Source: Inc.com
URL: http://www.inc.com/bubba-page/5-ways-to-disrupt-a-stagnant-or-dying-industry.html
I thought this was an interesting article that looked at a different way to innovate and that is by disrupting the industry. From the article
"New competitors with new business models arrive; incumbents choose to ignore the new players or to flee to higher-margin activities; a disrupter whose product was once barely good enough achieves a level of quality acceptable to the broad middle of the market, undermining the position of longtime leaders and often causing the 'flip' to a new basis of competition."
So basically these are companies that turned a particular industry on its head. There are actually quite a few recent examples they use.
Netflix is a great example of this. Blockbuster ignored them as a snail mail provider of DVD's and now Blockbuster is out of business and Netflix is a household name in streaming video. The article also discusses AirBnB and Uber as huge companies that started very small but completely disrupted the operating models in their industry.
1. Address & Remove Industry Pain Points - So look at what isn't working in the industry and fix it in the service you provide.
2. Answer Questions, Resolve Concerns, & Solve Problems On Your Website - This seems to be the norm for many companies now, communicate directly with your customers. Also, provide them information about your product when others in the industry aren't. Consumers these days have access to information about everything else, so now they expect to know more about how your product is made.
3. Embrace New Technology - Determine how technology can help you where others in your industry might be overlooking it. Netflix was a perfect example of this.
4. Simplify & Streamline Processes - This is an oldie but a goodie, Make your product/service easier to produce than your competitors, this allows you to reduce prices and still make a profit.
5. Finding Ways To Cut Costs & Reduce Overhead - I think this goes hand and hand with number 4. Also a tried and true way to increase profits, is to reduce your monthly expenses.
I think some of these are pretty standard business practices for improving the way your organization provides product/services, but looking at them as disrupting the industry is an interesting way to look at it.
Sunday, April 19, 2015
How Small Businesses can Innovate
Source: Entrepreneur.com
URL: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/229393
This article is from 2013 and was written by Richard Branson on how even small businesses can innovate and make a name for themselves.
First "Find something people want, then do it better" So finding a need and making a product that satisfies that need. He uses an example of a food truck vendor who opens a restaurant and then franchised that restaurant. I actually know someone that did something similar. He started with one food truck selling Taco's and now he has at least seven or eight in the DC area. They provide a better product than most everyone else that sells it, so they are able to grow.
Second "Take the old and make it new again" Find a new use for an existing product in such a way that no one else on the market is doing. I think this is where a good portion of technology is at these days. Many products are not necessarily innovative and new, they're using older technology ideas and applying it in new ways.
Third "Tell customers about the purpose behind your product" I think what he means here is have a good story to go along with your business. From what I have seen many natural based products use this methodology. Tell the customer why your product was created to protect, enhance, the environment and you have a good platform to start with.
I think these three are fairly simple methodologies that some businesses use and many overlook as being too basic, but according to Richard Branson (Net worth just shy of 5 billion) they do work.
URL: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/229393
This article is from 2013 and was written by Richard Branson on how even small businesses can innovate and make a name for themselves.
First "Find something people want, then do it better" So finding a need and making a product that satisfies that need. He uses an example of a food truck vendor who opens a restaurant and then franchised that restaurant. I actually know someone that did something similar. He started with one food truck selling Taco's and now he has at least seven or eight in the DC area. They provide a better product than most everyone else that sells it, so they are able to grow.
Second "Take the old and make it new again" Find a new use for an existing product in such a way that no one else on the market is doing. I think this is where a good portion of technology is at these days. Many products are not necessarily innovative and new, they're using older technology ideas and applying it in new ways.
Third "Tell customers about the purpose behind your product" I think what he means here is have a good story to go along with your business. From what I have seen many natural based products use this methodology. Tell the customer why your product was created to protect, enhance, the environment and you have a good platform to start with.
