Category: Analysis

Analysts welcome LinkedIn purchase, but sound warning over Microsoft’s history of acquisitions Microsoft’s $26.3 billion acquisition of LinkedIn could provide the next direction for Office 365 and AI, but the tech giant will have difficulties integrating the social network into its various divisions, analysts believe. Those praising the move have focused on the potential for Microsoft to outflank newer rivals and broaden its often-uttered plan to be “cloud-first, mobile-first”. Martin Garner, senior vice president for internet at research house CCS Insight, said: “This move gives Microsoft access to the world’s biggest…

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In-depth research with executives at a wide range of companies shows how managers can use technology to redefine their businesses. Digital transformation — the use of technology to radically improve performance or reach of enterprises — is a hot topic for companies across the globe. Executives in all industries are using digital advances such as analytics, mobility, social media and smart embedded devices as well as improving their use of traditional technologies such as ERP to change customer relationships, internal processes and value propositions. Other executives, seeing how fast digital…

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To succeed today, enterprises must broaden their view of security to address all the components at the application level that can expose sensitive data. Overview In today’s application-centric world, there’s truly an app for everything. Organizations offer applications with data access to employees and consumers to drive greater productivity, meet business demands, and ultimately achieve a competitive advantage. But as organizations deliver more and more sensitive data through applications, they’re also introducing everincreasing risk. That’s because today’s users are everywhere—frequently outside the corporate network—and the apps they rely on can…

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It’s been a few years now since we started talking about digital transformation as one of the core drivers in the evolution of organizations in a hyper-connected and increasingly real-time context. Thus far we tried to steer away as much as possible from technologies and limited views on so-called disruptive business models, even if they are all part of it. Customers, stakeholders and value first. Digital transformation now clearly has become the next big term and that  isn’t without risks, especially if we forget the core objective of optimization and instead focus on the next shiny…

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PC shipments in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) reached 17.2 million units in the first quarter of 2016 — a 14.6% decrease year on year, according to International Data Corporation (IDC). Despite the shrinking market, commercial notebook PCs returned to growth in Western Europe (WE) and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). In contrast, the consumer market performed poorly following a strong push for the Bing promotion in January 2015, making the comparison unfavorable. LONDON, April, 2016 — Exchange rates, oil prices, and macro-economic conditions contributed to the difficult…

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Did you know that 73 percent of businesses have no process for re-engaging leads after an initial sale? If you own a small company, using CRM software can help you generate customers and manage data. The result? More effective lead generation. Here are three CRM benefits for small businesses that boost leads. Small Businesses Can Nurture Customers Nurturing new leads can be long and laborious, especially for a startup; however, CRM software can take some of the pain away. A CRM system provides small businesses with a place to keep…

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Mobile applications are intended to be safe for use, protecting users’ privacy. However, many of them are poorly designed, accessing unnecessary data and receiving superfluous permissions. In fact, this is done not only by malicious apps but by an astonishingly large portion of all applications. According to research conducted by Check Point of more than 1.5M different apps, up to 43% of iOS and 46% of Android apps leak data. Leaking data can end up in malicious hands, even if the app developers did not intend it. To counter this…

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This past year, I have spoken with a number of career centers in universities. The most common question I get from them is, “How do we best prepare our students for the ‘real world’?” That’s a great question (and one that many fine minds are trying to figure out), but for those of us running large organizations in today’s digital economy, it’s the wrong one. It’s not about learning a set of skills and then being “prepared” for life. It’s about learning to continuously learn over the course of your…

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Sydney Summit Portends What’s Important In 2016 I just returned from Sydney, Australia, where I attended the Gartner Business Intelligence, Analytics and Information Management Summit.  Sydney is the first of seven Gartner BI and Analytics Summits that take place throughout the globe each year. As such I find the Sydney Summit to be a great opportunity to learn where the Gartner BI, Analytics and Information Management analysts are leaning-in for 2016 and beyond. Here are some of the things I learned. Keynote Reveals Key Trends Gartner analysts Ted Freidman and…

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A few weeks ago I wrote a thought provoking post about how the business of IT is dead. It was designed to encourage us as leaders to not just get acquainted with our core business but to become a subject matter expert about it. It was also intended to get us thinking about IT in a different light. As we’re doing so, I want to introduce us to the concept of what Gartner references as BiModal IT.  BiModal IT in essence is the practice of managing two separate and distinct modes…

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