Mark's Blog

Episode 99: Collaboration Overload

I am waiting for the Dilbert cartoon that goes something like this: Two people pass each other and one says, “we really need to catch up – can I ping you on Facebook, iChat or follow you on Twitter?” The other one says “no, but you can IM me on Yahoo, or connect with me on LinkedIn or hook up on Myspace.” They both look frustrated and then one says, “maybe I should just give you a call sometime.”

The funny thing is, I was fine with “information overload” but “collaboration overload” is tougher. Much tougher. I am nearing 500 friends on Facebook, but I can’t properly interact with 500 people. I guess that is the point, since we all just have a stack of gift cards instead of presents, send ecards instead of writing something, and can keep up with people by following them on social networks, the effort to be “a friend” has gone almost to zero. We have now maximized our friend efficiency…

Frankly, I think Facebook should start tiering like we do with storage. We need tiers like:

1. BFF (Best friend forever) – I learned that one from my stepdaughter Remie, so I guess it must be really important
2. Good Friend
3. Friend
4. Acquaintance
5. Person being my friend  to suck up
6. Person being my friend to sell me something
7. I don’t know who the hell this person is but they seem to know me and I would feel terrible not friending them

The next level of tiering we need in social networks is Importance. After looking at a recent Facebook “newsfeed” I have begun to feel like my Spam folder has more critical information. How about some tagging on collaboration with tiers like:

1. This is actually important (example: My wife just had a baby!)
2. News (example: I got a new job)
3. Stuff only my mother would only care about (example: I have a cold and need some soup)
4. Stuff not even my mother cares about (example: I just got off a phone call)

Seriously, the problem with unlimited capability to collaborate and create content is that individuals face a new form of information overload. I am sure this will sort itself out but I have one recommendation: The next time you are standing in a restaurant waiting for a table, instead of tweeting or posting this “critical” information, say hello and strike up a conversation with the person next to you. It will likely be more rewarding and it will also help reduce 500 other people’s collaboration overload!

Mark...

Episode 98: A Technology-Free Cloud

Forbes Magazine asked me for an article on cloud computing, and here it is.

http://www.forbes.com/2010/11/03/ipad-youtube-mobile-technology-cio-network-cloud.html?boxes=techchannelsections

Commentary
A Technology-Free Cloud
Mark Lewis, 11.04.10, 6:00 AM ET

If you make a living from IT, it's tempting to view "the cloud" as a technology platform--a way to lower costs, meter usage and scale more efficiently. But describing the cloud as a technology platform is like describing Elvis as a '70s act in Vegas. It's true, but the significance gets lost.

The biggest shift the cloud will introduce is not a technology shift; it's a complete transformation of the delivery model for digital experiences--experiences that will cross both professional and personal lines. For example, instead of recording movies and TV programs to watch from your home DVR, you can stream them through the cloud to your computer, TV, iPad or mobile phone.

Also with the cloud, rather than accessing office files only from your office PC, you can get a virtual image of your desktop on almost any computing device, whether at home or on the road. And these are real examples, not futuristic scenarios: 28 million people used global IPTV services in 2009, and 3 million people are already using virtual desktop infrastructure to work with applications and files they previously could use only at the office.

The cloud and the variety of devices we use to access it will change the way most of us live, work and play by, one, greatly accelerating the shift in control and power from technology providers to the people who use technology-based services and two, enabling richer digital experiences that will make technology more valuable but less visible. The changes have already started, and I believe they'll have profound impact within five to seven years.

People are already becoming accustomed to having more and more control over their digital experiences. Consider that today's kids are growing up with Hulu, YouTube and on-demand cable. Unlike those of us in the workforce today, what they watch has never been dictated by the schedule in TV Guide. Similarly, we see a shift in user expectations taking root in our places of work: employees are choosing which technology solutions to use. Employees, not corporate IT departments, transformed instant messaging and the iPhone into enterprise productivity tools. This trend recently turned personal as I became hooked on the iPad soon after its launch and asked my IT department to support it for work e-mails and to hook into EMC's internal cloud. Now, for most business trips, my iPad is the only device I carry.

