Black Swans Grace Summit '09

A funny thing happened on the way to the Smart Services Leadership Summit last month, perched atop the cliffs of La Jolla, California... Despite record-high surf, we announced to a full house of 300+ delegates that this was to be the last Summit of its kind...

Sounds like an ending. But I assure you we were talking about a beginning -- the start of a joint venture between Qualcomm and Verizon Wireless focused on once-and-for-all solving for the solution fragmentation that has hamstrung the evolution of M2M and Smart Services.

I'll leave the prognosticating to our analyst and reporter colleagues, but it struck me that the Black Swan Theory that keynote speaker Dr. Eric Topol invoked to characterize developments in the telemedicine space also serves as an apt instrument to put the joint venture in proper context.

The first criteria for an event to be a Black Swan event is for it to be, as its namesake, a surprise. As for the Qualcomm Verizon Wireless venture, check... (save for a few enlightened pundits who might claim they saw it coming.) The second criteria is for the event to deliver a major impact. Again, I assure you, check. And the third criteria is that after the fact, the event is rationalized by hindsight, as if it had been expected, or as Dr. Topol worded it, "in retrospect looks inevitable."

Somewhere between one hour and one year following the joint venture announcement on July 28th, the partnership will look to most observers to have been inevitable. The wireless operator with a dominant 3G and 4G position and looking to build upon the saturated voice market meets the M2M wireless services and chipset stalwart. How could they not join forces to deliver what the market has been screaming for: end-to-end Smart Services solutions?

From an economics standpoint, margin-stacking among the multitude of M2M solution providers had been crippling Smart Services business models. And from a technology point of view, reasonable time-to-market depended precariously upon the successful integration of a stable of disparate hardware, software, and middleware piece parts.

I must admit a healthy measure of bias, being employed by this new venture, but from as objective a perspective as I can muster, this is a no-brainer marriage of long-time partners poised to finally shepherd Smart Services to the far side of the proverbial chasm.

Last year for the first time, we accepted an academic affiliate for our Smart Services Leadership Summit – Arizona State University’s Center for Services Leadership (CSL). They brought new perspectives and learning opportunities to our Smart Services community. The response was so overwhelmingly positive that we have invited them back again – and I am excited to announce that they have accepted.

The CSL has established itself as a globally recognized authority on how to compete strategically through the profitable use of service and services, a critical component if you are going to compete and succeed in today’s evolving services-based economy. In partnership with the CSL, we are pleased to extend an additional value-add to this year’s Summit and offer delegates the unique opportunity to learn and apply “services blueprinting” in a Smart Services context.

Dr. Amy Ostrom, a leading expert in an approach and technique known as “services blueprinting,” will be conducting a half-day pre-Summit workshop on July 27th, from 1-5pm, in which she will describe the components of services blueprints, coach you through how to apply services blueprinting in a Smart Services context, and outline how to advance this technique within your own organization. (Click here for more information)

Smart Services promise a closer connection with the customer, for product manufacturers and service providers across industries, ranging from consumer electronics and telemedicine to industrial equipment, smart grid, and clean energy. Services blueprinting enables you to clearly visualize your services and delivery from the customers’ point of view and therefore can help you design Smart Services in a manner that can cement lasting, profitable customer relationships.

Our sponsorship allows us to offer the pre-Summit workshop at a significant discount off the CSL’s standard registration and it is available only to 2009 Summit delegates. Space is limited and we expect it to fill up quickly, so apply today.

I look forward to seeing you in San Diego in July!

Mark Vigoroso
Chief Services Strategist
312-577-1615
mvigoroso@qualcomm.com
Global Smart ServicesQualcomm

Smart Services Leadership Summit Speakers Announced

The face of Smart Services and M2M communications is changing. Leading organizations implementing disruptive Smart Services have successfully crossed the chasm and are entering the mainstream. For the 5th Annual Smart Services Leadership Summit we are assembling the leaders and experts that will cut through the hype and get to the truth about the potentials and risks in this compelling new world, as well as ideas that will help you succeed. We are delighted to announce the following speakers:

Dr. Paul E. Jacobs was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors in March 2009. He has served as a director since June 2005 and our Chief Executive Officer since July 2005. He served as Group President of the Qualcomm Wireless & Internet Group from July 2001 to June 2005. Click here for complete bio.

Anthony A. Lewis is Vice President of Open Development for Verizon Wireless. Lewis is responsible for executing the open development initiative, including directing the pricing, activation, billing, distribution, device specification, testing, communications planning and financial matters for the project. Click here for complete bio.

Bill Reinert is National Manager of Advanced Technology for Toyota Motor Sales, USA. His primary function is to coordinate Toyota’s various research, development and marketing activities related to alternative-fueled vehicles and emerging technologies. Click here for complete bio.

Bill Gajda is Chief Commercial Officer of the GSMA. In this role he leads the business development and commercial implementation activities within the GSMA. He is also responsible for several GSMA programs, including mobile entertainment, mobile advertising and mobile innovation. Click here for complete bio.

We’ll continue to announce additional details as this executive-level, invitation only program develops. You will also find updated information at www.qualcomm.com/ssls and you may request an invitation to attend via the web link or inquire with your Qualcomm representative.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity. Apply today.

John Tillotson

Sr. Director

Business Development

Global Smart Services

5th Annual Smart Services Leadership Summit Announced

I am pleased to announce our Fifth Annual Smart Services Leadership Summit, to be held July 27-29, 2009 at Qualcomm’s San Diego headquarters and the La Jolla Hilton at Torrey Pines. Dr. Paul Jacobs, Qualcomm CEO, will open the conference, sharing his thoughts on the continuing evolution of the wireless market, the emerging Internet of Things and the impacts of the recent economic and political changes.

