WHY IT MATTERS: Digital Transformation

WHY IT MATTERS: this list of technology questions for 2022 feels like an answer to the question "what is digital disruption?".

We have reached a moment in time where old technologies - eCommerce or videoconferencing for example - are finally breaking into established industries. And the impact, at scale, cannot be found in technology but rather in every single industry it disrupts.

Very thoughtful piece, very good questions.

WHY IT MATTERS: a long read about tens of new developments in the works at Apple from a long time AR-VR industry watcher (he was very bullish about Google glasses back in the day). Nevertheless, the article is a good rundown of what the future of 3D in AR and VR may be. 

What I find great is that it goes beyond the classic AR-VR use cases and into a more fundamental trend of embedding digital into the real world in 3D. The examples of what is being developed in the labs is eye opening. But remember, this is R&D and will take years to become ubiquitous. 

WHY IT MATTERS: this post is a bit theoretical for someone not bathing in digital transformation all day as I do (mostly). It explores what could come next but more importantly stresses an important fact: we now have a new platform - the mobile phone - in our pockets that has the potential to transform our world. We have started to see this with eCommerce - physical retail stores become irrelevant and we can price compare from anywhere - but we have yet to see the real impact of eCommerce+mobile+cloud+5G. THIS is what I think about most days...

WHY IT MATTERS: 5G telecom network promises to revolutionize many industries including retail. This report from Forrester presents use cases for 5G may bring but also puts those in context of what exists today and how fast the transformation will be.

WHY IT MATTERS: movie production is going digital real fast enabling distributed teams to work collaboratively. Will this mean that the production of hyper realistic fake videos will become easier to produce. One may think so :-(

WHY IT MATTERS: 360 pages of reference material for any strategic planning exercice.

WHY IT MATTERS: always good to look beyond digital transformation into practical applications of the digital technologies. In particular, #2,6,7 in the list. Here an extract from the #7 highlights an application of blockchain which we've been tracking for a while as a disruptive digital technology that has received a lot of bad press with the bitcoin debacle but that has real future...

"Together, a pair of technologies could reduce both food poisoning and food waste. The first, an innovative application of blockchain technology (better known for managing virtual currency) is beginning to solve the traceability problem. Enhanced food packaging, meanwhile, is providing new ways to determine whether foods have been stored at proper temperatures and whether they might have begun to spoil."

WHY IT MATTERS: want to know what augmented reality will look like in 10 or 20 years. Read this. But don't expect it to come together in the short-term, this is a *long* play

WHY IT MATTERS: sales of furniture online is difficult because it is difficult to visualize the product in your environment. At least in the store you can view the product in a fake setting (think IKEA rooms you have to travel through during your shopping trip). Augmented Reality has been tried to enhance paper catalogues in the past but now Amazon is trying to leverage 3D directly within their online store to help you decide if that table and sofa go well together. This is obviously a test and the links below should provide you with additional food for thought on the matter.

Hubstair a startup that helps retailers do a bit what Amazon showroom does: https://www.hubstairs.com/ 

http://fmcs.digital/blog/canadian-tire-enhances-2016-paper-catalogue-via-augmentedreality/ 

http://fmcs.digital/blog/google-project-tango-demonstrates-how-to-buy-wayfair-furniture-in-augmentedreality-ecommerce-googleio/ 

http://fmcs.digital/blog/ikea-2014-catalog-can-view-and-place-furniture-in/ 

http://fmcs.digital/blog/augmented-reality-catalog-places-ikea-furniture-in/

http://fmcs.digital/blog/apple-next-killer-app-may-be-augmentedreality-ikea-demo-and-others-to-come/ 

WHY IT MATTERS: A good summary of potential use cases and applications for key digital technologies that revolutionize business.

WHY IT MATTERS: we all go to stores and seldom notice the technology that surrounds us and tracks our moves.

WHY IT MATTERS: this 20min video is a great demonstration of what is now possible with mixed reality headsets along with possible real-life applications for home and the office. More on the Windows blog: msft.social/b9ULwk 

WHY THIS MATTERS

I find most of my clients struggling to find time and money to implement technologies that have been around for more than 10 years: Internet, Big Data, mobility, cloud computing, etc. When they do make it to implement them in their organizations, it is often too little too late to make a difference with their competition. As Wayne Gretsky famously said, you should "skate to where the puck will be, not where it is". Thus, every company's strategy should have a clear view on AI, blockchain, robots, 3D printing, Internet of Things, etc. Does your strat plan include them?

WHY IT MATTERS

Forrester has recently produced a matrix of disruptive technologies that is worth sharing. More important is the article conclusion where Forrester recommends that cIO act as Venture Capitalists to actively scout new technologies and companies to leverage this innovation for improved competitiveness. This is a radical departure form traditional IT roles and responsibilities which I believe has important benefits in large organizations where All eyes are on the CIO to lead the digital transformation. Unfortunately we are a long way away from this in most organizations.