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Citizens increasingly demand a higher quality of life at a more sustainable cost. For governments, that means building the smart city and smart nation of the future.

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The pandemic led to an inevitable surge in the use of digital technologies. People and organizations all over the world have had to adjust to new ways of work and life. Lockdowns across countries accelerated the rise in the use of information systems and networks with massive changes in usage patterns and behavior.

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These changes effected most organizations—business, societies and government. Now, more than ever, citizens expect easy access to government information and services digitally. The urgent questions are: How do governments modernize IT in a secure, scalable and functional way, while improving quality of life? How do they become smarter?

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According to a recent <a href="https://granicus.com/resource/the-state-of-digital-in-government/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Granicus survey</a> of 115 government leaders, 61% believe their organization is not keeping pace with the private sector in its adoption and implementation of modern technologies. Additionally, 36% believe that government will never catch up with private sector in terms of technology.

Bureaucracy and budget are leading factors of why. But many governments are navigating these complicated environments by focusing on key areas, including:

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In an ideal world, digital transformation in government would be as simple as aligning technological solutions to demand. However, the modernization of government bears significant change and requires close evaluation of:

After a decade of trial and error, municipal leaders are realizing that smart-city strategies start with people, not technology. “Smartness” is not just about installing digital interfaces in traditional infrastructure or streamlining city operations. It’s also about using technology and data purposefully to make better decisions and deliver a better quality of life.

Connected cities or “smart cities” mix technology and human capital to solve problems resulting from the growth of the urban population. 

Three layers work together to make a smart city:

This includes a critical mass of smartphones and sensors connected by high-speed communication networks.

<p>This includes a critical mass of smartphones and sensors connected by high-speed communication networks.</p>

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Translating raw data into alerts, insight and action requires the right tools. And this is where technology providers and app developers come in.

<p>Translating raw data into alerts, insight and action requires the right tools. And this is where technology providers and app developers come in.</p>

3. Usage by Cities, Companies & the Public

<h4>3. Usage by Cities, Companies & the Public</h4>

Many applications succeed only if widely adopted and ultimately change behavior. For example, government-deployed apps can encourage people to use transit during off-peak hours, use less energy and perform preventative self-care.

<p>Many applications succeed only if widely adopted and ultimately change behavior. For example, government-deployed apps can encourage people to use transit during off-peak hours, use less energy and perform preventative self-care.</p>

Today, cities are moving beyond the smart city pilot stage, using data and digital technologies to deliver results that are more relevant and meaningful to residents.

Case Study: Small Town. Smart City Dreams.

IoT has the potential to transform public sector operations at municipal, regional and national levels. These public entities can leverage the power of connected things to meet the needs of a population that is increasingly reliant on digital services and interactivity.

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Today, cloud technologies are considered as secure as than traditional software—if not more secure. Now, leaders are dedicating time to upscale IT talent and delving deeper into what security measures are pre-built into cloud technology. To get there, government leaders should be reframing the question of cloud security from “Is the cloud secure?” to “Am I using the cloud securely?”

The City of Venice, Fla., for example, has roughly 350 employees and a 6-person IT team that serves many departments in the city, including public safety. Previously, IT was haphazard. Different departments purchased tools and software, creating little to no cohesion. IT director Christophe St. Luce and team faced the challenge of consolidating all the needs of the departments and finding an endpoint security solution that would satisfy the needs of multiple stakeholders.

Case Study: City of Venice, Fla., to Secure its Digital Environment

The City of Venice IT department’s goal is to empower a transparent and agile digital government. Florida was a prominent target of ransomware attacks during the 2020 pandemic. And the city’s IT department has continued to strengthen their security stack to stay on top of events in their digital environment.

Fortunately for a small IT team with multiple duties and responsibilities, VMware Carbon Black Cloud helps them customize the platform to their specific workflows, giving the team peace of mind.

<a href="https://www.vmware.com/content/dam/digitalmarketing/vmware/en/pdf/customers/vmw-city-of-venice-florida-success-story.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dive deeper into the City of Venice's story.</a>

Data impacts everything from housing and transportation to the citizen experience. The data provides context and feedback in real time. This, in turn, helps government become more efficient and more responsive to citizens’ wants and needs. At the same time, government leaders acknowledge that clear rules are required for gathering, handling, and using the growing amount of data available.

But the final goal is simple: Improve the quality of life for everyone in the city.

Case Study: PCMC’s Smart City Transformation Journey

Pimpri Chinchwad has come a long way from its roots as a small village cluster. Today, it’s becoming a model smart city and leading business hub in the Pune region of India. A significant part of the city’s growth can be attributed to PCMC, in making sure that Pimpri Chinchwad progresses to be a vibrant, attractive, and livable destination.

With the responsibility to transform India’s Pimpri Chinchwad into a smart city, there was a critical need for Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, also known as PCMC, to first modernize and update its own data center. The IT team had to ensure the tech stack was adaptable, agile, scalable, and resilient enough to support a large-scale transformation project.

PCMC had to resolve its IT constraints on data center management, micro-segmentation, and zero-trust environment to ensure seamless business continuity.

Through the evaluation process, VMware emerged as a trusted tech partner for PCMC in partnership with Tech Mahindra. VMware implemented an SDDC architecture that encompassed best-in-class virtualized compute, storage, and networking with comprehensive cloud management. This approach helped PCMC use a fully virtualized infrastructure that was inexpensive and simple to configure.

As cities begin to adapt to new ways of living, the inevitable questions are: How do governments achieve digital transformation at scale? How do smart cities ultimately lead to smart nations?

First, we must ask: What is a smart nation? According to <a href="https://www.tech.gov.sg/media/technews/digital-government-smart-nation-pursuing%20singapore-tech-imperative">GovTech Singapore</a>, smart nations mean people and businesses are:

<strong>Building a smart nation is a whole-of-nation effort comprising of three pillars:</strong>

Case Study: Pursuing Singapore’s Tech Imperative

When it comes to digital government, Singapore is fortunate to be building on strong previous efforts. Today, most transactions between citizens and the government can be done online, and integrated apps reduce the time taken to fulfill inter-agency requests.

According to <a href="https://www.itnews.asia/news/singapores-citizenry-gives-digital-government-the-thumbs-up-562343">IT News Asia</a>, nearly half of Singaporeans surveyed (49%) agreed that the Government now delivers better digital experiences. Additionally, 56% of respondents shared that the government has given them the assurance that their personal information is secure.

<strong>Soon after formation, Singapore launched five Strategic National Projects:</strong>

The <a href="https://www.singpass.gov.sg/main/singpass-our-ndi/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Singpass</a> is every Singapore resident's trusted digital identity, as well as a platform that bridges access to over 340 government agencies and private sector services.

<p>The <a href="https://www.singpass.gov.sg/main/singpass-our-ndi/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Singpass</a> is every Singapore resident's trusted digital identity, as well as a platform that bridges access to over 340 government agencies and private sector services.</p>

Singapore’s banking industry launched FAST (Fast and Secure Transfers) is a <a href="https://www.smartnation.gov.sg/what-is-smart-nation/initiatives/Strategic-National-Projects/e-payments-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">payment system</a> that enables direct real-time transfers between consumers and businesses across different banks.

