Computerworld UK: Global Managing Director of Cognizant’s Center for the Future of Work Writes About Winning in the Digital Economy With Code Halos

“Consider your home technology—laptops, tablets, mobile devices, gaming consoles, health sensors, and so on,” writes Paul Roehrig. “Now think about all the things you do with your gadgetry from connecting with friends to managing your money and monitoring your fitness. Over time, every click, swipe, “like”, buy, deposit, jog, and search produces information that creates a unique pattern of accumulated data that becomes your virtual identity. This virtual identity is your personal Code Halo.”

Roehrig, Malcolm Frank, Executive Vice President of Strategy and Marketing at Cognizant, and Ben Pring, Director, CFW, are the authors of Code Halos: How the Digital Lives of People, Things, and Organizations are Changing the Rules of Business. Excerpts from the article:

“If you use any device more complicated than a toaster, chances are this feels familiar and makes sense, but what is new is that this same idea is now playing out in many industry sectors. People, organizations, and things—basically any noun—can now have a Code Halo, and this phenomenon is beginning to change how organizations—and not just the digital native companies—create economic value.

Today’s leading companies are dominating by extracting business value from the information that surrounds people, organizations, processes, and products—their Code Halos. If this sounds like marketing theory, consider that Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Netflix generated around $1 trillion in combined market capitalization in just the last 10 years.

These digital leaders use technology to deliver individualized experiences based on our unique needs, wants, and history captured from the data we all share.

At first, this can sound like the Big Data story or the rise of the Internet with a new label, but that is not correct. Data, algorithms, analysis, and connectivity are essential, but this shift is not confined to the Silicon Valley digerati.

Many different companies within a range of sectors are now embracing the power of Code Halos. GE is creating Brilliant Machines. Disney is launching the Magic Band at its theme parks. Allstate and others use mobile telematics devices and analytics to transform auto insurance. Philips is creating value from the information and data around their products. The list goes on, and it is growing every day.

Companies that have succeeded or failed have followed the same pattern—what we call The Crossroads Model. While one route can lead to new levels of market success, the other can take them toward extinction.”

Click here to read more.