IBM General Manager Panel #ibmimpact

The last item in the program here at IBM IMPACT before I go speak is a panel of General Managers led by Rob Leblanc. Interesting points included:

• Is a connected car a mobile data center or just a big, complex mobile device? Or both.
• How do CIOs partner with COOs to drive smarter process and improved operations and with “Chief Digital Officers” focused on the omni-channel/mobile experience? The engagement of COOs is a new thing and offers a clear benefit.
• The ecosystem is getting extended with API management, mobile apps and marketplaces, new communities creating new businesses from this ability to bring disparate data to bear. How does an organization deal with this and who owns/drives it?
• Good architecture and good architectural practices (SOA, cloud, APIs) are increasingly important because the elements of a solution are increasingly disparate with mobile apps, analytics, back end integration etc, all of which evolve at different speeds.
• Companies are using these technologies and approaches are being used both to optimize what they have to free up capacity AND to use that capacity for transformation. The first project might be about efficiency and basic effectiveness but these are leading to subsequent projects focused on transformation
• Social data is starting to be applied more purposefully, using it to drive improved operations, not just for observation.
• Focus on systems of engagement as a way to extend and exploit systems of record – not just mobile enabling or tinkering with systems of record but adding new kinds of systems (including what I would call Decision Management Systems) that build on the system of record to deliver a wholly new experience.
• The roles involved in driving technology adoption and the way IT and non-IT roles interact is changing as the kind of systems that are required changes. IT and software are becoming more tightly involved in product development, business roles like the CMO are spending more money on IT and more. New roles, new interactions.
• Collaboration is really critical – business and IT collaboration, collaboration with other organizations through APIs, operations/analytics/IT working together on projects. An increasing focus on what I share v what I know. Big shift for IT.
• Clients are looking for outcomes that can be measured (reduced fraud or improved cross sell) or they are looking for cost savings (often so they can fund a more outcome oriented project)
• Big enterprise applications need to become more flexible with processes and decisions that business people can change as their business evolves. This is especially true as companies must expose more of this to the cloud as simply pushing lumpy enterprise applications to the cloud doesn’t work.

And that’s a wrap. Off to speak.