Scott Stawski - Inflection Point: How the Convergence of Cloud, Mobility, Apps, and Data Will Shape the Future of Business

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How the Convergence of Cloud,
Mobility, Apps, and Data Will Shape the
Future of Business

Scott Stawski
Executive, Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Publisher: Paul Boger
Editor-in-Chief: Amy Neidlinger
Executive Editor: Jeanne Glasser Levine
Development Editor: Natasha Wolmers
Editorial Assistant: Kristen Watterson
Cover Designer: Alan Clements
Managing Editor: Kristy Hart
Project Editor: Elaine Wiley
Copy Editor: Kitty Wilson
Proofreader: Katie Matejka
Indexer: Tim Wright
Senior Compositor: Gloria Schurick
Manufacturing Buyer: Dan Uhrig

2016 by Scott Stawski
Publishing as Pearson
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

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Company and product names mentioned herein are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America

First Printing September 2015

ISBN-10: 0-13-438704-X
ISBN-13: 978-0-13-438704-8

Pearson Education LTD.
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2015944611

Scott Stawski weaves together a compelling set of observations regarding the technology perfect storm that is gathering force and threatens to disrupt many businesses. By remaining centered on his own first-hand experiences and the thought leaders who have influenced him throughout his career, he crafts an entertaining and engaging story to demystify a complex subject. The result is a must-read for C-Suite executives looking to chart their own course through the current technology headwinds and to navigate successfully through their inflection point.

Dave Sutton, Founder and CEO of TopRight Partners and coauthor of Enterprise Marketing Management

Batten down the hatches! The IT department is under assault from the most unlikely of sources: one of its key suppliers. In a compelling book, Scott Stawski of Hewlett Packard predicts that the IT department of the future will buy no hardware or software and will shrink to a fraction of its current size. In its place, IT will become a broker of services supplied from the cloud. Its hard to argue with the powerful message of this well-written book.

Al Ries, Chairman at Ries & Ries and best-selling author of Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind

A timely reminder of the essential aspects of world class organizations and of how revolutionary technology changes will dictate future success.

Gary Tessitore, CEO of Polyair Inter Pack Inc., Toronto, Canada

Scott Stawski has methodically looked at technology and has a clear vision on how it will evolve in the future. Every CEO should read this book as he is on point about how technology is rapidly changing in todays business climate.

Tammy OConnor, former CEO, Red River Solutions

This book is an eye-opener for CEOs and CIOs, and also for stakeholders and business technologists in general. The Continual Transformation Ecosystem operating model is the only way to go. If you think your business is at the verge of a technology-driven inflection point, you must read this book carefully. And if you dont think so, perhaps you should look around and think twice.

Miguel Pereira, CEO, SocialNoise, a digital creative agency of reference in Spain and Mexico

Scott Stawski delivers, in an engaging and easy-to-understand way, a clear vision of a connected future, accelerated disruption across industry, and how businesses can navigate the continual and rapid change.

Scott Etkin, writer, journalist, and editor of Data Informed

Inflection Point is an essential primer no matter what sort of business you are. Large incumbent? Quickly spot the weaknesses in your information infrastructure. Insurgent start-up? Map out where you can swiftly beat the established players. Three hours with this book will save you three years of pain.

John V. Willshire, President, Smithery.co

Dedicated to my family.
For Mom and Dad,
who gave me the foundation for
the man I am today.

And for Hope, Henry, and Sun-Tzu,
who give me endless love daily.

We are in the midst of a major market disruption. Cloud, mobility, big data, and security are converging, and how enterprises respond will determine success or failure. Turning game-changing ideas into value faster than competitors is no longer a nice goal to haveit is the only way to survive and thrive. Companies like Uber and Airbnb didnt exist until a year or two ago, and they are already transforming their respective industries. We no longer have the luxury of time. We need to drive continuous transformation in our enterprise at the pace being set by these market-making competitors and radically shift to the way customers want to do business, or we risk losing them.

All of this is creating a true inflection point for executives around the worlddisrupt or be disrupted. Companies need to embrace their core competencies and both act and react instantly to new strategies, tactics, and market pressures to ensure competitive advantage. In this book, Stawski uses real-life examples to demonstrate this need to drive continuous change and innovation, create new business models, and make technology a true business enabler.

This is an excellent guide for any CEO, CIO, and business or IT professional that is seeking to understand the changing world of enterprise IT, its relationship to a companys overall business strategy and success, and how to turn it into a competitive weapon that helps propel your business further, faster.

Mike Nefkens, Executive Vice President, Enterprise Services, Hewlett Packard Enterprise