Elementary, my dear Watson

I've been becoming increasingly bemused by the masterful example of technology marketing that is IBM Watson. It's a great (and rare) example of a tech company building a strong brand around a very esoteric set of concepts. Just about everything coming out of Big Blue seems to have the Watson brand slapped across it at … Continue reading Elementary, my dear Watson

It’s going to happen anyway…

I had to spend much of yesterday at a hospital in London after my eldest was refered by our GP (thankfully, it turns out, nothing particularly serious). Watching the machinations of the health service in action can be painful. There is paper everywhere. Vast stretches of waiting around are interspersed with short consultations with medical … Continue reading It’s going to happen anyway…

The acquisition thing…

And so, some five years since I suggested it, Microsoft have at last bought LinkedIn. During my interview process for my ill-fated spell at the Redmond giant's UK branch, I was asked which Cloud-based company Microsoft should buy. My response was LinkedIn - for years I've regarded it as the only Enterprise Social Network, and it seemed … Continue reading The acquisition thing…

Weeknote 292: OMG

This week I have learned: I do, quite frankly, spend far too much of my time wondering what on earth is going on Listening to the Brexit debate is making me worry about the collective sanity of this country Start small. Scale what works. Repeat. Next Week: FOOTBALL!

Knocking up PowerPoint

“Can you just knock me up a couple of slides on that?” are words that I dread. If you've ever seen me present you'll know I'm of the “seemingly random series of images” school of PowerPoint, and I'm pretty certain that someone asking me for a couple of slides isn't looking for a collection of … Continue reading Knocking up PowerPoint

Building a business of makers

I'm a couple of months into looking at the role of digital in the transformation of professional services organizations, and whilst I wouldn't be as naive to say that the fog is rising, I'm at least starting to make sense of some shapes and patterns in the murk. There are many companies that say that … Continue reading Building a business of makers

What the Butler Saw

I spent some time last night globetrotting from the comfort of my sofa. Wearing the Oculus Gear headset, and exploring Google Streetview VR through the power of my voice I was able to teleport across the world. At one level this is incredible. I remember fondly back to the Domesday Project of the 1980s and … Continue reading What the Butler Saw

Android Apps on ChromeOS

I’ve been a big (and somewhat boring) fan of Chromebooks since I first took the plunge with my first back in 2013 (one of the original Samsung models). I’ve had a couple more since then – an Acer which was given to me at a Twilio event in 2014, and then the Asus Chromebook Flip … Continue reading Android Apps on ChromeOS

Black Boxes

There is a great deal of hubbub in the legal tech community around a well-PRed artificial intelligence system called Ross. Aside from the cute trick of anthropomorphizing the inanimate object with a clever acronym, Ross is the sort of machine automation that many have been warning will herald an existential crisis in middle-class professions in … Continue reading Black Boxes

Unleashing the innovation monster

I spent a day recently working with colleagues at the Leading Edge Forum, helping the board of an NHS clinical commissioning group to think about the impact and the potential of Digital in their context. I had done quite a bit a research into case studies that might help to ground the more conceptual stuff … Continue reading Unleashing the innovation monster