At CeBIT, two of the keynoters were David Cameron who announced a 5G initiative (he also talked about progress in UK rural broadband in another session) and Neelie Kroes who had negotiated roaming charge limitations within the EU.
Seriously, I wish one of their staff had been with us for the last ten days as we tried to get broadband at multiple European locations for my laptop and my wife’s iPad. Next time, I will get an European MiFi (from a provider like Tep) but this was a good sample of inconsistent set of mobile data and pricing across the Continent:
a) Marriott, Frankfurt – via MyCloud. Complimentary with my Marriott membership level. Nice that it supported multiple devices and the speeds were acceptable – 5 mbps down, 4 up. We did have to repeatedly sign in
b) ICE train, Frankfurt to Hannover – by Telekom for EU 4.95 for day. Somewhat intermittent especially through tunnels (but much better than on Amsterdam-Brussels line I had taken a few years ago)
c) CeBIT, Hannover – none of their reps seemed to know their hotspot password so I tried the Telekom credentials I had paid for on train earlier in day. Would not work. So, I paid a premium rate on my US Boingo plan – about EU7 for an hour.
d) Fora Hotel, Hannover - they gave us complimentary access to a Swisscom hotspot. Poor speeds and frequent need to sign back in
e) WorldCoffee, Hannover – paid EU 1 for an hour for each of us. Dropped 3-4 times and not available at all the last 20 minutes
f) DB Bahn, Hannover station – offered 30 minutes free with access code sent to your mobile number with Telekom. Unbelievably the menu which recognizes all kinds of remote locations did not allow us to enter an EU country, Ireland. We are using Irish SIM cards during our travels.
g) ICE train, Hannover to Frankfurt – Telekom would not accept ATT email addresses (something competitive? ) and the set up took 10 minutes. Service much poorer than on way down at EU 4.95.
h) Hilton Garden Inn, Frankfurt Airport – complimentary via iBAHN. Supported 3 devices simultaneously. 5 mbps down, 16 up. Viber call from our daughter was pretty clear. Overall best service while in Germany only tempered by fact that the wired iBAHN terminal in business center seemed to be on a 14.4 modem. Took ten minutes to print boarding passes – should have taken 2.
i) Air France A 319 Frankfurt to Paris CDG – no service. On longer flights, Air France has started to offer a service via Panasonic Avionics.
j) CDG Airport, Paris – the airport offers 15 minutes free. Don’t laugh at the stinginess. I could barely use for 5 minutes given the walking and bussing that has become the CDG experience. And it asks for your email address which if you are not careful to opt out of can get you on marketing lists
k) Dublin airport – Free wifi from Eircom. No email, no phone info required. But poor speeds – less than 1MBPS up and down.
l) O2 Clear Broadband – at my sister-in-laws near Longford – 4mb down, 1 up first evening. Second evening ( a Friday), the service was mostly down. She pays EU 20 a month for a 15GB data allowance. O2 allows consumers to test service for 7 days, then you are stuck with a 18 month commitment without a real SLA.
m) Herterich Food Hall, Longford – free with my cappuccino. Four mornings in row about 30 mbps down, 5 up service from Crossan CableComm. Best service anywhere on my travels.
n) UPC Galway – at the place of my wife’s niece who goes to university there. 27 mbps down, 3 up
0) Radisson Dublin Airport – Swisscom wifi – 12 mbps down, 4 up.
Who would have thought a little store in little Longford on the edge of the continent would have the best service on the trip? That nicely summarized the wide diversity in broadband EU citizens and visitors enjoy.
The expansive role of the Chief Digital Officer
Five years ago when I was writing about GE for The New Polymath, one of their executives casually described someone as “analog, not digital ”. It was meant to be unflattering and I knew then the term “digital” would be something to strive for in corporate world.
Three years ago for The New Technology Elite, I interviewed (for me) my first Chief Digital Officer, Vjay Ravindran at the Washington Post Co. He had brought an Amazon background to the entity which was evolving from a media company into a broader technology company which offers cable, online education, social media and other services. He has been described as “sort of like a 39-year-old Don Graham, but capable of speaking code.” Extremely impressive executive and I knew his title would be mimicked across the world.
Sure enough the CDO title has taken off. But as I interviewed customers for the recent book, The Digital Enterprise, I was struck by how wide a swath the role covers. In talking to companies like GE and Nissan, the digital opportunity is in smarter products and services – technology embedded in them. In talking to CPG companies like Coca Cola Enterprises, the emphasis was on digitization of the customer channel. In talking to banks and insurance companies like Standard Chartered and Allianz, the focus on digital security and privacy came through very clearly. In talking to companies in industries like travel and media which have been ravaged by technology upheaval, the intense focus is on business model innovation for the digital world. In talking to several companies in Germany where the term Industrie 4.0 is a watchword, the digitization of the shop floor and logistics via robotics, telematics and other technologies came out strong.
I see many marketing executives covet the CDO title. That’s healthy as social marketing, mobile advertising and digital displays and catalogs take off. But the CDO opportunity is way past just a customer focus. If they do not have or are willing to also adopt the digital product, security, shop floor mindset as well, I am afraid their peers will soon be calling them “analog”.
March 20, 2014 in Industry Commentary | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)