Let's Talk about .. Business Transformation and Technology Innovation with Motorola

Following a suggestion from Prof. Junichi Iijima, on October 6, 2015, I attended a lecture "How to Manage “Business Transformation” due to Fast “Technology Innovations” in a Global Company to avoid Irrelevance" by Dr. Mohammad Akhtar (Senior VP at Motorola Solutions, Inc.).

This is my summary from the lecture.

Along the lecture, Dr. Mohammad often mention that business needs to be moved otherwise it will die. He started his lecture by compressing a history of Motorola since 1928 to present together with lessons learnt.

Innovation
Innovation is about always looking forward, not backward, and making somebody life simpler.
A minute you stop changing, a minute you die.

Even human being also have innovation. For example, our brain, looking into a human's brain, brain can do more thing in present era than a far past time.

Who we are and What we are
Before starting anything, we have to look into who you are and what you are. For example, when saying 'Motorola', people in U.S. think about mobile innovation. When your are clearing your business, you should clear who and what you are.

Consumer means 'you and I'
Like Motorola started from consumers, you need to focus what the customers need. Motorola started with a business of mobile devices. Different customers have different scope and requirements. You should focus on what problem you're going to solve. Also, the uniqueness is also important. If you just make something, other people can easily copy your product, then you may lose your business. In mobile business, once connectivity improved, it's time to improve user experience. Especially, when mobile device is something people cannot live without it. In order to maintain sustainability in your business, it should not be easily copied.

AT&T and Motorola worked on many researches. Combining at TV and wireless services is one example. The business, actually, is selling a program on this service. The point is that this service can let the people buy immediately when they want to buy. The longer time the customers have, the more things they think and consider, the higher chance they may not buy.

Japan with individual preference, Motorola with networks
Japan seems to focus individual preference. We can say Japan focused on gadgets, not the network. That's a reason why Motorola worked with Qualcomm. At that time, Motorola worked for all mobile career operators in Japan. Anyway, Motorola made mistake at the end.

The lesson learnt is 'You need to see something beyond the thing people see'.
BUT 'Don't be rush to IDEA'.
AND ALSO 'Don't be afraid of changing a business model'.

Patents
"Patents are key to long term survival capabilities". When a company buys another company, a buyer may consider the price of a company as the value (number) of patents.

An exit
We will fail if we do not define exit. All businesses should prepare their exit. They may sell the company, moving to other market, etc. Time to change a business model or product is when your are on the top of the market share. For example, Motorola Razr was the most popular mobile phone, however, the company just worked on a line extension after its peak while Apple iPhone started creating its ecosystem which became more impact than a hardware issue.

Then, Xiaomi also created their ecosystem in China and became a majority share of mobile phones in China.

Pocketability
Pocketability was termed by docomo. In the past, mobile phones should be fit within the size of pocket. However, the current time showed that the bigger one, such as a candy bar type, reached higher share in the market.

Product lifecycle
Product lifecycle is short in technology. Especially non-traditional competitor which can come at anytime. The example is the introduction of 3G during the mature time of 3G signal. So, you should think 'out of the box'.

20-year product life cycle in technology (in the past) has been changed to '7 years' (now).

Core competencies
When you know your core competencies, you should make it stronger. Then, nobody can flight with your core competencies. Just 'Wanna be' cannot survive, but 'Core competencies' can.

One of the core competencies of Sony found by Dr. Mohammad was the 'No requirement of manual'.

Osborne effect
When the new product was introduced into the marketing then appropriate time, the effect of the new product could make some problems to the current product.

Huawei case
Huawei who was 'a fast learner' in the past became 'a fast leader' in the business area.

Thank you, Dr. Mohammad for your interesting lecture.

