- 1. FORWARDVIEW Private circulationTECHNOLOGY INSIGHTS FOR
MIDSIZE BUSINESS LEADERSApril 2011New focus areas formidsize
busiNessesGrowth,innovation &customer value Data management:
tapping your most valuable asset Making the smarter planet a
reality for midsize businesses Start small, get big results with
business analytics
2. FORWARD VIEWa shift in focus fromAPrIl 2011 cost cutting to
Growth,innovation and customers IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com, Express
Advantage, Smarter Planet and the planet icon are trademarks of
International Business Machines Corp., registered in many
jurisdictions worldwide. Other product and service names might be
trademarks of IBM or other dear readers, companies. recently, ibm
studied midsize businesses to understand whereIf these and other
IBM trademarked terms are marked on their first occurrence in this
information they are investing and why. ibm surveyed 2,112 business
with a trademark symbol ( or ), these symbols and technology
leaders across more than 22 nations to understandindicate U.S.
registered or common law trademarks owned by IBM at the time this
information was the purchasing patterns, business issues and
technology published. Such trademarks may also be registered
challenges that affect the investment and innovation strategies
ofor common law trademarks in other countries. A current list of
IBM trademarks is available on the midsize organizations. Web at
Copyright and trademark information at
ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml. Other company, as youll read in our
cover story, the studys findings reveal that product and service
names may be trademarks or service marks of others. The information
contained the strategic mindset for midsize businesses has
dramatically in this documentation is provided for informational
shifted during 2010 from operational efficiency and cost
reductionpurposes only. While efforts were made to verify the
completeness and accuracy of the information to a greater emphasis
on growth, customers and innovation.contained in this
documentation, it is provided Today, 70 percent of these companies
are looking to analytics as is without warranty of any kind,
express or implied. In addition, this information is based
onsolutions to improve operational efficiency and gain insights
about their customers. IBMs current product plans and strategy,
whichanother 66 percent are adopting or planning to adopt cloud
solutions to optimize costs are subject to change by IBM without
notice. IBM shall not be responsible for any damages arisingand
redundancy while increasing uptime and scalability. These and other
iT priorities out of the use of, or otherwise related to, thisare
supported by a strong iT budget growth outlook, with more than half
of midsize documentation or any other documentation.
Nothingbusinesses expecting a budget increase in 2011. To advance
these priorities, more than contained in this documentation is
intended to, nor shall have the effect of, creating any
warranties70 percent are seeking a more consultativeversus purely
transactionalrelationshipor representations from IBM (or its
suppliers orwith their primary iT provider.licensors), or altering
the terms and conditions of the applicable license agreement
governing the use of IBM software. 2011 IBM Corporation.The study
shows differences in iT barriers across different countries. in
mature marketAll rights reserved.countries, cost is cited more
frequently as a key inhibitor (59 percent). countries ingrowth
markets are more likely to point to skills and resource challenges,
as well as aninability to demonstrate a return on their iT
investments, as key inhibitors.You are welcome to download the
study results and complete an assessment of your owncompanys
position using an online tool found here:
http://www.ibm.com/in/mmittrendsThis issue also includes inputs on
how an organization, using business analytics,can enhance
opportunities for profitable growth, optimize resources and
capital, andproactively manage risk.i hope you enjoy this issue of
forwardView and i look forward to hearing from you.regards,Jyothi
satyanathanVP mid-size businesses & inside salesibm india/sa2
FORWARD VIEW 3. FORWARD VIEWcontents APrIl 2011 4 COVEr STOrY
Growth, innovation and customer value Where are midsize companies
investingand why?7 14 Data management: Tapping your most valuable
assetData management:tapping your most 7 Big Questionsvaluable
assetUC to becomeWhy information backbone ofmanagement is
criticalbusinessesfor any company ForwardViews Q&Awith
Venkatraman VA doctors office takes an x-ray of a knee. On seeing
the results, the physician decides to small, get big results Start
with business analytics9 11send the image to a specialist. Rather
than packing the film into an envelope and sendingit by courier, as
was common practice only a few years ago, the office transmits
theHow does your organization makeimage digitally. In the process,
both medical offices add a large image file to their stored
decisions? Do you go with businessdata.a "gut feeling" because you
lack accurate and complete data? Or do you have visibility into
yourOn todays smarter planet, similar scenarios involving connected
companies occur every performance, offerings processes,day. It
doesnt matter that an organization may have only a few dozen or a
few hundred and customers to support smart, fact- based
decisions?employees. The data a midsize business generates can grow
disproportionately to theMaking the And when a midsize business
generates terabytes of data a year,With business data today growing
atorganizations size. Start small,smarter planetinformation,
extract insights and put it to use becomes a exponentialtorates,
theanalyze andisusefinding a way to access aincreasing gather, need
also get big resultschallenge.reality for mid-data wisely. In a
highly with businesssize businesses "Data volume is doubling every
two years for the average world, business analyticsinstrumented,
interconnected andAs IBMs Anita Chung notes,
intelligentanalyticsFind out what smarter data mustyour midsize
organization achieve valuablewho servesbuild competitive
strengths.organization, and a lot of that can help be managed for
years." Chung, insights and as Enhancing growthplanet means
forWorldwide Market Segment Manager, Database Server Go-to-Market
Strategy,Using business analytics, a smart organization can enhance
opportunities for profitable growth, by using businessmidsize
organizations all optimize the allocation and their core of
resources and capital, and proactively manage risk. A cancontinues:
"Organizations of sizes need to rely on deployment assets, which
includecompany using business analytics is not overwhelmed by
todays vast amounts of data and insteadanalyticsbusiness dataand
there is always the need for better performance and higher service
turn that data into a business advantage.levels at lower costs."
