Competing with Data

October 18, 2023

Many organizations use large data and data analytics as an essential asset in their business. Think about how Waze collects and analyzes millions of queries every day to estimate traffic flows, or UPS uses hundreds of thousands of sensors to track millions of packages each day to feed users information about the progress of their shipments.

For this assignment, please choose a company that uses large data or data analytics to enhance its business. In other words, big data can be valuable in the context of offering a service or as a complement to another business process. What type of processes generate and renew that asset? What type of investments and process put that asset to use, and creates value for the company? How does the company capture value from large data and analytics? What challenges did the company have to overcome to make use of the assets? What challenges and opportunities do you anticipate for the company in the near term?

Devote most of the space to value creation, but feel free to make observations about aspects of the value capture strategy. (Once again, to make it interesting, please stay away from big data use by the big five – Amazon, Google, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft.)

750 words max

Assignment

Create an approximately 750 word post to make your contribution by October 18 at 6 p.m.

Please use graphics, data, videos, and links to other sites to corroborate your points. These additional links do not count against your word limit.

Please also respond to and comment on three other posts per module. Comments are due by October 19 at 9 a.m.

Selected posts will be discussed in class. Please prepare a 2-3 min summary of your blog post before class.

If you have any problems with the d3.harvard.edu platform, please visit the digital platform resources page for helpful advice or email d3@harvard.edu for help.

Platform Variety

November 08, 2023

Digital technologies give rise to a variety of platforms. Think about how iTunes makes apps available for iPhone users or Match.com helps those seeking partners.

For this assignment, please pick ONE of the following two options:

1) Identify a firms that operates a platform. Describe how it creates and capture value, and evaluate its scalability and sustainability.  To make it interesting, please stay away from well-known platforms such as those owned by Amazon, Google, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, and Netflix.

2) Identify a firm that tried to work with a platform (e.g., Epic on the Apple platform, or Zynga on the Facebook platform). Describe the opportunities and challenges in this firm’s journey as it tried to create and capture value. Again, evaluate its sustainability.

In both cases, stress the strategy for value creation, but feel free to make observations about aspects of value capture.

750 words max

Assignment

Create an approximately 750-word post. Make your contribution by 6 p.m. on Wednesday, November 8.

Please use graphics, data, videos, and links to other sites to corroborate your points. These additional links do not count against your word limit.

Please also comment on three other posts. Comments are due by 9 a.m. on November 9.

Selected posts will be discussed in class. Please prepare a 2-3 min summary of your blog post before class.

If you have any problems with the d3.harvard.edu platform, please and visit the digital platform resources page for helpful advice. or email d3@harvard.edu for help.

Machine Learning

December 07, 2023

Many companies deploy machine learning or other aspects of deep learning. Amazon uses AI to anticipate when an ad has value. Google uses natural language processing to automate Translate. For this assignment, please choose a company that uses AI in a creative way to drive value creation, value capture, or innovate in its operating model.

You may focus on use of AI as a service, or you may focus on the use of AI as an enhancement of some part of a service or business. In other words, please describe how the organization deploys AI as a free-standing service around which it develops a business, or as a complement and improvement of its business process.

Describe the current challenges and opportunities the company faces in this deployment. Then assess the changes the company needs to make to address these challenges or take advantages of these opportunities. In your post, please consider any organizational changes the company needs to make to achieve its aspirations. While you should devote most of the space to value creation, please make some observations about aspects of the value capture strategy.

(Once again, to make it interesting, please stay away from big data use by the big five – Amazon, Google, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft.)

1000 words max.

Assignment

Create an approximately 1000 word post to make your contribution by December 7, at 6 p.m.

Please use graphics, data, videos, and links to other sites to corroborate your points. These additional links do not count against your word limit.

Please also comment on three other posts. Comments are due by December 8 at 9 a.m. 

Please prepare a 2-3 min summary of your blog post before class.

 

If you have any problems with the d3.harvard.edu platform, please and visit the digital platform resources page for helpful advice. or email diplatform@hbs.edu for help.