Thoughts on Ignite 2014

Rich Walker and Noel Sharkey with Shadow Robot's "Dextrous Hand"

Inspired by Ignite 2014? With talks on digital disruption, robotics, lean & agile start-ups, and transformation what will change as a result of the conference? We were one of the sponsors of Ignite. We transform companies by working with them to become Agile at delivering innovative applications with a new collaborative approach. I was intrigued by some of the speakers (and who doesn't find Peter Cochrane or Noel Sharkey - above right with Rich Walker - engaging and fascinating?) but also by the conversations we had with a number of you about how you are dealing with disruption in your markets. We would like to talk to you if you want to Transform and Deliver a new application into your business. Please drop me a line (even a few words) at alistair.park@estafet.com Here's what inspired us... British Gas creates a lean start-up for active management of your home heating

A really simple and practical lesson in to how to run a lean start-up was given by Kass Hussain of British Gas. They've taken a new market, new technology and have literally gone out of their way (locating offices near talent, rather than parent company) to create a new brand and new systems to support it. We're working with a smart metering company that works to lean principles and continuously integrates the work of multiple, international teams. When the Sprint Review is happening, everyone from developer to CEO stands around big screens using a Google Hangout to share what has been achieved. Progress is quick, but goals are always achievable. "78% of professionals say their industry sector is currently being disrupted"

The Ignite survey of members found a high level of disruption within their industry sector. Is this also your conclusion? We are seeing disruption across a number of industries from card payments to retail to smart metering with a common theme of lean start-up. What's exciting is the creativity that is being found everywhere to find new ways to attack existing markets. To maintain the initial agility, they key has been to focus on the pragmatic delivery of customer-facing functionality: release early, release often. We've helped through ruthlessly eliminating technical debt and reducing time-to-market through continuous integration and delivery. Uber's private hire service is disrupting the London Taxi market

Another interesting talk on disruption was by Uber, a San Francisco start-up which is now taking the battle to the streets of London. London cabbies have a protected status (unchanged in many ways for a hundred years) whereby meters are closely related to time and distance travelled. New technology means that the existing laws can be circumvented using GPS and a bit of technology.

The cabbies don't like it, but I can't see how they can win this battle. Also, with Google backing Uber whilst releasing it's first driver-less car there's a very clear route ahead.