The Intelligent Enterprise in the Era of Big Data

219 Pages·2016·4.2 MB·English

by  Venkat Srinivasan

The Intelligent
Enterprise in the
Era of Big Data
VENKAT SRINIVASAN

“Bigdata,machineintelligence,digitalagearebuzzwordsthrownaroundatmanya
daytimemeetingoreveningconversation.Inthisbook,VenkatSrinivasanbrilliantly
andsuccinctlychallengestheorganizationsoftomorrowtobenimble,intelligentand
efficient.Andlaysoutaroadmapforthemtosucceed.AmustreadforCEOs,CXOs,
consultantsandacademicswhoembracechangeandaretrueleaders.”
Dr.SanjivChopraMD,MACP.ProfessorofMedicine,Harvard
MedicalSchool
“Dr.Srinivasantalkstousfromafuturethathehasalreadyseenandinmanyways
realized through practical applications he describes in his book. This is a break-
throughtreatiseonArtificialIntelligenceinthevirtualornon-physicalworldofBusi-
nessProcesses,de-mystifying,deconstructingandmakingthecoldlogicandmagic
ofAIaccessibletoall.Thisisamustreadforanyonecuriousabouthowworkwill
getdoneinthefuture,soyoucanstartmakinginformedchoicestoday.”
JoyDasgupta,SVP,RAGEFrameworks
“For a business leader to constantly deliver superior business performance is
daily fodder. The challenge lies in driving change in organizational behaviour. Dr.
Srinivasanshiftstheparadigm;heprovidessolutionsforwhatmayhithertohavebeen
impossibleorprohibitive!”
SanjayGuptaisCEO,EnglishHelper,Inc.andformerlySVP,
AmericanExpress
“Thisbookisamustreadforbusinessandtechnologyleadersfocusedondrivingdeep
transformationoftheirbusinesses.Venkathasbrilliantlyoutlinedpracticalapplica-
tionsofintelligentmachinesacrosstheenterprise.Thebestpart,thiseloquentnarra-
tionisbasedonproblemshehassolvedhimselfatRAGEFrameworks.”
VikramMahidhar,SVP,RAGEFrameworks
“An amazing book addressing the challenges faced by all businesses. Having gone
throughthesechallengesmyselfinmyprofessionalcareerwithseveralglobalorga-
nizationsIcantotallyrelatetothebook.Businessneedsarechangingataveryfast
pace and Dr.Srinivasan has offered very practical solutions.Process oriented solu-
tionsareflexibleandallowsbusinesstoadaptquicklytothesefastchangingrequire-
ments.Intelligentautomationhastheabilitytodramaticallytransformorganizations
andprovideacompetitiveedge.Amustreadforbusinessleaders.”
VivekSharma,CEO,PiramalPharmaSolutions
“Technologyisintendedtomakebusinessmoreagile,moreefficient.Buttimeand
again, this same technology becomes a straitjacket once implemented, and forces
the business to adapt, instead of the other way around. The book provides a step-
by-step deconstruction of what it takes to be agile, efficient and intelligent. Based
on this deconstruction, Venkat develops an alternate architecture that leads to the
trulyagile,efficientandintelligententerprise.Thisisnotjusttheoryandconcept,but
implementedandrunningatseveralleadingglobalcorporationstoday.Ignoreatyour
ownperil!”
DeepakVerma,ManagingDirectornvvogtandformerly,CEO,
eCredit,Inc.
“Over the last 30 years I’ve helped a number of companies grow faster than their
competitors in many industries. But, in so many ways, the enterprise of today has
changed:it’sglobal,itscustomershavemanynewexpectationsforservice,itisfacing
newcompetitionfromnewbusinessmodels,andithasanewworkforcewithdifferent
skills and desires. Wherever you sit in this new corporation, Srinivasan gives us a
practicalandprovocativeguideforrethinkingourbusinessprocess…usingdataand
user controlled access as a speedy weapon rather than a cumbersome control and
callingusalltoactionaroundrapidredevelopmentofourold,hierarchicalstructures
into flexible customer centric competitive force. A must read for today’s business
leader.”
MarkNunnelly,ExecutiveDirector,MassIT,Commonwealthof
MassachusettsandManagingDirector,BainCapital
“‘Efficiency’,‘agile,’and‘analytics’usedtobetherage.VenkatSrinivasanexplains
inthisprovocativebookwhyorganizationscannolongeraffordtostopthere.They
needtomovebeyond–tobe‘intelligent.’Itisn’tjusttheory.He’sdoneit.”
BharatAnand,HenryR.ByersProfessorofBusinessAdministration,
HarvardBusinessSchool
“Venkat Srinivasan is one of those rare individuals who combines the intellectual
horsepower of an academic, the foresight of a visionary, and the creativity of an
entrepreneur. In this book he offers a compelling vision of the next generation of
organization—the intelligent enterprise—which will leverage not just big data but
alsounstructuredtextandartificialintelligencetooptimizeinternalprocessesinreal
time.Saygood-byetosoftwaresystemsthatdon’ttalktooneanotherandcostafor-
tunetocustomize,andsayhellotothesolutionthatmaybecomethenewnormal.If
the intelligent enterprise seems utopian, read the chapters on how some companies
haveactuallyappliedthisconceptwithimpressiveresults.LetSrinivasangiveyoua
peepintothefuture.Thisisamust-readbookforCEOsandCTOsinallindustries.”
RaviRamamurti,D”Amore-McKimDistinguishedProfessorof
InternationalBusiness&Strategy,andDirector,CenterforEmerging
Markets,NortheasternU.
“Dr.VenkatSrinivasanhaswrittenabookaimedatbusinessprofessionalsandtech-
nologists.Thisisnotgeekspeak,notanacademictreatise.Venkatwriteswithgreat
clarityandprecisionbasedonhisreal-lifeexperienceofdeliveringsolutionsthrough
theRAGEAIplatform.Itisaboutthebravenewworldthatnarrowsthegapbetween
technologyandbusiness.Mostofushavelaboredwithtechnologyprojectsthattook
toolong,costtoomuchanddeliveredlessthanexpected.Process-orientedsoftware
and Artificial Intelligence can create solutions thatare flexible, smartand efficient.
Thebookhaspracticaladvicefromathoughtfulpractitioner.Intelligentautomation
willbeacompetitivestrengthinthefuture.Willyourcompanybeready?”
VictorJ.Menezes,RetiredSeniorViceChairman,Citigroup
THE INTELLIGENT
ENTERPRISE IN THE ERA
OF BIG DATA
VENKAT SRINIVASAN
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This book is dedicated to my family
To my wife Pratima from whom I have learned so much, for her
unwavering support for my efforts, and to our daughters, Meghana
and Nandini, with love and gratitude
To my parents, Srinivasan Varadarajan and Sundara Srinivasan,
for braving significant challenges in their lives and insulating me
from them so I could pursue my dreams