<p>Singapore’s banking industry launched FAST (Fast and Secure Transfers) is a <a href="https://www.smartnation.gov.sg/what-is-smart-nation/initiatives/Strategic-National-Projects/e-payments-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">payment system</a> that enables direct real-time transfers between consumers and businesses across different banks.</p>

The <a href="https://www.tech.gov.sg/scewc2019/mol" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Moments of Life</a> (MOL) app places citizens at the heart of government digital services. It delivers integrated services and information to citizens at key milestones in their lives.

<p>The <a href="https://www.tech.gov.sg/scewc2019/mol" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Moments of Life</a> (MOL) app places citizens at the heart of government digital services. It delivers integrated services and information to citizens at key milestones in their lives.</p>

Through a shared network of sensors, the <a href="https://www.tech.gov.sg/scewc2019/snsp" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Smart Nation Sensor Platform</a> (SNSP) enables agencies to better maximize deployments by collecting and analyzing data to make decisions on city planning in a cost-effective way and improve the delivery of citizen-centric public services.

<p>Through a shared network of sensors, the <a href="https://www.tech.gov.sg/scewc2019/snsp" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Smart Nation Sensor Platform</a> (SNSP) enables agencies to better maximize deployments by collecting and analyzing data to make decisions on city planning in a cost-effective way and improve the delivery of citizen-centric public services.</p>

Using digital technologies to enhance comfort, convenience and reliability of their <a href="https://www.smartnation.gov.sg/what-is-smart-nation/initiatives/Strategic-National-Projects/smart-urban-mobility" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">public transport systems</a>, and support the vision of a car-lite Singapore.

<p>Using digital technologies to enhance comfort, convenience and reliability of their <a href="https://www.smartnation.gov.sg/what-is-smart-nation/initiatives/Strategic-National-Projects/smart-urban-mobility" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">public transport systems</a>, and support the vision of a car-lite Singapore.</p>

Most of these are digital platforms upon which more use cases can be explored over time. <a href="https://www.itnews.asia/news/singapores-citizenry-gives-digital-government-the-thumbs-up-562343" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dive deeper</a>.

IT investments once locked cities and nations into expensive and extremely long-term plans. Now, using the right combination of modern technology and smart solutions, governments can respond more dynamically to changing demands.

Governments around the world still have a long way to go—even the most advanced. <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/business%20functions/operations/our%20insights/smart%20cities%20digital%20solutions%20for%20a%20more%20livable%20future/mgi-smart-cities-snapshot.pdf">This snapshot</a> from McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) details deployment in 50 cities around the world. The report gauges each city’s progress using a checklist of smart applications. Mobility was a top priority for most cities. But those with the highest number of applications implemented overall—London, Los Angeles, New York, Seoul, Shenzhen and Singapore—branched out into multiple domains, like security, utilities and healthcare.

Some cities start their transformations with inherent advantages, such as existing high-tech industries. But even less-progressive countries can set themselves apart with vision, good management, a willingness to break with conventional ways of doing things, and a relentless commitment to meeting the needs of its residents.

Special Report: Digital Healthcare Innovation During COVID-19

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Jecoby Carter

Global citizens increasingly want a better, more sustainable quality of life. For governments, that means building smart cities and nations.

For governments, citizen demands for a higher quality, sustainable life means building smart cities and nations.

Special Report: Smart Cities & Smart Nations

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Special Report: Smart Cities & Smart Nations | Digital Government Trends

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<p>The pandemic continues to affect every corner of the world. Some regions have their highest infection rates so far, while the virus appears to be more controlled in other areas. Facing these varying circumstances, global companies are taking a localized approach to returning employees safely to the office.</p>
<p>But not everyone is lining up to get back to their cubicle. Many employees have expressed a desire to continue to work from home. Others wish to work a few days from the office and the rest from home.</p>
<p>Leaders from Box, Google and VMware shared thoughts on different policies and factors businesses should consider to support a safe, hybrid work environment.</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" title="Return to Office Strategy" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/y-SE2iAM4ls?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<h2><strong>1. One Size Will Not Fit All</strong></h2>
<p>Put simply, hybrid work is all about enabling seamless collaboration with employees – whether those interactions take place in-person, in an office, or remotely from home or another location. When it comes to supporting a remote workforce, one size will not fit all.</p>
<p>“The hybrid work model is going to look different for every organization. It may even look different for different groups of employees working at the same organization,” commented Shankar Iyer, general manager of VMware’s end-user computing business.</p>
<p>He said businesses must prepare to support multi-modal work styles. Employees will expect their employers to provide them with the tools and technology they require to be productive from anywhere.</p>
<p>Scott Porter, managing director for Chrome Enterprise at Google, shared, “Our return-to-office strategy is centered around flexibility. We anticipate 60% of Google employees coming into the office in a hybrid manner – maybe 3 days in the office and 2 from home. Another 20% are likely to choose a new office location to work from. And the final 20% are likely to permanently work from home. I think this situation typifies the type of outcome we will see across most companies in the future.”</p>


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<p>What the Pandemic Taught Us About Supporting an Anywhere Workforce</p>

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<h2><strong>2. Equality of Experience</strong></h2>
<p>Varun Parmar, former chief product officer at Box, believes that the most important thing an enterprise can do to support its hybrid workforce is to deliver a great user experience – no matter how or from where an employee logs in. Those that do not deliver in this area will see talent leave in hordes, he warned.</p>
<p>He also cautioned companies to not leave anyone behind when it comes to delivering a great experience to a globally distributed team. “In this new world, you cannot presume every team member of a global team is going to be present for every meeting,” he said.</p>
<p>Parmar predicts this will give rise to a new technology stack that allows for both synchronous and asynchronous collaboration. “This will enable an equality of experience. It is critical that teams think through how meetings are recorded, documented and shared out with all team members in a way that is accessible, searchable and secure.”</p>
<h2><strong>3. Employee Experience Is a Security Feature</strong></h2>
<p>Even the most seasoned security professional will squirm with all this talk about giving employees seamless access to more resources from anywhere. To ease concerns about maintaining security while providing employees with access to critical apps and resources, new security models are emerging.</p>
<p>Iyer explains, “Traditional security tools like VPNs and firewalls are insufficient or incomplete. The modern security model that is being propagated is a zero-trust security model where you can secure the entire distributed edge. This helps not just IT but employees too. Afterall, if IT doesn’t have the right security policies and model in place, they can’t deliver great experiences to employees.”</p>
<p>Iyer hits on an important point. Providing a great user experience while locking down corporate assets are often inaccurately positioned in opposition of one another. Folks at Box see it differently too.</p>
<p>“At Box, one of our fundamental concepts is ‘user experience is a security feature.’ If you don’t deliver a great user experience, employees will look for easier workarounds. This introduces shadow IT and increases risk in the enterprise,” Parmar commented.</p>


<p>To better protect distributed workforces, here are five steps to help reduce risk.</p>

