Ted Schadler, Principal Analyst, Forrester
Link to view “Leading the Mobile Workforce”

Coming soon!
Sameer Patel, Global Vice President & GM Social Software, SAP
Slides from “Rethinking Work: The Next Chapter in Social Collaboration”

Read the full story on Technical.ly

It is not often that entrepreneurs get presented with a big opportunity with a lot of white space waiting to be filled by the next bunch of smart start-ups. Big Data is one such opportunity that comes around once in a decade and is ripe with possibilities. The first step is of course to understand the market landscape to see where there is already activity and where white space still exists that can be exploited.

Over the last 20-30 years with the implementation of enterprise applications, there is a tremendous amount of data that has been captured. The early wave of business intelligence tools have attempted to provide reporting and analysis of this data. Enterprise data is one important category of Big Data. Traditional vendors have staked a claim on fast, effective ways of processing this data to enhance their product portfolios with in-memory computing, faster batch-based architectures and integration of products such as Hadoop. Hence all the interest in SAP HANA, IBM’s Netezza, and Oracle’s Exadata. While this is an opportunity for traditional service providers and consulting companies to provide new services to their customer base, it’s not a great area for start-ups to focus on.

In addition to traditional enterprise data, there is unstructured information that companies have accumulated in emails, contracts, and various collaboration systems that has not been fully exploited. Current Big Data technologies provide the capabilities to process text, video, audio, and other content, making it now possible to process this data to gain new insights. Most of these technologies have found favor in the processing of various social media that is being generated outside the enterprise, but are now being applied to content within corporate walls. There is a whole slew of start-up activity here both from tool vendors and those applying the tools to draw insights from social content out there and exploring how valuable insights can be drawn from that content. This space already has tremendous start-up activity so it is not one area to dive into now if one is not already playing here.

Social media is just one potential source of external data that could be of interest to companies. But there are other equally important sources of external data out there that could be exploited. I would see this as a potential white space—finding and exploiting other data sources and providing the information to companies that could benefit from that analysis. Examples of these external data sources are weather data, GPS data, retail transaction data, census data, healthcare data, credit data, and so on—much of it generated or captured by government and public institutions that make the data available to the public to use (but is rarely used).

Another potential white space is the vast amount of sensor data—machine generated data—that exists and is growing at an exponential pace as more machines become internet-enabled. Some of this sensor data is owned by companies but some of it is a byproduct of various government initiatives. An example of this is data generated from traffic cameras, parking meters, tollway machines, etc. Much can be done with this data to drive new services and provide the data’s owners with new ways to monetize this information. Over the next 10 years, this could be an area of enormous opportunity, with some of the larger firms, like GE, already staking a claim in this space. No reason why innovative firms cannot gain a foothold here to build substantial businesses.

Overall, Big Data has the potential to create the next wave of successful technology companies that could change the way we all live and work. I am personally looking forward to this new exciting era.

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Bio: Sashi Reddi is head of Big Data & Analytics for CSC, a $16 Billion global consulting company. Previously, Sashi was the founder and CEO of AppLabs, a 2,500 person software testing specialist, which CSC acquired in September 2011. AppLabs was funded by Sequoia Capital India, which earned a 10X return on its Series A investment in 6 years. Sashi has a PhD from Wharton. Sashi is a member of the Wharton Entrepreneurship Advisory Board.

Fast foreward to 2013 – our theme is:    Harnessing Disruptive Technologies in the Enterprise.

We’ve assembled an unbelievable group of speakers and panelists.   Some of the foremost thinkers of our time on the topic.   And then it struck me.
What do we mean by disruptive?   Are we assuming too much?   Does everyone knows what this means?    Do we need a “breakfast” session?

I don’t think so.   The term itself is probably descriptive enough.   BUT it bears some context.   So, read this over your coffee and consider this your breakfast session.

(thanks to Whatis.com for the definition)

Disruptive technology is a term coined by Harvard Business School professor Clayton M. Christensen to describe a new technology that unexpectedly displaces an established technology. 

In his 1997 best-selling book, “The Innovator’s Dilemma,” Christensen separates new technology into two categories: sustaining and disruptive. Sustaining technology relies on incremental improvements to an already established technology. Disruptive technology lacks refinement, often has performance problems because it is new, appeals to a limited audience, and may not yet have a proven practical application. (Such was the case with Alexander Graham Bell’s “electrical speech machine,” which we now call the telephone.) 

In his book, Christensen points out that large corporations are designed to work with sustaining technologies. They excel at knowing their market, staying close to their customers, and having a mechanism in place to develop existing technology. Conversely, they have trouble capitalizing on the potential efficiencies, cost-savings, or new marketing opportunities created by low-margin disruptive technologies. Using real-world examples to illustrate his point, Christensen demonstrates how it is not unusual for a big corporation to dismiss the value of a disruptive technology because it does not reinforce current company goals, only to be blindsided as the technology matures, gains a larger audience and marketshare and threatens the status quo.