January 2011 3 But where does a company begin?In todays highly
instrumented, interconnected and intelligent world, organizations
often Know when youre readylook to business analytics to gain the
insights and performance they need from data. But 4. STORYCOVErNew
focus areas for midsize businessesGrowth, innovationand customer
valueA cross the globe, IT priorities and investment decisions for
midsizebusinesses are changing. According to the IBM study Inside
theMidmarket: A 2011 Perspective, IT is no longer a
back-officefunction, but a driver of growth and a way for
businesses to addvalue. This study canvassed the planning processes
of busi-nesses and their IT decision makers across several
industriessuch as banking, retail, consumer products, wholesale,
transpor- Increasedflexibility/nimbleenterprise CollaborationWhile
juggling these priorities, firms that understand the
deeperpotential of technology as an enabler of change will gain
competi-tive advantage, according to the study. The study closely
exam-ined how midsize businesses are planning, implementing
andtation, industrial products and insuranceand captured the most
considering the costs of IT improvements, and how they intend
tocurrent observations of IT decision makers in many countriesuse
IT resources to help realize business goals. While investmentacross
the globe, including India.considerations are vital to decisions
about adding or upgradingIT infrastructure, the study found that
companies that recognizeAmong the 2,112 midmarket leaders who
participated in thisthe benefits of business analytics and cloud
computing would beglobal survey, 100 were from India. Their
responses reveal howin a better position to add value to their
stakeholders by
increas-businessprioritiesinfluenceITinvestmentdecisions.Manyfirmsing
efficiency and lowering operational costs.are trying to strike a
balance between short-term cost contain-ment and investing in
solutions that grow revenue and create Take an online
assessmentstrong customer relationships. Over 70 percent of firms
in India Can you spare a few minutes to take an online
assessmentare pursuing analytics solutions to improve decision
making andof how your IT planning compares with other
companiesoperational efficiency.throughout the world? Visit
www.ibm.com/in/mmittrends to see how Indian and global midsize
businesses approach IT.Fifty-three percent of the respondents
anticipate an IT budgetincrease in 2011 versus only 20 percent in
the 2009 survey. ThisMidsize businesses in India and elsewhere
think differently fromplanned increase is 10 percent or more higher
than their 2009 ITlarge businesses and startups. Even with their
great potential,spend. Companies in growth market countries are
planning more midsize businesses also have limitations that can
present chal-IT spending than their counterparts in mature market
countries. lenges during periods of growth. However, careful
strategic plan-In China, Brazil, India, Korea and Singapore, 7 out
of 10 midsize ning can help them make the best use of limited
resources. Forbusinesses plan to increase IT spending.example, many
Indian companies are now upgrading their exist-ing IT setups. As
the IBM study notes, an emphasis on imple-The order of the list of
most critical priorities for 2011, according menting infrastructure
improvements tops the list of ongoing ITto the study, is as
follows:focus areas for Indian companies.
Costreduction/improvedefficiencies ImprovedcustomerservicesAs
economic recovery takes hold in many countries, midsize
Increasedemployeeproductivitycompanies are becoming the real
drivers of growth, which has Newwaystoreachcustomers exposed them
to new challenges. Their focus has shifted to
Optimizingkeybusinessprocesses growth, innovation and customer
value. Making better use of
Increasedinsightsforbetterdecisionmakinginformation and other
resources to increase productivity, attract4 FORWARDVIEW 5. STORY
COVErInside the Midmarket: A 2011 Perspective India ReportShift in
strategic mindset for Indian midsize businesses reveals greater
through upgrades or by adding newemphasis on customers and
innovation technology solutions. This increased IT spending is
directly aimed at increas-Strategic Mindset Percentage Change from
2009ing customer service, which is recog- Operational
efficiencynized as a critical business priority by -31 pts and cost
reductionmany midsize companies. Compared to other countries, about
9 out of 10 Revenue Growth- 10 ptsrespondents in China, Brazil and
Mex- ico put cost reduction and increased employee productivity
high on their Customer Focus7% 19 pts agendas. Optimizing key
business processes was top priority for Italy, Current Mindset
Innovation 7% 22pts BeNelux and New Zealand. 2009 Mindset0%20%40%
60% Globally, 73 percent of respondents prioritized enhancing
customer ser-Note: 2009Question in 2009 asked differently than2010.