I think these three are fairly simple methodologies that some businesses use and many overlook as being too basic, but according to Richard Branson (Net worth just shy of 5 billion) they do work.
The Top Five Most Innovative Tech Projects Of 2014 So Far
Source: Forbes.com
URL: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaymcgregor/2014/06/26/budget-driverless-cars-and-glow-in-the-dark-trees-the-top-five-most-innovative-tech-projects-of-2014-so-far/
I always find it interesting to see what writers believe is going to be the "Next Big Thing". The further back you look, the more entertaining they tend to be. This article is from July 2014 and covers what the author believes to be the most innovative technical projects from 2014.
The first item is the SCIO Molecular scanner which is supposed to be able to scan and tell you the molecular makeup of anything from your phone. Looks like very interesting technology and they raised over 2.7 million dollars, and are taking pre-orders. I remember hearing about this when it was first introduced last year but haven't really heard much buzz since them.
The second is a budget driverless car which is supposed to be an add-on you can purchase that will assist with driving your car. I have heard of other projects still in this field but not specifically about this one. They do still have a website and it says that they have taken all the pre-orders possible so maybe they'll deliver, but there isn't a whole lot of information on their site.
The third is Glow in the Dark trees. I'm not sure of the actual point of this but it is described as“splicing DNA from luminescent marine bacteria to the chloroplast genome of a common houseplant, so the stem and leaves emit a faint light similar to that produced by fireflies and jellyfish.” Again they do have a website and you can pre-order them, but again, I'm still not sure what the point of them would be.
The fourth innovation is called Anki Drive which is a game where you can control small cars on a board with your phone, each car has some sort of weapon that can be used on another car. I'm not exactly sure where the innovation is with this, but it looks cool. This product is the first one actually available for sale now on this list, for $150.00 you can get a starter track and two cars.
The final innovation is called PocketScan and is a small hand-held scanner that is supposed to be able to scan and OCR the document or if it is a picture make it editable. They point out that you could do the actual scanning from your phone, but not the editing and OCR'ing. The kickstarter page for this product is only around 500k and they do not seem to be very close to production.
So I'd say none of these products have produced any big waves in the 10 months that this article was written. This is why I like looking at these older articles, what people thought would be huge, and other products completely ignored until they hit the market.
URL: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaymcgregor/2014/06/26/budget-driverless-cars-and-glow-in-the-dark-trees-the-top-five-most-innovative-tech-projects-of-2014-so-far/
I always find it interesting to see what writers believe is going to be the "Next Big Thing". The further back you look, the more entertaining they tend to be. This article is from July 2014 and covers what the author believes to be the most innovative technical projects from 2014.
The first item is the SCIO Molecular scanner which is supposed to be able to scan and tell you the molecular makeup of anything from your phone. Looks like very interesting technology and they raised over 2.7 million dollars, and are taking pre-orders. I remember hearing about this when it was first introduced last year but haven't really heard much buzz since them.
The second is a budget driverless car which is supposed to be an add-on you can purchase that will assist with driving your car. I have heard of other projects still in this field but not specifically about this one. They do still have a website and it says that they have taken all the pre-orders possible so maybe they'll deliver, but there isn't a whole lot of information on their site.
The third is Glow in the Dark trees. I'm not sure of the actual point of this but it is described as“splicing DNA from luminescent marine bacteria to the chloroplast genome of a common houseplant, so the stem and leaves emit a faint light similar to that produced by fireflies and jellyfish.” Again they do have a website and you can pre-order them, but again, I'm still not sure what the point of them would be.
The fourth innovation is called Anki Drive which is a game where you can control small cars on a board with your phone, each car has some sort of weapon that can be used on another car. I'm not exactly sure where the innovation is with this, but it looks cool. This product is the first one actually available for sale now on this list, for $150.00 you can get a starter track and two cars.
The final innovation is called PocketScan and is a small hand-held scanner that is supposed to be able to scan and OCR the document or if it is a picture make it editable. They point out that you could do the actual scanning from your phone, but not the editing and OCR'ing. The kickstarter page for this product is only around 500k and they do not seem to be very close to production.
