Being hybrid is not new. Not at all. If we look around, we can see the entrenched old and the emerging new sitting side by side in our enterprises. And, in important instances, we have actually thought through, at some level, how the old and the new are tied together, thought of together, and managed together. If we do it right, we can build hybrids that allow us to have one foot in the present and one foot in the future, as we make our way across the skybridge to the new buildings of the future.

In this webinar with Hubert Smits and Peter Borsella, you'll learn how the core Industrial Agile Framework concepts — (1) cross-functional team collaboration over specialization, process, and tools; (2) extending development through manufacturing over fixing problems in the field; and (3) useful continuous delivery over a single comprehensive delivery — enable continuous adaption throughout the value chain. Discover why companies that are adopting the Industrial Agile framework are moving from “concept to cash” more efficiently and effectively than ever before. 

In this next-generation world of cloud computing, where the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, edge computing, and cloud federation are enabling the vast deployment of innovative and resilient solutions, we must begin thinking more clearly about geo-jurisdictions. In this Advisor, we review three examples of how geo-jurisdiction policies and legislation can lead to dysfunctional businesses and economies.

Many organizations are now focusing on a hybrid cloud strategy: moving part of their IT capabilities to the cloud, while maintaining core elements in-house, hosted on-premises. The hybrid model is becoming immensely customary among organizations, as it enables them to optimally allocate their resources while keeping their current IT infrastructure operating at low risk. A hybrid cloud strategy not only prepares an organization for the future but also protects its investment today.

Many organizations are now focusing on a hybrid cloud strategy: moving part of their IT capabilities to the cloud, while maintaining core elements in-house, hosted on-premises. The hybrid model is becoming immensely customary among organizations, as it enables them to optimally allocate their resources while keeping their current IT infrastructure operating at low risk. A hybrid cloud strategy not only prepares an organization for the future but also protects its investment today.

The way we do business is transforming. It’s being pushed and pulled by many factors, most notably by a younger workforce demanding new interfaces and services necessary to perform jobs their way. At the heart of every digital transformation project is an immutable pain wrapped in competing motivations: doing more, doing it faster, and avoiding missed opportunities. How can we reconcile these motivations in our day-to-day business? When we discuss the concept of “a culture transformed,” we can draw many parallels against the way a society votes and spends, but that’s out of scope. What is not out of reach is your influence over your teams and whether you can embrace the change that is upon us all. It’s up to you to set the tone of the conversation within the organization: robots aren’t here to steal our livelihoods; they’re here to make us more productive and lighten the load, right?

Disruptive changes within a company can result either in a spectacular rise if done right or an abrupt decline if not handled well. People are at the center of every change. If employees do not connect with their organization, do not see the need for change, do not buy in to the leadership’s vision, or are not motivated, any change will fail. For employees to see value beyond the defined work parameters, they need to feel connected to the company. Connection, respect, and trust will help a company maintain employee support for the changes that a company wants to implement. In this Advisor, we discuss in brief two such initiatives that brought about drastic increases in employee support and participation.

Given an established enterprise with its decades-old IT department, processes, and practices versus the accelerating marketplace — missing out on modern IT practices and being too rigid to react to market trends, and even putting innovation on half-yearly cycles — the hiring of a talented Agile architect can bridge the gap and lead the recently established digital pillar of the company. In this Advisor, we explore the common challenges the architect faces via the story of a day and propose building a “non-blocking” architecture governance practice for Agile development teams.

There is a lot of talk about how AI offers the possibility to transform how organizations operate. I am guilty of throwing around this type of statement myself. Of course, this brings up the all-important question: to what extent is AI currently transforming how organizations operate? Fortunately, the latest results from our ongoing survey examining the adoption and application of AI technology in the enterprise offer some insight into this question.

In this Advisor, we explore the benefits of a promising breakthrough growth model that we have successfully applied in both B2C and B2B businesses. This model delivers major benefits in terms of speed, cost, and likelihood of success. It involves radical collaboration across the innovation ecosystem and covers the entire innovation process from idea to commercialization, including the strategic, commercial, operational, and technical aspects. We call this the Breakthrough Incubator (BI) model. The BI model enables accelerated creation of a new business proposition with new products/services externally — before transitioning it back into the parent organization, thereby overcoming many of the prototype scale-up barriers. In essence, this is the “build, operate, transfer” philosophy applied specifically to innovation and product development.

Recently, the Cutter Consortium editor who facilitates this Advisor series sent me a set of questions frequently asked about Agile transitions. Among the ones I found most intriguing wasn’t really a question but merely a statement, claiming: “Misunderstanding on the part of teams that Agile allows for less discipline, leading to less precise delivery schedules.” There are several elements of this statement that I encounter frequently, so I decided to use it as a basis for this article.

