SMAC technologies in 2014 and beyond

The increasing pace of change is rapidly driving customer, businesses and technology firms in a tight embrace, with the convergence of disruptive technologies eroding the boundaries separating them. Businesses are becoming more and more agile, and technologies such as social media, mobility, analytics and cloud computing are coming together to unleash unlimited opportunities for everyone involved. This convergence – also known as SMAC – will be the leading disruptor to the business-technology ecosystem over the next few years. 


Social media
A social media strategy has become a must for all enterprises, be it banks, retailers or the government. With over one billion individuals logged on to various social networks, people are now using social media for advice on what products to buy, where to shop and even regarding what firms they want to work with. While most enterprises use social media for their customer service function only, many firms have now started using social media in tandem with their sales and marketing functions. This in turn enables firms to use data generated by the customers effectively to service their larger pools of customers.

Mobility
Mobile devices have changed the way people access digital content. Smartphones and tablets have brought rich, digital content to the fingertips of consumers. Mobile banking has emerged as one of the most innovative products in the financial services industry. Shoppers are increasingly using their mobile devices for everything from browsing to comparing to buying products. Governments are also reaching out to their citizens, using mobile devices as an efficient channel. Enterprises must also jump on to the mobility bandwagon, and ensure that their applications are mobile ready.

Analytics
Every year, companies and individuals generate billions of gigabytes of data. Data, which properly analyzed and used in time, can emerge as an unbeatable competitive advantage. Enterprises need to recognize the prospect analytics represents and should adapt their IT strategy to capture such opportunities’. Analytics can help retailers predict buying decisions of shoppers; it can help banks weed out fraudulent transactions; while governments can use analytics to provide services directly to their citizens. Predictive analytics has also been adopted across industries in various scenario building activities.

Cloud computing

The undeniable power of cloud computing to foster innovations and imprve productivity is now accepted by both IT vendors and their customers. While the financial services and government sectors are mostly moving to a private cloud model due to information security concerns, other industries like healthcare and retail have adopted public cloud. Moreover, their existing infrastructure has helped telecom players to emerge as providers of cloud computing, leading to erosion in boundaries between IT and telecom vendors.

Experts predict that the confluence of SMAC -- social media, mobility, analytics, and cloud computing -- will be a potent and leading business-technology enabler of the next decade. They agree that the SMAC ecosystem will have a huge rub-off on IT services. Gartner estimates that India-centric IT services vendors will witness an 8-10% annual revenue growth from SMAC. 

SMAC may provide the much-needed boost for India’s $108-billion IT sector, which has had a jagged growth in the last couple of years on account of global economic challenges, falling consumer spending, and a Eurozone crisis in their main markets. Industry body Nasscom foresees a 12-14% revenue growth in the ongoing fiscal year. The adoption of disruptive technologies could further impel client spending. 

BYOD - Bring Your Own Device

Bring your own device (BYOD) (also called bring your own technology (BYOT), bring your own phone (BYOP), and bring your own PC (BYOPC)) means the policy of permitting employees to bring personally owned mobile devices (laptops, tablets, and smart phones) to their workplace, and use those devices to access privileged company information and applications.

BYOD has resulted in data breaches. For example, if an employee uses a smartphone to access the company network and then loses that phone, untrusted parties could retrieve any unsecured data on the phone. Another type of security breach occurs when an employee leaves the company, they do not have to give back the device, so company applications and other data may still be present on their device. It is important to consider damage liability issues when evaluating BYOD. If an employee brings their personal device to work, and it is physically damaged through no fault of their own, is the company responsible for repair or replacement?

Pros

Business: A business that adopts a BYOD policy saves money on high-priced devices it would normally purchase for employees. Employees may take better care of devices they view as their own property. Companies can take advantage of newer technology faster.

Employees: Employees who work for a business with a BYOD policy can decide on the technology they wish to use, rather than using whatever the company chooses. This may improve morale and productivity. Exclusive control of features is given to the employee.

Cons

Business: Company information is often less secure than it would be on a company-controlled device. (Security professionals have called it 'bring your own danger' and 'bring your own disaster'.) Even though the cost of hardware investment can probably be reduced, there is administrative effort and therefore administrative costs. The effort can be much higher for BYOD-devices, because hardware is not fully controlled by IT department (integration into corporate network, incident resolution, etc.). The company may have to pay for employee devices' phone service, which they use outside company time. BYOD is an extreme case of the end node problem.

Employees: Due to security issues, employees often do not have true full control over their devices, as the company they work for must ensure that proprietary and private information is always secure. It is an out-of-pocket expense for employees. They may be responsible for repairs if their devices were damaged or broken at work. Businesses that fall under compliancy rules such as PCI or HIPAA must still comply when using BYOD.
The Ten Commandments of BYOD

1. Create Thy Policy Before Procuring Technology
2. Seek The Flocks’ Devices
3. Enrollment Shall Be Simple
4. Thou Shalt Configure Devices Over the Air
5. Thy Users Demand Self-Service
6. Hold Sacred Personal Information
7. Part the Seas of Corporate and Personal Data
8. Monitor Thy Flock—Herd Automatically
9. Manage Thy Data Usage
10. Drink from the Fountain of ROI