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Thursday, August 27, 2015

The trust factor for IoT

pic from https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7296/15768208714_9f9376cc7d_o_d.jpg


We talk a lot about IoT, referring of course, to the Internet of Things. But perhaps we should be thinking of making the T stand for trust. That’s what some are working on now in establishing industry standards to be worth of trust by committing to adopt best practices.

Essentially the OTA's best practices and standards boil down to two overarching considerations. One: Device manufacturers have to consider how they will secure the data collected on their devices. Two: The consumer has to be clearly informed about the nature and extent of the data collected. Having that information allows the potential purchaser to know exactly what they would be getting into with the Internet of Things (IoT) device, and whether or not they consider the gains are worth the risk. Having a universal standard also makes it clear how one company compares to another with respect to data privacy and security.

Read more in

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Mapping the supply chain for greater sustainability

Like the Rome of old, a more transparent and sustainable supply chain is not built in a day. Building it takes planning, mapping, and fine-tuning. Data visualization enables organizations to bridge all three.
Awareness of the need for sustainability and transparency in the electronic supply chain is rising. And a number of companies have said they are committed to improving in those areas, whether in response to questions about components of their supply chain, like conflict minerals, or as a positive choice whendefining the company's mission.
Read more in 

Mapping Out a Better Electronics Supply Chain

Thursday, August 20, 2015

3 signs you're doing social media wrong


Photo by Adem AY on Unsplash


This is not an exhaustive list. It was inspired by a quick look at a company profile on Google +. I used to follow that company but just stopped because it clearly is not paying attention to its own posts. It was guilty of all 3 of these: 


1. You only post self-promotion and nothing else.
2. You don't respond to any of the comments on your posts, including those with direct questions.
3. You have one guy post "Thanks a lot, [profile name]" on each post, which just makes it look like you hired someone not very bright to comment. 

In other words, #DoingItWrong
If you have any other signs of doing social media wrong, please write them in the comments!

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

What would Spock do?

from https://lurentis.com/blog/driverless-cars-pandoras-box-now-wheels/
Is there an ethical algoirthm for driverless cars

Say you’re driving at 30 miles an hour when a child suddenly chases a ball right into the path of your car. You would brake if you can stop in time. If you can’t brake you’d swerve to avoid hitting the child. But what if swerving forces you either to hit another car with passengers in it or a truck that would cause harm to those in your car? Does self-preservation override all other consideration? Would we be driven by the emotional pull of saving a child over all else? Or would we be paralyzed into doing nothing because we can’t bring ourselves to take part in any action that causes harm?
These are the types of questions that bring ethics specialists and engineers together in addressing the challenge of directing driverless cars. 

Does Spock offer a solution to the problem? He may, if people would accept Vulcan logic. Learn more in  

Driverless Cars Present Ethical Challenges


Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Retailers get into predictive analytics

Here on All Analytics, we’re generally sold on the value of predictive analytics. The question is: Are retailers, particularly those managed by people who believe in their gut intuition, sold on it? Even they are starting to appreciate what analytics can do for their business.

Dean Abbott
Dean Abbott
According to Dean Abbott, co-founder and chief data scientist at SmarterHQ and author ofApplied Predictive Analytics: Principles and Techniques for the Professional Data Analyst, it is ushering a cultural change for retail.
I recently chatted with Abbott about what the application of predictive analytics means to the retail space. Read more in 

Predictive Analytics: Data and Retail Expertise

Friday, July 24, 2015

Good data should not come at the cost of Goodwill

 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/2008-08-04_CVS_Pharmacy_in_Durham.jpg
CVS recently ran an experiment that's generating a lot of buzz online. Unfortunately, it's not the kind of customer reaction retailer likes to get.
The drugstore giant chose the week of July 12 to deviate from its usual offer of special coupons or promotions in printed circulars. They were betting that what they gained in data insight for the week would be worth the price of alienating some customers.
- See more at: http://www.baselinemag.com/blogs/dont-sacrifice-goodwill-for-good-data.html#sthash.V3PGO2I9.dpuf

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Wooden dolls and today's supply cahin



It sounds like an oxymoron: smart wooden dolls. However, that's exactly what manufacturer Avakai has created. Though it looks like a simple wooden doll in the shape Russian nesting dolls, it is Bluetooth enabled to offer interactive response. With their stress on connectivity, transparency, sustainability, and adaptability, this company reflects the values we're seeing in today's electronic supply chain.
Read more in 
picture from http://41.media.tumblr.com/d49c1c89d70c241ecbd9f1a1d6df6b58/tumblr_inline_noacz2YMVN1t8bz9y_1280.jpgA

What Wooden Dolls Can Teach Us About Today’s Supply Chain

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

5G: potential and challenges for the brave new world of IoT

The progression to 5G from 4G is different from the previous advance from 3G because that shift was all about speed and now it's all about connection on an unprecedented scale.

More specifically, this time around, the new factor is IoT, and as Aicha Evans, corporate vice president and general manager of the Communications and Devices Group, Intel Corp.(Nasdaq: INTC), observes, this "new paradigm will require major changes to traditional cellular network topology."
Indeed, the 5G realm will encompass a lot more devices, technologies and participants than anything we've seen before. Consequently, collaboration within the industry is essential to keep the various components in communication with each other and on the same page about standards and plans. 
That's one of the key differences between the upcoming change and previous progressions, and it holds a great deal of promise for, as well as a number of challenges, for the industry.

To get some insider insight into the journey that lies ahead for arriving at 5G over the next five years, The New IP checked in with Evans via email

Read her insights in 5G & the IoT Factor

Thursday, July 16, 2015

2020 Vision on 5G

By 2020, there will be 50 billion devices connected to the internet that will generate will over $8 trillion in Value at Stake, according to a recent report by Cisco and DHL That’s quite a leap in connections.



