operations

Just as an orchestra relies on the careful selection of instruments and skilled players, each contributing uniquely and working in tight collaboration, to create a truly symphonic experience—so, too, does the development and operation of a smart city. In the case of creating harmony on the urban ser…

As new discoveries emerge and simplify our lives, human beings stop pushing the boundaries once their needs have been fulfilled. Take the light bulb for instance. Whether in the home or on the street, there is no denying the impact this device has had on life as we know it. But we have only recently…

About the Author: Gradey Caldwell has been exclusively focused on driving process and costs improvements in the world’s largest manufacturers for over 30 years. For years I’ve seen manufacturing executives search for innovative ways to lower costs and drive more profits. In my travels, I’ve finally…

Digital disruption is here. According to a 2015 survey from the Global Center for Digital Business Transformation (DBT Center), a joint initiative of Cisco and the Institute of Management Development (IMD), 47 percent of retail executives say digital disruption increases the risk of going out of bus…

As an omnichannel retailer, you are probably offering your products to shoppers both online and in brick-and-mortar stores. And, like most retailers, you are no doubt collecting online data and running detailed website analytics that help you track preferred products, pricing, shopper behavior, rati…

Data analytics has been an integral part of manufacturing management for most of its history. However, analytics has undergone both evolutionary and revolutionary changes over the decades with the advent of information technology and digital data gathering and analysis. In Part One of this series, I…

Sir James Dyson, British inventor, industrial designer and founder of the Dyson Company once said, “Manufacturing is more than just putting parts together. It’s coming up with ideas, testing principles and perfecting the engineering, as well as final assembly.” He’s absolutely right; manufactu…

The situation that many IT people find themselves in today is dripping with irony. They’ve deployed so many innovations over the years to address so many business challenges, that now most of their time is dedicated to simply keeping their systems running. Without incremental resources during these…

During geek-fests like CiscoLive, it’s easy to become hypnotized by all the amazing technology. So many smart people are innovating in so many amazing ways. When the party’s over, though, we all need to get back to business. Not just CIO’s and CTO’s – everyone in IT needs to focus on business…