SEO: An Inconvenient Truth

If you expect to get noticed in this global connected world, you are going to have to embrace something called Search Engine Optimization or SEO. It seems every year someone declares SEO is dead. Yes, SEO is very difficult and it does require a serious commitment of time and money. But take a hard look at your competition and see how effective they are over the internet. They haven’t updated their website in over six months, they still have fixed tables for presenting content and they continue to ignore the mobile world. Also think about the fact that there are over a half a trillion web sites online. So even if you do just basic SEO, you are bound to realize some big benefits that can help your company in the long run.

Do You Know Your Algorithms

If you want to drill down to the root cause behind what drives so much value in today’s world, then you need to know your algorithms. An algorithm is a set of instructions that processes inputs and provides some output. Companies that master their algorithms unleash incredible value. Take for example Uber which relies on algorithms to locate available drivers for customers, processes locations and times, and then delivers online progress and statistics of the ride. When you couple algorithms with great design, then you have a value proposition that others will want. Therefore, getting your algorithms right has profound implications on your business.

Machines of Loving Grace

Machines of Loving Grace is the title of a book written by John Markoff. Markoff is a science writer for the New York Times who has followed technology for the last 30 years. In the last few years, we have seen an escalation of technologies, ranging from drones and robots to Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things. This has prompted some of our best thinkers to challenge what is happening. Stephen Hawking has remarked: “the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.” Bill Gates and Elon Musk have both voiced concerns about the birth of super intelligence or machines that can think.

Cyber Security 101

One of the most profound challenges facing every company is Cyber Security. Many of us, including myself, are ignorant about the threat. Some of the largest companies are experiencing massive data breaches. Examples include:

·         Target Department Stores - Debit and credit card data stolen impacting 100 million customers

·         J. P. Morgan - Customer data compromised affecting 76 million customers

·         Home Depot – Reported 50 million customer email addresses stolen

Why More Companies Should Consider OpEx over CapEx

The OpEx Approach Provides More Flexibility

Increasingly, businesses need to improve their focus by doing a few things exceptionally well as opposed to owning each and every long term investment. The level of in-house expertise required to support major investments simply does not exist within most companies. Couple this with the fact that we now live in a world driven by intellectual assets and not hard assets.

Creating Value through Information

What makes information valuable?

When you attempt to create value, you have to make a choice between alternatives and this requires reliance on information. Understanding how to create “quality” information is paramount to decision making. One way to improve the quality of information is to make sure there is a strong flow of external sources – looking at market trends, surveying the customers, pursuing new technologies, and of course, competitive intelligence. These external sources provide the “reality checks” we need to remove internal bias, common to so many organizations.

Comprehending the IT Challenge

Desperate systems represent huge cost

For too long, finance has misunderstood and failed to comprehend the true costs and resources required for many IT (information technology) projects. Issues such as migration and integration are simply pushed off to the IT Department to handle. The two functions (finance and IT) struggle against one another. Additionally, finance does not define its role in relation to IT and vice versa; i.e. there needs to be a marriage of strategies. Likewise, some IT projects continue unabated with no supporting value analysis, leading to unacceptable ROI's (Return on Investment). According to Gardner Group, 51% of all IT projects go over-budget by more than 200%.