Premise Control and Environmental Factors

"Premise control is the systematic recognition and analysis of assumptions upon which a strategic plan is based, to determine if those assumptions remain valid in changing circumstances and in light of new information." Planning premises are primarily concerned with environmental and industry factors, I will focus on the environmental factors. These are your intangibles, the uncontrollable factors the pose great influence on the success or failure of a strategy. One of the biggest influences on corporate strategy in relation to IT is Web 3.0 - the Internet of Things. The entire world is connected to everything at the speed of light through a complex mesh network of connected devices and computers dubbed the Internet. This poses a massive challenge to the status quo of conducting business in that consumers have a "get it now" mentality. With a few taps of a smartphone, or a few clicks of a mouse, consumers have access to not only information, but nearly anything you can imagine is available instantly. Satisfying this need for instant gratification poses a real threat to older, traditional methods of conducting business, while creating immense opportunities for the organizations that puts together the right mix of goods and services. The younger generations are leading the demand curve, as well as sharing feedback in real-time about the viability and quality of goods and services offered in the digital marketplace, and many companies are having trouble keeping pace. CTO's and business strategists are now having to create ways to remain relevant in this new digital world. It is not longer as simple as creating an online presence, or e-commerce capabilities. With social media taking center stage on real-time feedback, and the sheer volume of information that is shared across these networks, companies need to take advantage of this marketing free-for-all and become engaging with their consumers, vendors, and service providers to form a cohesive and comprehensive ecosystem where all parties can interact with the goal of not only improving the quality of the products being manufactured but also provide instantaneous and enriching C2B & B2B interactions. The Internet provides the medium for anyone to access any information that is available, anywhere they are geographically, and this has dictated a new business landscape. The strategy is no longer to appeal to a particular demographic or region, which used to be very successful for product placement and marketing plans. The strategy has shifted to being universally understandable across every demographic, and every region, everywhere. Established best practices and presentation methods of digital information has created an expectation for all e-commerce providers, whether they be Walmart, or the local eye doctor. Every consumer, old and young, demands that every company they interact with have not only an online presence, but also a mobile app, a multitude of customer service options - phone, email, IM, chat, Skype, FAQ's, an online knowledge base, automated troubleshooting tools, and with larger corporations like Walmart the ability to get in-store service for products purchased online. Companies like Walmart are large enough and have enough resources to remain relevant in the every changing, fast evolving, Internet of Things world, however many companies, even the largest ones, are struggling to remain relevant. The opening example of the ups and downs of Dell Corporation are a perfect example. Dell was late to the table with the mobile computing market as they were focused on consumer PC's, a brief stint in consumer peripherals (printers, etc, which were highly unsuccessful), then the Enterprise where they are still very strong with their Server and managed services platforms. However, as the formal PC becomes something of a niche product group anymore, where old home PC's are being transformed into home servers and left stagnant as tablets, convertible laptops, and smart devices proliferate the global market, Dell feel behind the 8-ball, as it were. As their PC sales dwindled, inventory accumulated, and users looked elsewhere for their technology needs, knocking Dell from the top of the market after a multi-decade dominance globally. The problem is they never had good premise control, thus they did not reevaluate and either change or abandon their existing strategy. The ultimate failure in my opinion was their inability to recognize, ore react to, the paradigm shift in how consumers and businesses conducted business. They stood firm that the PC would remain the dominant force in the market, however Apple was the catalyst of a massive movement with the release of the iPhone - they helped push the mobile convergence to consumers in an easy and pragmatic way. They created a device that was so simple to use, and so connected with everything, that everyone jumped on board, and quickly. Smaller companies and startups rode their coat tails as the mobile marketplace was born. In a short time frame, the entire world was connected via mobile devices. Companies like Google and Samsung were quick to recognize the paradigm shift and started creating systems and services specifically designed for mobile platforms. Fast froward to modern day and the lines are gone - there is no separate platform for desktops and mobiles, all systems now see the same information in the same way. As web development technologies evolved, and modern mobile systems became more powerful than the servers of just a few years ago, what used to be a significant difference in computing power become insignificant on all counts. Premise control has become the name of the game, and the evaluation and management of environmental factors have become the lifeblood of any organization that wants to be successful in the modern business world.







Pearce, John A., and Richard B. Robinson. Strategic Management: Planning for Domestic & Global Competition. 13th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2013.