Percents pulled directly from 2009directly from Note: questions
were different from 2010. Percentages were pulled WW Comprehensive
Reportthe1 2009 WW Comprehensive report.January 2011 2010 IBM
Corporation vice and 67 percent prioritized pros- pecting for new
customers. Amongand retain customers, and improve competitive
positioning isall countries, Canada, UK, Germany and Poland focused
morebecoming a central strategy for midsize businesses. They pur-
on improving service and customer relations. About 66 percentsue
cost-effective business models to implement these strategiesof
Indian respondents adopted or plan to adopt cloud solu-on a
continuous basis. About 79 percent of survey respondents tions to
optimize costs and redundancy while increasing uptimelisted
customers, innovation and growth as their priorities, whileand
scalability.21 percent gave highest priority to reducing costs and
increasingefficiency. For Indian businesses, 70 percent put cost
reductionChina is leading the world in finding new ways to reach
outand improved efficiencies at the top of the list of priorities.
to customers. China is using social media aggressively to addnew
customers.Focusing on customersCompared to 2009, IT decision makers
today now focus more onAccording to the study, there is a strong
correlation betweenrevenue growth, customer relationships and
innovation. By shift-a companys business priorities and focus
areas. For exam-ing from a cost-reduction emphasis, these companies
can focus ple, retail, transportation, consumer product companies
andon forward-looking aspects of their businesses. This
revisedbanking sectors are focusing on customer relationship
man-thinking is paving the way for breakthroughs at some companies.
agement, Web 2.0/social media and business analytics tobetter
understand, reach and service their customers.To develop strong
customer relationships, midsize companies arepaying more attention
to current and prospective customers. ManyMany survey respondents
agreed on the need for increased ITaffordable applications are
available to help midsize companies spending in 2011. Indian firms
are implementing a wide rangeexpand their customer outreach. Some
of these applications includeof projects for unified
communications, cloud, software as a ser-Web 2.0, social media and
mobility solutions, which can be highly vice and knowledge
management. Top IT projects in India undercost-effective vehicles
for reaching out and extending collaborationimplementation or
planned are:capabilities. Tools such as business analytics are
helping compa- Mobilityandunifiedcommunicationsnies gain insights
from customer data. Cloudcomputing SoftwareasaService(SaaS)Going
forward, about 30 percent of respondents in the study
Knowledgemanagement/humancapitalmanagementrevealed their plans to
increase market share and revenues by GreenITgoing to greener
pastures globally. ITinfrastructureimprovements
Businessperformancemanagement(BPM)Increasing IT spending
Disasterrecovery/businesscontinuityNo matter what their growth
strategy, most of the midsize com- Supplychainmanagementpanies
surveyed planned to increase spending on IT operations
Virtualization April 20115 6. STORYCOVEr cloud computing, with 66
percentCurrent Stage of IT Focus Areas Implementation in
IndiaofIndian companies adopting or planning to adopt it. Busi-
nesses aretakingadvantage of virtualized and shared archi- tectures
to ensure IT investments are more efficient while simul-
taneouslymaximizingcustomer relationships. Partnering for growth To
implement new IT strategies, over 70 percent of Indian midsize
businesses are seeking a consulta- tive relationship with their
primary IT provider. In addition to cost con- siderations, product
reliability and performance are the main factors in primary IT
vendor choice. Moreover, Web2.0/socialmedia Indian midsize
businesses look for an IT provider that can help
Regulatorycompliancemake the necessary changes needed to support
innovative busi- Collaborationness strategies.
Customerrelationshipmanagement(CRM) Informationmanagement
Eliminating barriers to address top IT priorities
SecuritymanagementDespiteunderstandingtheneedforimprovedandup-to-dateIT
Businessanalytics/intelligencesolutions, businesses face some
difficulties in implementing them.
Financialmanagement/financeoperations Cost is a key inhibitor in
mature market countriesbut 51 per- ERP(EnterpriseResourcePlanning)
cent of Indian respondents felt that cost was an adoption
barrier,compared with a global average of 58 percent. The inability
of ITWhile there are many common areas for all geographies,
therevendors to demonstrate returns on investment is a major
factorare priorities specific to some countries. For example,
ensuringin China, Korea, Singapore and the Czech republic. In
Japan,the future viability of currently operating core IT systems
is criti- nearly 7 in 10 midsize businesses cited cost as a top
barrier tocal for companies in Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Italy,
Spain, France,skills and resource challenges. respondents in China
and KoreaSouthAfrica,PolandandGermany.Disasterrecoveryandbusi-
mentioned cost and an inability to demonstrate short-term ben-ness
continuity are top priorities in russia, New Zealand, Singa- efits
as their main IT challenges.pore and Mexico. Financial claims
automation, risk simulation andcompliance are key areas for
businesses in Brazil, South Africa Conclusionand New Zealand.Cost
is still a top consideration for global respondents (58 percent)and
Indian respondents (51 percent). But Indians do not mind ITTaking
advantage of business analyticsspending if it cuts business costs
and improves efficiency. Busi-To determine the right strategies and
execute them, many com- nesses are either investing or planning to
invest in cloud computing,panies are turning to business analytics
and information man- business analytics and unified communications
among others. agement solutions. About 70 percent of the Indian
companiessurveyed have already started implementing analytics
strategiesor plan to do so in the current year, based on the huge
volume ofever-increasing data.Implementing cloud computingCost
efficiency, rapid provisioning, flexibility and efficiencyare the
major drivers for midsize businesses to turn to6 FORWARDVIEW 7.
