Information Players in the Healthcare Industry

Here is one view of an industry map of the Healthcare industry. Because of the many linkages that exist, we see the potential for disruption coming from the players that best use Technology to create and capture value.

Our team will examine companies who are positioned to offer Software and Analytics capabilities. Specifically:

Allscripts	(Katy Perkins)
Athena Health	(Nader Mousa)
Microsoft	(Wishwas Mohan)
Verisk	(Eli Mather)

Additionally non-profit institutions have a cause and effect relationship with potential disruptions. Therefore, we will also explore the analytics capabilities of

MassHealth.

(Chris Glenn)

Do you agree with our view of the industry? Can you think of other companies that are positioned to enter or exit the industry? Do you think incumbency or capability will win out in the next 5 years?

The Digital Media Team:

Did you know that 83% of our learning is done visually? (http://www.osha.gov/doc/outreachtraining/htmlfiles/traintec.html) That helps explain the explosion in the video media content that the digital wave has brought these last few years. The Digital Media Team took a look at this and wondered…

Now that Netflix has announced a split of its DVD and streaming businesses, how will Amazon react with its streaming segment? What will the production/distribution companies do with their “traditional” business models? Will CBS finally open up its content for streaming on other companies’ services? Will Warner Bros alter its production strategy? How will cable service providers, such as Comcast adjust? With everyone buying everyone, this is a dynamically changing industry.

We are gearing up to answer these questions and hope that you will join us on this quest and voice your thoughts and opinions. The first aspect to ponder is our definition of the video industry layers:

Team Members:

Derek Evenson, Comcast

Abram Guerra, Warner Bros.

Erica Hansen, CBS Entertainment

Joanna Huh, Amazon

Joel Samen, Netflix

Google takes iTunes head-on with Google Music

Google launched Google Music Beta in May 2011.Users can use any web enabled or Android device to access the online content. It will provide about 50 GB of free online space allowing users to upload and store up-to 20,000 songs.

So what does it really mean for the users ?

Google Music directly addresses some of the limitations imposed by iTunes. One of the limitations with iTunes is that a your music cant move around freely. If you are using iTunes to manage your music you can only do a hard wired transfer to your iPhones. Similarly if buy some music on iPhone and you want to transfer it to your PC you will have to use the same hard wired approach. Well, Google Music directly addresses these limitations. Once you have the music on to the Google's servers you can use it on any device that can connect to the internet.

Another limitation with iTunes was that if you are using Android phones and iTunes you will have to rely on third party applications to transfer the music to Android devices.Google Music provides an easier alternative to get your music on Android.

One thing you can't do with Google Music is to download the music libraries on another devices. Though music beta will allow you to download some music which you can listen to when you don't have internet connection.

You can now make a playlist on one device and have it available to all devices work or home !

http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/11/what-googlemusic-beta-means-to-you/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Innovation speaks louder than words !

Not long ago were reports of Android and Mango eating into Apple in the years to come. However, Apple's innovation never seems to take the nap and let others take the lead. Defining the future of Digital computing by introducing iPads, Apple proved to the market, It can sell anything and everything to the market. Well, also to be accepted is the fact that Apple knows when and how to sell things. The Jobs power is now gone, yet the impact that he has created will definitely take ages to die down. It looks like iPad-2 has resurrected iOS's future in a sense. Complementing this steady march is the fact that the competition has been lacking direction. Google seems to have lost track with being way too "open". Microsoft seems to think, It's deal with Nokia (which by itself is bleeding) will get it's Mango (wonder what was the motive behind this name) to ripen its position in the market. HP seems to be confused on who should be it's leader to redefine itself in the digital space.. (Meg Whitman from eBay ? Really ? you got to be kidding me)...The setting seems to be perfect for Tim cook to get into the groove and ensure he get's the Job's mantra right in the mean time.

Anyone out there to stop the Apple juggernaut ? Anyone out there to get Apple to sell it's products at reasonable prices ? Antitrust cannot be an answer to everything...Come on someone..let your innovation do the talking...

Source for the above pic : http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/09/22/the-ipad-has-this-christmas-nearly-to-itself-says-gartner/

Industry disruptor... disrupted? By themselves!?

So you may have heard that Netflix has now divided their business into two: Netflix and Qwikster. Netflix will deliver streaming videos, and Qwikster will deliver little red envelopes with DVD's. This latter company strategy is the one that once disrupted all of the industry and put Blockbuster into bankruptcy. However, after increasing prices and increasing customer dissatisfaction, Netflix thought it would be a good idea to split up the company further increasing the customer dissatisfaction. It is interesting how even the most loyal of customers are not OK with the changes. It seems that they may have disrupted themselves out of business.

Anyway, I am posting an article that contrasts the different alternatives now that Netflix is no longer what it used to be. Maybe being a copycat and learning from others' mistakes is a pretty safe strategy for the future of content distribution!

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/09/netflix-alternatives/

Foldit Gamers Solve Riddle of HIV Enzyme within 3 weeks

I came across this article from Scientific American that represents the intersection of technology, gaming and healthcare. Foldit harnesses the power of crowds to solve 3-D puzzles of protein folding with the goal of treating diseases.  This latest solution that gamers achieved in 3 weeks had stumped researchers for a decade! It will help prevent the reproduction of HIV

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=foldit-gamers-solve-riddle

Google Wallet

I mentioned the launch of Google Wallet in class yesterday.

We will pick it up when we discuss Google as a case in point later in the course and discuss how it could influence the creation and capture of value in the B2C transactions segment.  In the meanwhile, you may find it interesting to see the video below.

This launch raises interesting strategic questions such as: What could Google do to gain traction with Google Wallet? What sets of alliances and partnerships are needed to make this work? How should Visa and American Express respond?  What about Apple? What about PayPal?  Etc.

More important: What does this mean for your sector in general and your company in particular?

The government reconsiders the cloud...

I found this Politico article interesting.  As we consider the cloud - and security.  How is the government reacting?

I think this motivates the discussion - what is the balance of public vs. private?  Perhaps the government should instead create an agency that is expert at managing and hosting cloud services.  This way expertise does not have to be fractured amongst many different agencies.

Brand Value Index

The latest brand value index is out from Brand Finance--the London-based company. It is interesting to see the leader board.

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Many may quarrel and quibble with the assumptions underlying the actual dollar value of 'brands.' I am sure you may have your own viewpoints on such metrics. Please add your voice to the discussions on the brand value in general or the brand value of the technology companies that seem to be at the top of this list.

As You Envision Digital Future

Here's a video that is worth watching as you think about the digital future--which defines how we live, work and play.  Think and discuss the video with your fellow students to develop deeper strategic insights about digital strategies.

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Feel free to comment to stimulate substantive conversations. Thanks.