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IIS Breakthrough Recap: Forrester Research Predicts Technology Thunderstorms at the 2013 SIIA Summit

February 5, 2013 By

Written by Michael Thieberg, Consultant, Arche Value Management, Inc.

Michael Thieberg, Consultant, Arche Value Management, Inc.

George Colony, Chairman & CEO, Forrester Research, kicked off the 2013 SIIA Summit by prognosticating three “technology thunderstorms” social, business and demographic changes fueled by emerging technologies that will change the information industry in the near future. The occurrence of tectonic shifts is due to the fact that societal factors (e.g., capital markets, culture, talent) lag the growth rate of technology innovation. Every 7- 10 years, a new computing wave comes along personal computing (1980s), desktop internet computing (1990s), mobile internet computing (2000s) causing digestion issues when mass adoption finally catches up to technology. In order to survive these technology-led thunderstorms companies will need to evolve or risk becoming disrupted.

Thunderstorm #1: Death of the Web

Colony predicts the Web’s demise, becoming the “AM radio of digital” as performance improvement in processing power and storage capacity outpaces the growth rate in network speed. As a result, there has been an emergence in portable peripheral devices around the cloud (e.g., smartphones, tablets) that leverage the Internet and Apps, defining a new platform Forrester has coined the “App-Internet”, being led by Apple, Google and Amazon.

Thunderstorm #2: Enterprise Social

As the customer audience is changing, along with the workforce, large companies will need to embrace social media to enable better interaction and solve for that common denominator. Each generation show very different media consumption habits from its predecessor, but brands don’t understand the unique requirements of the younger age group (e.g., Generation Y: ages 18-28) including their preference for “multichannel” experiences including instant messaging, social networks and gamification. More importantly, senior management has little affinity with this demographic, as the average age of CEOs at the top 100 global companies is 59, according to Colony. So, instead of blocking social media in the workplace, companies need to espouse it, if they want to hire and retain a workforce that is predominantly Gen Y.

Thunderstorm #3: Mobile Engagement

The proliferation of mobile devices will to continue to grow in terms of processing power and sensors and is poised to become the de facto system of engagement for customers, partners and employees. To remain vital, enterprises’ current systems of record will need to be upgraded to become systems of engagement. Consumer behavior data will be captured by adaptive learning technologies and used for predictive analytics in “context-aware” apps to provide real-time insight on what the customer is going to need. Instead of launching applications, in the future, users preferred apps would alert them and make recommendations based on explicit preferences and past activities.

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Michael Thieberg

Michael Thieberg is a independent consultant at Arche Value Management (AVM), a corporate finance advisory firm. Mr. Thieberg has over 15 years of strategic financial management experience in corporate development, investment banking and private equity investing with industry expertise in the B2B information and marketing services sectors.

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IIS Breakthrough Recap: Titans of the New Information Order Chasing Each Other

February 5, 2013 By

Written by Deborah Richman, Consultant, Zions Bank

Deborah Richman, Consultant, Zions Bank

What do titans like Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and possibly Twitter have in common? Of course, they offer platforms where users access and share content. As titans, they also aspire to become each other – while currently delivering different value from their platforms.

During the Information Industry Summit, key publisher and digital leaders offered clear-eyed views of these companies and their intrinsic rather than market value. “There are more interesting things than making a ton of money in the last quarter,” declared Esther Dyson, EDVentures principal.

The titans were not getting judged by form factors, such as the computing, mobile or operating systems. While that’s important to the companies and shareholders, the IIS leaders focused on how titans should improve their connections to users.

Sell people a mirror

Most of the titans know they should personalize their offerings and “show you what you didn’t know you wanted to know,” said David Kirkpatrick, Senior Technology & Internet Editor at Fortune. It comes down to algorithms based on their platforms.

Of course, Facebook leads in capturing social connections and friend links. Google is trying to keep up through its own G+ social circle. Yet they are challenged by defining relevant content. Friend or content sources may be throttled or controlled through personalized Facebook feeds or Google search results.