What has to happen before the connections can grow from 15 billion to 50 billion? Intel predicts that growth of 5G will happen, as the next step in the evolution of connectivity. But the question remains about exactly what forces will influence the manifestation of 5G and how long it will take to really arrive.  Diego R. Lopez, Senior Technology Expert at Telefonica I+D, offered his perspective on how we’re are to get to that point.  
Read about it in Getting to 5G

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Got rhythm? This algorithm does.

from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rap-logo-persian-wiki.png
Most of us have heard of DeepBlue, the computer that harnessed artificial intelligence to beat a chess champion back in 1997. Now there’s DeepBeat, a machine learning algorithm that raps.

Monday, June 29, 2015

Mind the gap: information governance in the age of big data

"Many companies don't benefit from big data because of the gap between those who manage the data and those who apply it. The solution is information governance.


Sue Trombley, managing director of thought leadership at Iron Moutain, offered some perspective on the causes of this clarity gap.....

Going forward, Trombley asserts, businesses will have to adopt a new paradigm that enables each department to have direct access to the information it requires in order to extract value to meet its goals.  

Friday, June 26, 2015

The value of blogs for marketing: attraction, connection, and SEO


picture from https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Blog_(1).jpg

A few years ago, everyone seemed to think video was the way to go to capture attention for effective marketing. Now, people seem to realize that many people -- like me -- would prefer to read information in text form at their own pace rather than sit through a video that can take several minutes to get to a point they are truly interested in. 

Unless you have time to kill or really need to hear information to absorb it, why would you want to sit through something for 10, 15, sometimes even 45 minutes or more to get information you can read in less than 5 minutes? If you don't want to lose the attention of the people who feel that way, you need to reach out to them with articles. Smart marketers know this. That's why some are now getting writers to turn the information they had put into videos into articles. 


There are good reasons for brands to sponsor blogs.

Lots of blog readers out there
Most people, as many as 8 out of 10, according to  Content Marketing Institute consider themselves blog readers. People are also very receptive to communication from businesses in the form of blogs because of the insight they gain either from information about their field or about how the business operates without feeling like they are bombarded by ads.

 Blogs generate leads, build brand recognition, and boost SEO
Companies that blog generate 67% more leads each month than companies that don’t, according to Social Media B2B.  In addition to the blog building the brand recognition among those who read and share the content, it boosts SEO. For one thing, fresh content is a plus for Google rankings, and blogs add new content much more regularly than website updates do.

Blogs increases indexed pages and raise search engine rankings
As Content Plus explained, websites can gain 434% indexed pages and 97% more indexed links from their blogs. That increase in the indexing count translates into higher search engine rankings, which can drive a lot more browsers to a brand’s website. Indexed pages and indexed links translate into higher rankings with the search engines, which also contribute to higher rankings for a website. The effect can be even further enhanced when social media and mobile communication send out links to new content on a company blog.

No one denies that content is king, though this indicates that the power of the crown remains linked to the written word.

The science of empathy



"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb in his skin and walk around in it," declares Atticus Finch in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. Gaining that kind of empathic insight is helpful not only for fostering humanity, but for improving business results....

Ultimately, there is no magical question that will elicit what the C-suite and IT leaders need to know about their customers. In fact, some customers may not even be able to articulate exactly what caused them to feel less than satisfied. The solution to that problem is not magic, but science.


Even when people can't find words for what they are feeling, sensors can pick up on the signs of stress that, when combined with contextual data, can reveal the emotional triggers that define a customer's experience. That's where design consultant Elliot Hedman comes in. Experience designer at mPath, Hedman has developed a methodology that combines stress-testing sensors with traditional observational techniques.
Graph from mPath
Read more in 

Can Data Teach Us Empathy?

Thursday, June 18, 2015

It's all about the delivery


http://aomc.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/logistics.jpg
I planned to write on this topic before the Target incident. But once it happened, I felt its inclusion really highlights how getting shipping right is so essential for businesses today.

When was the last time you paid for shipping? Some would have to think a while for the answer because so many of us select the "free shipping" options available for online orders.  In truth, though, shipping services are never really free. Their cost can be quite significant, particularly for businesses that that operate in the supply chain.
Shipping is lifeblood of a supply chain business.....

We can see the difference in delivery services from retailers who optimize their shipping and those who don't in our own experience.  I ordered a few items on Target.com on May 28. The email confirmation gave a range for delivery for all the items of June 3 to 5. June 5 arrived, as did some of the items, but not all of them. The UPS tracking information provided still showed June 5 as the date of arrival, despite a notation of a delay on a truck, as confirmed by a Target representative on the phone.  The UPS man who delivered part of the order assured me that there was no way another shipment would come before Monday.

His prediction turned out to be correct, and that was the only insight I gained from UPS, which failed to give me a new arrival time despite my request for information via email.  (Note: Both Target and UPS claimed to want to help when I tweeted about it, but only Target offered some conciliation in the form of a $10 gift card.)

Read more in 

Logistics Don’t Always Deliver Joy Thanks to UPS for inspiring the title with its own tagline

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Robots are coming to warehouses

Today, we really do let our fingers do the shopping and click through to make our purchases that we want. Next day delivery has become standard for a host of consumer and business products. Keeping up with that expectation drives those in the business of logistics to press for greater efficiency in logistics. Robots can play a role in meeting that demand.

On April 29, Fetch Robotics unveiled new a robotic system made specifically for the logistics industry.  The system that consists of "Freight" and "Fetch" is based on ROS, the open source robot operating system. Freight refers to the mobile base, and Fetch to the mobile manipulator. In addition to working with each other, the robots are designed to work with people and with the warehouse software. 

Read more in 

Robots Improve Logistics in the Electronics Supply Chain