CES 2018 - A change catalyst for your business

In the last few years, I have started to take more interest in the annual gathering of technology, consumer brands and bigger and bigger screens unveiled in Las Vegas. The Consumer Electronic Show has traditionally been a place for all the wild, wacky and close to market launches that will fill festive wish lists in the year ahead. In the last few years, however, I have seen this show as a place to envisage how enterprise organisations can look to reimagine the lens on productivity, effectiveness, and innovation. All designed to stay ahead of the competition and delight customers.

The news this week from start-ups, academic institutions, multinational corporations and government bodies features one of the most exciting line up for years. The opportunity to use the show as a place to take inspiration for your enterprise is on steroids. The major driving force behind this is the impact that digital transformation has had, is having and will have within organisations that remain untouched. The possibility in 2018 to apply the lens of digital change to business will enable some clear winners, and shape problems for those putting this into the long grass

...the opportunity to use the show as a place to take inspiration for your enterprise is on steroids.

I see three reasons why this change is happening and as a result, three areas you can apply to the show to reflect on your team, channel, and your business this year.

Reason 1 - Everything can now be connected

Anything that will be discussed in the next week in Vegas will have a form of connectivity to the internet. This is a direct result and possibility of ubiquitous connectivity but also the potential that is now afforded by the industrial internet. The internet of things will power the fourth industrial revolution....and it will be televised!

Examples to look out here will be the evolution of the wellness sector. Health and the connected equipment that we will use as lay people alongside professionals is at a tipping point with folks from Samsung, Apple and new entrants such as Tuoxiao making the news. This is just one area but something I think will be very loud.

Applying this connectivity logic to your business could shape your productivity and ability to work anywhere in 2018.

Reason 2 - We can all now harness the new power of compute, machine learning and AI

Google has never really featured at CES, preferring to use the developer conferences and partner events to show wares. This year, they are making a huge shout for this very reason. The battleground of harnessing the power of machine learning and cloud technology is the heartland where R&D investment is going. Google is sponsoring the monorail, will have a huge presence and will be making "Hey Google" a huge message from CES.

The role of automation in our lives is starting to be a regular topic in digital brews and water coolers across the world. Expect to see autonomous vehicles, smart homes and the collective power of the distributed power of compute more than ever. The way we all use cloud technology is our new normal and this year new battle lines will be drawn. As a great example, look how Vodafone UK is starting to enable the role of connected devices with cloud-based controls and tracking with its innovative new offering for consumers. V by Vodafone is the start of this revolution and look out for more details at Mobile World Congress 2018 in Barcelona.

Applying this cloud-first logic to your business could shape your effectiveness, efficiency and ability to adopt new business models in 2018.

Reason 3 - New digital skills and approaches are needed in your enterprise

The world is just a stage and at CES, the start-ups could be the most interesting actors. This is a real area of passion for me with my time working as an ambassador for the team at Momentum. Working with and understanding the progressive approaches and challenges to the status quo within technology is a real inspiration. Large enterprises can often struggle with the pace of change as a result of competing factions across a business or unclear goals and priorities. The role that approaches such as agile and lean can have to the development of skills across all of your organisation is palatable. My view is people working in any sized business should have the opportunity to contribute to the debate and hold a relevant opinion on what digital could do for the team.

Eureka Park will be placed to keep an eye on the developmental side of your business. The term consumer technology has already blurred and there is nothing stopping an enterprise using such ideas and approaches to enhance the way to do business. The fact is if you do not...someone else will.

Applying this person first, digital-first logic to your business could shape your ability to innovate and stay ahead in 2018

...there is nothing stopping an enterprise using such ideas to enhance the way to do business. The fact is if you do not...someone else will.

Having an opinion on the impact of digital transformation

The news of all the launches and updates will be available across a variety of sources of course but the key thing will be to have an opinion in 2018. Not one person, business or consulting organisation will have the default answer nor the ability to confirm the silver bullets on what success will look like for your business and team. It is also not saying that the answer to all the woes of the world is fixed by digital technology...it just gives another option.

2017 was a year I spent more money on physical real-world items than ever before. Vinyl, hardback books, guides, magazines and sports kit. Digital technology supplemented my experiences as I connected, used the cloud and learned the new digital laws of the jungle to be ready for 2018.

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Apply the lens to CES to your business; Vodafone UK can support the development of your business and enable the change you desire. Check out this video for some ideas and feel free to ask a question below. Thanks for reading.