Emerging technologies in a business context
If buying a new cell phone can be a daunting decision, imagine a technology investment worth millions that will be part of an organization’s information technology infrastructure for years.
Business Futures focuses on helping those responsible for acquiring new technology make optimal investment decisions. With scores of new technologies appearing every year, even trained engineers, computer scientists and strategists have difficulty deciding which ones are important.
EBI faculty member Peter Andrews introduces you to the Futures Technique, an analytical process he developed for IBM to enable businesses to make better technology investment decisions.
Participants learn how to audit existing and emerging technology options to decide if each can deliver what is expected and needed. The course also examines how to discover hidden value in technologies and identify specific barriers that need to be overcome to realize this value and gain a competitive edge.
Who Will Benefit?
Senior executives responsible for making strategic decisions about technology investments.
What You Will Learn
Through lecture, group discussions, analysis techniques and work groups, you will:
- Assess emerging technologies using a framework that considers their business value, as well as their technical maturity
- Identify the hidden value in new technologies
- Determine when emerging technologies will affect your business and how to plan for their adoption and application
- Explore the non-technical aspects (e.g. laws, usability, attractiveness, risk, synergy, uniqueness) that affect the adoption and application of an emerging technology
Course Outline
Topics covered in Business Futures include:
Day 1 – Emerging Technologies
- Why Emerging Technologies Matter
- Key Emerging Technologies
- Five Key Drivers for the Future
- Framework for understanding emerging technologies in terms of social, individual, and business needs
Day 2 – Evaluating Emerging Technologies
- Evaluating Emerging Technologies Workshop
- Supporting Business Capabilities, Now and in the Future
- Prioritizing Technology Projects and Investments
The Executive Business Institute continually updates the content of its programs to meet its participants’ needs. Course content may vary from session to session.
Course Leader
Peter Andrews has spent a career bridging the gap between technical capabilities and the bottom line. He provides advice on emerging technologies both to IBM and to IBM’s clients.