WOW!   Aren’t we perpetuating an Oxymoron?   Disruptive tech and the Enterprise?

Well, at least by Christensen’s definition, I guess we are.   And that’s the point.   Disruptive and Enterprise, do not have to (and aren’t) mutually exclusive.   We’re at a technology inflection point.    Technology is being democratized.   End users are beginning to push the tools that they want to use and the enterprise is being forced to adapt.   Sometimes reluctantly.    The result?    Sometimes chaos.   But chaos spurs innovation.   And innovation creates value.     For Enterprises prepared to embrace “disruption”, Phorum is the place to be.

Our agenda focuses on the concept of disruptive technologies with a focus on Social, Mobile and Big Data.    Check out the agenda here: http://phorumphilly.com/agenda/.

Our speakers list reads like a who’s who of tech.    Find the list here: http://phorumphilly.com/speakers/

AND lastly, you’ll need tickets, to ensure you’re in a position to take advantage of this changing landscape.   Click here:  http://ma.cal.basecampbusiness.com/node/250854

Enjoy your coffee and we’ll see you at Phorum.

As you maybe aware, this year’s conference will focus on the impact of disruptive technologies, including big data, mobility, and social computing on businesses.
Who better than, Don Tapscott, the author of bestselling Wikinomics, to set the table for a great day?

When the Advisory Board first locked in the topic fopr 2013, and then looked at our list of prospective keynote speakers, most of us immediately gravitated towards Mr. Tapscott.   Wikinomics Theory first came into prominence in the book of the same name in 2006, authored by Tapscott and co-author Anthony Williams.

Wikinomics explores how mass collaboration changes traditional business models.  Tapscott and Williams believe that mass collaboration is a “destructive” technology.   This mass collaboration is supported by the premise of this years conference, particularly as it relates to mobility and social computing.   In fact, the last chapter of the book, was actually “crowdsourced” – further proving the principle tenant of his theory.

Tapscott followed up Wiknomics with Macrowikinomics in 2010 - a book that has been updated several times since.

We highly encourage you to check out both Wikinomics and Macrowikinomics before Phorum this year (and to check out Don’s website at www.macrowikinomics.com).
Don will also be the keynote for this year’s TED conference.     But you don’t have to travel to Scotland in June to hear him speak.    We’ve got Don right here in Philly this March!

Although historically considered too complex and expensive, VDI solutions from IT and managed services providers are making it more affordable for companies of all sizes to take advantage of this advanced technology and cost benefits. VDI eliminates the need to purchase multiple licenses for every employee since they have multiple devices.

For  more information on the report, check out this synopsis on the Web Host Industry Review.

http://www.thewhir.com/web-hosting-news/virtual-desktop-infrastructure-market-to-reach-11-2-billion-in-2012-visiongain-report

Philadelphia website design firm Hollister Creative designed the site for the first annual Phorum emerging technologies conference, which educates business and IT executives on the practical application of new technologies.

The Phorum conference is a program of the Greater Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technologies (PACT), a trade association for emerging growth companies in the technology and life sciences industries.

The Davey Awards honors the finest creative work from the best small companies worldwide.  The annual competition attracts 4,000 entries from ad agencies, interactive agencies, production firms, in-house creative professionals, graphic design firms and public relations firms.

Hollister Creative, http://www.hollistercreative.com, consistently wins national awards for the writing and design of websites, publications, marketing collateral and educational outreach materials.

Last March, “Phorum 2012: Transforming Your Business with the Cloud” drew 400 top executives from around the country to World Café Live in Philadelphia. The Phorum website has kept interest alive with the Phorum Blog, Twitter posts (@phorumphilly) and online videos of presentations and panel discussions. “Phorum 2013: Harnessing Disruptive Technologies in the Enterprise” is expected to sell out quickly when tickets go on sale for the March 21, 2013 conference.

The Davey Awards is named for the Biblical hero who defeated the mighty Goliath with a big idea and a little rock. The awards honor the achievements of the “Creative Davids” whose strength comes from ideas, intelligence and out-of-the-box thinking, not a “giant’s” bankroll.

The competition is judged and overseen by the International Academy of the Visual Arts, an invitation-only organization of leading professionals in the visual arts. Current Academy members represent media, advertising and marketing firms including Condè Nast, Michael Kors Inc., Disney, The Ellen Degeneres Show, Microsoft, HBO, Monster.com, MTV, Polo Ralph Lauren, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, Victoria’s Secret and Howcast.

By: Scott Synder
Republished with Permission
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