<h2><strong>4. Foster Productivity, Not Burnout</strong></h2>
<p>All three leaders recognize the move to remote work meant less hours in the office, but ultimately more hours logged online. While productivity has been sky-high, they have remained steadfast in making sure employees are not stretching themselves too thin between work and personal engagements.</p>
<p>Parmar says, “Instead of listening to your favorite podcast on your commute home, you are now sitting in a virtual meeting. Meeting fatigue is a real thing. And as leaders, we cannot turn a blind eye to it.”</p>
<p>One way Box is combating employee burnout is implementing Fresh Air Fridays. Once a month, employees enjoy a long weekend. The hope is that employees use the time to disconnect and reenergize, so they come back to work on Monday ready to reengage.</p>
<p>Google and VMware have similar policies in place where employees can take “reset days” or “pandemic leave” in addition to their usual paid time off programs.</p>
<p>Porter believes having the right computing devices (he recommends a Chromebook with built-in LTE wireless capabilities) will help employees make the transition to the “next normal.” He explained, “As COVID restrictions have lifted and you are out and about – say getting your car serviced at a garage – you can actually be productive at the same time. This will help employees better balance work with personal commitments.”</p>


<p>Companies are redefining work as something people do, not someplace they go.</p>

<h2><strong>5. Bring the Lessons of 2020 with You</strong></h2>
<p>While a challenge for many companies to implement overnight, remote work has had its benefits. So many, in fact, that it’s a widely held belief that it is here to stay for good.</p>


<p>Talent acquisition is one area Iyer believes is forever changed – for the better – due to the shift to remote work. He said, “From a business standpoint, we are getting talent from places we’d never imagine we’d be able to recruit from. Those people have been incredibly productive and made a huge impact on the organization.”</p>
<p>Parmar speaks of a philosophical shift that will drive Box forward in the future. “We’ve adopted the philosophy ‘work is what you do, not where you do it’ and we want to enable Boxers with choice. We believe the world is moving toward a hybrid workplace and we want to make sure at Box we are supporting both remote and in-person collaboration.”</p>
<p>Leaders at every organization – no matter the size or industry – are grappling with when and how to safely return employees to physical offices. Every solution will look different and supporting a hybrid workforce will require constant evaluation and adjustment along the way. For more tips from these leaders, watch the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-SE2iAM4ls">full conversation replay</a>.</p>


VMware Staff

Leaders from Box, Google and VMware share thoughts on policies and factors businesses should consider in their return-to-office strategy.

5 Factors to Consider in Your Return-To-Office Strategy

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<p>Since opening its first store in 1948, <a href="https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/">DICK’S Sporting Goods</a> has put customers <em>(aka </em><em>athletes) </em>first. When the 2020 pandemic hit, the company quickly pivoted strategies to:</p>
<ol>
<li>Safely serve athletes and help them enjoy socially distanced sports and activities.</li>
<li>Support a safe working environment for employees (aka teammates).</li>
<li>Deliver on business and revenue objectives.</li>
</ol>
<p>By relying on its legacy of delivering innovative digital experiences, DICK’S Sporting Goods not only weathered the pandemic—they came out stronger than ever.</p>
<p><div id="attachment_24540" style="width: 410px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-24540" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-24540" src="https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Jason-Williams-DSG.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="400" srcset="https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Jason-Williams-DSG.jpg 400w, https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Jason-Williams-DSG.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Jason-Williams-DSG.jpg?resize=300,300 300w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" /><p id="caption-attachment-24540" class="wp-caption-text">Jason Williams, vice president of Athlete Technology, DICK&#8217;S Sporting Goods</p></div></p>
<p>We were fortunate to catch up with Jason Williams, vice president of Athlete Technology at DICK&#8217;s Sporting Goods, to talk about the retailer’s digital transformation, omni-channel experience and what’s up next.</p>
<h2>What is the significance of referring to your customers as athletes?</h2>
<p><strong>Williams:</strong> We consider all our customers athletes. And that’s the way we view and treat them. In some way, all of them have an aspiration to participate in sports—whether they’re playing themselves, their kids are playing or they&#8217;re doing leisure-specific or stay-in-shape work.</p>
<p>We’re obsessed with our athletes. That’s part of the roots of DICK’S Sporting Goods. So not only does my title include athlete, but a lot of our technology teams have athlete as part of the naming convention.</p>
<h2>For those that don’t know DICK’S Sporting Goods, how does your digital experience work?</h2>
<p><strong>Williams:</strong> We’ve invested heavily in technology for years. We developed our in-house e-commerce platform as a flexible service, and we build all digital products and services on it. A case in point is our responsive website, which includes our e-commerce platform for all of our e-commerce sites—DICK’S Sporting Goods, Golf Galaxy, Field &#038; Stream. Anytime we build a new service, it&#8217;s on this platform.</p>
<p>Optimal service really resonates with our athletes. What we built is very flexible and nimble, delivering so many different benefits. This is incredibly important for our athlete experience, but also for our teammates. We’ve built capabilities such as an internal app that our teammates use for real-time metrics and communication on the sales floor. This makes their jobs easier so they can spend more time with the athlete.</p>
<h2>How did the pandemic impact your company?</h2>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" title="Come Back Stronger" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xa_Li9RsOH8?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p><strong>Williams:</strong> At the beginning, we didn’t know we would thrive.  But we did. And a lot of that was due to the amount of work that we had in the past as part of building our technology foundation and platform for services, which allowed us to spin up our curbside offering in less than 48 hours.</p>
<p>We also saw a significant spike in demand for sports like golf and outdoor activities, as well as home fitness. We realized our athletes wanted to remain active and healthy. They wanted to move. Those are some of the activities they could do safely. So, we had to figure out ways to provide those products to our athletes and in a safe way. We stayed focused on that, working with our suppliers and vendors to get product into our stores.</p>


<h2>Which digital offering stood out during the pandemic?</h2>
<p><strong>Williams:</strong> We often reference our curbside contactless pickup process as one of our big wins. It really resonates with our athletes, and we think it’s here to stay. We may have spun it up quickly, but it was years in the making. It allowed us to provide our products in a way that was safe for our teammates and for our athletes.</p>
<p>We built it based on a lot of services that we had readily available with our pick-and-pack and real-time inventory processes in the stores for our teammates. We were able to tie things together and put a product out there quickly across multiple portfolios—touching marketing, e-commerce and stores. We built a service and quickly lit it up, and then we were able to iterate and add additional features to it.</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" title="Contactless Curbside Pickup Available at DICK&#039;S Sporting Goods" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/p744UokdH98?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<h2>How has customer engagement transitioned to more of an omni-channel or multi-touch digital experience?</h2>
<p><strong>Williams:</strong> We see our stores as the hub of our omni-channel experience. People still want to come in. They want to feel, they want to see, and they want to try on. And we want to give them that ability, then enable them to either order online or order in the store and combine that experience.</p>
<p>This is also why we are re-imagining the athlete experience through new store concepts like <a href="https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/s/houseofsport">House of Sport</a>, which takes experiential retail to another level by exploring the future of retail through multi-sport experiences inside and outside the store, community involvement, elevated customer service and enhanced technology. We currently have House of Sport locations in Knoxville, Tenn. and Victor, N.Y.</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" title="House of Sport Victor Now Open :60" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aMEDgw6P1uU?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>Our e-commerce experience is an extension of our stores. We see it as one holistic experience. Whether fulfilling from one of our stores—where you buy online or pick up in store—or shipping from our stores, we can get the products into our athletes’ hands as soon as possible.</p>
<h2>How do you use tech innovation to build brand loyalty with your audiences?</h2>
<p><strong>Williams:</strong> We&#8217;ve done a lot of work in the data sciences space and leveraging data in our athlete hub. We really want to know our athletes—their buying trends and behaviors. And we want to build all our services to really delight them. We&#8217;ve been spending a lot of time on personalization—driving through offers, ensuring they have an optimal experience, and that they’re going to want to come back and shop more with us.</p>
<p>An example of this data-centric innovation is our ScoreCard loyalty program. It’s a key part of our marketing engine. The program has more than 20 million active users and accounts for more than 70% of our sales.</p>
<h2>What is your philosophy around emerging technologies such as modern apps, containers and Kubernetes?</h2>
<p><strong>Williams:</strong> Innovation is very important to us as an organization. We&#8217;re continually looking at ways we can <a href="https://tanzu.vmware.com/customers/dicks-sporting-goods">make our applications more efficient</a> and offer more capabilities to drive new business capabilities. I think the game is going to change in the next five years and staying ahead of it is going to be key.</p>
<p>Obviously, data is an area that we&#8217;re going to continue to invest in—taking a mobile-first approach—whether it&#8217;s the online shopping experience in mobile apps or apps that ensure our teammates are more efficient. Within our stores, connectivity will be a very big topic over the coming years.</p>
<p>In addition, we are hiring more “futurists” that will continue to help us think through what’s next.</p>
<p><em>This interview was edited for length and clarity.</em></p>


