Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Connections Redefining the Enterprise Network

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The computer and the network that connects them are both inextricably linked to the success of any business.  This truth is at the heart of our contemporary connection economy.

“The computer patiently measures and reports. [T]he network creates value in connection. The connection economy values the bridges between the nodes as much as the nodes themselves.” – Seth Godin

This train of thought explains why Uber is worth more than the independent cars it connects.  It also describes the imperative for enterprises to redefine their network in order to operate in the modern data economy.  The instantiation of today’s data economy lies in the digital supply chain that links customer demand and organizational products.  This reality surfaces the need for organizations to transform their supply chains into demand and product networks. This strategic vector increasingly includes the Internet of Things (IoT), machine-to-machine (M2M) communications and their joint ability to support new and varied digital products.


Networks and networked devices are just as vital to a business as they are, in many cases, integral to the digital product itself.  Many modern business models boil down to having the ability to connect information seekers to service providers that serve as information sources. Uber, AirBNB, and Travelocity are all examples of this sort of business transformation that can be created through the real-time management of information accessible via network connected devices. This same business model could be just as effective in any company if it was able to focus on delivering customer centric services in a rapid, network enhanced manner.  Linking chain-of-delivery communications, for example, could optimize just about any business model that could benefit from gaining scheduling efficiencies.


Another impressive reality lies in how IoT is becoming the glue of the extended network supply chain. Through the use of machine-to-machine communications, physical product sensor data can now provide new and different insights into supply chain efficiency and customer service levels.  These innovations are even providing direct linkage between maintenance contracts and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

With extended digital supply chains supported by business driven IoT technologies operating over a software defined networked environment, the digital economy is directly connected to the larger enterprise.  With this capability, companies can effectively respond to real-time information, capture opportunities and flexibly solve their customer’s problems. This concept transforms supply chain silos into product and demand networks. It facilitates real-time information exchange and drives the required focus on customer centricity and speed.  This approach also leads to a successful accomplishment of seven key tasks that enables your business model to thrive in today’s connection economy:
  • Deliver sustainable product innovation that wins market share and meets regulatory and quality requirements
  • Execute demand-driven business processes that effectively address strategic, financial, sales, and operational goals
  • Sense customer demand, orchestrate your production supply chain and respond with appropriate services in real-time with profit
  • Maximize automation and enable full visibility and transparency of your internal and external operations
  • Integrate your digital supply chain, physical logistics and order fulfillment processes in a way that delivers wildly satisfied customers
  • Operate and manage all assets at lower risk, improved security, higher safety, better quality and with improve return on assets
  • Monitor and measure everything using real-time network management tools that sense, analyze, and predict events and key performance indicators (KPIs).

Accomplishing all of these tasks requires a competent and experienced enterprise network management team that can ensure efficient connections and improved network agility.  These two attributes are essential to attaining the twin organizational goals of reduced cost and reduced complexity.  At a minimum, your team must be adept at network management automation, software defined networking and cloud networking operations.  Needed capabilities could also include:

Your return on these network investments will be realized through less network downtime, improved staff efficiencies and enhanced industry competitiveness.


This post was brought to you by IBM Global Technology Services. For more content like this, visit ITBizAdvisor.com



Cloud Musings
( Thank you. If you enjoyed this article, get free updates by email or RSS - © Copyright Kevin L. Jackson 2016)



Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Business Chatbots Taking Over

Chat apps characteristics make them very appealing to businesses and marketers. Prominent ones include their size, user retention, usage rates, and user demographics. In fact, the combined user base of the top four chat apps is larger than that of the top four social networks. Chat apps also have higher retention and usage rates than most mobile apps. Finally, the majority of their users are young, an extremely important demographic for brands, advertisers and publishers.

These chat app traits have accelerated the blending of artificial intelligence and business service functions to create the modern chatbot. Recent advances in this area include:
  • A chatbot’s ability to conduct engaging human conversations which has allowed businesses to leverage the inexpensive and wide-reaching technology to engage with more consumers; 
  • The greater suitability of chatbots with mobile devices;
  •  The robust and rapid evolution of the chatbot ecosystem which include third-party chat bots, native bots, distribution channels, and a new marketplace for its enabling technology; and
  •  A promising chatbot business model for messaging apps and the developers who build bots for these platforms. 

A surprising example of this embryonic business model is my own 21 year-old daughter! Known as Ljskater_X_Void on Twitch, she uses an entire team of chatbots to manage her online audience: 


  • A customized Ankhbot (referred to as LjskaterxVoidBot) to interact with Twitch stream using a coin system to manage audience 
  • Discord Chatbot for managing streaming audience requests through ankhbot commands
  • Discord Music bot that lets audience request song from You Tube to be played during the stream
  • Quorra bot used to collect requests from stream audience
  • Ankhbot Social media timers to solicit interaction from audience through Twitter
  • Floof bot used to gather detailed information on individuals
  • Master Overwatch bot for collecting and displaying game 
  • Mee6 bot used to cross promote and advertise streaming partnersstatistics
  • NadekoBot used to create master bot (On Discord referred to as Skaterbot) to manage all the other bots
  • Muxybot connects through Discord to announce streaming events and stats


For technology support in the enterprise business space, a Watson-enabled Slack chatbot is being used to help enterprise teams identify and fix IT and network operational incidents. This bot blends messaging, cloud computing, IT support and network operations in order to improve customer service. To accelerate its own chatbot business, IBM has released a Watson Botkit middleware plugin that allows the Watson Conversation service to talk to Slack and other messaging channels.

Information technology is not the only industry vertical deploying chatbots:
  • News Industry uses chatbots to deliver breaking news directly as a private message in the user’s messenger. This information is displayed at login. 
  • A 3D printing industry chatbot that receives a 3D file and then instantly searches for 3D printing services providing you with price quotes and material options.
  •  With a chatbot implemented, entertainment industry customers can find movie and event details about movies and events, finding available timings, booking a reservation, and initiating cancellation much easier and faster without human assistance. It has also increased the business of online movie ticket and event ticket booking.
  • Health bots can answer more than 100 health questions, provides recommendations based on the query and even help to find a nearby doctor.
  • E-commerce companies use bots to provide product suggestions, price alerts, gift assistance and more
  • Customer service bots are replacing human assistance with the automated message service.
  • In the travel industry a bot can reduce the work load by sending ticket confirmation details, check in notifications, and other such important information automatically to the customer.

If chatbots are now in your business future, you should try Cognitive Concierge a part of IBM’s chatbot ecosystem that makes recommendations to the user based on a conversation with the application’s chatbot.



This post was brought to you by IBM Global Technology Services. For more content like this, visit ITBizAdvisor.com



Cloud Musings
( Thank you. If you enjoyed this article, get free updates by email or RSS - © Copyright Kevin L. Jackson 2016)