Jennifer Belissent, Ph.D.

Do cities need a “smart city platform”? It depends. Clients have been asking Forrester about our thoughts on new IoT-enabled smart city platforms launched by vendors focused on transforming city government infrastructure and applications. To answer that question, we set out to understand when and where cities might need one, and how to decide which […]

I’m often asked the question, “What’s my data worth?” And my immediate (and somewhat provocative) response is “Nothing!” Data is, without a doubt, valuable. But when stored in vaults and locked down, it is not. As the American inventor Thomas Edison asserted, “The value of an idea lies in the using of it.” That sentiment […]

The hype around big data got several things right, one being that data volumes are big and growing quickly. Digital transformation — as well as the growing adoption of IoT and the ubiquity of the device (AKA, “mobile phone”) that we all carry with us — has accelerated the growth of data. Having successfully put that data […]

Struggling to meet the needs of data- and analytics-needs decision makers? There is help out there! Executives across industries recognize their organizations’ need for digital transformation — and the accompanying priority to become insights-driven. For many that’s easier said than done, however. Firms struggle with resource and talent requirements needed to deliver timely insights or to […]

I’m really excited to join VentureBeat today for the webinar: “AI-powered location: A step closer to the future?” This isn’t my first foray into the spatial and mapping world. In fact, I’ve been a big fan of maps since my days in Africa, where my map of the world was the only decoration I had […]

A few years ago, I met with an incumbent telecom provider in Europe, and they came across as being from “the old country.” I asked about their data strategy, and they were horrified at the thought of doing anything other than securing and protecting their data assets. Even just one year ago at Mobile World […]

I’m often asked the question, “What’s my data worth?” And my immediate (and somewhat provocative) response is “Nothing!” As the data economy heats up, the fear of being left behind leaves some company execs in a cold sweat. Forward-looking board members ask about data commercialization strategies and expect answers. That question — “What’s my data worth?” — […]

A first for me. I’d never been to Detroit, and now I have. Last week, I participated in a roundtable on autonomous cars, and transformation in the automotive industry. Yes, autonomous cars will certainly have an impact on the industry – in fact, on many industries – and they are a hot topic of conversation […]

Organization are slow to change but technology changes quickly. If you leave the organization as is many won’t catch up with the change, and the technology maturity gap will widen between them over time. I saw this described in breakout panel at Strata Data in New York a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, the speaker left […]

Thomas Edison once said, “The value of an idea is in the using of it.”  Today (many of) those “ideas” are data and the insights derived from them, and it remains true that their value is in how they are used. Simply put, data + use = value. Insights-driven companies use these data-derived insights in […]

Last week I presented a webinar “A New Age for Smart Cities” as part of Philips’ Lighting University. Many cities have invested in new lighting initiatives replacing traditional lights with LED solutions including remote management capabilities.  But the talk last week stressed the need for these initiatives to be part of a broader strategy.  It […]

We know that the data economy is going to be huge.  Data fuels innovation, and having that unique data point (or “alt data”) brings incremental value and competitive advantage. Demand for data is exploding. More and more companies are interested in jumping on that train and selling their data.  But how? In an upcoming webinar, […]

Data leadership is proliferating. More than ½ of companies now have a chief data officer (CDO), and an almost equal number have a chief analytics officer (CAO). Many of those without these data leaders report plans to appoint one in the near future. Yet we’ve heard that data leadership roles today are not what they used […]

The pace of change in data and analytics technology has accelerated. Technologies quickly move from university research projects into new commercial products and services.  Many tech organizations scramble to keep up. Successful insights service providers see academic collaboration as a competitive differentiator. And, that collaboration goes well beyond setting up a booth at a jobs fair. […]

We all want to know something others don’t know. People have long sought “local knowledge,” “the inside scoop” or “a heads up” – the restaurant not in the guidebook, the real version of the story, or some advanced warning. What they really want is an advantage over common knowledge – and the unique information source […]

Early last year, Forrester defined a new player in data and analytics services, the insights service provider.  Over the past 18 months, our research has produced a number of reports defining the category, digging into specific industry and functional or domain specialists, identifying what really makes a true insights provider stand out (hint, it’s decision […]

IoT World Forum 2017 has just wrapped up and the biggest takeaway for me was the skills gap. Companies don’t have the expertise to fully implement and benefit from their IoT initiatives. This was the fourth year of the event, with a theme of “taking IoT to the next level” and “bringing it all together.” […]

Today I answered an inquiry about digital strategy and transformation programs in in the utilities sector and I thought I’d share some of my thoughts more widely.  While I don't have any formal reports specific to utilities, the sector often comes up in discussions about smart cities and is one we track in our research on data […]

Clearly Mobile World Congress has evolved from its origins as a telecom event into one that captures the pervasive uses of connectivity and digital transformation broadly. That evolution has created an enormous, eclectic event. This year 108,000 registered attendees and 2,300 exhibitors contributed to that buzz. One could argue that it provides something for everyone […]