IBM’s Digital Experience Conference got underway today in Anaheim. For those that have followed IBM WebSphere Portal in the past, Digital Experience is a really set of individual point products that include WebSphere Portal, Web Content Manager, Forms, etc.
If you have really, really followed IBM’s portal you will probably know Larry Bowden as the long-time leader and builder of the IBM WebSphere Portal brand. Larry has recently retired from IBM and Gary Dolsen has taken over the reigns for Digital Experience. Gary has also been a long-time leader at IBM, so the transition from Larry to Gary should be seamless.
Gary started off by talking about “Reach” and “Engage” as two themes for where we are now with digital experiences. You have to reach out to your consumers, employees and partners. Once you reach those people, you have to engage with them through multiple channels and rich experiences.
He continued by talking imperatives over the next three years: Customer Centricity and Flexibility. 
For Customer Centricity we need to understand customers and make them the center of your decision making. People make emotional decisions, so our digital experiences have to evoke emotions. Mobile is now a key component of centricity because 90% of consumers are using mulitple mobile devices.
For Flexibility, Gary mentioned that the half life of the Fortune 500 list is now 12 years. So in 12 years, 50% of the Fortune 500 will no longer be on that list. You can only imagine the flexibility required to stay on target in the fast paced environment.
