MIT CISR Annual Research Forum 2023

This new book by Barbara H. Wixom, Cynthia M. Beath, and Leslie Owens will be released in September 2023.

All attendees of this Forum will receive a free autographed copy of the book and we'll celebrate with the authors at a Book Launch Reception during the Annual Research Forum.

8:00 AM

Check-in and Continental Breakfast

8:30 AM

Welcome and Introduction
Austin Van Groningen

9:00 AM

Data Is Everybody's Business
Barbara Wixom
In this session, Barb will describe highlights from her MIT Press book Data is Everybody’s Business (available Sept. 26, 2023). The book, co-authored with Cynthia Beath and Leslie Owens, presents the fundamentals of data monetization and features research and insights from MIT CISR research and the Data Research Advisory Board. The session will be interactive—and include a discussion of data monetization fundamentals within contemporary contexts like generative AI and external data sharing.

10:30 AM

Morning Break

11:00 AM

Update on Future Ready: Challenges and Opportunities
Stephanie Woerner
To become Future Ready, companies are undergoing digitally enabled business transformations—using digital capabilities to transform a traditional enterprise into a top performer in the digital economy. In 2017, MIT CISR unveiled a framework describing what a Future Ready company looks like, the four viable pathways for digital business transformation, and the four types of organizational explosions that companies need to manage as they transform, and we’ve tracked progress and performance since then. In this session, Stephanie will present the latest survey data on the Future Ready framework and highlight recent challenges and opportunities of digital business transformation.

12:00 PM

Lunch

1:00 PM

How Companies are Using Distributing Governance with Web3 to Confront Complex Challenges
Gayan Benedict
The advent of Web3 is accelerating a shift of governance from centralized, hierarchical committees and boards to decentralised, tech-enabled alternatives. Gayan will explore the forces driving this re-distribution of governance and examine how some companies and industries are adapting.

2:00 PM

MIT CISR 3.0 Update
Stephanie Woerner
Founded in 1974, next year MIT CISR will celebrate 50 years of studying how top-performing firms get value from IT and digital! In this session, Stephanie will unveil a MIT CISR 3.0 member model that emphasizes helping members become research-enabled top-performers.

2:45 PM

Afternoon Break

3:15 PM

What's Next? Real-Time Business
Peter Weill and Elizabeth van den Berg
In this research we asked what’s next after digital transformation. The answer we found is becoming a ‘Real-Time’ Business (RTB). RTBs operate more and more in real time with transparent and automated decision-making, seamless digital customer and employee journeys, while managing and reduce operating costs/risk- based on a foundation of real-time data. In a world of increased volatility, firms that are able to operate in ‘real-time’ outperformed their peers on both margin and growth with better customer and greater organizational efficiency. In this session, Peter will share the RTB framework and recommendations developed from work with Insight Partners and a 2023 survey of 259 companies globally.

5:00 PM

Data Monetization Book Launch and Reception
All attendees are encouraged to join us to celebrate the publication of the latest book based on MIT CISR research: Data Is Everybody's Business by Barb Wixom, Cynthia Beath, and Leslie Owens. The authors will be happy to personalize your complimentary copy of their new book. 

8:30 AM

Continental Breakfast

9:00 AM

Making Talent a Competitive Advantage
Nick van der Meulen
In the face of relentless change, an organization’s resilience hinges on transforming its workforce adeptly. Bridging technical skills gaps and navigating shifting employee expectations are no longer options, and are increasingly becoming necessities. Nick will unpack diverse strategies for addressing these challenges, highlighting how one organization used machine learning to infer employee skills via a platform that enabled both strategic workforce planning and personalized development opportunities for employees.

10:30 AM

Morning Break

11:00 AM

Scaling AI: Sustaining AI @Scale
Barbara Wixom
This session extends the MIT CISR scaling AI research to include the management of large numbers of AI models and model interdependencies. Barb will present findings from this year’s AI scaling research, which will feature a case study of AI model management at Cemex. Leaders from Cemex will contribute their perspectives regarding their AI scaling journey.

11:45 AM

Lunch

12:45 PM

Cybersecurity Resiliency is More Than Protection
Keri Pearlson
Our companies cannot invest enough in technologies to protect ourselves from every potential cyber threat; we must begin to view cybersecurity as a resilience opportunity, rather than as a protection necessity. A cyber-resilient organization builds their cybersecurity investment portfolio with a heavy dose of responding and recovering activities, as opposed to concentrating solely on protection. Keri will lead a discussion on the latest thinking in building responding and recovering capabilities and the role of leaders and managers in creating cyber-resilience.

1:45 PM

Going Faster Is Not Enough: Add Innovation to Outperform
Peter Weill
Surprisingly, going faster in business doesn’t differentiate much. In today’s digital world, top performers are both faster to market and better at innovating to generate new revenue because they have the necessary technologies and mechanisms. In this session, Peter will present the latest MIT research that identifies four organizational drivers that support both speed and innovation—and then discuss how, when done right, they can contribute to top performance. He will illustrate the research with a case study of Mercedes-Benz. This research was done in collaboration with Jan Brecht, Global CIO of Mercedes-Benz and is based on a 2022 survey of 721 companies.

1:45–4:45 PM PM

Data Research Advisory Board Meet-up
Barbara Wixom
The MIT CISR Data Research Advisory Board will meet to debrief the board members’ advisory and research contributions for 2023. Board members will engage in several activities, including member sharing, research report-backs of in-process efforts, and prioritization discussions that will inform next year’s agenda. This is a closed session for current data board members; learn about the MIT CISR Data Board.

3:00 PM

Afternoon Break

3:30 PM

Value from xTechs: Partnering to Grow
Alan Thorogood
In this digitally connected world, no company can do it all. Larger companies are partnering with fast and innovative xTechs to grow faster. But it’s not all smooth sailing—there are reputational risks, integration issues, and governance challenges. Alan will present lessons learned from our recent survey, highlighting the mechanisms that help develop successful partnerships between xTechs and large company.