feaTuRe STOrYdata management:tapping your most valuable assetA
doctors office takes an X-ray of a knee. On seeing the results,
thephysician decides to send the image to a specialist. rather
thanpacking the film into an envelope and sending it by courier,
aswas common practice only a few years ago, the office transmitsthe
image digitally. In the process, both medical offices add alarge
image file to their stored data. Marketing at IBM, and if you do a
great job on the foundation, it makes everything that you would
want to put on top of it that much easier to erect. And so it all
begins by choosing a database that is powerful enough and yet
simple enough that it can support your business requirements. Other
data systems also may be in place, typically including anOn todays
smarter planet, similar scenarios involving connected accounting
system, customer service and support, enterprisecompanies occur
every day. It doesnt matter that an organizationresource planning,
customer relationship management and, ifmay have only a few dozen
or a few hundred employees. The data youre doing business on the
web, online sales systems. Chunga midsize business generates can
grow disproportionately to thecautions, however, that midsize
business should pursue solutionsorganizations size. And when a
midsize business generates tera- that are both within their current
capabilities and scalable enoughbytes of data a year, finding a way
to access information, extract to allow for growth. Most midsize
organizations dont have theirinsights and put it to use becomes a
challenge.own onsite database administrator or a fully staffed
application development team. They buy solutions. And they need to
deployAsIBMsAnitaChungnotes,Datavolumeisdoublingeverytwoan
information management solution set they can manage withyears for
the average organization, and a lot of that data mustlimited
resources.be managed for years. Chung, who serves as Worldwide
MarketSegmentManager,DatabaseServerGo-to-MarketStrategy,con-
Matching management to capabilities and needstinues: Organizations
of all sizes need to rely on their core assets, A key step,
therefore, is to assess what you have, what youwhich include
business dataand there is always the need for need, what you can do
and what you want to do. But dont holdbetter performance and higher
service levels at lower costs.yourself back.In todays highly
instrumented, interconnected and intelligent Theres variety in
midsize business, says Wozniak. Some areworld, organizations often
look to business analytics to gain thea little bit more stable in
terms of their business focus and someinsights and performance they
need from data. But business ana-really have jewel-like, perfect
IT. And there are others at the pointlytics isnt a starting
pointyou cant just jump in without layingwhere they need to make a
listthey dont even know what theythe right groundwork. You need a
foundation of information man-dont have.agement applications and
processes in place first. An error common to midsize companies,
however, is that they sel-Beginning with a databaseand growing from
there dom realize how much their company might growor how muchYour
midsize business may have some of the necessary founda- their data
will grow even if the company remains the same size.tion already
establisheda database, for example. The data- Explains Wozniak:
Companies often think that their IT require-base is the foundation
of all information management, notes ments are only going to expand
as the business does, and thatRichard Wozniak, Program Director,
Information Managementthe business isnt going to be four times
bigger any time soon.7FORWARDVIEWApril 2011 7 8. STORYFEATUrEBut
what a lot of companies are seeing is that they need to A holistic
view, however, also can yield specific benefitscostdrive increased
profitability, increasing automation and reduc- savings, for
example. The cost savings in the database realm areing the amount
of time that vital employees spend on non- amplified, says Wozniak,
because it goes through that wholeproductive tasks.data life cycle
from design and deployment all the way througharchiving and
eventual retirement of data.In other words, theyre seeing the need
to drive both the internalprocesses and the externally facing
customer experience of busi-Using information to drive business
successness by managing business information.In the end, its the
usability of information that is important.There is really no time
to be working with unreliable data, saysAchieving the benefits of
holistic data managementIBMs Chung. No matter what the economic
conditions are, it isBusiness analytics can indeed provide valuable
insight that important for businesses and organizations to be
smart. There ishelps organizations achieve the goals Wozniak cites.
