The high costs of drug discovery and commercialization, looming patent cliffs, and increasing regulatory pressure on drug pricing have created a perfect storm of margin and growth pressures on the pharma sector. In an apparent response to these pressures, M&A activity in pharma is back. This month, Bristol Myers Squibb’s announced its $74 Billion acquisition…
ITIL-based organizations take note: The popular framework has undergone a significant overhaul aimed at modernizing IT service management (ITSM) into a more agile, value-driven business asset. ITIL was last updated in 2011, but it was only a small refresh — the 2019 overhaul of ITIL is on par with the 2007 update, which brought significant…
In the 1990s, astrophysicist Dr. Alex Szalay and computer scientist Dr. Jim Gray had a brainstorm: What if a database could be turned into a virtual telescope that could then be data-mined? Open access to such data could revolutionize the field of astronomy. With time, the idea would become the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS),…
To take advantage of innovations like artificial intelligence you must first move away from manual processes. For that reason alone, automation should be a key short-term priority for most CIOs. Automation isn’t just about saving time or money. Done well, automation reduces errors, increases employee satisfaction by freeing staff from tedious tasks, improves the customer…
Consumer behavior shifts spurred by home-sharing are forcing some hoteliers to seek help from outside the hospitality sector for a fresh perspective. That’s what Wyndham Hotels and Resorts CEO Geoffrey A. Ballotti had in mind when he turned to the consumer electronics industry to find CIO Scott Strickland in 2017. Since joining Wyndham fresh off…
Last year, I wrote two posts on Network World about mass data fragmentation (MDF). The first one defined the problem, and the second one highlighted how the issue can be addressed. Since the articles were published, I’ve had a number of discussions with IT professionals about this topic and how important it is, and I…
Companies are on a mission to enhance customer experience, to make life happier for the people with whom they do business. A quick search on business social media site LinkedIn turns up a numerous jobs related to customer experience management. At the same time customer experience is garnering so much interest, a growing number of…
Across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) digital business is at a crossroads: according to Gartner’s 2019 CIO Agenda Survey, 35 percent of CIOs surveyed in EMEA are ready to roll their digital initiatives on a broader scale. That’s 20 percent more CIOs who made the same claim last year. Gartner’s annual global survey…
If you run a successful tech startup or an established business, primarily offering digital products and services, chances are you have a significant customer presence worldwide. There also lies a high probability that you leverage a remote workforce ‘round-the-globe enabling increased collaboration over time zones. While staying local never hurt anybody, there might be some…
A culture of innovation is not the first description that comes to mind when talking about a 90-year-old domestic manufacturer, but it’s something officials at John Matouk & Co. are actively implementing as a key part of their digital transformation. Matouk’s drive to innovate echoes that of many organizations: to stay relevant and compete effectively…