Will the titans succeed in selling mirrors? Will these mirrors show relevant content and connections? Esther Dyson wondered “how far these companies can go before they start annoying their customers.”

Use commercial insights

Google, Apple and Amazon bring powerful, highly-scaled advantages due to their search, shopping and/or buying functions. Google’s search and online advertising hegemony not only creates value for consumers and businesses, but also keeps those shopping behaviors tight to its vest.

Meanwhile, Apple and Amazon bring their own online retailing powers. Apple makes so-called razor sales, offering media and other apps through its operating system. Amazon makes money from its blade sales, along with enterprise efforts. It will be interesting to see how these titans take further advantage of their “big data” capabilities regarding buyers, products and services, and credit cards.

Future of the titans

All the titans grew with their founders at the helm. While some, like Apple and Microsoft, have next generations in charge, Amazon, Facebook and Google are run by their founder entrepreneurs.

Dyson voiced her concerns about the titans’ abilities, explaining “they’re all really badly managed inside.” By contrast, Forbes CEO Michael Perlis felt the titans would continue “making each other better. They all have aspirations to [become] each other.”

Thomas Glocer, ex-Thomson Reuters, wasn’t sure how the titans would work together or with other content providers in the future. He asked, “who’s in front, behind, the Trojan horse?”

Impact on publishers

Perlis, from Forbes, explained that consumers aren’t that interested in who wins. As a publisher, he has different content distribution or advertising relationships with all the titans. “We have experienced collapse, avoided relapse [and] don’t relax. You can’t just coast,” he cautioned.

Glocer shared his concern about living “in a world at multiple speeds including repressive regimes, and platforms. I do worry about the lowest common denominator where the platforms [have] content geared for wherever.”

“Everyone will have to constantly re-evaluate paths,” said Fortune’s Kirkpatrick. “The pace of change requires every [publishing] company to think of themselves like a software company. Be unbelievably curious and not afraid.”

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Debby Richman spent her formative years at D&B, leading the reference business from print to online and web offerings. She has since held digital leadership roles at Overstock, About.com, Looksmart, Starz, Collarity and Zions Bank.

 

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IIS Breakthrough recap: CEOsThe Key Catalysts for Innovation

February 5, 2013 By

Written by Ric Camacho, Chief Strategy Officer, MyCollegePrice

Chief Strategy Officer, MyCollegePrice

Closing out the 2013 SIIA Information Industry Summit was a rather interesting roundtable on the importance of the CEO to change and innovation in enterprise. David Reimer, CEO at Merryck & Co. moderated with the participation of Nina Link, former CEO at both the Children’s Television Workshop and the Magazine Publishers Association as well as Merrill Brown, Director of the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University.

Although billed as a discussion around the critical role of the CEO, much of the discussion centered around the challenges of large “legacy” companies acquiring and integrating innovative smaller companies. Both participants emphasized the challenge of corporate culture and how big legacy companies repeatedly stifle the sought after innovation – one of the principle reasons for an acquisition – as they often subsume the acquired company within a company where innovation is alien and change isn’t necessarily the overarching mode of operations. Link emphasized that importance of running parallel operational tracks – in essence leaving the acquired company alone – so that innovative practices can be absorbed by the larger entity – admittedly a tall order.

Brown indicated that significant and systemic changes often need to and should be adopted by the legacy company and in particular, these companies often need to adopt the perspectives and working culture of the smaller entity around things such as product strategy and development and the myriad of marketing and other activities that surround that endeavor.

Both Link and Brown thought the CEO had to be at the heart of these changes and foster an atmosphere of change within the organization while also pushing the agenda at the board level. Interestingly, Link thought it was hugely important to co-opt outside industry leadership in support of an CEO – led innovation initiative at the board level to give those efforts gravitas and integrity and to help navigate around potential resistance.