But otherjust no margin for error if an organization wants to
survive, muchkey steps should take place first. To set the stage
for businessless compete.analytics, the organization should
establish a firm foundation ofdatabases, information management
processes for effective and A solid foundation for information
management therefore becomessecure data storage, data warehousing
for categorizing and seg- critical for any company, whether it is
planning to move to businessmenting data so its usable in its
different pieces, and enterprise analytics or not. Information and
its management, says Chung,content management for determining
whether data should be is going to drive your business performance,
your service levelarchived or readily available at various stages
of its life cycle.improvements, and ultimately competitive
differentiation.Taking advantage of all of these capabilities can
give an organi-zation a holistic perspective on its data that will
make informationmore available and more useful in all its various
forms. Ultimately,the company can achieve the ability to truly
analyze its dataand to gain insights across the different types of
data and thedifferent areas of the businessdiscovering what the
data isrevealing, where gaps occur and how the organization can use
itmore effectively for making business decisions.Where does India
stand regarding IT trends?Test your understanding from the cover
story1. What area of IT focus is most important for midsize
Indian4. Which businesses are investing more in customer
relationshipcompanies? management?A: IT infrastructure
improvementsA: IT companiesB: Cloud computing B: retail,
transportation, consumer products and bankingC: Security management
C: Manufacturing sector2. What is the most critical business
priority for Indias midsize 5. What is the main challenge in
implementing improved ITcompanies? solutions in mature market
countries?A: Improved customer service A: CostB: Cost
reduction/improved efficienciesB: Inability of the IT vendor to
demonstrate short-term benefitsC: Collaboration C: lack of skills
to work with improved IT solutions3. What technology tops the list
of IT focus area implementation inIndia today?A: Mobility/unified
communicationsB: Web 2.0/social mediaC: Security managementAnswers
on page 158 FORWARDVIEW 9. feaTuReSTOrYmaking the smarter planet
areality for midsize businesses Ed Abrams is currently the Vice
President of Marketing, IBM Midmarket. In this role, Ed is
responsible for leading a diverse team that supports IBMs business
objectives with small and midsize businesses by developing,
planning and executing offerings and go-to-market strategies
designed to help midsize business grow. In this role Ed works
closely and collaboratively with our sales and channels teams and
our agency partners to deliver high-quality and effective marketing
strategies, offerings and campaigns. Ed joined IBM 16W years ago
and has held a number of roles within the IBM marketing
organization in that time.e hear a lot these days about how our
planet is becoming smarter. demanding today than they have been in
the past. They haveBut what exactly is a smarter planet, and what
does it mean more choice than they had in the past.for midsize
organizations? To try to answer these questions,ForwardView spoke
with Ed Abrams, Vice President of Market- Now, because midsize
businesses tend to be more nimble anding for Midmarket at IBM. In
his role, Ed works closely with IBMtend to be able to react to
customer needs more effectively, theyinitiatives that help midsize
clients benefit from the growingcan grow their businesses faster
and in different areas than theystrengths of a smarter planet.may
have ever thought before.ForwardView:ForwardView:To begin, can you
explain what the smarter planet is and why this Are we talking
about fine tuning the way theyre doingis relevant for midsize
companies?business or about something thats fundamentally changing
theEd Abrams:business model?A smarter planet is what is happening
to the world that we all live Ed Abrams:in today. There is
technology in everything that is out there. We We can actually be
talking about both. There are things on aare seeing that, with
instrumentation and interconnectivity, much smarter planet that
companies in the midmarket can do from amore intelligence is coming
out of the world. very tactical and practical perspective in terms
of basic CrM andErP-like solutions, but we are also talking about
bringing togetherThats not something thats gated by customer size
or by business technology and business strategy to find new and
different wayssize. The smallest businesses in the world and the
largest busi-to exploit a business.nesses in the world can use
information as a competitive weapon.And thats what were seeing
many, many times in companies like It can be as simple as changing
the way they think aboutMoosejaw Mountaineering, a small retailer
out of the West Coast point-of-sale solutions to provide a more
rich customer experi-who has created a new business model and
expanded their cus-ence. But it can also be changing the whole
supply chain andtomer set globally by using customer information to
better providestrategic delivery mechanisms to grow their business
and totheir customers with the products and services theyre looking
for. leap-frog competition.ForwardView:ForwardView:It sounds like
one of the advantages of the smarter planet is thatIt sounds like
the impact is both internal and external.it levels the playing
field.Ed Abrams:Ed Abrams:One of the things that a smarter planet
is doing is that its allow-It does level the playing field. But the
challenge that it presents ing companies to build much more
customer loyalty. By havingto midsize businesses is that theyve got
to find new and different access to better information on customer
wants and needs, andways to serve their customers. Their customers
are much moreon customer opportunities and areas for growth,
companies are April 2011 9 10. STORYFEATUrE able to better support
them and better provide them with whatempower their teams to make
better decisions? What are they they need. doing to provide and
identify the key insights that will drive growthand success? Its
not all about big, giant organizational change. A good example of
that is a company like Performance Bicycle where IBM and our
Business Partners have workedForwardView: together to give them a
much better CrM capability and What are some of the steps a company
should take to position solution to allow them to ensure that they
can anticipate what it is themselves to participate in the smarter
planet? that the bicycling enthusiast is really looking for during
different Ed Abrams: times of the yearand ensure that theyre
delivering that throughOne of the first things is to talk to their
IBM Business Partner or their catalog and e-catalog business in a
way that preempts com- talk to IBM directlyand not just about what
their technology petition and allows them to more effectively
provide value.goals are. Those are conversations we all have all
the time. Butwhat they should really be doing is thinking about
what their busi- Then from the internal perspective, I think what
youre seeing isness goals are. What are they aspiring for their
organization to that there is the opportunity for companies to be
far more effi- become? Are they using information and analytics
effectively in cient and effective with their own operations and
really be able totheir organization? reduce their IT infrastructure
costs and their IT infrastructure labor and burden and to reinvest
it to grow their businesses.ForwardView:Of course, these will vary
from company to company, but have A good example of that is a
company out on the West Coast, you found some common areas? Sun
World, where because they were able to streamline their IT Ed
Abrams: environment and get better data out of the system at the
sameWhat we see is that business analytics is a starting point. Are
time, they were able to better manage their inventory,
reducecompanies able to unlock the information that they already
have inefficiency and waste, and get a much greater yield out of
theirinside their organization and pull the key insights out?