So I'd say none of these products have produced any big waves in the 10 months that this article was written. This is why I like looking at these older articles, what people thought would be huge, and other products completely ignored until they hit the market.
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Business Principles
Source: Nestle Corporation
URL:http://www.research.nestle.com/asset-library/documents/corporate-business-principles-en.pdf
I added this article to the blog because I thought it was a fairly thorough and well documented business principle document. They begin by defining an overall mantra (not really a mission statement) of "Creating Shared Value". They then show how their principles fit into this mantra.
They then go on to define their ten core business principles in name and with a short definition of what the principle means.
Then to further break down each principle they provide detailed descriptions of each principle and why they believe this is important to the organization. They also include links to where these policies can be found within their policy documentation.
They finish up the document describing how these principles are then audited by external entities to ensure that they are being followed. Different principles are covered by different auditors.
While not every organization will have external auditors review the adherence to their principles I think that the breakdown of principles in this manner, is a good practice. First define your principles, then explain why each principle is important to your organization. If you are able to define the principle but not why it is important or how you plan on enacting that principle, it probably isn't really a principle and more of a goal.
URL:http://www.research.nestle.com/asset-library/documents/corporate-business-principles-en.pdf
I added this article to the blog because I thought it was a fairly thorough and well documented business principle document. They begin by defining an overall mantra (not really a mission statement) of "Creating Shared Value". They then show how their principles fit into this mantra.
They then go on to define their ten core business principles in name and with a short definition of what the principle means.
Then to further break down each principle they provide detailed descriptions of each principle and why they believe this is important to the organization. They also include links to where these policies can be found within their policy documentation.
They finish up the document describing how these principles are then audited by external entities to ensure that they are being followed. Different principles are covered by different auditors.
While not every organization will have external auditors review the adherence to their principles I think that the breakdown of principles in this manner, is a good practice. First define your principles, then explain why each principle is important to your organization. If you are able to define the principle but not why it is important or how you plan on enacting that principle, it probably isn't really a principle and more of a goal.
Business Architecture Modeling
Source: Enterprise Architecture.org
URL: http://www.enterprise-architecture.org/business-architecture-tutorials/55-business-architecture-overview
This article provides an excellent overview of developing models that describe the business architecture layer of Enterprise Architecture.
I like the fact that the author breaks the models down into three main categories.
Conceptual:
- Define business objective
- Define business principles
- Define business domains (business units)
- Define business capabilities (what the business does or wants to do)
Logical:
- Define business role (individual and group roles)
- Define business processes (based on roles above)
- Define site categories (locations where these processes happen)
Physical:
- Actor (actual person performing role)
- Site (actual names of locations)
- Physical process (Process flows)
The article then discusses developing the value chain. The value chain happens at the conceptual layer and describes the key chain of capabilities that are performed in the organization,
The author of this article does a very good job in breaking down the pieces and parts needed to define the business architecture. Looking at it with increased granularity should help an Architect define the business landscape in an organization.
URL: http://www.enterprise-architecture.org/business-architecture-tutorials/55-business-architecture-overview
This article provides an excellent overview of developing models that describe the business architecture layer of Enterprise Architecture.
I like the fact that the author breaks the models down into three main categories.
Conceptual:
- Define business objective
- Define business principles
- Define business domains (business units)
- Define business capabilities (what the business does or wants to do)
Logical:
- Define business role (individual and group roles)
- Define business processes (based on roles above)
- Define site categories (locations where these processes happen)
Physical:
- Actor (actual person performing role)
- Site (actual names of locations)
- Physical process (Process flows)
The article then discusses developing the value chain. The value chain happens at the conceptual layer and describes the key chain of capabilities that are performed in the organization,
The author of this article does a very good job in breaking down the pieces and parts needed to define the business architecture. Looking at it with increased granularity should help an Architect define the business landscape in an organization.