One of the trickier issues was raised by Brown. He indicated that one of the significant challenges in legacy organizations is the empowerment of change agents, particularly in companies where generational shifts in expertise and digital competence were at the core of the necessary change. Oftentimes, he said, a company’s first reaction to revenue pressures is to downsize and let go new, young talent with little seniority – talent which generally holds the keys to overall change, new thinking and innovation. Companies need to rethink their efforts in this regard and CEOs need to spearhead the management of this change.

One important shift in corporate governance that Merrill brown has seen in recent years is a greater willingness of corporate boards to provide better executive incentives to support innovation and move away from the quarter-by-quarter goals that often militate against risk-taking and innovation. Only time will tell whether this shift truly takes hold and provides a significant boost and support to C-suite behavior in that direction.

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Ric has held senior product and management positions at a number of start-ups as well as at Reuters Media and Dow Jones. Most recently he was GM at Vitals, a NYC area-based Health 2.0 start-up, and headed up its B2B segment that delivered tools, technology and digital marketing services to the health provider market. Currently Ric is working on strategy and business development work for MyCollegePrice, an education innovator providing analysis and forecasting tools for the college advisory market.

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Interview with IIS Breakthrough Co Chair Clare Hart

December 10, 2012 By
I sat down with IIS Conference co-chair Clare Hart, Former President & CEO of Infogroup, to discuss IIS, what sessions she’s most looking forward to, and what she has learned as a result of co-chairing the industry’s premier conference for information executives.
Kathy: Why did you decide to co-chair IIS this year?

Clare: IIS is an opportunity for Information Industry executives to meet in a convenient NYC location, for a brief 1.5 days, covering a rich agenda of highly-relevant topics and excellent networking. Being an IIS co-chair and a part of the planning team presented an opportunity to shape the agenda and ensure that IIS is a “Must Attend” event for all Information Industry executives.

Kathy: What are your goals for the conference this year?

Clare: Two principle goals: to enlist speakers who will talk about the business, content, and technology opportunities and issues that are shaping our industry AND to create an environment that is conducive to networking, meeting new colleagues, and strengthening relationships with existing partners and colleagues.

Kathy: What is unique about IIS?

Clare: IIS is always held in January, so it’s one of our industry’s first annual conferences to kick off the New Year, providing conference delegates some new thinking right out of the blocks. The agenda is filled with topics that are top of mind – no fluff. This is a meeting where substantive conversations happen on the stage, at the lunch table, and around the bar.

Kathy: What should people expect this year and why is that different from previous years?

Clare: This year you may notice a little bit more of a focus on technology, a key driver of differentiation, but above all, IIS will continue its tradition of providing extremely relevant topics covered by top speakers who will impThis year you may notice a little bit more of a focus on technology, a key driver of differentiation, but above all, IIS will continue its tradition of providing extremely relevant topics covered by top speakers who will impart wisdom based on knowledge of their subject stemming from years of experience.art wisdom based on knowledge of their subject stemming from years of experience.

Kathy: Any favorite sessions you are looking forward to?

Clare: Terry McGraw’s keynote is on the top of my list because of all that McGraw Hill has accomplished during the company’s transformation. The McGraw Hill story is fascinating and who better to tell it than Terry McGraw? I am also eager to hear Gil Elbaz, CEO of Factual, and Jim Swift, CEO of Cortera, talk about building successful Big Data Companies. But, I must add, I am eager to hear all of the keynotes and panel discussions, as each has its own purpose and lesson to share.

Kathy: Anything you learned or were surprised by in your work planning IIS 2013?

Clare: A lot goes in to planning this day and a half event, the amount of discussion and debate about things as seemingly small as the timetable for Previews is thoughtfully considered. The SIIA and IIS have a very large and strong network of willing participants – potential speakers, attendees, sponsors and committee members – who see the value of this important industry event and work hard to ensure its success.