People are not simply expecting more from their technology experience and gaining more control over the tools they use, but with the proliferation of public cloud services, they also now have the ability to get the IT services they want--without involving IT. My friend and colleague Paul Maritz jokes that his company, VMware, runs 14 SaaS applications and his IT department didn't choose or pre-approve any of them. Among our customers, which are mostly corporate and government IT departments, we've heard similar stories: business units or even individual employees are introducing cloud services into the enterprise with only a business need and a corporate Amex card.

I think the main reason cloud services are on the rise is because no one--not even business users who tolerate a fair amount of IT complexity--wants to be bothered with technology. What they want is to fill a business need: Will your solution help me do more, or do what I'm doing now for a smaller share of my budget? Can you speed up and streamline our process for resolving customer support requests and complaints? Can you help me manage my corporate information, which is doubling every 18 months, so that it's more usable to employees and can be leveraged for insight about how to better run my business?

The cloud is the technology stack that will allow such business solutions to be created and delivered on a massive, cheap scale. But to the user, the cloud is about the solution, not the technology. It's about experiencing an IT-based service in such a simple, easy way that the underlying technology becomes invisible. This is the irony of good technology: while it becomes more important than ever in the digital service experience, it also becomes transparent and taken for granted.

This is a wake-up call to technology providers, whether we are external IT partners or in-house IT groups: we have to deliver the benefits of technology-enabled solutions without the technology. But this is where many of us get off track. We work so hard on our technology that we almost can't bear to put it in the background and make it invisible. Putting technology first, however, means putting users second, which is the fast track to irrelevance.

If we focus on the cloud as a technology stack, we risk missing the mark on developing it as a business solution and service experience. We'll force people to turn elsewhere for what they need. If we focus instead on creating a business solution that's easy to use, then we'll be more likely to fulfill people's expectations for our cloud service and be rewarded with loyal users.

As technology providers, our goal for the cloud should be to make it seem technology-free. Only then will we be able to deliver the ultimate benefits of the cloud: a simple way for people to use information, productivity tools and entertainment services whenever, wherever and however they want.

Mark Lewis is chief strategy officer, Information Infrastructure Products, at EMC.

Episode 97: My Next Move

The time has come for me to move on to my next challenge.

It is hard to believe that it has been three years since I joined EMC’s Information Intelligence Group (then called CMA). It is boggling to think that, even though the time seems so brief, I have worked in this role longer than any other role I have held over the last 15 years! 

Before I talk about my new gig, I want to talk about the excitement I feel around what we have established at IIG. My mission in joining the organization was to define a focused vision and strategy for the organization. I couldn't be more pleased with the results.

IIG has a powerful vision - to help our customers get the maximum value from their information. It began a long time ago with Documentum’s founder, Howard Shao, who believed that we could leverage the systematic management of information to find a cure for cancer. EMC never lost sight of Howard’s vision.  I fully believe that the evolution of this vision, which now encompasses everything from healthcare to business productivity to lifting people out of poverty, is based on how effectively we understand and leverage both data and information. It is believed that the U.S. could save $100B a year in heath care costs if all medical practices adopted electronic medical records. The potential is even greater. Electronic Medical Recordkeeping is just the first step in a journey of constructively and purposely leveraging information for improved performance and productivity.

IIG is poised to be at the center of a new wave of information management where organizations will seek to gain more value from the 85%+ of their information that is not managed effectively today. This transformation includes developing a new era of information-centric, case oriented applications, supported by a next-generation information intelligence platform.

Rick Devenuti, who has served as IIG’s Chief Operating Officer for the past 2 years, will now lead IIG. Rick is a great executive, an engaged and focused leader and, as I have gotten to know him over the past 2 years, a truly good person.  The rule is to always try and hire people capable of doing your job and Rick has proved himself as a talented and driven leader. IIG could not be in better hands. With a world-class executive team and a great vision, I am completely confident that IIG will grow to new levels of success!