<p>How DICK’S moved its software development in-house and aced omnichannel retail.</p>

Blakely Thomas-Aguilar

How DICK’S Sporting Goods’ digital investments power best-in-class omni-channel customer experiences—even in a pandemic.

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<p>Only 46% of senior business leaders felt their business continuity plans were effective during shutdowns caused by the pandemic, according to a recent <a href="https://www.vmware.com/co/cio-vantage/articles/mit-technology-review-insights-report.html">MIT Technology Review Insights survey</a>. Is that surprising? Not really, because IT wasn’t around during the last global pandemic.</p>
<p>Now, companies are sharing valuable lessons learned about IT resilience, risk and security. And these insights may prove essential for confronting future challenges and supporting ongoing digital transformation.</p>
<p>“With the pandemic, it wasn&#8217;t enough to plan for critical staff working from an alternate location or from home for a period of time,” said Angela Weinman, head of global governance, risk and compliance at VMware. “Those who could pivot fastest last year were the ones who had the broadest plans or who could mitigate [risk] by being furthest along their digital transformation journey.”</p>
<p>Weinman made her observation during the opening keynote session of <a href="https://www.rsaconference.com/">RSA Conference 2021</a>, “<em>Telling Hard Truths to Impact Change in Cybersecurity</em>.” She was joined by Jimmy Sanders, head of information security at Netflix DVD and a director for the <a href="https://www.issa.org/">Information Systems Security Association</a> (ISSA).</p>
<p>Weinman and Sanders encouraged IT security professionals to “zoom out, throw out and reach out” to build greater resilience.</p>


<p><iframe loading="lazy" title="RSAC 2021 Keynote: Telling Hard Truths to Impact Change in Cybersecurity" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-PYtiwXpWD0?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<h2>Hard Truth 1: The Security Risk Picture Is Out of Focus</h2>
<p>Ultimately, if companies can’t accurately determine risk, it’s difficult for them to recover quickly. This is true of direct security threats, like the recent rash of ransomware attacks. Additionally, unforeseen events, like a pandemic, open organizations to new and different threats.</p>
<p>Risk must drive everything in cybersecurity because security is just one big risk management program. But if COVID-19 taught organizations anything, it’s that the current risk picture is out of focus. An inaccurate—or blurry—risk picture can lead organizations on a wild goose chase. Security pros end up initiating the wrong projects or investing resources in the wrong priorities.</p>
<p>“Our desire as security professionals to be accurate can cause us to be too conservative when predicting impacts and necessary treatment,” Weinman said.</p>
<p>Rather than focusing directly on a risk scenario and its impact, organizations should zoom out and think in terms of a spectrum of possible impacts. Sanders described how many security professionals, when assessing risk and planning for business continuity, determine who in the organization is “critical” when building their plan.</p>
<p>When COVID-19 hit, for many organizations, that meant everyone. Virtually no one anticipated the impact correctly: that the business need would be for almost everyone to work remotely for a year or more, not just a handful of people working remotely for a couple months.</p>
<p>Zooming out to get a more accurate risk picture requires engaging different parts of the enterprise. It can’t fall solely on the IT security team. The CISO’s office needs to be involved, naturally, but so do other executives, risk committees and board audit committees.</p>
<p>“Let the business drive agreement of where on the spectrum predicted impacts should go,” Weinman said, “just as similar dialogs drive risk posture positions today.”</p>
<p>And in expanding views, organizations can better prioritize security efforts. This means that perhaps not all environments will be protected equally.</p>
<p>“Focus is a matter of deciding what things you&#8217;re not going to do,” said Sanders. “In chess-speak, we must see the entire board. We must ensure we build resilience into our environments so the taking of a symbolic pawn doesn&#8217;t mean it&#8217;s game over.”</p>


<p>The sharp rise in ransomware attacks during 2020 calls for a look at cybersecurity practices—both at the enterprise level and at home. Here are five steps to help reduce risk.</p>

<h2>Hard Truth 2: Legacy Security Practices Are Slowing Things Down</h2>
<p>The same way organizations need to zoom out to assess risk, including more points of view will drive better risk management practices.</p>
<p>“Create an environment where the best ideas win, and this improves our security posture overall,” Sanders said. “These diverse thoughts stem from allowing competing ideas and viewpoints to be voiced without the fear of ridicule and condemnation.”</p>
<p>At Netflix DVD, Sanders encourages his team to begin a regular process of presenting a proof-of-concept tool or technique every month. The result was an information security team with a resilient and nimble mindset, said Sanders—one that wasn’t easily rattled by change because it was always thinking outside the box.</p>
<p>For many security organizations, a need to appear “mature” leads them to automate many processes and build layer upon layer. “Like a geological formation,” Weinman said. “Hard and inflexible, weighing us down along with the business units we work with. How many things exist so that we can check a box for some long-forgotten reason?”</p>
<p>In the current landscape, as companies go wide angle to consider a spectrum of security threats, everything should be on the table. All security practices should be open to challenge and, if appropriate, be thrown aside. As long as an organization can map a security practice back to a business goal or a cyber-hygiene fundamental, it can validate its decisions. If it can’t, it needs to be open to new ideas, which often come from its newest employees.</p>
<p>“It’s not just a good idea to throw things out, it’s a survival tactic,” said Weinman.</p>
<p>To scale and remain agile, organizations must constantly challenge the “how” of cybersecurity, as well as the “why.”</p>
<h2>Hard Truth 3: Security Is Not a Solo Sport</h2>
<p>No single group or organization can stem the tide of security threats. Put simply, we’re all in this together. The security community must make best practices available to everyone. It’s one thing to lead the security team inside an organization and champion the tools that will protect the network and allow it to pass a security audit. It’s another thing to learn from others.</p>


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<p>Sanders said his career began by enthusiastically doing the former, but really took off when he engaged outside organizations in doing the latter.</p>
<p>“Shared accountability, increased diversity and embracing innovative techniques together will allow us to make amazing progress,” Sanders said.</p>
<p>Weinman called it “community resilience,” in which the security community works together to solve problems.</p>
<p>“Throw out those old ways of doing things and reach out,” she concluded. “We&#8217;re more resilient and better at security when we leverage our relationships and collective knowledge.”</p>


Companies are now sharing valuable lessons learned from the pandemic about IT resilience, risk and security—which may prove essential.

