One of the more circular arguments in retail through the last 15 years or so has been about the question, “How ‘real time’ does real time data need to be in retail? ” In fact, I think this goes back quite a long ways – I vaguely remember HP trying out some “right time ” messaging on us back in the early 1990’s, and various companies trying to co-opt UPS’ 1997 “moving at the speed of business ” campaign with such things as “information at the speed of business “, “computing at the speed of business “, etc. etc. All of this of course was an attempt on the part of technology marketing departments to avoid having retailers scoff at them when discussing the need to get real about real time information in the enterprise.

But of course, that was before consumers changed all the rules with their anytime/anywhere shopping behaviors, particularly in their use of mobile devices to make purchase decisions- based on information that they get from… somewhere… in real time. I imagine that retailers, knowing that shoppers in their stores might be checking product reviews on Amazon even as they stand at the shelf edge, are asking themselves, “What does it take to get them to look at our information? ” The answer of course is that it has to be made easily available to them in real time, and with accuracy. End-of-debate.

Leave it to IBM, unquestionably one of the greatest marketing engines of the last century, to come up with a way to say “real time ” without using the words. That’s just what Big Blue did at last week’s Smarter Commerce Conference in Tampa, Florida, with it’s Moments Matter theme. Craig Hayman, General Manager of Software-as-a-service and Industry Solutions at IBM, started the event off with a visually stunning presentation where the real Craig Hayman interacted seamlessly with video Craig Hayman and lots of imagery spanning three large screens (with a live band playing too, which I appreciated) – to make the point that all of us interact with information in the moment and all the time. That intro led to a comment by the event’s master of ceremonies, author Jay Baer, which put the concept behind the Moments Matter message in the right context: “Moments matter when they are important to you – moments don’t usually matter collectively. ” That of course is the essence of the “reset moment ” happening in retail today – consumers want relevant solutions to their lifestyle needs from retailers and service providers.

So moments matter – for consumers, and therefore to the businesses that serve them. But call it what you want, it’s really about real time data, delivered in the right way to the right person at the right time. Robert LeBlanc, IBM’s SVP of Software & Cloud Solutions, drew the solid line connection between the concepts when he said that “business is at an inflection point; they need to predict with confidence and act in real time “. And then he underlined the concept even more by reminding the audience of 4200 (up from the 3500 estimated to have attended the 2013 event) that “advantage is made with data “. Craig Hayman and Paul Papas, Global Leader of the IBM Interactive Experience at IBM, talked about this later, saying that the marketing in 2014 is all about “knowing each customer in context “, and learning how to innovate to create personally relevant and rewarding experiences for customers. Papas emphasized how fast business change is occurring today: “the last best experience that a customer has today will become the baseline expectation for everyone going forward. ” The essence of IBM’s Smarter Commerce drive is to be the technology engine that makes it possible for businesses to respond to this challenge.

Announcements

IBM has been building out the Smarter Commerce portfolio over the past several years with strategic acquisitions designed to complete a well defined spectrum of capabilities. Mr. Hayman described the objectives of the portfolio as: enabling fast onboarding on the B2C side, enabling fast onboarding on the B2B side, and enabling fast onboarding of vendor-partners.

With B2C in mind, IBM has defined a new customer engagement model called “IBM ExperienceOne “. The idea behind this model is to help retailers understand their customers, engage with them more effectively in context, and optimize the offer, based on proven patters of industry out-performers. In other words, it’s intended to be a very focused but strategic look at how the retailer executes its Brand in the context of its customers’ needs. Components from the Smart Commerce portfolio to support such as effort might include recent acquisitions Xtify (for mobile push & engagement) and Silverpop (for behavioral marketing via email).

With B2B in mind, IBM is focused on governance, risk management and compliance, and enabling critical information flows. To that end, the company has acquired Aspera, to transform the movement and processing of really big data over public networks (for example, raw video, soundfiles, etc.). Companies like Apple iTunes and Netflix are using Aspera today.

Mr. Papas announced the “IBM Interactive Experience “, which he described as a “pure strategy consultancy, systems integration practice, and agency “. The service is all about co-innovating with key retailers, focusing on customer insights, social insights, and marketing engagement models. Its retail partners already include Waitrose, Tesco, Staples, Starbucks, Lowes, and Kohl’s, along with USAA and American Express.

Why Soft-Pedal It? (Redux)

Just as I mentioned after the 2013 Smarter Commerce meeting in Nashville, I left the Smarter Commerce conference wondering a little why IBM, great marketing machine that it is, was soft-pedaling the part that IBM’s Watson technology has in the company’s Smarter Commerce plans. There’s not much to say beyond the question, but in its effort to be TOTALLY business focused, IBM may be missing an opportunity to remind people what an important technology company it is, and how powerful and important its inventions are to the business world.

The Bottom Line

There is much for retailers to do to meet the demands of anytime/anywhere consumers, and almost no aspect of the operating model will be left untouched as companies address the “reset moment ” triggered by consumers’ digitally enabled paths to purchase. Technology solution providers choose what part of the operating model they want to apply their technologies to: either the customer-facing sell side, the supply chain facing buy side, or “the glue ” that brings those two sides together. IBM’s focus (so it seems to me) is along the edges of the entire retail operating model, those places where people and businesses interact with information – whether its customers or partners. In a lot of ways, that’s a real “white space ” to address, and IBM seems intent on going after it. If the size and attendance of the Smarter Commerce event is any indication, the company is well on its way.