Wearable Technologies: An Academic Discussion

For the moment, wearables are extensions of our smart phones and phablets offering a set amount of capabilities that are inferior to our smart devices but highly functional as they are currently designed. With innovations through miniaturization and improved power efficiencies, curved glass high resolution screens, products like the various takes on the computerized watch accessory, Samsung Gear Fit bracelet accessory and other exercise monitors, Google Glass wearable computers, various applications of systems embedded into clothing for various purposes (muscular development, health monitoring, etc.), biological chips that hold medical conditions and history details embedded under the skin, are all wearable technologies that are already changing how a lot of services are being delivered. Through improving miniaturization processes and improved manufacturing capabilities through more precision automation systems these wearable technologies will cause market disruption for various products that currently dominate the technology market such as laptop computers and other larger portable computing devices. There has been an shift happening the past couple decades that I have been tracking along with some peers. As technology advances and devices continue to shrink in size while increasing in power users are following suit by moving from clunky desktop systems, to laptops, to ultra books, to tablets, smart phones, and now wearables. The newest small, accessory-like devices have more computing power contained in them, and technical capability, than did the first dozen computers I owned growing up, combined. With as capable as wearable computing is commercially available today, combined with the research being done in nanotechnology and artificial intelligence and cloud-based service offerings and vast storage facilities, the future of wearable computers is already well in hand, with more innovations coming as we begin to fully understand how to manipulate and integrate such technologies as nanotubes and nanowires to allow us to take computing capabilities down to microscopic levels. The potential is nearly limitless, with the ability to theoretically build nanomachines that are self sufficient, self reliant, and highly aware, that could be able to repair genetic defects within DNA that result in terminal illnesses, mental disabilities, or other debilitating genetic predispositions passed down through the generations. Wearable microprocessors that are embedded in a persons skin could be the hub that enables personal interactions with our various devices and daily system interactions, also medical facilities, civil and government facilities, as well as large scale advertisements to provide a highly customized and personal experience not previously capable. Are there be privacy concerns, of course. Will there be instances of data theft, of course. Will it be a deterrent for mass adoption of such systems, no I do not think so. This is not different than the current state of things with our smart phones, tablets, phablets, laptops, flash drives, and cloud-based facilities. With as convenient as it becomes for dealing with usually stressful situations, such as going to the doctor, visiting a busy DMV, or being able to pay for products in a crowded store quickly, people would begin to see the benefits of convenience begin to far outweigh the potential invasions of privacy. Being able to have your personal details quickly at hand, regardless of what level of detail the user decides to include, does provide the basis for process innovation through technological innovation. Wearables will become the primary outlet for the next generation of data sharing and digital interaction.




What do you think about the future of wearable technologies? ~Geek

Market Segmentation - A Geek's Perspective

So one of the "Applications" sections of one of my chapter readings this week about market segmentation, coupled with a conversation I had earlier today with a great friend, spawned this blob of words.

Is the World Coming Closer Together? Many social commentators maintain that youth and teens are becoming more alike across countries over time. Others, although not disputing the fact, point out that differences between cultures at even younger ages by far exceed the similarities.

Take a position: People are becoming more and more similar, versus, The differences between people of different cultures far outweigh their similarities.

My reply:
Learning about segmentation was interesting this week. What it made me think about is how different everyone's tastes are, but also similar the world has become from where it has been. There was a question at the end of one of the chapters that asked that exactly. "Take a position: People are becoming more and more  similar versus The differences between people of different cultures far outweigh their similarities." I think our world is in a transitional period where the older generations are being moved out of their positions of power and influence, and the next generation is moving in with different worldly perspectives. At the moment, Baby Boomers are in positions of power around the world, but the Gen X and Y groups are quickly climbing the corporate and political ranks as the Boomers start to retire younger and younger. Age is becoming a non issue for the most part in a lot of industries as skill sets become a commodity that only experience can make more attractive, but consumers seem to be preferring interactions with younger workers, which demonstrates a level of segmentation from the consumer perspective as the younger and more modern generations start to become consumers of luxury items as their disposable income increases also at younger ages. I asked a group of teenagers (13-15 year olds) the same question. They pretty much all agreed with my theory. They look to interact with service providers that they can better relate to, and communicate at higher and higher levels of technical expertise on modern conveniences, rather than someone who reminds them of their parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents whom constantly offer their displeasure of such interactions. Racial lines are being blurred to the point of nonexistence in the younger generations waiting for their chance to be in positions of power and influence so they can make their mark in the world and change its perspective. Good marketers are being more creative with establishing brand messages that span most age groups and demographic groups around the planet, channel guidelines are well established and generally followed, and the gray area of taboo marketing has a tendency to go viral with the technically affluent community regardless of their age. The Internet offers a platform that supports extreme freedoms of expression, open sharing of information, and has a connectivity factor that has more than 4+ billion users around the globe a few milliseconds (or less) from each other. As such, marketing campaigns that would not be seen as appropriate (taboo) for conventional marketing channels like TV and radio are finding their place online where segmentation does not technically exist. With as connected as everyone is today, it makes sense why every interaction with our devices and machines renders some ad for a product that specifically appeals to you and your friends. Marketers are good at what they do, and technology makes it a lot easier to shift marketing methods at the speed of progress.

What do you think? Am I on the right track or completely off base? ~Geek

Reference:

Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2012). Marketing Management (14th ed.). Retrieved from http://www.coursesmart.com/SR/7147203/9780132103008/617?__hdv=6.8.