Experts from Netflix DVD and VMware share hard truths and valuable cybersecurity lessons learned from the pandemic.

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Lessons Learned About Cybersecurity During the Pandemic

<p>The start of the pandemic sent shockwaves through Australia’s fourth-largest export sector: <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/australian-international-education-cheap-fix#:~:text=International%20education%20earned%20Australia%20A,is%20bedevilled%20by%20policy%20uncertainty">higher education.</a></p>
<p>Overnight, students suddenly grappled with delayed graduation and disrupted education. Among those most impacted was the group of nearly 90,000 international students. Many students from China, for example, were unable to return to Australian universities after traveling home for Lunar New Year. Universities also <a href="https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/media-item/covid-19-to-cost-universities-16-billion-by-2023/">risked losing $3.1-4.8 billion in 2020 fees</a> alone.</p>
<p>To tackle these challenges, Victoria University (VU) embraced an open digital-centric approach. And the success of its transition can be attributed to their forward-looking technology strategy. With operations across more than 10 physical locations, VU delivered a modern digital experience for over 40,000 students and staff:</p>
<ul>
<li>Anytime, anywhere online engagement.</li>
<li>Replicating offline to online experiences.</li>
<li>Creating better work flexibility for staff.</li>
</ul>


<p>Podcast: Zoran Sugarevski, Executive Director of Information Technology Services at Victoria University, discusses innovation in education technology and how he’s shaping the new student experience online.</p>

<h2><strong>Revolutionizing the Learning Model</strong></h2>
<p>Even before the pandemic struck, VU already used data analytics and a learning approach called the “VU Block Model.” Described as a revolution in Australian education, VU Block Model keeps the traditional duration of a semester (16 weeks). But it allows students to focus on one subject at a time for four weeks, which proved to boost student performance.</p>
<p>VU’s foresight in re-imagining the university curriculum by introducing VU Block Model three years ago enabled many students to perform at the same level—and in some cases better—during the pandemic. While the <a href="https://hbr.org/2020/05/are-you-stuck-in-the-anxiety-distraction-feedback-loop">pandemic provided anxiety induced distractions</a> for many, students were able to minimize study related distractions by focusing their attention on one subject at a time while adapting to their new <a href="https://www.vu.edu.au/about-vu/news-events/media-releases/student-success-rolls-on-thanks-to-vu-s-block-model">virtual environment</a>.</p>
<h2><strong>The Early Bird Has the Roadmap</strong></h2>
<p>And so when it comes to VU’s overall technology strategy, VU has also embraced a progressive approach—a five-year plan which explores current and emerging technologies to create a different, personalized student experience. When the pandemic hit, VU was in its third year of the plan, which helped accelerate the transition to remote learning.</p>
<p>“We&#8217;ve been investing significantly over the years, especially around video conferencing, online learning and collaboration tools,” said Zoran Sugarevski, Executive Director of Information Technology Services, Victoria University. “VMware has been an instrumental partner over many years in reducing our data center footprint, as well as expanding our capacity and capabilities to use technology to better respond to situations like COVID, which has been critical.”</p>


<p>Is online learning the future of education?</p>

<h2><strong>Flexible Learning Anytime and Anywhere Online</strong></h2>
<p>One example is the emphasis on engagement platforms. Prior to the pandemic, VU built a <a href="https://www.vu.edu.au/about-vu/news-events/media-releases/victoria-university-app-wins-australia-s-coveted-good-design-award">multi award-winning mobile app</a> for students and an online engagement platform to connect students. Students are also provided a personalized set of information, whether it be due dates or upcoming assessments.</p>
<p>“Sometimes it&#8217;s difficult for students to gain access to online tools and materials. So being able to put them in a virtualized environment enabled students to migrate from on-campus to online and access all their learning materials remotely,” said Sugarevski.</p>
<p>With technology, the university also replicated connection and interaction—a treasured element of university life made even more precious for students isolated in lockdown.</p>
<p>“It&#8217;s one of the things I think every student values, which is establishing friendships on campus,” emphasized Sugarevski. “And our mobile app has been instrumental to be able to connect students who have similar interests while they&#8217;re learning from home.”</p>
<p>Other measures included ensuring that students with poor infrastructure can access tools like video conferencing.</p>
<p>“VMware solutions do not use a lot of resources to deliver service into the student&#8217;s home,” said Sugarevski. “This allows VU to ensure that there is sufficient capacity within certain areas and that we can moderate traffic and prioritize traffic back into the university.”</p>
<p>Ultimately, the goal was to produce an environment where students and teachers could create productive sessions even during lockdowns. And VU delivered.</p>
<h2><strong>A Workforce with Superpowers<a href="https://news.vmware.com/subscribe"><img loading="lazy" class="alignright wp-image-24111 size-thumbnail" src="https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/RADIUS-Digest-Square-CTA-150x150.png" alt="Get more and subscribe to the RADIUS newsletter." width="150" height="150"></a></strong></h2>
<p>Today, 95% of VU’s faculty and staff use collaboration tools and video conferencing extensively. And this revealed unexpected benefits.</p>
<p>Besides having the flexibility to work anywhere, Sugarevski said, “We&#8217;ve also seen the working hours of employees significantly improve. In the case of Melbourne, being in lockdown and needing to homeschool children had a significant impact on many in our workforce. No longer are our working hours a straightforward 8-to-5. Technology gives us the flexibility to work different hours. I think, moving forward, we will see a lot more employees working from home and adopting new solutions.”</p>
<h2><strong>Future of Education</strong></h2>
<p>VU is just one example of how barriers to technology adoption, due to reticence or culture, disappeared with the arrival and continuation of the pandemic.</p>
<p>While some on-campus teaching might resume in Australia, most classes will be delivered in digital mode. From more immersive experience to personalized, data-driven education, higher education will continue to turn towards the new hybrid model of working and learning.</p>
<p>“I think this is the opportunity for a lot of organizations, and in particular Victoria University, to leverage the likes of VMware and other suppliers. So now is the right time to further invest into those solutions, and I think the adoption rate is going to be far greater,” said Sugarevski.</p>


In the wake of the pandemic, Victoria University enabled “anywhere, anytime” online learning due to its progressive technology roadmap.

