A keynote from Peter Sondergaard SVP Gatner, ended with the phrase "may the computing force be with you" but spent a great deal of time covering the topic of social computing and trust. In terms of social computing and it's clearly 'much more than just adding a Facebook logo to your web site' was a key message from Gartner, a hugely respected thermometer of trends, was "do not put in place a policy or technology to inhibit this", those that do will be big losers.
The example of a major Norwegian packaged food manufacturer was used and a little know fact that 18% of Norwegians eat pizza on Christmas eve. The IT department had engaged with its consumers and was talking parts in conversations with them. As a result of engaging with it's customers a signal was picked up that 'paprika' was not liked in many of its pizza products. This signal identified through trusting the IT department to engage led to the development of a product that excludes 'paprika'. This paprika-less pizza has gone on to be the biggest selling product in the range.
The trend of social computing was the number one trend highlighted by Gartner, the ability to engage the consumer and allow them to contribute to the business is not to be ignored. Technology can enable trust to be managed, revisit behaviors as the world is changing.
Rob is the Group Head for Telecoms Sourcing for Western Europe and the Nordics and manages a team providing all aspects of Telecoms sourcing to Orange Business. Rob owns the Commercial relationship with major carriers across Europe on behalf of Orange Business. Cost reduction, re-negotiation, competitiveness and subsequent impact on country P&L are key activities that Rob drives across Western Europe.