This has been an exciting year with many changes and the timing for this summit could not be better. A new administration is in place with a fresh look at the economy and new priorities. If you wonder how you should alter your strategies amid these economic and political shifts, you are not alone.

Top administration priorities now focus on energy, healthcare, and education – all areas that offer new opportunities for growth and where Smart Services has a dramatic impact. Across industries these new priorities, as well as economic demands, are heightening the pressure that companies already feel to increase efficiency, reduce costs, promote an energy conscious model and convey a societally responsible image – again areas where Smart Services has dramatic impact.

We are broadening the scope of this year’s executive-level, invitation-only summit to include a wider range of topics and industries, including Telehealth/Telemedicine, Smart Grid/Clean Energy, Consumer Products, Fleet and Asset Management, and Industrial Applications. The summit will offer you new networking events, stimulating dialogue, and thought provoking opportunities to explore the growth of Smart Services with other industry leaders, executives, analysts, experts, and academics. Whether you are looking to strengthen your business model, differentiate your offerings, introduce efficiencies or pioneer completely new businesses, you will find pragmatic discussions that cut through the hype and get to the truth about the potentials and risks in this compelling new world, as well as ideas that will help you succeed.

Last year we were pleased by the diverse backgrounds and high caliber of our participants, and we all learned a great deal about how Smart Services can be a part of a company’s growth and success. This year we are developing a program that will take this learning to an even higher and more powerful level.

We’ll be announcing additional details soon as the agenda and line-up of presenters, panelists, workshops, and events develop. You will also find updated information at www.qualcomm.com/qes/ssls. Please note that this is an executive-level, invitation-only event. You may request an invitation to attend via the web link or inquire with your Qualcomm representative.

Save the date. You do not want to miss this one.

Steve Pazol
Vice President
Qualcomm, Global Smart Services

Exit Polls: Summit Delivers

As expected, the sun was shining in San Diego last week. But for 74% of delegates, the 4th Annual Smart Services Leadership Summit exceeded expectations. And I'd have to include myself in that group.

Highlights abound - many of which will be available shortly via online video clips - but here are a few that come to mind:

• North of 230 delegates in attendance. This volume alone speaks to the rising tide of Smart Services in industries ranging from healthcare, to consumer products, to industrial equipment.
  
  
• Spot-on reminders from Dr. Mary Jo Bitner of Arizona State's Center for Services Leadership to design service and sales processes from your customer’s point of view and to "co-create" services with your customers.
  
  
• Spurring words from Jim Sweeney of CardioNet regarding the power of disruptive innovation to not only redefine quality standards in an industry but to give birth to wildly successful business models.
  
  
• The rigorous customer-driven business case - as presented by ABB Power's Bart Gaskey - that's critical for OEMs to succeed at commercializing Smart Services.

Too many others to mention in detail, but contributions from John Deere, Medtronics, NACCO Materials Handling, Gardner Denver, Navistar, Peek, and the other speakers and panelists combined to delight, challenge, and energize the throng in attendance.

For those of you who couldn't make it, hope to see you next time around. For those of you who were there, post a comment and share your own Summit insights and experiences!

Turning the Corner with Smart Service Chains

As I've mentioned in previous posts, industry discourse continues to intensify around how smart services can enable OEMs to become more predictive - and in due course, more profitable - in the way they design, sell, and service their products. For those of you interested in another installment in this ongoing discussion, make sure to mark your calendars on August 5th, 11:30 am ET (10:30 am CT).

At that time, I will be participating in a one-hour webinar - Turning the Corner with Smart Service Chains - hosted by BetterManagement.com, in association with SAS. "Join a panel of industry experts from Qualcomm, Gardner Denver and SAS to explore a major transition taking place in the post-production service chain – smart service chains. Made possible by smart services technologies, these service chains allow companies to anticipate the future actions they need to take to make sure customers are more than satisfied, they are delighted and become vigorous advocates of the products they buy."

To register for this webinar, visit BetterManagement.com.

Nashville Round-Up

What a difference a year makes. I had the honor of chairing IQPC's Remote Monitoring conference in Nashville last week, which was a markedly different experience from last year's event in my hometown Boston.

To sum it up, the Grand Ole delegates were much more concerned with questions of "how" than were their Beantown predecessors, many of whom were struggling with questions of "why." That is, there was a collective understanding of why remote monitoring makes business sense; it’s now become a matter of how to deploy, integrate, and extract maximum value from smart service solutions. This is a great indication that remote monitoring is making its way into the fabric of our core businesses.

Also, as evidenced by Gilbarco’s “Daily Loss Advisor” fuel loss report and Avaya’s “Expert View” report, just to name a couple, OEMs are beginning to graduate from simply capturing and transmitting machine data to applying intelligent analytics and BI tools to create new value for their customers.

To sustain competitive advantage, OEMs need to stop viewing remote monitoring as a stand-alone capability. Remote monitoring ENABLES “smart services” (see inset image), and OEMs need to integrate smart services into adjacent phases of the product value chain, such as design, manufacturing, sales, service, and marketing. At the Nashville event, it was a good sign to hear some OEMs beginning to talk about leveraging smart services to strengthen service contract offerings and integrating machine data with PLM, FSA, CRM, and other enterprise systems.

To continue the conversation, join us on July 29 - 31 in San Diego for Qualcomm's 4th Annual Smart Services Leadership Summit!