EDS' Next Big Thing Blog: Read and Respond to What the EDS Fellows Say About Technology

When is personalization of technology going too far?

I received a TomTom GPS device last year and finally spent the weekend playing with it. Like many devices, I could change the startup display to show family members... My wife was happy with that.

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The software industry in conflict

I've written a number of times about the SaaS movement and what organizations need to think about when looking at its value to them.

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A Value Chain Modeling Standard?

An Object Management Group Request for Proposals (RFP) has been drafted by Henk de Man of Cordys and myself to develop a standard for enterprise value chain modeling. There is opposition to moving forward on this. There seems to be a concern that there are too many different views on value chain modeling and analysis to develop a standard. At the same time, there seems to be a belief that there would be no value in a standard.

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AI vs. the Expert

Back in the early 90s I used to work in an Artificial Intelligence group within EDS. We used to joke around that if we could actually do the task at hand, it can't be AI. At that point, I was working on a knowledge based tooling design that used geometric orientation and information on car parts to generate welding and clamping solutions. Now that we have significantly more computing power available, many of the activities we could only dream about are becoming a possibility.

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Event Driven Management and Opportunistic Computing

A while back I wrote a blog entry on Opportunistic Computing, what an organization can do with cloud computing that they wouldn't have done before. I just read an entry on the Smart Enough Systems blog that looks at some similar issues but from the perspective of proactive use of IT to increase the value of the business. He wrote that the characteristics of an organization using Event Driven Management are:

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Innovation and Finance - An Oxymoron?

Generally when we connect the world of innovation with the world of finance, we think of phrases like creative accounting. This term has come to be a euphemism for the misrepresentation of a corporation's financial position. It conjures up stories of accounting irregularities at corporations around the world such as Enron and Worldcom. While these financial practices may be novel, they may also be illegal and unethical.

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Is cloud computing vaporware or almost here?

In the past few months, I've been in numerous discussions about cloud computing and when it will get here. Lately there's been discussion even in the bastion of proprietary computing hardware -- the gaming industry moving away from consoles. You can already see today on some of the MMOG, that there is significant backend computing taking place with the console focused on presentation. Many organizations have already looked hard at putting thin client solutions (like the Sunray) on many of the desktops that perform normal office functions. They take less power and they're easier to support. Of course without a network, they are just a brick.

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Sensors, Sensors, Sensors - Can they really help us get green?

Sensors in bridges, sensors in highways, and sensors in buildings could all help save lives, reduce energy and tell us how to best design and use a structure.

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Meaning of Global

I've been working with a large manufacturing company that has operated internationally for a very long time. This company has been working towards being truly global across all lines of business, including functional areas, for many years. Some areas of the business have succeeded in functioning global but others have only recently become aware of the frame of reference change required for their area of the business to operate as a global function.

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Is IT becoming extinct? No, it’s just evolving.

I read Michael Krigsman's blog entry titled Is IT becoming extinct?, and had to wonder what his definition of IT really was?? If he views IT as a technology focused organization that is separate from the core business, I'd probably agree, but if we're talking about IT being the use of information and knowledge to maximize value delivery, than he couldn't be farther from the truth. Vinnie wrote a response to Michael's entry in his blog as well.

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Opportunistic Computing in the Cloud

I've been thinking more about the entry the other day on heeding Moore's law.

I've had a few conversations with folks in other organizations about cloud computing. I am always fascinated by their almost blind focus on cost reduction. I see real opportunity for the shift in the value side. Value is what makes IT relevant. An exclusively cost focus is why IT doesn't matter.

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What’s time for anyway??

I remember hearing the story once of a mother who was taking her daughter to the zoo. They were rushing from place to place and the little girl was frustrated by the harried pace and her inability to enjoy the experience. She asked her mom "Why can't we look at everything?" The mother stated "We don't have time for that." The girl's response was "What's time for anyway???"

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An example of simulation and process modeling

There have been a number of entries in this blog on the use of simulation and modeling and the effect on IT of the future. I've seen a number of modeling tools, but this week, (as part of EDS' Top Gun Program with Oracle), I was able to see some of the more recent work on the BPA Suite.

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Reviewing The IT Value Stack

I was reviewing The IT Value Stack the other day and in the process exchanged a few emails with Ade McCormack the author.

Although he does a great job describing the issues of value generation within IT the way it is structured today. There were some differences of perspective that I have to bring out:

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IT and Cloud Computing

Rob Preston in InformationWeek had an article titled Will Cloud Computing Rain on IT's Parade. I know the title was just a play on words, but it got me thinking.

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