As for me, I am off to a new role as Chief Strategy Officer to lead a new technology ventures group for EMC Information Infrastructure Products.  I believe strategic success comes from coupling great innovation with a strategic process to deliver breakthrough capabilities. I’ve always enjoyed looking at new ways to adapt, modify and transform technology so I’m looking at my new role as a journey of discovery and opportunity for EMC and our valued customers.

The announcement is posted here: http://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2010/20101021-02.htm

Mark...

Episode 96: Information-centric Case Management

I just spent the last several weeks circling the globe, speaking to customers about their critical needs and our vision for the future. One of the things I noticed was customers were universally surprised that we have done so much in the area of Case Management with our heritage so deeply rooted in Enterprise Content Management (Documentum). “Case Management is about process and workflow,” they would say.  Close, but no cigar. I believe effective case management is about connecting People, Process and Information with information being the “driver” of the process.

For the unfamiliar, the simple way to describe Case Management is that its goal is to improve business efficiency and decision-making by automating and monitoring case-based processes. Case-based processes are everywhere in business and often drive the most critical front-office activities. Unlike transaction processing where virtually every transaction is handled within software, case-based applications are much more dynamic. They require a mix of automation with human interaction and the overall process is driven by information. An easy example of a case-based application is claims processing in insurance but there are literally millions of potential applications. From getting a dog license to courts case management – case-based applications are literally everywhere. Unlike transactional applications (CRM, ERP, etc.), they do not cluster around back-office functional support applications but tend to focus on the actual service and/or revenue-facing business functions.

OK, that’s the Cliffs Notes version. You can read up on case management elsewhere if needed. 

To me, the more interesting discussion is how an application can be information centric. Let’s take a simple example. Say a company wants to improve the way customer complaints are handled with the goal being to both improve customer satisfaction and reduce the internal operational costs. If we look at this from a pure process perspective, the idea would be to simply create an efficient complaints process and to automate to as great extent as possible. It sounds reasonable but the “one size fits all approach” might not be the right choice here, even though this is largely how business has largely been done.

Looking at this from an information perspective, the idea is to adjust and accelerate the decision making process based on the information.  The process becomes much more dynamic or “intelligent” if you will. For example, the application might look for certain keywords in the complaint to route it to the proper organization; it also might identify the customer to determine how much they have purchased and then set a priority queue. In these cases, the information dictates the process further improving both efficiency and effectiveness of how work gets done.

I believe that Enterprise Content Management actually provides a foundation for Case Management applications in a way that can change the game in terms efficiency and effectiveness of these applications. Just like in most areas, the most successful are not those with lots of data but those out can turn data and information into knowledge.

 

Episode 95: myPad: Productivity 2.0

I opened up my laptop the other day and, it was… painful. First, I wait the 10 minutes for the boot process; then I click on applications but still must suffer through the minutes of the dreaded hourglass while 40 or so hidden background processes are all trying to do their thing. Then, another 10 minutes figuring out how to connect up to the Starbucks Wi-Fi. Then the VPN, the Windows login, the exchange login, and then 10 minutes to sync so I can just see the email I wanted. So 30-45 minutes to check one email!! I can’t believe we have put up with this for so long.

Oh how easily we become spoiled. I doubt I will ever pull my laptop out of the drawer again…

We now have 3 iPads in the family and I joke that I must have sold another 100 on planes and to friends (alas no commission). The funny thing is that I am not really an “Apple person” per the stereotype but what I guess I am is a very strong Darwinian capitalist (loyal only to the best products and services) and just a person in search of technologies that really, truly do make my life easier.

I have actually heard key industry people (that would be considered smart by most of us) say “they don’t get it – tablet PC’s have been around for several years and this is just another one.”   To me that it just like saying that Google is just another search engine – technically true but inherently wrong.