perishable product line. This is actually allowing them to sell
more of the produce that they harvest, lower their operating costs
andAnother is, as they look at their IT environment, have they been
as grow their business. cost-effective as they can? Are they
leveraging things like virtual-ization and other technologies to
ensure that they are getting the ForwardView: most out of their
existing IT environment before investing more? What do you see in
the future then for these internal and external processes?And then
finally, are they doing things in cloud computing that Ed Abrams:
really are allowing them to branch into new and different applica-
Specific to the midsize business, we really are seeing cloud tion
areas and get better insights into how to grow their business?
computing become a reality. There was a period of time where most
midsize companies were a little hesitant to think about
put-ForwardView: ting different aspects of their business into the
cloud. And whatHow has IBM helped make the smarter planet a reality
for were seeing now is that a lot of these businesses have recog-
midsize companies? nized that cloud computing and the capabilities
that exist aroundEd Abrams: cloud really free them up to be much
more real-time reactive toOne of the things that we can absolutely
point to is the relation- marketplace needs. ships that we have
with our Business Partners. Weve got somephenomenal Business
Partners with tremendous amounts of ForwardView: industry and IT
skill that can help our customers approach their Were talking about
something biga planet. What can an indi-business and their business
problems and apply IT to solve them. vidual do to make the planet
smarter?Weve enabled those partners with some very strong solutions
Ed Abrams: and product offerings such as our Cognos offerings which
provide The reality is, while we do talk about a smarter planet, it
really outstanding business analytics and business insight
capabilities. starts with smarter individuals. And what an
individual in a mid- Continued on page 12 size business can do to
start to take advantage of a smarter planet and drive change inside
their organization is to just think about and challenge themselves
on how they are using informa- tion differently inside their
organization. What are they doing to10 FORWARDVIEW 11.
feaTuReSTOrYstart small, get big resultswith business analyticsHow
does your organization make business decisions? Do yougo with a gut
feeling because you lack accurate and completedata? Or do you have
visibility into your processes, performance,offerings and customers
to support smart, fact-based decisions?With business data today
growing at exponential rates, the need Start small, get b with
business an How does your orga business decisions? a "gut feeling"
becau accurate and comple you have visibility inalso is increasing
to gather, analyze and use data wisely. In aprocesses,
performanhighly instrumented, interconnected and intelligent world,
busi- and customers to sup based decisions?ness analytics can help
your midsize organization achieve valu-able insights and build
competitive strengths.With business data texponential rates,
thUsing business analytics, a smart organization can
enhanceincreasing to gather,data wisely. In a highopportunities for
profitable growth, optimize the allocation andinstrumented,
intercodeployment of resources and capital, and proactively manage
intelligent world, burisk. A company using business analytics is
not overwhelmed by most impact. midsize organization achieve
valuable insights and build competitive stre can help your Many
companies find the greatest return on invest-todays vast amounts of
data and instead can turn that data into ment in business
productivity and processes, with additional ben- Using business
analytics, a smart organization can enhance opportunities for
profitablea business advantage.efits in technology operations.
optimize the allocation and deployment of resources and capital,
and proactively manag company using business analytics is not
overwhelmed by todays vast amounts of dataBut where does a company
begin?A recent data into a Aberdeen Group found that among top-per-
turn that study by business advantage. forming consumer products
and retail companies who use busi- But where does a company
begin?Know when youre ready ness analytics, 57 percent employed it
to improve operationalIn business planning and operations, a common
question relationships youre ready distributors, and 50 percent
used it in Know when with their retail In business planning and
operations, a common question is: "What should we be doingis: What
should we be doing? The same is true for business working with
partner companies. Forty-three percent used busi- true for business
analytics. A company considering a business analytics
implementationanalytics. A companyconsidering a business analytics
ness analytics in working it should be doing with its data. provid-
early in the process what with logistics and
transportationimplementation should ask early in the process what
it should be ers, and 35 percent used it in working with materials
and partsdoing with its data. suppliers. keep an eye onlythesmall
number of analyzing data "Always Significantly, on a business goal:
top performingto achieve usefu information." companies21
percentused it only for internal purposes.Usually, the answer is
threefold: create an information-driven Usually, the answer is
three-fold: create an information-driven business culture that
colbusiness culture that collects and analyzes data, present infor-
The same study found that the greatest number of U.S. insight, and
empower actions analyzes data, present information in a way that
enhances compa-mation in a way that enhances insight and empower
actions that nies deploy business analytics81 percent of the most
accountingcompanies20 to 25 resources with decisions. Some in their
finance and successful than average or underperforming companiessay
they have a plan that makes these thalign resources with decisions.
