything from business intelligence to customer relationships to analyzing travel expense reports.

In government, policy formulation is increasingly dependent on meaningful data from a variety of sources.

A problem emerges, however. Not all of the data is usable in its present form. It exists in a variety of information systems and formats. Thus the rise of the concept of open data, i.e. data that is set in a format that is open and understandable to a variety of platforms, such as XML and XBRL. Governments have placed much emphasis on the creation of open data portals to make data available to the public for analysis.

Accountants need to take note. In an increasingly data centric world, their role is rapidly changing from one where they create pre-formatted reports to one in which they must analyze a vast array of data and make sense of it to a waiting world. This is an epic change, to use a currently popular metaphor.

Thus in the world of accounting, the primary focus of effort has shifted from debits and credits to data analytics. From pre-formatted reports for general purposes to analytical reports that support informed decision making on urgent issues of the day.

How we make the data more useful by adopting more open standards in presentation and how we then analyze the data is what will shape the accounting profession as we move more deeply into the world of data.

For an analysis of the Department of Commerce Appointment, check this link.

Self Driving Cars - The Next Big Game Changer

If you had any thoughts that the technology revolution is going to die down any time soon, consider the coming of self driving cars. So much of our society is built around cars and the way we use them. But so far, the infrastructure around them is built on the fact that people need to drive them.

When cars become self driving, it means that people who drive long distances or just commute won't have to sit and watch the road. They will be able to surf the internet, answer emails (safely), and generally work and make their time more productive. Or have a nap. Accidents will drop dramatically, along with fatalities. The insurance industry will be turned on its head. As will the transportation industry.

Self driving cars will mean that you can order up your car, probably on your smart phone, and it will come to you. Google, which has been a leader in this area, is planning to implement this idea in its office areas soon. You won't necessarily need to park your car when you get to work. Instead you can send it home and call it back at the end of the day. In the meantime, it can be used by other people. Car sharing is expected to become more common.

The car industry is jumping in. Volvo is planning the introduction of self driving cars in Sweden by 2017. Early models will be limited in their capabilities. However, this will change. Predictions are that by 2050, 20% of the car market will be self driving, according to McKinsey and Co. This doesn't mean of course that it will be another 35 years before we see them in common use. There will be a growth trajectory over that period. We already see bits and pieces. Cars that park themselves. Cars that brake when they detect a pending collision. We're getting there. And it will change our lives.

The Coming Change in Higher Education

The last few years have seen a strong interest in MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) that are being offered by many high end universities and other organizations (such as Coursera). The prediction has been that they will lead to the elimination of the need for students to spend massive amounts of money to get a university degree.

So far, that hasn't happened, although MOOCs continue to be very popular. A major reason they haven't revolutionized education as yet is simply that they do not lead to a widely accepted form of formal designation. Everyone, and in particular prospective employers, recognizes a degree awarded by a recognized institution of higher education, no matter how small that institution might be. However, not everyone recognizes a set of certificates awarded by taking MOOCs.

Eventually, that will change. many people and institutions are working on ways to make that change, and when they succeed, the revolution will come.

The change could take many forms - hybrid degrees, supervised programs with occasional face to face interventions, in-person seminars with course delivery online. The idea of a degree will likely change along with the delivery. Instead of traditional degrees, which in themselves communicate little about the skills learned, there could be more robust certificates that provide a lot more detail and would show up on search engines for the benefit of employers. That would remedy a shortcoming that exists now in the traditional system - not knowing exactly what the student actually did and learned in acquiring their degree. Such information for employers would enable them to search out more precisely the skills they seek.

Students go to university to be able to get a job. That is what society has demanded, but the system is not viable in the long term. Costs keep rising and more and more students simply cannot afford it. MOOCs have proven that effective delivery of courses can be accomplished online, although of course there remains some controversy. But as soon as employers become satisfied that the skills learned through online courses can be valuable to them, the traditional reliance on traditional university degrees will change. And students will no longer need to spend tens of thousands of dollars on acquiring their degree.

A recent excellent article in the New York times explored these ideas and provided some real food for thought. Check it out.

Cell Phones A Major Part of Our Lives

Mobile Phones have changed the way we live. Pew Research publishes a page that shows some of the ways these ubiquitous little devices are used. For example, it shows that:

"67% of cell owners find themselves checking their phone for messages, alerts, or calls — even when they don’t notice their phone ringing or vibrating.

44% of cell owners have slept with their phone next to their bed because they wanted to make sure they didn’t miss any calls, text messages, or other updates during the night.

29% of cell owners describe their cell phone as “something they can’t imagine living without.”

When you consider that over 90% of Americans and Canadians own a cell phone, those are pretty impressive statistics.

For more on this check out the Pew Research page.

Making Sense of Big Data

In a world awash in data, finding ways to make sense out of it and actually use it productively is an ongoing challenge. But there are numerous examples of companies that have found new and innovative ways to do just that. This article from the Globe makes the point well.

Online Grocery Orders

Ordering groceries online for delivery has been a service that has been around for several years, mostly in the big cities, but has never taken off big time. Start-up cost has been a major issue, and has slowed the growth of such big services as Googles. The real issue is the business model, which for many has involved the building of warehouses and related infrastructure.

Instacart has a different model, which involves using established retail stores, like Costco, as their warehouse and hiring shoppers to do the shopping and deliveries, So there is little startup cost and almost no infrastructure to develop. The service seems to be taking off. The issue for them is whether they can compete in the long term on price, since they are buying from retailers. That will depend on how successful they are, and how much they are able to develop clout in determining prices they pay to their suppliers. Here's a writeup on Instacart.

Using Brain Waves to Control Electronic Devices

Researchers are commercializing a new technology that has been undergoing research for over a decade. It is a device that attaches to the skull and communicates with a brain implant that picks up thoughts and transmits them to nearby devices. The result is that the user can control the remote devices with their thoughts.

This technology has major implications for people who are paralyzed, and that is the focus of the first planned implementations. Here's a writeup.

WiGig - A New Faster Wireless Technology

There's a new wireless technology coming into the market this year from a number of vendors. It's called WiGig and works more than 10 times faster than the fastest WiFi. So it will be useful for such functions as transferring Hi Def movies between devices, which it can do in a few short minutes.

Since WiGig can't go through walls, it won't replace WiFi, but it will still be a useful tool for transferring data within a room without wires. For an article on WiGig, click here.

Email and Internet makes Workers feel more Productive

Pew Research shows that white collar worker usage of the internet, which amounts to over 90% of such workers, appears to improve productivity. Workers say that email facilitates communications with others outside the organization. Internet makes them feel more in charge. For a write-up, check this link.

Smart Wearable Devices Will improve Your Health

Wearable devices - technologies - are going to be used more often, with some predictions that they will be common by 2018. Smart bracelets, watches, rings, pins, implants and other devices are all going to get smarter and be more useful for monitoring and improving health.

We already see several devices being worn now, in many cases for exercise purposes, but also for people with chronic health issues, like heart problems.

But most of the devices in use now are not all that smart. They can do simple jobs, but their range of functionality is limited. The new devices coming along will be much more robust and make use of big data to carry out more sophisticated analysis. They will be used to monitor fitness, chronic health problems, recovery from illness and surgery, effects of diet and so on.

For more on this new trend, check out this article.