So beyond the iPad specifically, what are the capabilities that really made the difference – I believe there are several:

Speed – pretty much everything happens instantly or in less than 5 seconds. While apps close and open, I much prefer that to slow response times.

Media – I can easily read and zoom rich media. Perfect for today’s emails.

UI – Unlike many devices, the iPad is not trying to fit a PC UI into a mobile device. With zero training, you can figure it out. It works like you would want (not like a PC).

Size and Battery – Size and weight make a difference and battery lasts all day.

Business and Personal – With my laptop I was forced to run a work image so personal productivity basically required me to carry another device. With this device I can switch back and forth instantly. I realize that is technically possible but EMC IT was not going to change their laptop policy. I now have one device for books, movies, personal and business email, customer presentations, notes, Facebook, etc. It is all I now carry when traveling.

Speed and Connectivity – while I won’t comment on my phone experience, 3G for internet connectivity is critical. Background sync creates the instant availability to information that we crave.

And, did I mention speed?

Of course the Apps are nice but they are now prevalent across most mobile devices.  The one key difference I see is that apps eliminate the browser frame which is a big deal when there is limited space.

To me, there are broad implications for enterprises both in terms of risks and potential. Just like with cloud computing, there is great potential and the technology cannot be ignored. In fact, it can be exploited. That doesn’t mean, however, that there are no issues or risks. In fact, with the inclusion of public clouds and new mobile internet devices, most IT organizations existing information management strategies will be inadequate.

Insuring that companies can embrace new technologies and still protect and leverage their information are obviously things we think a lot about. I will spend more time on this in future posts.

 

Mark…

Episode 94: The Elements of Fedegration

In my last post I introduced the concept of Fedegration as the ability to leverage and manage data and content across applications for new purposes and still leave it in place for use with the existing application.

 

I will now discuss how our team has built and integrated what I think is the best set of technologies for a Fedegration Platform.

 

Let’s hit the requirements first. I believe an ideal platform should:

· Integrate and master content across multiple ECM repositories

· Integrate and master data across multiple databases

· Have federated search and the ability to track changes

· Have the ability to import data and content from a wide array of sources (paper, fax, email, images, etc)

· Provide tools to export data efficiently to users and customers via multiple channels (web, print, email)

· Provide a built-in application development environment for build new applications and workflow using composite data and content sources

 

Of first and key note is that most applications these days rely on the presenting of multiple types of data (structured information) and content (unstructured information). Clearly, we have extended out Documentum products to include many capabilities to help federate content. CMIS support, federated search, virtual retention management are just a few of the elements that make up our capabilities here.

 

To really have the best offering, we also needed to be able to integrate and master data from multiple databases into the overall solution. This is one of the key elements within our partnership with Informatica. By integrating their Siperian MDM technology with our platform, we can access and combine structured and unstructured information to provide a totally new level of functionality.

 

Other components of our overall Documentum xCP platform give you the ability to easily compose new applications, provide new analytics, derive new intelligence, and export information for consumption. Separate, these are all interesting technologies, but the concept is to radically simplify the solution to a point where building new applications that leverage information from multiple sources becomes realistic rather than a multi-year exercise in futility.

 

This is a big task and while I think EMC now has the ONLY integrated platform for building applications from federated content and data, this is still not quite as simple yet as booting up my iPad. I don’t want to exaggerate here, this is still very tough stuff but, in conversations with many of you, it is also the most critical issue in IT today.

 

The real breakthroughs in discoveries and process improvements lie in our ability to combine and leverage both data and content in ways that have not to date been possible or economical.  Just as we “mash up” best of bread web services to create new applications, we need to mash up our information create new insight and intelligence.

 

I am looking forward to seeing what is possible!

Episode 93 - Fedegration

I spent last week at EMCWorld, and most of my time was spent engaging with customers in a variety of ways. One thing I always find interesting is the amazing consistency of priorities across our global customers.

