Forget BYOD how about BYOA?

I’ve been thinking about whether a BYOA is a viable model for the new world?

Back before the corporate PC world was dominated by Microsoft Office, there were different options for people to do their word-processing and spread-sheet modelling on.  This situation had two main advantages; people would carry their application skills with them to new tasks, as well as it spurned competition between the application vendors, (Lotus vs. Excel, and Wordperfect vs. Word).

If we take this idea into an open-data – standards based world, it makes things interesting. For example an application vendor becomes a master at their application logic or functionality, with no underlying ‘data-model’, to limit upgradability or tie people in! (Different to the traditional computer-scientist approach of defining the data-model and then build the logic on-top.)

The user can select a powerful tool and become proficient with it. Then this skill gets applied to solve a number of different problems. For example, say I have the ultimate analytics application and want to understand EMC’s position in the market in order to develop a plan. What be useful is to understand EMC’s results, the perception of the company, competitive landscape, etc. Now I believe the truth is out there as I have access to market data, (future case),  from the governing bodies, (import data, annual reports, etc.), market research from the analysts,  social media feeds and multiple internal data sources – sales force automation, sales transaction data, helpdesk activity, service reports, etc.

In this scenario I could first I point my application at the market data and understand our market share and trends, then add social media and understand the sentiment, (perhaps correlate this to our sales performance). Lastly why not pull in the helpdesk and service information and see what trends I can pick up to help me plan for the year!

Next I get involved in a marketing campaign and I’m asked for a ‘head-line’ message for a campaign. Now I point my analytics application at the headlines to understand what is resonating in my audience’s minds right now.

Or lets go the other way to the ‘non-technical’ user.. the manager we all know who has problems booting up their laptop in the morning. How about they have a great application which shows them the weather in detail… well how about if we could just replace the data with their sales forecast! After-all a bad forecast is a bad forecast!

Well, maybe that is a simpler way ahead and more productive, what do you think?

Time to hire a 20 year old CIO!

By Clive Gold, CTO Marketing, EMC Australia and New Zealand

Last week, I attended another CIO lunch! (It is a tough job, but someone has to do this!). Yet again the conversation turned to the challenges and perils of the ‘consumer devices’ popping up all over the network. Then it struck me, the discussion is all wrong!

How many times have you heard or read about the issues in adopting the iPad into an organisation? (The security concerns and legal issues of wiping the device of both business and personal data.) As one participant yesterday said, “We have an SOE, and we will not deviate from this!”, that is when it struck me! People are trying to enforce an old control on a new paradigm.

We all understand why the ‘SOE’ became a popular way to control support costs and enable a ‘lockdown’, from a security point of view. Now the BYO issue has broken the model and as IOS/Android operating systems are not as mature, they don’t allow the same level of lockdown and policy setting as ‘legacy’ devices. This seems like a stumbling block and the approach is one of glass is half empty!

I would argue that this focus on the device is misdirected and what people really want is the new experience. If you delivered a self-service, rich-content, simple, ‘app’ oriented, always on, always connected user experience … there would be no demand for iPads! (Bold statement so please retort!)

Dropbox was mentioned and the room ‘sighed’, given the control and security issues with this type of service. However, EMC has a 10MB limit on the size of mails I can send, (I can’t put together a half decent presso today without blowing this!), so how do I sent that presentation to anyone? “Apply for an FTP server login!” was the IT helpdesk answer! Sure I said and clicked on box.com, problem solved for the price of an e-mail address!!

EMC is getting this, you can download EMC Folio from the app store to get a new-generation interface into information that is on our various web pages. Simple quick and rich content delivery. Internally I use an app called “EMC Wire” which gives me a single interface into about 6 different information sources, (internal and external), in one simple, quick and rich content way!

So the discussion is about application modernisation and the new user experience, not about the device itself. Now to fully understand this in context of the ‘social media’ revolution, I think you need new eyes, and so hire a 20 year old CIO.. to provide a completely new perspective!