Steal These Use Cases: 2021's Technology Wins in the Enterprise

Here's InformationWeek's 2021 collection of use cases, case studies, and interviews with some of the top CIOs and IT leaders across enterprises.

Jessica Davis, Senior Editor

December 30, 2021

6 Min Read

New technologies and tools are often at their best when they are poised for release. They have been tested and vetted internally, and they offer unlimited potential for enterprises who implement them.

But the implementations are the real tests. Will the technologies work as promised? Will they provide more insights, save workers’ time, save resources, enable revenue generation? How will these technologies actually benefit the IT department, the CIO, and the enterprise itself? Are they worth the investment of time and money?

It’s always helpful to look at how other companies implemented a technology to learn from their victories and their mistakes.

Another benefit of reading about how other organizations implemented a particular technology or tool is that you may have a very different use case where that same technology could be put to work. A great way to get an edge over your competition is to steal a use case from another industry that hasn’t yet been used by you or your competitors and apply it in a new way to benefit your organization.

With these lessons in mind, we’ve collected some of the many use cases, case studies, and CIO/IT leader interviews from the past year. Here you will learn about the benefits of low code, data analytics, microservices, cloud scalability, AIOps, RPA, cybersecurity, network modernization, and more. These lessons aren’t in some tech company’s beta lab. They are real world implementations from your peers across a number of industries. As you get ready to head into 2022, a new year with new challenges, get ready by reading these experiences.

Cloud and Infrastructure

Why Fiserv Turned to Microservices for API Development

Open source, cloud-based architecture helped the fintech company cut costs and address developer talent demands.

How Evite Used Cloud Scalability to Match Its Elasticity

Evite CEO discusses how the social planning site made the most of the cloud at the onset of the pandemic and the eventual resurgence of in-person interaction.

Why Tribeca Games Went Virtual with Parsec

The introduction of a virtual showcase of video games at the Tribeca Festival meant finding a way to make game demos playable for a global audience.

University CIO Modernizes Networking Infrastructure

The University of Texas Arlington sought an AI-enabled Wi-Fi platform to improve student experience. The project came in the middle of a total IT overhaul.

AT&T Communications CTO Legg on Transforming a Telecom Giant

Nearly one year after taking on his current post, Jeremy Legg talks about leveraging the cloud and transformation at the mobile and broadband company.

Formula One, NFL, and NHL Work on Their Hustle with AWS

Panel of major league sports at the AWS Summit Online discussed how they use machine learning to crunch fast-paced data into digestible content.

Why SMC Leveraged Dell Technologies to Go Hybrid Cloud

Global manufacturer opts for a unifying platform rather than a 'Frankenstein' approach to its digital transformation.

Asante CIO Discusses Transforming with Cloud and Telehealth

Health system serving southern Oregon and northern California had to stare down the pandemic and the risk of wildfire while exploring ways

Cybersecurity

MassMutual CISO Talks Cybersecurity Priorities

Insurance and financial firm MassMutual's chief information security officer talks about the changing threat landscape and how data science is helping the security team's charter.

Data Innovation and Automation

JLL CIO: Hybrid Work, AI, and a Data and Tech Revolution

Fortune 500 real estate giant JLL CIO Eddy Wagoner says that the office experience is space plus technology. Here's why the company has acquired an AI startup and launched a tech-focused venture capital fund.

Virginia Targets Agency Modernizations with RPA

The Virginia IT Agency embarked on a modernization strategy. A new RPA program has helped the Commonwealth weather some of the many challenges posed by the pandemic.

IoT’s Best Use Cases

Many organizations have been experimenting with IoT, but there are a few use cases that potentially offer a lot of value for the enterprise.

How a Wildlife AI Platform Solved its Data Challenge

Wild Me is a non-profit machine learning service provider for field biologists studying wildlife and conservation. But before you can create whale shark algorithms, you need good data.

FanGraphs Tags a Cloud Database to Keep Up with the Big Show

Website for baseball analysis turned to MariaDB SkySQL as it looks to take on more game data from domestic and international sources.

Streamlining Data Storage at the 49ers’ Homefield

Levi’s Stadium consolidates disparate data silos to further futureproof its services and boost operational efficiency.

How PepsiCo Put Data to Work Connecting to Customers

Developing a strategy to use first-party data helped the food and beverage giant adopt more nuanced understandings of consumers.

DevOps, AIOps

Ancestry’s DevOps Strategy to Control Its CI/CD Pipeline

Genealogy company sought a different approach to corral its software development and deployment.

One10’s AIOps and Cloud Journey to Software Modernization

CIO discusses how the organization migrated custom solutions to cloud-based applications and AIOps to cut costs and the burden on in-house developers.

How CarParts.com Leveraged AIOps Strategy While Scaling Up

Ecommerce market for auto parts faced a rapid overhaul of its IT infrastructure when new leadership put growth plans in motion.

Low Code/No Code

Ringler Goes Low Code/No Code to Leverage Data Analytics

Settlement planning company finds a more efficient path to its digital modernization by working with Creatio’s platform.

Why a Low-Code Development Recipe Worked for Pampered Chef

Cookware company needed to create a digital engagement platform it could control rather than remain solely at the mercy of social networks.

Pratt & Whitney’s Low-Code Strategy to Save Development Time

Aircraft engine maker leverages platform from WEBCON to tighten up some of its operations.

Why ING Entrusted Core Dev Needs to Low Code/No Code

Banking and financial services giant turned to Genesis’s platform to tackle certain app development.

Mondelez Takes a Low-Code, No-Code Approach to Development

Snack food giant Mondelēz aims to get ahead of the curve in software development by building up its citizen developer community.

HealthBridge’s Low-Code Strategy to Process Medical Claims

Developing applications fast while working with HIPAA-compliant data meant finding a resource to take some weight off professional developers.

Texas County Turns to Low-Code Database for Vaccine Registrations

Tarrant County has registered over 800,000 people for vaccines using a cloud-based, web-facing, low-code database technology.

CIO Strategy

LogMeIn CIO: The Art of Integrating Acquisitions

LogMeIn has integrated 10 acquisitions and divested two business unit sales over the last five years. The company's CIO shares his secrets on how to do it successfully.

NuVasive CIO Details Digital Transformation Project

Spinal surgery product and services supply company NuVasive targeted its surgical supply ordering in Japan for a digital transformation project to streamline operations.

FTD’s CTO Powell on Transforming and the Next New Normal

One year after joining the 110-year-old company, Powell talks about the floral ecommerce retailer’s revamp of its infrastructure.

About the Author(s)

Jessica Davis

Senior Editor

Jessica Davis is a Senior Editor at InformationWeek. She covers enterprise IT leadership, careers, artificial intelligence, data and analytics, and enterprise software. She has spent a career covering the intersection of business and technology. Follow her on twitter: @jessicadavis.

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