Victoria University Embraces a Personalized Online Learning Approach

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<p>The race for dominance in the semiconductor industry is fierce. Moore’s Law, globalization and our insatiable demand for technology created a <a href="https://www.wsts.org/76/Recent-News-Release">$433 billion industry</a>. For SK hynix, <a href="https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2021-01-14-gartner-says-worldwide-semiconductor-revenue-grew-7-percent-in-2020">the world’s third largest semiconductor manufacturer</a> after Intel and Samsung, staying at the forefront of innovation requires the entire company pulling together as one.</p>
<p>The IT team saw an opportunity to help the Korean company enhance its competitiveness and prove its value to senior management. This would reposition them from being perceived as a cost center to crucial business enabler. However, the team would only reach this goal by demonstrably proving newfound agility in the manufacturing process. They also needed colleagues to vouch for their value in helping drive innovation and competitive advantage.</p>
<p>“We have a lean IT team that is often pulled in multiple directions with requests for support and guidance on how to improve operations. Our ambition to add value provided the catalyst for change, and we seized the chance to radically rethink our approach to ensure IT was no longer a limiting factor in our progress,” said Byungsun Kim.</p>
<p>To put IT’s challenges into context, a single manufacturing plant could have two million events a day that need to be addressed. These events could range from new code being published to alerts and incidents that crop up along the manufacturing line. The team works to support everything from monitoring to data analytic decisions and commonplace troubleshooting. As such, there was no way that a lean engineering team could even begin to manage this workload manually. Prior to the revamp, the engineers had to check at least 10 screens manually, which was becoming unwieldy, increasing the chance for human error and incidents being missed.</p>
<p>Automation lay at the heart of their revolution. The team deployed the VMware vRealize suite of solutions, enabling them to launch 50 automation workflows. They also leveraged VMware cloud technology to enhance the existing cloud management platform.</p>


<p>Especially now, organizations must be smart about how they consume cloud services to optimize costs and drive value. </p>

<p>“Resource management was one of the biggest benefits of moving to a software-defined data center. We deployed a self-service portal where our teams can request resources, like virtual machines, for their projects. What used to take weeks to deploy now takes only a couple of days, meaning our developers can bring their products to market faster,” said Byungsun Kim.</p>
<p>For an organization the size of SK hynix, operations run 24/7. Automatically monitoring workloads, predicting future demand and quickly addressing urgent issues allowed the IT team to keep maintenance downtime to a minimum and eliminate unexpected system shutdowns. This accelerated manufacturing capabilities and proved to senior management the worth of investing in concerted digital transformation. And the IT team’s efforts are now being recognized by industry peers. In the recent <a href="https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&#038;sl=ko&#038;tl=en&#038;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.idc.com%2Fgetdoc.jsp%3FcontainerId%3DprAP46927620">IDC DX Awards for Korea</a>, the company took home 3-of-the-10 honors: overall digital transformer of the year, talent accelerator and operating model master.</p>
<p><a href="https://news.vmware.com/subscribe"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-24111 size-thumbnail alignright" src="https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/RADIUS-Digest-Square-CTA-150x150.png" alt="" width="150" height="150"></a>This newfound agility is starting to be reflected in the balance sheet with the company meeting <a href="https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/sk-hynix-q4-profit-surges-four-fold-on-robust-chip-shipments">rising demand for its advanced chips</a>. And as the pandemic recovery continues, the shift to remote work will further drive demand for high-end premium devices, meaning back-end investment continues to be critical. The new technology foundation will also be essential in the coming years.</p>
<p>SK hynix recently launched a 10-year vision to leave a positive impact on the environment and the communities in which it operates. <a href="https://news.skhynix.com/sk-hynix-announces-sv-2030-a-long-term-vision-for-social-value/">Goals include</a>:</p>
<ul>
<li>Net-zero carbon emissions.</li>
<li>300% increase in water savings.</li>
<li>Knowledge sharing and training across companies, academia and the public sector.</li>
</ul>
<p>“We are aware of the leadership role we must play as one of the world’s foremost semiconductor manufacturers in addressing the planet’s most pressing challenges. We believe by committing to automation, we have given ourselves the best possible start to achieving both our business and societal goals,” said Byungsun Kim. “It was very rewarding for our team to be recognized by our leadership for our work. And we are excited about where we can take the technology to make our company even more agile and innovative.”</p>


Automation lay at the heart of SK hynix’s IT revolution. Their newfound agility is starting to reflect in the balance sheet, too.

Meet the Team Handling Two Million IT Events a Day

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<p>When Japan hosted its first Olympic Games in 1964, it marked the country’s emergence from the post-war era and a return to the global stage as a major economic force. Since then, Japan became the leader in technology and innovation in Asia<a href="#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1"><sup>[1]</sup></a>. And the Japanese government hopes to replicate that success in the upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games.</p>
<p>Yet, ZOZO Technologies, Inc., the platform developer for Japan’s largest online fashion online shopping website ZOZOTOWN, foresaw significant technical challenges. The Games are expected to put unprecedented pressure on networking and IT infrastructure. Any downtime could cause a decline in sales and brand equity for the company and its thousands of partners.</p>
<h2>Unexpected Digital Acceleration</h2>
<p>Two years ago, ZOZO Technologies calculated it would need hundreds of servers to carry out tasks. To avoid costly upfront investments, ZOZO Technologies shifted to a <a href="https://www.vmware.com/topics/glossary/content/hybrid-cloud">hybrid cloud</a> model. It seamlessly integrated <a href="https://cloud.vmware.com/vmc-aws">VMware Cloud on AWS</a> into existing infrastructure. This transformation helped ZOZO Technologies process three times more traffic during its 2019 winter sale. Beyond expanding infrastructure capabilities, enabling remote work was also critical to avoid overcrowding on public transport systems during the Games.</p>
<p>The company was in the middle of testing contingency plans when the COVID-19 pandemic postponed the Games. What started as a business decision to buffer networking challenges has become critical to keeping the company’s lights on. And in the most startling and unexpected manner, the pandemic also accelerated demand for online shopping and set the stage for the retail industry’s transformation.<a href="#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2"><sup>[2]</sup></a></p>
<h2>Understanding Fashion’s Place in Japanese Society</h2>
<p>As one of the most fashion-forward capitals in the world, Tokyo’s brick-and-mortar fashion retailers are at the epicenter of Japan’s mainstream and diverse subcultures. Retailers represent a way of life and service, such as:</p>
<ul>
<li>“Fast fashion” retailers that champion comfort and individualization within a fuss-free, self-service culture.</li>
<li>Custom suits to conform with the strict codes of conduct in corporate Japan.</li>
<li>Traditional kimono shops that celebrate individual milestones, while doubling as a symbol of class and stature.</li>
</ul>
<p>But the COVID-19 pandemic forced a rethink of retail in Japan, a country where sales are tied to so many factors, like experience, location and the intangible ideals of self-expression.</p>
<h2>Stepping Up to Take the Lead</h2>
<p>As Tokyo entered an uncertain lockdown, many brands weren’t ready for online selling, despite the impact on their bottom lines.</p>
<p>“Our goals are not just to sell the clothing from those brands online, but to reconsider the idea of real shops and to assist their teams to make best use of their abilities. That is our way of helping the fashion brands that are working with us,” said Masayuki Imamura, former CTO, ZOZO Technologies.</p>
<p>Careful inventory planning and pricing strategy are just as important as ensuring a pleasant shopping experience.</p>
<h2>Elevating Customer Experience</h2>
<p>To accelerate innovation, ZOZO Technologies created teams focused on new customer solutions.</p>
<p>“There are two fields where we continuously invest. The first one is optimization of trying on clothes online,” shares Mr. Imamura.</p>
<p>ZOZO Technologies introduced ZOZOSUIT, where customers take measurements with a smartphone camera. A 3D-model is created instantly, and body measurements are saved on the ZOZOTOWN mobile app.</p>