Enterprise Business Architecture Definition
Source: Mike the Architect Blog
URL: http://www.mikethearchitect.com/2013/09/defining-business-architecture.html
The author of this article lists the definition of Business Architecture from multiple sources then presents his own.
A formal method and a set of descriptions that distill the business environment and the needs of a business into set of models representing business information,concepts, value and risk that are expressed through an architectural view of a business.
I think the author comes up with a pretty good definition, I like the fact that he pulls certain words then further defines his use of these words in the article.
I think looking at his further definition of distill is very important.
Business Architecture does not create business strategy but rather it serves to understand it.
Business Architecture is a critical component of Enterprise Architecture. You need to understand what the business is doing, what are its goals, vision and concepts. If you do not understand this it would be very difficult to ensure that IT is aligned with the business processes.
So in his definition he brings up the fact that the purpose of BA is to understand business strategy, not create it.
In his definition of "Architectural view of Business" the author discusses that BA is created for the architect to use to understand the business, not necessarily something to be used directly by the business. He does bring up the fact that it should be developed in such a way that should be presentable to business leaders.
I think that the effort that will go into understanding the business processes will create very useful artifacts that would be of great importance to the organization so the architect in this section should keep that in mind when creating BA artifacts.
URL: http://www.mikethearchitect.com/2013/09/defining-business-architecture.html
The author of this article lists the definition of Business Architecture from multiple sources then presents his own.
A formal method and a set of descriptions that distill the business environment and the needs of a business into set of models representing business information,concepts, value and risk that are expressed through an architectural view of a business.
I think the author comes up with a pretty good definition, I like the fact that he pulls certain words then further defines his use of these words in the article.
I think looking at his further definition of distill is very important.
Business Architecture does not create business strategy but rather it serves to understand it.
Business Architecture is a critical component of Enterprise Architecture. You need to understand what the business is doing, what are its goals, vision and concepts. If you do not understand this it would be very difficult to ensure that IT is aligned with the business processes.
So in his definition he brings up the fact that the purpose of BA is to understand business strategy, not create it.
In his definition of "Architectural view of Business" the author discusses that BA is created for the architect to use to understand the business, not necessarily something to be used directly by the business. He does bring up the fact that it should be developed in such a way that should be presentable to business leaders.
I think that the effort that will go into understanding the business processes will create very useful artifacts that would be of great importance to the organization so the architect in this section should keep that in mind when creating BA artifacts.
Sunday, March 15, 2015
Patchapalooza
Source: Computerworld.com
URL: http://www.computerworld.com/article/2895214/massive-microsoft-march-update.html
On March 11th, Microsoft released 14 new patches, 5 of them being critical and 9 listed as important.
Not much to say about this but ugh, just more nights where I need to be at work pushing critical patches and rebooting servers. My reason for posting this article would be to see how many in class are pushing out critical patches as they are released or are you waiting for a normal "patch night" as you would normally patch servers.
Do you use automated systems to push patches? If so what do you like/dislike about them? We have chosen to use WSUS as it is free and fairly simple to use. We do have to use alternate methods to push Flash, Java and the numerous other systems that require patches every couple weeks but WSUS seems to do the job for us.
URL: http://www.computerworld.com/article/2895214/massive-microsoft-march-update.html
On March 11th, Microsoft released 14 new patches, 5 of them being critical and 9 listed as important.
Not much to say about this but ugh, just more nights where I need to be at work pushing critical patches and rebooting servers. My reason for posting this article would be to see how many in class are pushing out critical patches as they are released or are you waiting for a normal "patch night" as you would normally patch servers.
Do you use automated systems to push patches? If so what do you like/dislike about them? We have chosen to use WSUS as it is free and fairly simple to use. We do have to use alternate methods to push Flash, Java and the numerous other systems that require patches every couple weeks but WSUS seems to do the job for us.
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