NoSQL, No Kidding: Amazon Launches Updated Cloud Service

Amazon recently announced an updated offering to its suite of online suite of cloud based data solutions.  DynamoDB, an upgrade to their previous SimpleDB offering, is a NoSQL database.  NoSQL databases (previously described here) forgo the rigid structure and cleansing of relational databases, instead opting to make use of increasingly available clustered processing and memory capability to do real time analysis on unstructured data.  Amazon, Google, Facebook and others have been doing this for years as they used these techniques to optimize their operations.  What is quite interesting about the Amazon DynamoDB service is it runs completely on solid state drives (SSDs), which produce significantly faster response times than traditional spinning hard disks.  Anybody that has priced SSDs lately knows this must have cost a fortune to buy a cloud size set of these drives.

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(submitted by Bharath)

Mobile Logistics & Supply Chain

This article describes how more and more supply chain managers are using smart phones and tablets to accomplish their work.  Specially designed Apps allow them to control, track, message, and otherwise improve productivity.  This includes anything from basic visibility to transportation management.  As these Apps evolved there is also great potential to deliver actionable information faster and help to improve decision making.  Naturally adoption is limited so far and obstacles remain, such as security, integration w/proprietary systems, and device design.  However, it is clear Apps and smart phones/tablets will increasingly gain traction within the supply chain management space.

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(submitted by Jenni)

Aberdeen Report: Optimize Marketing with Predictive Analytics

Aberdeen recently released a study that measures the success of companies using predictive analytics vs. those that don't.  Interestingly, within the companies that did use predictive analytics they found significant differences in results, attributing the differences to use of technology and organizational capability.  Some keys to success highlighted in the article:

• Enable business users directly w/predictive analytics tools
• Increase employee skill level
• Address high levels of unclean data

There are a number of key insights, so definitely a recommended reading.


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(submitted by Bharath)

Social Purchasing: Using Social Media in Purchasing

As purchasing and procurement continues its evolution from transactional to strategic there are a myriad of changes that will occur. Naturally some of those changes include technology.  However, something often discussed, but not fully thought out (or understood) is the role of social media in purchasing.  Maastricht University recently undertook an academic study to measure the effect of social media within supply networks.  The results of the study are interesting, though not shocking.  Mainly because, as the results show, the use of social media in this context is still in its infancy.  However, there is little doubt that there will be a role for social media in purchasing in the future, somebody just has to figure out how...

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(submitted by Walter)

Airline + Social Media = The answer is Obvious...

Late last year Qantas Airways experienced a social media fail when it sponsored a Twitter contest that asked people to tweet their dreams for luxury air travel, including the hashtag #qantasluxury.  Ignoring the then labor standoff between the company and pilots, engineers, baggage handlers and caterers.  Anybody that has experienced flying coach for more than 4 hours recently will tell you that there are plenty of things to complain about if given the chance.  So Qantas poked the proverbial bear by asking its passengers to publicly tweet what they would like to see in air travel.  Add this as yet another example of companies, celebrities, and politicians not truly appreciating the nature of social media.


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(submitted by Helen)

Debunking Collaboration Myths, Gartner Style

cFor the last few years we have heard all about enterprise collaboration.  Most of this comes from software vendors trying to sell the latest and greatest tool.  This article highlights 5 myths about collaboration as identified by Gartner:

• The right tools will make us collaborative
• Collaboration is inherently a good thing
• Collaborating takes extra time
  
• People naturally will/will not collaborate
• People instinctively know how to collaborate

While it is a quick read, the conclusions are logical.

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(submitted by Walter)

Another Dot Com Boom...This Time in Vietnam

Perhaps the title is a bit overstated, but it reflects the rapidly emerging tech market in Vietnam.  With a country of 88 million people, an estimated one-third online, most of whom are young and seeking to buy, the technology market is ripe.  Venture capitalists and entrepreneurs are expressing a lot of interest in this market.  Boasting sites like VietnamWorks (similar to monster.com) and NhomMua, Muachung, and Cung Mua (Groupon copycats) the online Vietnam marketplace is growing rapidly.


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