For example, we held a session for executives, and I simply asked the open-ended question “regardless of whether it involves our products or not, what is your top IT priority this year.” The answer was clear, overwhelming and simple, yet also rather surprising.

But before I tell you the answer, I want to tell you why it was surprising to me. I keep up with the CIO surveys and the trends and buzzwords. This particular trend seems to be invisible in the media hype and yet this group of CIO's and senior execs were almost in unanimous agreement that it was at the top of their priority list.

How could this be? One reason could be it that the surveys often force us to pick between a list of answers that fit into established buckets (apps, PC’s, networking, storage, virtualization, etc). Another reason could be that the answer itself is hard to quantify. There is no single product or service that you can buy to fill the need. This is also why you should never try to figure out the next game changing technology from reading surveys – if it is in the survey, you are probably too late!

OK, so their answer was "integration." Integration was, by far, their largest priority. Why? Simple. Most companies (and governments) are not startups and most large companies are also an amalgamation of acquisitions and mergers. These organizations have hundreds, if not thousands, of apps.  Many of these apps were written by folks who retired long ago, yet they are still providing critical functionality.

For most companies, tearing down and starting over is simply not an option. New and replacement applications must first be able to integrate with the existing environments. Several years back, I thought that information would be moved into huge monolithic databases and ECM repositories as that would clearly be the easiest way to manage it. These repositories would then serve up information to applications. Least to say, this never happened in large part due to the fact that it is simply too costly to rewrite existing applications.

So, the problem not only remains, it is getting worse. For a while, it was acceptable to simply build additional silo's for new applications and information repositories but that is no longer reasonable as much of the value we need from new applications relies on ability to integrate these applications and federate the information.

So, the word “Fedegration” came up in discussion. I can't lay claim to coming up with it - one of our customers did. To me it is the best descriptor I have heard in terms of the challenge that faces most if not all major IT consumers. The key priority today for IT is to be able to integrate and federate both their applications and their information!

So, to me, fedegration means that we can leverage data and content across applications for new purposes (new applications, analytics, governance) and still leave it (and manage it) in place for the existing application.

Fedegration, I believe, will also become a key element on next-generation Information Governance strategies as IT will need to manage more disparate information but not be able to manage via simple centralization of data. Clouds only accelerate the need further as companies start to slice off IT elements to providers (CRM to Salesforce, EMAIL to Google, HR to Day, etc).

Ultimately, the competitiveness and efficiency of an organization is at stake. How many of us bluster when we call a company and they can't help us because they can't see some information from another division. How frustrating is it to have 20 "portals" inside your company with no integrated view of content. How much business value is left on the table when an organization doesn't have a 360 degree view of their customers and customers don't have that same 360 degree view of their accounts with a company? What are the risks of not having a single management view of sensitive information?

While technologists are off building faster processors, cool new devices (like my new iPad), some 150,000 iPhone Apps and even clouds, it is clear to me that many CIO's really have something else on their mind - that is how to bring 20 years of legacy applications and information together and build new world-class capabilities. I bet they wish there was an App for that...

In later posts I will discuss my thoughts as to how our team is taking on this challenge.

 

 

 

Episode 92 - Another Great EMC World

 

…and it’s a wrap. I’m back from EMC World, and simply put, I had a great time. I always have a good time chatting with customers and partners to hear what’s on their minds, and this year was no different.

I kicked off “Momentum @ EMC World” with a keynote presentation on how companies are using our products to literally change the world around us, and as I mentioned earlier, I informed the audience on our new name (the Information Intelligence Group), which has been well-received.

We also had two great announcements, namely a partnership with Informatica and an extension of our EMC SourceOne family of Information Governance solutions for archiving Microsoft SharePoint.

First to the partnership. EMC will resell Informatica Information Lifecycle Management and Master Data Management products and services, extending the value of EMC’s enterprise content management platforms and solutions, as well as our intelligent tiered storage solutions. The combination will help customers manage the lifecycle of unstructured content and structured data to dramatically lower costs, optimize storage infrastructure and ensure long-term retention of information assets.