Let's Talk about .. Hello World! Hello Life! Mobile Apple Contest seminar

Last Thursday (June 24, 2010) I had a chance to join Hello World! Hello Life! Mobile Apple Contest seminar at Tokyo Institute of Technology. Thanks Ariga san, Kishimo san, and Ikai san for the information.
The speaker of this seminar was Prof.Dr.Masayuki Akamatsu, a professor of sound/media art at the International Academy of Media Arts and Sciences, Institute of Advanced Media Arts and Sciences, Gifu, Japan. He is an iPhone app developer who is interested in media art.

Incubator
He started his presentation with his profile about the Incubator (1999), projecting audio-visual events with 50 MAC computers. They were connected as network and made display and sound. It's a performance that combines human dance with the computer graphics with the rhythm of music and graphic.
Snowflakes
Snowflakes event in Hong Kong
Second, the Snowflakes 2008-2009, in Hong Kong, using 20-40 iPhone with wifi. All of them were opened snowflake application. It's kind like a small music performance that seems amazing.
Largest impact of IT
Next, he talked about the largest impact of IT nowadays. There are many impacts. For example,Bodily information environment and reduction of size like Apple iPhone, palmtop, wearable, and implant; the Sensor information environment which are Sensors /actuators such as a multi-touch screen; the Universal information systems which means everybody, every time, everywhere, every purpose, and every way; the Worldwide information system which are the Internet, and online exchange; and the Inforg the forth revolution.
i.e.,about the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th Revolution
First: by Nicolaus Copernicus, we are not immobile, at the centre of the universe.
Second: by Charles Darwin, we are not unnaturally separate and diverse from the rest of the animal kingdom.
Third: by Sigmund Freud, we are very far from bing purely rational minds entirely transparent to ourselves.
Forth: by Inforgs (ourselves), it is modifying our everyday perspective on ourselved and on the ultimate nature of reality, that is, our metaphysics, from a materialist to an informational one.
NOTE: I found an article about Inforg, "Peering into the Future of the Infoshpere" by Luciano Floridi.
Workshop
After that, it's a workshop time. He asked everyone to try 4 applications on iPhone/iPod touch/iPad: iRelax, FingerLite, Soundrop, and Beatwave. First, we tried to open iRelax, an iPhone/iPad application. We were asked to open one sound we like, then he asked us to move and walk around the hall, we felt different when staying in each place..

Real VS Recognition
He also talked about 'Real'. Sometimes, it's hard to identify which is real which is recognition. For example, between 2 Sony Pictures' movies, 2012 and District9, do you think which one is real? (both of them are computer generated images).

Miku Hatsune
After that, he showed the video clip of Miku HATSUNE (初音ミク), a virtual idol singer. She is the Vocaloid 2 Character Vocal Series that released in 2007. She performed a live concert during Animelo Summer Live 2009 in Japan, and at the Anime Festival Asia (AFA09) in Singapore in the year 2009.
Watch Hatsune Miku's Project Diva 2 Trailer Here
About iPhone built-in camera
An iPhone built-in camera is considered as straight direction because we focuses on the object, not subject.
Social Augmented Reality system
By using Augmented Reality (AR) information system and social network system, we can have a lot of information and social. For example, using Sekai Camera: Tagging the World.

Let's Talk about .. Docomo Solution Room

Yesterday, my lab had a field trip to Docomo Solution Room.

NTT Docomo(株式会社エヌ・ティ・ティ・ドコモ) is located at Sanno Park Tower(山王パークタワー).

Name: NTT Docomo, Inc.

Location: Sanno Park Tower 11-1, Nagata-cho 2-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-6150 Japan

See Map

I took Ginza line to Tameike-Sanno Station (溜池山王駅) G06. Then, I met Prof.Iijima at the platform. So, we walked together to Sanno Park Tower.

Today 10 of us went there to visit the Docomo Solution Room. It's the room that shows the new technology of Docomo.

First, we had to go to 27F to meet Mr.Hiroyasu Yuhashi from Mobile Society Research Institute.

We got the Guest Card to go up to the Solution Room.

I'm really glad that they also prepared the staff who can describe in English for me. They showed us 5 new Products.