Some 81 percent of the mostdepartments. Other areas of significant
use include: 49 percent in possible.*successful companies20 to 25
percent more than average or customer service and in the sales
process; 41 percent in informa-underperforming companiessay they
have a plan that makestionif your answer includes any or all of
these goals, youre ready to get started with bus So technology; and
35 percent in product marketing.these three goals possible.*
Implement your solution appropriately Follow key steps for success
with analytics your company, youll need t Once youve determined
that business analytics can benefitSo if your answer includes any
or all of these goals, youre ready Wherever you deploy business
analytics, however, there are key greatest return on in area where
it will have the most impact.. Many companies find theto get
started with business analytics.steps to productivity first
processes, withexamine your analytical business follow. The and is
to carefully additional benefits in technology operations.
needsfrom data sources to data users, including how peopleImplement
your solution appropriatelyuse data, why they use it and how
quickly they need analysis.Once youve determined that business
analytics can benefit yourThis will lay the foundation for an
analytics strategy that supportscompany, youll need to identify the
area where it will have the a data-driven company.April 2011 11 12.
STORYFEATUrE Early and sustained attention to data, quality and
governance operational and transactional. It should provide both
man- are important. So are regular and ongoing internal and
external aged and ad hoc reportsand export information in stan-
reviews of processes and metrics. dardized formats that are useful
in the context of business, even when they draw on information
generated by heteroge- But always keep an eye on the business goal:
analyzing data neous technologies. to achieve useful, actionable
information. Your implementation
Thesolutionshouldbemodular,enablingtheorganizationto should empower
non-technical users with information delivery, start with the
functions it needs, whether reporting, querying, reporting and
visualization capabilities they can employ on a analysis,
visualization, planning, budgeting or forecasting. self-service
basis. Itshouldbeeasytouse,reducingthetimerequiredfortrain- ing and
enabling non-technical staff to perform complex Also keep an eye on
your implementation rate. You dont need an tasks such as
drill-downs and dashboard creation. Ease extensive data warehouse
to reap benefits. In fact, starting smallof use will support rapid
adoptionand the creation of an is the best approach for the midsize
business. While you should information-driven business culture.
plan future ways to use your analyses and ways to expand into
Functionality should be preconfigured not only to reduce different
areas of your business, you can, as the Aberdeen Groupdeployment
time for IT but to support self-service among study found, achieve
considerable success on the departmental users. Simplified
implementation and management can or functional level.reduce the
burden on IT staff. Ongoing administration by non-IT staff can
increase your return on investment. An incremental strategy that
builds on small successes lets you start with the types of reports,
analysis or planning func-Ultimately, the analytics that these
capabilities make possible can tions you need first. In finance,
for example, business analyt-drive an information agenda that fuels
business optimization and
icscanaddresscashflow,balancesheets,orprofitandloss.drives growth.
A modular approach can give you the functionality For your
workforce, it can address salary planning, projectyou need when you
need it, and let you grow your analytics capa- management or
resource planning. In customer relations, it bilities with the
business. canaddress profitability, marketing effectivenessand
customer churn.*IBM Institute for Business Value, Business
analytics andoptimization for the intelligent enterprise (PDF
393KB), Choose a solution with broad, easy-to-use capabilities
December2009. ts obvious that business analytics can produce a lot
of results. To get those results, youll need a solution with a
comparable range of capabilities. Youll want a solution that takes
you far beyond the limited capabilities of the spreadsheets that
many companies use to analyze metrics. Consider the following when
choosing a solution: A business analytics solution should have
broad capabili- ties for a wide range of usesfrom financial to
production, Continued from page 10 different cloud-based solutions
as well as a set of purpose-builtsolutions for midsize businesses
as part of our Smarter ForwardView: Business Solution Portfolio.
These solutions are going to Whats coming in 2011 that will be
especially helpful andbe designed specifically to help midsize
businesses with appealing to midsize companies?everything from
desktop virtualization to collaboration to docu- Ed Abrams: ment
management. And were committed to making sure that This year were
going to be very focused on ensuring that we these are effective
solutions delivered through our Business are delivering against the
needs that I spoke of earlier fromPartners that solve the problems
or challenges of our midsize a cloud perspective. Were working very
hard on a series ofbusiness customers. 12 FORWARD VIEW 13. April
2011 13 14. VenkaTRaman VQ&A 7 big Questionsfrom workflow to
conference callsuc to become backboneof businesses
UNIFIEDCOMMUNICATIONS(UC)ISGOINGTOCHANGETHEWAyTHEMOBIlEWORKFORCEIS
OPERATINGTODAy.MOBIlEWORKERSWIllBEABlETOCARRyTHEIRUC-ENABlEDVIRTUAl
OFFICESWHEREVERTHEyGO.UCWIllFINDAPlACEBEyONDTHECOMMUNICATIONSAND
BECOME PArT OF THE BUSINESS PrOCESS ITSElF.IBM GlOBAl TECHNOlOGY
SErVICES IS
ASSISTINGClIENTSAROUNDTHEGlOBETOExPlOITTHECONVERGENCEOFVOICE,VIDEOAND
DATA,SAySVENKATRAMANV,COUNTRyMANAGERENTERPRISESERVICESOFFERINGSASPARTOF
GlOBAlTECHNOlOGySERVICESATIBMINDIA. ForwardView: What are the
keynecessity, a new generation of workersCorporate demand for
interoperability and trends that you foresee in the has a new
expectation for IM as the the maturing of industry standards will
workplace enabled by Unified preferred method of business
interaction. force unified communications providers Communication
(UC)?This will fuel more rapid adoption of to embrace
interoperability. Converged, Venkatraman V: The virtual workplace
unified communications as traditional aggregated and rich presence
will allow will become the rule. No need to leave the IM becomes
the core extension point businesses and individuals to better find
office.Justbringitalong.Deskphonesfor multi-modal communications.