CONTENTS
PREFACE xiii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xix
PART I CHALLENGES OF THE DIGITAL AGE
1 THE CRISIS HAS NOT GONE AWAY:
OPPORTUNITY BECKONS 3
1.1 Introduction / 3
1.2 ChallengeswithCurrentTechnologyParadigms:Chronic
IssuesofTimetoMarketandFlexibility / 9
1.3 TheEmergenceofPackagedApplications / 11
1.4 TheNewFront:Information;BigDataIsNotNew;WhatIs
NewIsUnstructuredInformation / 12
1.5 EnterpriseArchitecture:CurrentStateandImplications / 14
1.6 TheIntelligentEnterpriseofTomorrow / 15
References / 15
vii
viii CONTENTS
PART II AN ARCHITECTURE FOR THE
INTELLIGENT ENTERPRISE
2 EFFICIENCY AND AGILITY 19
2.1 Introduction / 19
2.2 TheProcess-OrientedEnterprise / 19
2.2.1 BecomingProcessOriented / 23
2.2.2 WhyMustWeChoose? / 24
2.2.3 DesignandExecution / 25
2.3 RoleofOutsourcinginCreatingEfficiencyandAgility / 26
2.4 RoleofTechnologyinEfficiencyandAgility / 29
2.4.1 CurrentChallengeswithTechnology / 30
2.4.2 BPMSoftware / 30
2.4.3 RoleofMethodology / 32
2.4.4 AgileNotEqualtoAgility / 33
2.5 ANewTechnologyParadigmforEfficiencyandAgility / 35
2.5.1 TechnologyandtheProcess-Oriented
Architecture / 35
2.5.2 RAGEAITM / 38
2.5.3 RAGEAbstractComponents / 39
2.5.4 RIMTM -AnActionable,DynamicMethodology / 40
2.5.5 RealTimeSoftwareDevelopment / 43
2.6 Summary / 44
References / 46
3 INSIGHT AND INTELLIGENCE 51
3.1 Introduction / 51
3.2 TheExcitementAroundBigData / 52
3.3 InformationOverload,Asymmetry,andDecisionMaking / 54
3.3.1 InformationOverload / 54
3.3.2 InformationAsymmetry / 56
3.4 ArtificialIntelligencetotheRescue / 59
3.4.1 ATaxonomyofAIProblemTypesandMethods / 60
3.4.2 AISolutionOutcomes / 61
3.4.3 AISolutionMethods / 66