The promise of the pervasive network

The Pervasive Network is far more than a collection of technologies and processes; it is a promise to be fulfilled. A promise of delivering constant, reliable, smart, secure, intelligent and scalable bandwidth to power a future of ubiquitous IoT devices, augmented reality experiences, super smart AI systems and innovation in the form of new mobile services and applications yet to be imagined. These technologies will be the building blocks for improving the operational efficiency of every business and providing customer experiences that will make the difference in every company’s competitive position going forward.

I have been on the customer and consultant side of the fence, and one thing has become clear to me: the network is not a commodity component, but a vital and strategic key to unlocking the potential of the innovation that we see in new services, experiences and opportunities.

Capturing the promise of the Pervasive Network

Implementing or upgrading a digital network infrastructure takes energy and invites confusion, especially when you’re implementing an enterprise-wide transition. Developing a comprehensive and thoughtful plan is an absolute necessity to a successful transition. Here are some of the key points to address:

1. Define a clear outcome

Your organization needs to have a clear idea of the outcome; the destination you desire. While not static, as technology will undoubtedly continue to evolve and business models continue to be disrupted, a clear idea of what success looks like is the X on the map of success. A comprehensive plan needs to involve all the elements of the organization including cost and resource analysis, skills and training, downstream benefits, and new operating models. Key to all of this is buy-in by leadership across the organization. 

2. Align with your business model

It is not enough to understand the technology and processes needed. To assure your significant investment in new infrastructure and resulting capabilities is a success it must align with your business model. Understanding the economic impact of the investment in capital and resources as well as the benefits in increased efficiencies, lowered operating costs and potential new revenues are critical parts of the equation.

3. Partner with IT and leadership

IT must work hand in hand with the business to assure the processes required to keep the business running are minimally impacted while being aligned on the overall timing and functional capabilities of the new infrastructure. IT itself must undergo a thorough audit of processes and skills if it hopes to achieve a multispeed capability. This includes skill gap analysis, training and recruiting as well as new metrics and processes.

In future posts, I will expand on the above as well as lay out framework (below) we have followed in helping clients. I would love to hear from you, the reader, which of these areas are of greatest interest:

• How to develop the network as a platform that includes a set of processes, people and technologies providing reusable services to internal and external clients.
• The need to adopt a lean operating model based on multispeed IT and agile DevOps methodologies as well as AI and advanced analytics.
• Achieving a focus on improving the customer experience be they consumers, enterprises or the internal workforce.
• Developing new consistent metrics such as digital and liquidity indices to measure the effectiveness of the new digital organization.
• The most challenging barrier of all, driving a company-wide culture shift that places the customer experience and workforce at the center.