INESCAPABLE DATA
by Chris Stakutis, John Webster
Category: Business & Economics

Inescapable Data: Harnessing the Power of Convergence Preface Overview Greetings. Technology and technological advances are always interesting. The intention of this book is not just to showcase new technologies and their specific values, but rather to examine the special values that emerge when some key technologies are intermixed, and primarily intermixed with many different (usuallyreal-time) sources of data. Data is all around us and it is growing at a furious pace—from cellular-controlled ovens to video-controlled manufacturing to embedded chips in our bodies—and we cannot help but wonder whether the new pervasive wireless technologies will allow for unforeseen power to come from all this gathered data. The Inescapable Data environment specifically looks for new streams of data to be combined and analyzed against other streams or historical data in an effort to drive higher personal or business value. For example, although it might be interesting to have your child's school record available electronically, it is perhaps more interesting to be able to correlate various achievements and progress against a wide population—and even further interesting to correlate that data against a detailed analysis of his or her medical history. In a more business-oriented example, technology might enable us to track inventory levels better and in real time. However, inventory-level information might be the wrong question to ask? New levels of efficiency appear in the Inescapable Data world because business systems are tied so closely together, across company boundaries, that inventory level no longer becomes the question and is replaced by "are any manufacturing dependencies suggesting date-skew anywhere in our outside supply chain for product X?" In the Inescapable Data world, we allow our business systems to join together throughout a product's value chain—and even perhaps to competitors—for the sake of efficiency and flexibility. Similarly, our personal lives demand continuous connectivity to all the activities that comprise our days. Whether it is communication with customers in different time zones or e-sending to the team a better map to the soccer field, we discover time efficiencies that in turn give us more flexibility. The tools of our business lives have become the exact same tools used in our personal lives, allowing for a convenient blending of activities. Most of this, we believe, is for the good. Some of it brings new worries and exposures. But as notable Harvard sociologist Nicholas Christakis says, "There is a way in which technology is inexorable, so I doubt there is a way to stop any of this." Intended Audience This book is designed to inform the modern business manager (as well as the techno-curious) about important developments and usage of data-everywhere devices and networks. Our mission is to help a wide range of decision makers learn to spot the emergence of Inescapable Data and capitalize on it appropriately. A wider audience for this book includes individuals from engineering through marketing in high-technology companies who want to be informed of trends outside of their more narrow industry segments. That said, the book is broad enough in scope and written with only a modest assumption of technical understanding so that most adults can understand, appreciate, and possibly value the information. The Interviews as a Foundation Although we consider ourselves knowledgeable regarding computing, networking, and data storage, we wanted to get out on the street and talk firsthand with key people from many different disciplines. We reached out to nearly 50 different executives and experts for one-on-one interviews (the vast majority conducted in person). We wanted to learn what these people are seeing, and then showcase their knowledge in a broader light, supplemented by heavy direct research. The inside front cover of this book identifies the various people whom we interviewed at length to gain a richer understanding of the technology and trends occurring in a variety of industries, thus supplementing our general research. Their thoughts and views assisted in formulating the notions presented throughout this book. © Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.