IIS Breakthrough 2013

 

 

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Titans of a New Information Order

December 7, 2012 By

I sat down with Jim Kollegger, Session moderator and organizer of the CEO panel – Titans of a New Information Order – to find out what’s in store for this year’s discussion. Jim will take the stage at IIS Breakthrough on Wednesday January 30, alongside Kurt Eichenwald, Contributing Editor with Vanity Fair and a New York Times bestselling author, Vanity Fair, Thomas Glocer, Former CEO, Thomson Reuters, David Kirkpatrick, Senior Technology & Internet Editor, Fortune, and Michael Perlis, President & CEO , Forbes Media LLC. To see this session, register at siia.net/IIS

 

Jim Kollegger, CEO, Genesys Partners, Inc.

Kathy: Jim, over the years you have put on a showstopper session at IIS where you gather a team of industry “heavy weights” to discuss their perspectives on the shifts in the industry, all from different perspectives. What is the goal/ purpose of your industry outlook panel?

Jim: There have been eleven Summits, and even before IIS became a formal Summit I was hosting keynote panels going back all the way to the 80s! I feel like the Dorian Grey of the SIIA and its predecessor.

Kathy: What can the audience expect to take away from the Titans of the New Information Order?

Jim: Our biggest objective is to provide the audience with perspective, a longer view, maybe a different view as to where things are heading. This is the Wayne Gretzky metaphor — “why are you successful? Because I skate to where the puck is going to be!” You’d be amazed how that sticks.

Kathy: What are some of your most memorable moments as moderator of this session over the years?

Jim: One unforgettable panel was a powerhouse of Ted Leonsis of AOL, Nancy McKinstry of Wolters Kluwer, Jim Fallows of the Atlantic and Martin Sorrell of WPP. Two of them held forth so the others had a hard time getting a word in; and one of them was actually texting while on the panel. I won’t tell you which one!

Kathy: Did anyone in particular get the audience’s blood to boil?

Jim: We go for light, not heat. There’s plenty of cross-fire on the air, as Jon Stewart pointed out. But reasoned discussion where people are frank and not posturing is a rarity.

Kathy: Who would you invite back to reflect on their original prediction VS what really happened

Jim: Many, many of them. Especially John Patrick, IBM’s former Internet CTO, who predicted the coming of wi-fi and blogging, when it didn’t have a name, and when blogging was a joke.

Also Ted Leonsis who early on spotted “the wisdom of crowds” and John Markoff, of NY Times, who said it was NOT too late to start a new search engine—when Yahoo and Excite seemed to own the market.

Kathy: What are YOUR Industry predictions on what’s in store for 2013-2014?

Jim: Mobile, mobile, mobile. Continued consumerization of the enterprise, smarter Siri’s, and verticalization of market approaches. We’ll also see continued domination of markets by the four horsemen of the Internet–Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook. There will also be more conflict as some of those put their own interests above their content partners.

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Announcing CEO Interview Publication: SIIA’s Vision From The Top

April 18, 2011 By

SIIA is launching a new publication at this year’s All About the Cloud conference, “SIIA’s Vision From The Top”!

The publication brings together thought leadership from over 45 of SIIA Member companies. Their CEO’s were asked to address the past, present and future changes in the software industry.

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SIIA & OPEXEngine: Let the Data Set You Free!

February 23, 2011 By

Hear how Kelly Battles, CFO of Host Analytics, works with her finance team to track key financial and operating metrics data to drive performance and keep the company on track to deliver growth in 2011. In addition, Lauren Kelley, CEO of OPEXEngine will present key software industry benchmarks from OPEXEngine’s comprehensive financial and operating benchmarking report, developed in partnership with the SIIA. Join us for this informative webinar to learn more about how the benefits of metrics-driven, fact based decision making can help you drive better performance and efficiency within your own organization.

Presenters:
Lauren Kelley, CEO & Founder, OPEXEngine
Kelly Battles, CFO, Host Analytics

[Read more...]

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