Join us for a conversation with John Marcante, CIO of the mutual fund company the Vanguard Group, about keeping innovation alive; the place of mobile, social, and the cloud; and other hot topics on IE Radio today (Thursday, January 24) at 2:00 p.m. ET (11:00 a.m. PT). Or catch the replay later.
I talked with Marcante Wednesday to get ready for the interview. He told me that IT innovation helps drive Vanguard's success. The company launched an innovation team in 2008, which put out its first native iPhone app the following year. Now, the company has six full-time members on its innovation team, working on a three- to five-year timeframe, Marcante told me. "It's heavily ingrained in what we call practical innovation," he said, quoting a predecessor who used to say, "There's always a fine line between vision and hallucination." Marcante added, "If you go beyond five years, you're hallucinating."
IT works with business sponsors to make sure innovation is practical. Currently, the team is working on responsive mobile design to make the company's websites automatically optimize themselves for either mobile or desktop devices. Vanguard is working on a mix of HTML5 and native mobile clients, and investing in the cloud.
Other issues on Marcante's mind: Integrating business and IT, and the changing role of the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) in regards to technology.
We hope you'll join us for what's sure to be a fascinating discussion at 2:00 p.m. ET, Thursday, January 24 -- that's today. Or listen anytime after the event is over. Find it here:
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Expert Integrated Systems: Changing the Experience & Economics of IT In this e-book, we take an in-depth look at these expert integrated systems -- what they are, how they work, and how they have the potential to help CIOs achieve dramatic savings while restoring IT's role as business innovator. READ THIS eBOOK
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