1.Adbo Digital Signage System [more info]

It's the big LCD screen for advertisement purpose. It uses Image processing technology check the gender and age of the person who look at the ads to recommend the suitable ads by checking bone eye hair It can collect the data of the time period of the person (But cannot collect the frequency). While it pays attention to only the person who looks at the camera of the ads, it doesn't collect the data of the people who walk pass it.

It collects only the data of age, gender, and the period, but not the photo, so there's no issue about the privacy.

We can get more information when using mobile handset touch at the ads' mobile reader. For example, sales promotion, coupons, etc.

It's not only Docomo mobile phone, but others, such as AU or SoftBank, are also OK. Anyway, it depends on condition of the ads company.

Another good point of using this terminal is the telephone account issue. It means customers can compose email and send to the sign ads realtime. Thus, there is an interaction between customs and shops.

It can encourage customer buying motivation bcoz they stand in front of the sign ads.

The quality of the system to recognize the person is still not good enough to identify each person, but it can be continued further to make something like that.

2.Keitai home system

This system can control everything in home by using the mobile handset as the remote control.

For instance, switching on/off air conditioner, light, and so on.

When we connect to electronic key door, which is connected to the internet, we can lock the door.

(But we cannot unlock it.)

You can see who coming back to home by mobile handset.

There's a sensor, after founding people, it send SMS to mobile handset. So the family doesn't have to worry that something happen at home or not.

When you're at home and someone come to your house, you can also use an intercom by mobile handset.

On the other hand, when you're outside, you also can check it.

The user interface is very easy to understand. They made it like big cartoon icon.

Inside the System Architecture, Home server is connected to all electric devices by adapter and via WiFi.

For the purpose like the women come back home at night, they can turn on light before entering home.

There are 32 devices can be connected to the system.

Every electric devices which have LAN HA Port can connect to this system.

However, Docomo provides the system to only House maker/developer. They do not sell directly to customers.

Therefore, customers can get the system via buying or renovating the house or apartment with the company that buy this system from Docomo.

Because it needs the setting of all system connection.

Nowaday, Docomo have already introduced to the big house-maker companies.

8 is the maximum number of mobile handset that is able to connect to the server.

As of the IP camera, when you're outside, u can check your house by the mobile handset.

By touching mobile handset, an electronic door can be opened, because the system is embedded inside the door.

There are the pattern modes that we can set in the Main mobile handset. For example, Ohaiyou (Morning) mode, or Oyasumi (Night) mode, and also other 2 custom modes.

Other mobile phone operator's handset also can use this system by accessing the website and do it in text mode.

3.Docomo Platform Service Wellness Support

By setting the variety health devices to send the data to Docomo server, then using mobile handset to receive that data from the server.

For example, checking blood pressure, the result will automatically go to the server and then, the mobile handset.

It's better and easier, because there is no need to write or memo everyday to show to the doctor.

This system is introduced to some companies already

Nowadays Japanese care about health a lot, so this system applies to the health-device companies.

4.CyberCoaster

To show the better understanding of the user manual

For example, how to add paper in a copy machine.

It can process by taking video with this device and set the direction to that motion, then we can move that motion as a real movement.

Current example is the manual of how to do aerobic exercise in school.

5.Mobile pen service [more info]

By using a special (coded) Fine dot printed paper when write on the paper, the pen can read the code on each dot of the paper.

Pen reads on the starting point and the ending point of the line we wrote.

In fact, this technology was from Europe. Anoto company sold it to Docomo, then docomo sold to Japanese companies.

All the data is saved in the pen until we check at the "send phone" checkbox, then the data will be sent to computer.

The pen can save 2 kB data.

All the paper have their own ID, so we cannot use the same paper to write something again.

Anyway, if we write on 2 papers, the server will collect on only the paper that they can record the data according to the paper ID.

My first field trip of this lab ^_^

Thank you very much, Prof.Iijima for my first time of field trip. It's very interesting. Docomo is not only Mobile Phone Operator company, but it is also R&D institute.