IBIT News

Atish Banerjea has just become the newest member of the Fox IT Advisory Board. As Chief Information Officer for NBCUniversal, Banerjea brings with him years of experience encompassing enterprise IT, technology development, global technology strategy, and more.

“Atish is a perfect fit,” said Munir Mandviwalla, Executive Director of Fox’s Institute for Business and Information Technology. “He embodies the next generation CIO that both leads digital innovation and manages a complex world class IT operation.”

A recent recipient of the 2013 Fox IT Distinguished Alumni Award, Banerjea also served as keynote speaker at Fox’s recent Digital Business Innovation Conference, where he addressed the world’s ongoing “technical renaissance,” which has drastically heightened the importance of technology in the business world.

“Businesses need guidance on how to leverage and capitalize on new technologies and innovations, which are moving at a faster pace than ever,” said Banerjea. “Technology has moved from solely the backroom, enterprise-only IT functions to the front room, driving new business strategy and product.”

Banerjea’s “front room” experience and real-world savvy will prove crucial to the Advisory Board and Fox’s ongoing development.  In his role at NBCUniversal, Banerjea leads the Information Technology organization, overseeing global technology applications, infrastructure and operations for the company’s worldwide media portfolio.

As a board member, he joins 16 distinguished industry leaders with the collective goal of advising Temple in its pursuit of current, cutting edge education and research in the fields of integrative business and technology.

When asked what inspired him to join the Board, Banerjea said:

“Being a Temple alum, I am interested in contributing to the success of the Fox School of Business and the IT program…and playing an advisory role in curriculum development and research programs.”

When it comes to Big Data, few companies are as committed to utilizing its innovative potential as Merck & Co., Inc. and its subsidiaries.

Jerry Megaro, Director Innovation & Manufacturing Analytics, spoke to Temple’s Institute for Business and Information Technology (IBIT)  about his latest large-scale project: overhauling Merck’s data analytics technology to improve the manufacturing process for one of their most important vaccines.

But there were roadblocks. Previous technology required time-consuming spreadsheet analysis that was inflexible and limited by storage and memory capabilities. In order to track the complex, multi-dimensional process of creating and testing a vaccine, Megaro needed a better technological toolkit.

So he turned to Big Data.

“With my knowledge of analytics, I persuaded VP of Merck Manufacturing Department Information Technology George Llado to apply the technology to manufacturing,” Megaro said, recalling their first fruitful discussion—which led to Llado’s sponsoring of the project.

With the support of a highly skilled team, Megaro achieved in three months what would have previously taken at least one year: 15 billion calculations, and over 5.5 million data comparisons.

“Rather than buy software and hardware, we decided to use open source,” Megaro explained. “The data generated from the manufacturing computers had to be cleaned and uncompressed, and aligned. We figured out how to align it so that we could perform more specific analytics and correlations.”

These analyses led to vaccine production improvements, as well as two prestigious awards: the Frost and Sullivan MFG Council Leadership Award and ranking as number 48 of the InformationWeek Elite 100.

“We employed quick, disciplined decisioning and empowered Jerry to drive experimentation, while collaborating and driving business results,” said Llado. “[The technology] provides more product, lowers costs, and most importantly improves access to our vaccine.”

The company’s drive to innovate within the industry is one of the myriad reasons IBIT has partnered with Merck as a member: mentoring students, encouraging innovation, and fostering an environment defined by “the two C’s—Competition and Collaboration,” in the words of Llado, who also serves on the Fox IT Advisory Board.

“The payback for us has been enormous,” he said, reflecting on Merck’s involvement with Temple. “Top of the list would have to be watching the students thrive and grow…Second would have to be the quality of students that Merck has recruited. Lastly, the opportunity to network with many of the Advisory Board members has proven to be worth its weight in gold.”

In Llado’s opinion, striving for innovation means investing in people. When evaluating Merck’s recent innovation, he underscored how their game- changing improvements to vaccine production would not have been possible without a steadfast commitment to human capital development.

“I firmly believe that [this commitment] distinguishes us from the competition, as we look to build leadership behaviors that are universal, and fundamental to creating an innovative culture.”

For the pharmaceutical industry—as well as for Fox students who aspire to career paths paved with similar values—Merck is a beacon of inspiration.

The Institute for Business and Information Technology (IBIT) is pleased to announce the release of  The IBIT Report – Building the Next Generation, Creative Urban Workforce for the Information Economy authored by Youngjin Yoo, Michele Masucci, and Alan Wiig, Temple University.

The Institute for Business and Information Technology (IBIT) is pleased to announce the release of  The IBIT Report – Sports Analytics: Advancing Decision Making Through Technology and Data authored by Joel Maxcy and Joris Drayer, School of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Temple University.

As advanced analytical techniques become more and more integrated into the world of sports, a mounting number of teams are using analytics to inform their management, player development, training methods, practice schedules, and more. The report deconstructs the history of these techniques, and assists its readers in applying data techniques to their own fields.

“This report was designed to be a fun read because it has appeal to a broader audience,” noted co-author Joris Drayer. “I think this is why [the film] Moneyball was such a popular story.”

Artfully expounding on an exciting “analytics revolution,” the report demonstrates how the application of analytics in sports applies to other domains, as well. “Organizations in any industry can use data to make decisions about Human Resources (i.e. players or employees) and Marketing (i.e. pricing or market segmentation),” Drayer added.

This in-depth look into the world of data demonstrates the importance of technological innovations, the growing influence of Big Data, and the competitive advantage analytics can provide to sports organizations worldwide.

“We enjoyed putting this report together,” said co-author Maxcy. “Analytics is rapidly advancing decision-making capabilities in sports. The effective use of data can be a real game changer.”

The ongoing IBIT Report series is based on rigorous, vendor-neutral academic research that provides actionable knowledge on topics relevant to industry partners.

—Felicia Roy

 

The IT Advisory Board, comprising top business leaders from multiple industries, has announced a new scholarship program to begin in Fall of 2014. Funded on a voluntary basis and managed by the board’s members, the scholarship grants select students awards of $5,000 toward tuition each year, totaling approximately $50,000 awarded annually.

Just how are the students chosen? We spoke with Advisory Board Chairman Bruce Fadem, former CIO and VP of Wyeth, who cited as primary criteria exceptional academic achievement, previous accomplishments, and future potential. “A minimum GPA will be used to screen candidates,” said Fadem. “The board will also consider need in their decision-making process.”

The Fox IT Advisory Board

• Bruce Fadem (Chair), Former VP & CIO, Wyeth
• Andrea Anania, Former VP & CIO, CIGNA
• Michael Bradshaw, VP & CIO, Lockheed Martin
• Jonathan A. Brassington, Founding Partner, CEO, LiquidHub Inc.
• Rich Cohen, Managing Director, Deloitte
• Craig Conway, CTO, Livingston International
• Larry Dignan, Editor-in-Chief, ZDnet
• Jeff Hamilton, SVP, Business Technology, Pfizer
• Ben-Saba Hasan, SVP – IT, Walmart
• David Kaufman, Executive Consultant & Partner, FIN Strategy Advisers
• George Llado, VP – IT, Merck & Co., Inc.
• Tim O’Rourke, VP & CIO, Temple University
• Matt Pammer, VP – IS, AstraZeneca
• Niraj Patel, Chief Strategy Officer, Elsag North America
• Kent Seinfeld, Retired SVP & CIO, Commerce Bank
• Joseph Spagnoletti, SVP & CIO, Campbell Soup Company
• Joe Weiss, Chairman, Electronic Ink

Further details about all the IBIT managed scholarships are available at: http://ibit.temple.edu/programs/scholarships/