What To Do When Machines Do Everything

8HaloInstrument Everything, Change the Game

Several years ago, we wrote Code Halos to outline how any “noun”—any person, place, or thing—actually has both a physical self and a virtual self. Once instrumented and tracked, an invisible halo of code emerges around the object, and this “digital twin” often provides more insight and value than the actual physical item itself.

This is how, having never met you as a consumer in person, Amazon and Netflix know your tastes in literature and movies better than your family and friends do. These halos are central to how the FANG vendors can build such personal and valuable customer relationships.

In the time since we wrote that book, winning with data has since gone mainstream, and leveraging Code Halos has become a strategic imperative for nearly every type of business. The race is on to win through instrumentation, and established companies are changing the rules of competition across many industries, including:

• Industrial machinery: Bosch, John Deere, Caterpillar, General Electric, Siemens, Boeing, and Airbus, with combined revenues approaching $500 billion annually, view halo-based competition as central to their strategies, as they are all now instrumenting their machines as a default. Whereas these firms until recently competed on only physical aspects—the quality, price/performance, and safety of their products—they are now focused on the value of the virtual.
• Athletic apparel: Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour are all looking at ...