and reach the appropriate resources, and desktop computers will
gradually removing inefficiencies from business disappear, replaced
by mobile devices, ForwardView: What level of UC processes and
daily lives. including laptops that take on traditional integration
do you foresee with office capabilities. Social networking tools
line-of-business applications?ForwardView: What new and
virtual-world meeting experiencesVenkatraman V: Beyond phone calls
collaboration models are likely will simulate the feeling of being
there into collaborative business processes,to emerge? person. Work
models will be changedcompanies will go beyond the
initialVenkatraman V: New meeting by expanded globalization and
greencapabilities of IMlike click-to-call and models will emerge.
Hang up on routine, business initiatives that reduce travel
andonline presenceto deep integration withcalendared conference
calls. The encourage work at home.business processes and
line-of-business definition of meetings will radicallyapplications,
where they can realize thetransform and become increasingly
ForwardView: Which new greatest benefit. ad hoc and instantaneous
based on generation of collaborationcontextandneed.HDvideoandaudio
tools is now becoming adoptedForwardView: How much
oftechnologieswillsignificantlyinfluence in the
workplace?interoperability we can expectonline corporate meeting
experiences Venkatraman V: Instant messaging from various UC
vendors?to deliver more life-like experiences (IM) and other
real-time collaboration Venkatraman V: Interoperability and
demanded by the next-generation tools will become the norm,
bypassingopen standards will tear down proprietary workers who will
operate more efficiently e-mail. Just as e-mail became a business
walls across business and public domains. in this familiar
environment.14 FORWARDVIEW 15. ForwardView: How is in training
engineers, consultantsbusiness strategy. Think through theIBM
assisting its clients and services professionals in IBM UC
capabilities that best support yourin adopting UC? industry-leading
Global Servicesbusiness objectives. Catalog the UCVenkatraman V:
large-scaleMethod and reference Architectures, capabilities your
organization alreadyadoption of IBMs unified communicationswhich
have been applied to thousandshas in place. Avoid the temptation
toand collaboration platform and services isof engagements.
incorporate all the available bells andgrowing. IBM Global
Technology Services whistles if they are unnecessary.is assisting
clients around the globe toForwardView: What are yourexploit the
convergence of voice, video key recommendations for Third, lay out
a roadmap. Makeand data. IBM is providing the
services,organizations looking tosure you are leveraging your
currentassets and skills to deliver consulting,adopt UC?
investments as appropriate, even asdesign and architecture
implementation; Venkatraman V: First, focus on theyou take
advantage of new technologies.thereby, seamlessly integrating the
business view. What aspect of human
Developanimplementationplansolution into the existing environment.
latency are you trying to address? Outlinedriven by your business
priorities.The IBM investments will address clients your business
priorities, operational Stage your rollout to get the
highestrequirements for integration of multi-constraints,
regulatory requirements andrOI first.platform environments and
multiplebudget considerations. These will be verynetwork equipment
providers, whilekey in prioritizing the what, where and Finally,
establish an ongoing approachmasking the complexity of
deliveringhow of implementing UC solutions. to re-evaluating new
technologiesthe solution with a proven referenceand capabilities as
they evolve toarchitecture to address mission-criticalSecond,
develop your UC strategycontinue to add to the benefits youbusiness
needs. IBM is heavily investingand architecture based on yourcan
get from UC.About Venkatraman VVenkatraman V is Country
ManagerEnterprise Services Offerings as part of Global Technology
Services at IBM India. An engineer/MBA, Venkatraman has over 27
years experience in the industry across sales and marketing
channels and product
managementInhiscurrentrole,VenkatramanisresponsibleforOfferingsManagement&DevelopmentforEnterpriseServicesOfferings,GlobalTechnology
Services for the ISA region. Enterprise Services covers the areas
of networking, communications and security services.It includes
attaining the financial targets, understanding the marketplace, and
maintaining or exceeding IBMs current market shareposition versus
key competitors in the technology services market, as well as
managing product life cycles.His focus in this role is to leverage
assets and show differentiated value of IBM assets to its
customers. Previously, Venkatraman wasthe Service Product line
leader for Integrated Communication Services, which focused on
networking and communication services.QUIZ ANSWErS1: (A) IT
infrastructure improvements2: (B) Cost reduction/improved
efficiencies3: (A) Mobility/unified communications4: (B) retail,
transportation, consumer products and banking5: (A) CostApril 2011
15 16. Midsize business resourcesEasy-to-use contacts and
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