Recently, the Cutter Consortium editor who facilitates this Advisor series sent me a set of questions frequently asked about Agile transitions. Among the ones I found most intriguing wasn’t really a question but merely a statement, claiming: “Misunderstanding on the part of teams that Agile allows for less discipline, leading to less precise delivery schedules.” There are several elements of this statement that I encounter frequently, so I decided to use it as a basis for this article.

In this one-day workshop presented by Cutter Consortium Senior Consultant Whynde Kuehn, you'll learn how to catalyze valuable collaboration between business architects and CX teams. You'll assess current integration efforts between these two distinct disciplines, and identify best practices and opportunities to work together on customer-focused initiatives for increased value.  

Here in Part VI, we survey the ADF assurance view with its intent to apply an Agile, quality-control approach to ADF artifact development. All system and software developments have the potential to fail (i.e., they carry risk); assurance is an attempt to reduce or mitigate such risk.

Big data, the IoT, and the cloud are technological innovations that need to demonstrate corresponding business value. While the aforementioned technologies have distinct identities of their own, they are also interdependent. Innovating with these technologies at a business level demands a multidisciplinary, holistic approach that also incorporates an understanding of how to manage risks. In this Advisor, we discuss challenges that arise in real-life scenarios due to lack of interoperability and some practical standards in the IoT and cloud space.

In this on-demand webinar, Cutter Consortium Fellow and Ivey Business School Professor Robert D. Austin lays out the new digital business strategy map. He talks about new rules and new realities that you need to know to proof your business against disruption in a “hub" or “platform" economy. Rob’s objective is to help you down a path toward equipping all your managers for survival in a digitally transformed world.

Given the heightened cybersecurity environment, what should you provide in response to a board request for assurance that the company is perform­ing its fiduciary duty? What information should you provide to assure the board that it is appropriately protecting the company? This Executive Update proposes a five-section standard presentation template for the board. 

Given the heightened cybersecurity environment, what should you provide in response to a board request for assurance that the company is perform­ing its fiduciary duty? What information should you provide to assure the board that it is appropriately protecting the company? This Executive Update proposes a five-section standard presentation template for the board. 

With the deployment of next-generation mobile networks, IoT and edge, and fog and cloud computing, the tech world is undergoing the largest-ever overhaul of its information service infrastructure. In this connected-everything/data-everywhere model, the benefits are numerous, but so are the challenges to system security. The OpenFog Reference Architecture for fog computing has emerged as a highly credible paradigm for architecting compute-intensive solutions for networks and applications that utilize IoT, 5G technologies, and AI. This Advisor describes three distinct aspects of an approach to node-centric security in an open, interoperable fog computing environment that are critical to understanding how fog bridges gaps in the continuum between the cloud and things.

One of the first questions I often hear when explaining Agile methods is, “Who is the product owner?” Answering this question is not so simple. There is a lot of context that you have to set in order to explain the role. When rushed, the short answer is “the person on the Agile team who calls the shots relative to development priorities by acting as the voice of the customer.” This is often followed up with “of course, you know that Agile teams are self-organizing and do not have a project manager?” Then, when greeted with frowns and surprised looks, you add, “instead, the teams elect their own spokesperson.” In this Advisor, we take a look at who the fills the role of product owner as well as their roles and responsibilities.

The grocery retail industry thus far has been resistant to disruption, unlike other retail categories. Not much has changed in the way we interact with grocery purchases over the last few decades: we head to our neighborhood supermarket, pull out a shopping cart, pick out the week’s requirements, pay the cashier, and head home. Of course, we may pick up more organic products, and instead of transacting in cash we may use Apple Pay, but not counting luxury services, the shopping experience hasn’t fundamentally changed for the masses. There hasn’t been much need for retailers to innovate. Everyone needs groceries, and today’s grocers are able to meet those demands, with or without innovation. Developing countries with high-density pockets of human population, however, tell a different story.

This Executive Update provides an overview of capability assessments and examines their use. It also provides some key tips to anchor the assessments in practicality so that you can begin using them within your organization.

Governance is about what decisions need to be made, who gets to make them, how they are made, and the supporting management processes, structures, information, and tools to ensure that decisions are effectively implemented, complied with, and achieving the desired levels of performance. This requires that the accountabilities and responsibilities be well understood and clearly and unambiguously assigned, the reward system be aligned, and relevant performance metrics be in place.

Pat O’Sullivan starts from the premise that the principles of standardization and conformity that were developed for the data warehouse are equally applicable to a digital business to deliver a consistent view of information to many lines of business. He explores the characteristics of a system of common metadata that can define the links between an existing data warehouse and an emerging digital business, describing the components and characteristics of this new metadata layer and how it is essential to fueling the growth of the AI capabilities of a digital business.

Pat O’Sullivan starts from the premise that the principles of standardization and conformity that were developed for the data warehouse are equally applicable to a digital business to deliver a consistent view of information to many lines of business. He explores the characteristics of a system of common metadata that can define the links between an existing data warehouse and an emerging digital business, describing the components and characteristics of this new metadata layer and how it is essential to fueling the growth of the AI capabilities of a digital business.