<p><strong>Other innovations include:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>ZOZOMAT helps customers find the right shoes for every occasion.</li>
<li>WEAR is Japan’s largest fashion app that offers fashion and styling content. Users can post their outfits as well as search, view and save those of other users. The most popular users with over 2 million followers are certified as a “WEARISTA”.</li>
<li>ZOZOUSED is an online shop for secondhand/vintage apparel with more than 800,000 items, from 9,000 brands, at any given time.</li>
<li>Artificial intelligence automatically filters through more than 730,000 items and suggest similar items for purchase.</li>
</ul>
<p>Mr. Imamura said, “We want to apply big data and artificial intelligence to optimize the shopping experience. We have built ZOZO Research, a center that brings together specialists to conduct fashion-related research that helps bring our vision to life.”</p>
<h2>Staying Committed to Digital Transformation</h2>
<p>To take a company forward, businesses must understand changing markets and shifting consumer mindsets.</p>
<p>“While our innovations have already helped us to achieve more sales, we are continuing to think about new strategies. Businesses have undergone a big change, and we must change our mindset to meet the challenges head on. The continuation of our business was possible because we accurately predicted the future impact on retail through reversed calculation,” Mr. Imamura said.</p>
<p>When asked what advice ZOZO Technologies would provide to retailers on the cusp of making the decision to digitalize, Mr. Imamura said, “We&#8217;re here today because we managed to invest in relevant areas. We cannot guarantee what will happen in the future, but our best opportunity is to continue to invest in digital transformation. The more you do it, the better it gets.”</p>
<p>Even as the pandemic hangs over the future like a specter, Japan’s fashion retail is entering a new era, and its future looks brighter than ever.</p>
<p><a href="#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1"><sup>[1]</sup></a> <em>Between 2015-2017, more patents were filed in Tokyo, Japan, than any city in the world. Source: <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/06/why-japanese-innovation-is-surging-ahead-of-the-2020-olympics/">How Japan is using technology for the 2020 Olympics</a>, World Economic Forum, June 24, 2019.</em></p>
<p><a href="#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2"><sup>[2]</sup></a> <em><a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/04/10/business/coronavirus-japan-shoppers-buy-online/">Virus pandemic pushes Japan’s shoppers to finally buy online</a>, Japan Times, April 10, 2020.</em></p>


Planning for the Tokyo Olympics unexpectedly prepared Japan’s largest online fashion store for the COVID-19 pandemic.

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<p>Born to transform. That’s the mission of the Mercedes-Benz.io tribe, who’s working hard to create exceptional digital experiences. We had the privilege of speaking with <a href="https://www.mercedes-benz.io/">Mercedes-Benz.io</a> CEO and Managing Director Sophie Seiwald about all things digital in the drive to change how people shop, buy and experience their cars.</p>
<h2>How did Mercedez-Benz.io begin?</h2>
<p>Six or seven years ago, no one really talked about digital. Especially what it meant to start from the customer and go backwards to building a solution. So the four of us started to learn what digitization truly meant. That led to a Mercedes-Benz historical first—the hiring of tech talent directly into the company.</p>
<p>It was quite a big change, yet Mercedes-Benz understood the value of doing things differently from the start. So, we created a joint venture between an agency and Mercedes-Benz to attract talent that could build our website, online channels, customer touch points and the like. Our organization brought in talent and gave those people the liberty to work in new and agile ways.</p>
<p>Today, we are in three locations with over 400 people. And we are building the Mercedes-Benz website globally and our online commerce platform, as well as parts of our Mercedes-Benz ecosystem.</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" title="Sophie Seiwald, Mercedes-Benz.io" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JnOYOUX0_dE?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<h2>Can you talk more about customer touchpoints and demand for digital innovation in the car buying, leasing, owning and driving experience?</h2>
<p>Although much has and continues to change, one thing remains the same: Cars are an investment. Anytime someone spends a lot of money for an object, that person wants a thorough exploration of it. Our online platform had to become a place to explore our cars and help better inform consumers. And if we were successful in providing more of the right information, we believed people would spend less time on the retail transaction part.</p>
<p>Ten years ago, all of the details were only available in brochures from dealers. Now, catalogs and specification sheets are digitized as the only source of product information.</p>


<h2>Would you tell us about an online experience that your team built?</h2>
<p>Our car configurator is the most visited section on our website. People sign in to build the car of their dreams. Configuring how a G-<u>W</u>agen, for example, looks in a particular color and with specific features. Our internal stakeholders were skeptical. They said it was nice on the technology front-end, but too complex on the backend and would take years of engineering and documentation to deliver.</p>
<p>We weren’t dissuaded. We combined talent from the business about products with our world of technology and customer inputs. We were able to deliver different prototypes until we got to an extremely simplified car configurator. Now, it’s a great experience for exploring our cars.</p>
<p>Ultimately, we’re now able to extend the passion that people show for our brand by providing a luxurious and premium experience online.</p>


<p>Sophie Seiwald of Mercedes-Benz.io joins the popular podcast to talk about how our passion for cars is fueling digital car experiences.</p>

<h2>How did you use, manage and optimize data during that process?</h2>
<p>Everyone talks about data today. You hear people saying data is the new oil. But data is only effective if everyone can use it. Our industry has a long heritage of data—20 years of sales data and engineering data—to clean up because building on bad data can damage brand reputations.</p>
<p>A few years ago, I asked some of our engineers to provide insights about their products. Most said it was too difficult because they had to ask somebody else for the data. That got me moving on a data journey to democratize data in our organization.</p>
<p>Now, we have data analysts actively working together with engineers to design and implement points where we collect only the data we need. And we’re empowering all of our people—not just data engineers and data scientists—to deal with that data. That’s critical to how we design our applications because when you start pulling data, you need to do something with it to create the right stories and insights.</p>
<p>Data to actionable insights is a long journey. And we&#8217;re still working on it because we want to use data in smart ways to provide insights, create algorithms and more.</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" title="WeAreDevelopers Tech Leaders: Sophie Seiwald, Managing Director at Mercedes-Benz.io" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VzqnkgS-PDo?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<h2>Is there another project—like the car configurator—underway that excites you?</h2>
<p>We’re working on a number of exciting projects around online car sales and apps. We now have Bertha, an app that’s a bit outside of our traditional space. Bertha helps people find cheap fuel stations nearby and pay for fuel at the pump through contactless transactions. It’s ideal for Europe, where people still have to go inside the shop to pay after fueling their cars.</p>


<h2>Is all car buying moving online?</h2>
<p>It really depends on where you live. In China, for example, yes, it’s pretty normal. People know they&#8217;re buying the same car they see every day on the street. The whole process is digitized. In Europe or U.S., it’s different. Shoppers can go online and configure a car, see the price, reserve the car and get it delivered to them, but they still typically go into a dealership for leasing contracts and the final transaction paperwork. I see that changing worldwide though as people get more comfortable doing complete transactions online.</p>
<h2>How has Mercedes-Benz.io partnered with VMware on your digital transformation journey?</h2>
<p>Pivotal and now VMware have been part of our journey for more than five years. That expertise in cloud-native development as a guiding principle—how we are applying Kubernetes, our development model, and where we check code—has helped us scale our software with a common standard and mindset, while providing some liberties as to how we’re approaching technology. The people we work are extremely reliable, and we have a really good relationship working together to solve problems.</p>
<p>The biggest benefit of teaming with VMware is helping us adopt new technologies fast enough, while making sure that our developer journey is as smooth as possible—and always ensuring we are adding value.</p>


