On Microsoft Teams and building digital ecosystems and platform businesses

In a recent FT article (registration required) based on an interview with Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, he makes the point that “Teams is on its way to becoming a digital platform as significant as the internet browser, or a computer operating system”. I work with customers on their use of Microsoft Teams (disclosure) day in and day out and can vouch for a lot of what is in that statement. I cannot share too much other than offer my opinion which is what this post is about.

Continue reading →

January 16, 2021 0

Tech trends of 2021 number 31

The title of this post is based on an article from Fast Company: Here are the top tech trends of 2021, according to 30 experts. I am adding to the 30. Note I excluded any reference to myself as an expert – I abhor the term. I wouldn’t call myself an expert but I have been known to dabble in trends, past reports here and new one being worked on here. Anyway, it seems a good time of the year to chime in on this topic so read on to see my prediction.

Continue reading →

January 9, 2021 0

Microsoft Teams, with its 115M users, is way more than just chat or meetings. From this Geekwire article:

“Meetings are important, but they are transactional. Work happens before meetings, during meetings, and after meetings. That ability to have the workflow completely stitched together is where Microsoft 365 really stands out. That reinforcing effect of Teams by itself, and then Microsoft 365 in conjunction with Teams, is where you’ll see a significant amount of usage growth, more so than individual tools of the past, even.”
CEO Microsoft, Satya Nadella

Microsoft Teams as a Platform – the next frontier

October 28, 2020 0

The supremacy of business outcomes in a low code no code world

You may know of the new low code / no code approach to developing technology solutions (good primer if not). Simply put, it offers a development platform to users that requires little to no coding capabilities to build applications. There are benefits to this but also challenges which is why its important to consider the adage, just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. In this post, I consider the importance of business outcomes, choosing the right platform, governance and pitching your solution.

Continue reading →

August 15, 2020 0

Startup innovation is alive and well in UK GOV

I’m a fan of startup innovation having followed the practice and written about it extensively. This culminated in an eBook/trend report a few years back: Startup Innovation. The Information has just written a post about how the UK government is embracing the practice: How Silicon Valley Is Rewiring Downing Street’s Brain (registration required).

Continue reading →

July 31, 2020 0

With Microsoft where I work (disclosure) currently running several employee and partner related events (Ready and Inspire) with many new announcements, I felt the need for some sense making. This DanelDoodle (and Data Doodle) is the culmination of that. More in the breakdowns below.

Continue reading →

July 25, 2020 1

Two brains on “Everything as a Service” for the price of one

These are some thoughts captured and co-written by Stephen Danelutti and Jason Noble, two long time contributors to the world of Everything As a Service (XaaS) who met recently. We realised our common background and insights and decided to produce this combined thought piece – hope you enjoy.

Continue reading →

July 4, 2020 1

The business of culture change in the tech industry

I had interesting chats with customers and colleagues recently that I wanted to capture and share. The context was enterprise collaboration technology but I also wanted to expand a little on the increasing business of technology’s influence on culture more broadly and vice versa. It probably raised more questions than answers.

Continue reading →

June 20, 2020 0

As a Service trend research – technology ecosystems

One of the chapters I am covering in a trend report I am working on (As a Service Trend) will focus on technology ecosystems. Technology is fundamental to all of the solutions in the new As a Service sphere because of the connection it provides to data, between customer and provider, to physical things, etc. From an ecosystem point of view, I will also be touching on technology platforms as well as looking at the organisation as a platform – a view being explored by many.

Continue reading →

May 8, 2020 1

COVID-19 accelerates digital transformation

We’ve seen two years’ worth of digital transformation in two months
Satya Nadella, Earnings Release FY20 Q3

May 2, 2020 0

I’ve just recently completed a series of certifications and learning modules for work. This is in addition to the training we have to do every year. It’s a lot of learning and pretty challenging alongside your day job.

Continue reading →

February 15, 2020 0

The engine of the subscription economy

I read this article the other day: 4 Reasons Why Salesforce Could Acquire Zuora. I’m writing this trend report: As a Service Trend. Two of the chapters I will be covering are Subscription Economics and Technology Ecosystems. Point 2 in the first article linked above gets to the heart of and intersection between these two chapters and this post is a way to explore the topics.

Continue reading →

January 18, 2020 1

Startup lessons for the workplace

I discovered this really awesome resource on the BBC – articles and exposes on work life. In it I came across this intriguing concept of Adaptability Quotient in an article: Is ‘AQ’ more important than intelligence?

Continue reading →

November 9, 2019 0