Ars Indicium

On 14-15 June, HDS will be holding its 1st ever Blogger’s Day. My colleague and HDS blogger, Michael Hay, and I will be emceeing the event with a great group of industry bloggers for 2 days of information sharing, discussion, debate and I’m sure a few laughs. I’m really looking forward to hosting this event, having time to speak with and get to know a bunch of new people, and I hope you’ll find the stream of posts and tweets that emerge from our headquarters in Santa Clara, CA next Tuesday and Wednesday interesting and educational.

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…and runs straight into a wall named Android. It’s been an interesting week in the ultra-competitive smartphone market…and it’s only Tuesday. I think Apple is feeling the heat from Google’s Android and is getting ready to launch a different version of the iPhone with Verizon (and potentially other carriers) even though 2 years apparently remains on AT&T’s exclusivity contract as the only iPhone carrier. It’s gonna be a great summer for geeks! Read More

Attempting to summarize the thesis of John Naisbitt’s seminal 1982 book, Megatrends may be foolhardy, but I’ll try here - a Megatrend is a fundamental shift in a market that forces a strategic shift in how a corporation competes, thrives, and expands. Examples are electrification, mass production and the shift from a hierarchically-oriented organization to a networked or matrixed corporate structure. The rise of the information age is another Megatrend. There is increasing proof that IT sustainability is emerging as another. Read More

Last week I shared with you that Hitachi Data Systems was launching a new worldwide messaging, branding and vision campaign. Today, I’d like to share with you a glimpse into that new  vision.  Read More

No, this isn’t a headline from 1999, though if you would have asked me to wager, I would have said the floppy’s fate was sealed around the turn of the century. “Damn you Internet! Damn you rich media!” Sony, who claims 70% of this mortally wounded market, stated this week that it would stop manufacturing and withdraw from the market it helped to create, by the end of March 2011. Start planning your retirement party now, Mr. CD! I was going to start this post with some wise crack like “Sony finds lost email from 2001, declares floppy disc dead,” but figured that’s just mean-spirited and arrogant. A decade is a lifetime in information age years, and perhaps I’ve just grown jaded living in the IT field for so long.
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Tablets are suddenly red hot! After last week’s iPad-induced frenzy both APPL and HPQ stocks hit new 52-week highs, and tech-focused blogs, news, media can’t get enough. On a flight to London this week 3 people (all 30-or-40-something men) in my immediate vicinity had iPads. But we’re just getting started - as my post last week and many others have pointed out iPad 1G lacks some key features. Apple will no doubt improve iPad, HP’s Slate is anticipated to be a strong contender, and I’ll bet Dell, Toshiba and other vendors are scrambling teams to develop a competitive response. So, I humbly submit the following list, in no particular order, as my “10 Commandments of the Tablets!” Like the original 10, some may be difficult (impossible?) to follow, but we’ve got to keep the faith!
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“The journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step.” Throughout my life and professional career, this quote from the Chinese philosopher Lao-Tzu has been a constant inspiration. When I joined HDS about 8 months ago, I embarked on a new journey - today both HDS and me take a giant step forward with the unveiling of a new visual identity, messaging and branding campaign. Additionally, we’re sharing with our customers and the industry, our new vision for IT and business that honors both Hitachi’s 100-year anniversary and our customer’s most valuable asset - their data and information. Why? Because Data Drives our World - and Information is the New Currency.
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If you hadn’t already heard, Apple (AAPL) began delivering its newest innovation this week, the iPad. First week sales were healthy, given that it’s the 1st generation of a new category of product from the company. There are literally hundreds of iPad reviews and “first look” videos you can find, and I won’t add to that growing pile here. What I will do is make a prediction - iPad will be the hottest, most sought after, “must have” product by the end of CY 2012, and will exceed its sales projections; and not just for techie gadgets geeks like me. Think beyond the mere consumer market. Think corporate.

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For the first time in late 2009 mobile data traffic surpassed voice traffic according to Ericsson, wireless device vendor. More than 140 Petabytes of mobile data traffic traversed global broadband wireless networks in December 2009 (keep reading for some context on that amount of capacity). Hans Vestberg, Ericsson President and CEO attributed the growth to “the appeal of anywhere, anytime connectivity.” I agree with Mr. Vestberg, but would append his comment to say “it’s all about connectivity to data and information.“ Seems mere talking is so, well, 20th century. There’s more to this story, though…

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While Google has been making headlines on dry land from its challenges in China, the company’s investment in a $300 million ultra-highspeed fiber optic link to Japan is nearly ready to begin paying dividends. Google’s promise to boost bandwidth by 20% to Netizens in these countries is nice - but that said, based on the meteoric pace with which much of Asia is evolving to an information-centric society - they’re gonna need a bigger pipe.
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