<p>Find out how the luxury automaker is using modern software development and a cloud-native platform to better serve customers.</p>

<h2>What are your thoughts on security and privacy in our digital-first world?</h2>
<p>Thanks for bringing it up. Security is a big part of our development process from the very beginning. We don’t believe you can effectively add it once development is completed. What we’ve done is hire amazing security architects, who work together with our teams from the very beginning to design software in a secure way, including training and having a security mindset. Our lead over this effort reminds us all the time that “security must be in our DNA and that the word security doesn&#8217;t exist anymore in our language.”</p>
<p>Everyone needs to be aware. For us security, like cloud or cloud-native development, is built into the philosophy and design upfront, so everyone knows what we mean. The checking doesn’t take place after code is written, which is what happens in 90% of the applications in the corporate world using external developers. A good example are our continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipeline and development processes. Security is built in.</p>
<h2>Any final thoughts?</h2>
<p>I’m really pleased that we have a tribe here at Mercedes-Benz.io that is passionate about Mercedes-Benz and technology. Digital is changing everything we do. It’s now core to the automotive business. That means we have understand all of it—from tech principles to technologies to engineering culture and more. I believe technology is a gamechanger for the future.</p>
<p><em>This interview has been edited for length and clarity.</em></p>


Born to transform. That's Mercedes-Benz.io's mission as they build exceptional experiences for one of the world's most iconic brands.

"Born to transform." That's Mercedes-Benz.io's mission as they build exceptional digital experiences for their customers.

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Behind the Wheel with Mercedes-Benz.io | VMware RADIUS

In this podcast, explore how we’re blending our passion for cars with our passion for digital innovation.

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People are passionate about cars. And auto manufacturers are shifting gears to electric and hybrid vehicles with even more automation, connectivity and comfort features.

The global automotive industry is expected to grow to just under nine trillion U.S. dollars by 2030, according to <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/574151/global-automotive-industry-revenue/">Statista</a>. New vehicle sales are anticipated to account for around 38% of this value.

Changing customer buying patterns and experience demands have automotive leaders and suppliers charting a new course. All in all, organizations are fast-forwarding digital innovation in cars.

Digital Powers Buying, Systems and Vehicle Changes

Six or seven years ago, Mercedes-Benz began seriously hiring tech talent. Today, that team is called Mercedes-Benz.io. And its people are passionate about translating input from customers into outputs of digital experiences.

Sophie Seiwald, CEO and managing director of Mercedes-Benz.io, describes the origins of one of the most popular sections on the company’s website: the online car configurator. It’s a way for people to see, customize and explore the brand’s vehicles.

“We combined talent from the business about products with our world of technology and customer inputs and were able to deliver different prototypes until we got to an extremely simplified car configurator,” Seiwald said. “We’re now able to extend the passion that people show for our brand by providing a luxurious and premium experience online.”

Suppliers are also navigating new digital frontiers. Sanjay Vishin, an expert in digital automotive platforms, talks about cars as computers on wheels. Today's teams have experts from a variety of backgrounds, such as software development and automotive engineering. And each focus on a variety of innovations, from infotainment systems to autonomous driving software.

Mercedes-Benz.io sees data as a digital accelerator. To overcome silos, Seiwald’s team began a journey to democratize data within the organization. The ultimate goal provides equal access for actionable insights.

Now, Mercedes-Benz.io data analysts actively work with engineers to design and implement innovations. Seiwald values “empowering all of our people—not just data engineers and data scientists—to deal with that data.” Ultimately, that's “critical to how we design our applications.”

For the people who say their favorite car is “the next one,“ there’s good news on the horizon. Vishin is excited about 5G and moving car connectivity beyond today’s link to the cloud.

“We’re also working on things where you connect...to an adjoining car,” Vishin explained. That opens up even more interesting applications—not only for cars, but also for smart cities.

All of the signals are green when it comes to driving innovation. There’s no doubt automotive innovators like Seiwald and Vishin are accelerating technology initiatives to make cars even smarter.

A practical invention is also a pop culture icon: the automobile. Listen to this new Pop Culture Tech episode.

What happens when you blend our passion for cars with our love of tech? Listen to this new episode, featuring Mercedes-Benz.io.

Cars Get Smart | Pop Culture Tech Podcast 2.1

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Cars Get Smart | Pop Culture Tech Podcast Season 2

<p>Choose to challenge is this year’s <a href="https://www.internationalwomensday.com/theme">International Women’s Day</a> theme. Women in the technology industry have been doing this for decades. Today, in this highlight reel of stories, we celebrate the exceptional difference women make to tech, business and our world.</p>


<p>Arizona Federal Credit Union executive vice president and CIO Amy Hysell is curious, determined and dedicated. She used her knowledge of the business, experience serving people and leadership skills to overcome cultural bias and build the 'best IT shop in the nation.'</p>

<p>The race to attract and retain tech talent is tight. And companies everywhere are increasingly looking at returnship to fill open positions. Return-to-work programs for women may prove even more valuable as countries emerge to full-work participation in the new normal.</p>

<p>Like technology, art is a catalyst for change.</p>

<p>Together, art and technology help people make a deeper connection and take immediate action in specific ways. The work of artist <a href="https://sougwen.com/">Sougwen Chung</a> and Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist <a href="http://www.reneecbyer.com/">Renée C. Byer</a> do just that.</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" title="Pop Culture Tech Podcast 1.4: Art Meets Tech" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kePQYCdsY28?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>


<p>Lady Mariéme Jamme is on a mission to close the global education gap and build a generation of 1 million women and girl coders by 2030. </p>

<p>Jamme is all-in on STEAMD (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics and design) education. She is the founder of iamtheCODE, the first African-led global movement to mobilize governments, the private sector, philanthropic foundations, investors and civil society to advance STEAMD education. Her mission is to drive sustainable development for women and girls in marginalized communities.</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" title="The Luminaries Series: Lady Mariéme Jamme, iamtheCODE Founder" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2GkzDd55jL0?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>


<p>Innovation at a charity can never be for innovation’s sake. No one knows this better than Ursula Dolton, chief technology officer at the British Heart Foundation (BHF). </p>

<p>Under her guidance, the charity navigated the many challenges brought about by the coronavirus outbreak. Like so many organizations, a combination of strong leadership and technology was key to its successful response.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-22393" src="https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/BFHCTO_FACEBOOK_1200x628.png" alt="" width="1200" height="628" srcset="https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/BFHCTO_FACEBOOK_1200x628.png 1200w, https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/BFHCTO_FACEBOOK_1200x628.png?resize=300,157 300w, https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/BFHCTO_FACEBOOK_1200x628.png?resize=768,402 768w, https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/BFHCTO_FACEBOOK_1200x628.png?resize=1024,536 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p>


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