You may have heard me say before that 95% of content is unstructured but believe me, the 5% that is structured content is not trivial. I see great opportunity here.

Adding to the SourceOne portfolio is a logical next move, as it’s clear, users have spoken, and SharePoint usage is only growing. For IT to gain control, reduce costs, improve system scalability and performance and ensure compliance, solutions like ours are must-haves. The team has done a great job in delivering the SourceOne family of Information Governance solutions – with more to come.

I’m pleased with the way this year is shaping up.

 

Mark…

Episode 91: EMC World 2010 - The Birth of the Information Intelligence Group

Greetings from Boston. EMC World begins today, and everyone seems to have their heads in the cloud. We’re expecting a jam-packed conference full of learning, networking and fun.

I’m excited to tell you that , as of today, we have officially changed our name from Content Management & Archiving (CMA) to the Information Intelligence Group . 

This is a great for us, because when you think of it the CMA name was appropriate at the group’s inception, but it does not truly reflect where we are today, and definitely not where we are going. Given our recent acquisitions, the evolution of the content management space towards case management and the emergence of Information Governance, we had to adopt a less-descriptive and more visionary name. Information Intelligence Group better positions us in the market and better describes the value we deliver to our customers.

So, why the name Information Intelligence Group? My view is it best describes what we’re all about. Each individual word was deliberately chosen:

Information – this is clearly the heart of our business and EMC overall; Information is synonymous with EMC

Intelligence – it’s aspirational, positive and reflective of what we derive from information; from the beginning it has been the word most closely associated with CMA and its products

Group – we thought about using terms like, “Software,” “Technology” or “Solutions” but we felt those descriptions were too specific. “Group” feels consultative, connotes more of a team concept and provides a common umbrella for our product families (Documentum, SourceOne, Captiva, Document Sciences and My Documentum).

 

Of course, a name change is just that, but the team is excited and is rallying around it.

More news from Boston, so stay tuned.

Mark…

The Information Advantage Council – the start of something smart

Last week marked the launch of an exciting initiative, as EMC is sponsoring the Council for Information Advantage – a collection of 10 global CIOs and high-level executives from some of the biggest brands you definitely know – to share practical strategies and advice on gaining a competitive advantage through information. For each of the next four quarters, the Council will come together to discuss a set of topics – all about how to get information management right.

 

The members include:

Dave Blue, Senior Manager, Enterprise Data Services, The Boeing Company

Andrew Brown, Managing Director, Head of Strategy, Architecture and Optimization, Bank of America

Guy Chiarello, CIO, JPMorgan Chase

John Chickering, Vice President, Fidelity Investments

Paul Cushing, Senior Vice President, Technology and Media Infrastructure, ESPN

Dimitris Mavroyiannis, Group Chief Information Officer, Eurobank EFG Group

Sanjay Mirchandani, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, EMC Corporation

Joe Solimando, Senior Vice President, Global Operations and Technology, CIO, Disney Consumer Products

Deirdre Woods, Associate Dean and CIO, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

 

I believe it’s always beneficial to get a bunch of really smart thought-leaders together to discuss new and innovative ways to take something to the next level and, hopefully, use that insight to make real progress (I won’t even add a political comment here…). So often we can get so tied up within our experiences and points of view that we fail to recognize the value that can come from looking across the industry to understand both the key issues that are impeding organizations as well as share ideas for solutions.

 

I highly encourage you to get a copy of the report, as the members agreed on a few strategies that all organizations can and should embrace for deriving greater business value from their corporate information:

1. Transform information liabilities into business assets through information governance

2. Elevate information architecture above technology architecture

3. Balance people and process with technology

 

The vendor-agnostic report is full of stories, anecdotes and approaches to consider in gaining an information advantage. I thank the leaders for offering their perspectives, and welcome any feedback or thoughts you’d have after reading this first paper.

 

www.councilforinformationadvantage.com

 

Mark…