AWS for Software Companies Podcast

This illuminating conversation with CyberArk's SVP of Finance, Nili Serr-Reuven, reveals how the 25-year-old cybersecurity leader successfully transformed from a traditional software company to a SaaS business model in just five quarters - far faster than the industry standard of 2-2.5 years - while maintaining strong margins and customer trust throughout the transition.Topics Include:Introduction to SaaS transformation challenges and opportunities.Tomaz Perc introduces Nili Serr Reuven from CyberArk.Overview of CyberArk's 25-year history and milestones.Transition from a perpetual model to SaaS.CyberArk's accelerated transformation in just five quarters.Challenges of shifting from product-centric to customer-centric.Importance of market research and peer consultations.Key role of cross-functional collaboration in success.Explanation of "swallowing the fish" in SaaS.Managing short-term revenue drops during SaaS transformation.CyberArk's 70% SaaS revenue share post-transformation.Impact of global economic challenges on business strategy.CyberArk's robust demand for identity security solutions.Strategic leadership's role in transformation execution.CyberArk's disciplined financial planning during uncertainty.Establishing KPIs like ARR and customer satisfaction.Managing rising cloud costs with FinOps practices.CyberArk's approach to pricing and packaging SaaS solutions.Leveraging acquisitions to speed up SaaS capabilities.Impact of transformation on CyberArk's finance department.Evolution of finance roles to support SaaS growth.Communication with investors during transformative periods.The importance of cultural shifts in transformation success.Continuous learning, transparency, and collaboration as cornerstones.Advice for future SaaS leaders: plan, communicate, adapt.Participants:Nili Serr Reuven – SVP Corporate Finance, CyberArkTomaz Perc – SaaS Business Lead, Amazon Web ServicesSee how Amazon Web Services gives you the freedom to migrate, innovate, and scale your software company at https://aws.amazon.com/isv/

Soumya Banerjee, Associate Partner at McKinsey and Company, shares a comprehensive data-driven exploration of how generative AI is transforming the cybersecurity landscape, revealing emerging threats, organizational challenges, and strategic opportunities for security professionals.Topics Include:AI's transformative potential in cybersecuritySurvey of 500 cybersecurity professionalsGenerative AI's impact on security landscapeRising sophistication of phishing attacksThreat actors leveraging generative AIDeepfake technologies circumventing biometric controlsCybersecurity companies' valuation and growthPlatform versus point solution debatesExpanding cybersecurity attack surfacesCloud security emerging as top priorityAI use cases in threat detectionGenerative AI risks for organizationsSecuring AI investments and budgetsData protection and sensitive information challengesRegulatory scrutiny of AI technologiesTalent gaps in cybersecurity sectorEvolving cyber insurance risk modelsIdentity and access management trendsAPI and machine identity securityLLM prompt and data protectionEnterprise strategies for AI adoptionEmerging technologies for cybersecurity defensePartnerships between cybersecurity vendorsDisclosure risks in generative AIFuture of cybersecurity technology landscapeParticipants:·        Soumya Banerjee – Associate Partner at McKinsey and CompanySee how Amazon Web Services gives you the freedom to migrate, innovate, and scale your software company at https://aws.amazon.com/isv/

Brendan Ittelson, Chief Ecosystem Officer of Zoom and Fedrico Torreti of AWS share how Zoom and AWS are leveraging generative AI to revolutionize application development, enhance cross-app personalization, and streamline user experiences with intelligent communication tools.Topics Include:Introduction of speakers and session overview.Generative AI's disruptive impact across industries.Reimagining customer experiences with generative AI.Driving productivity through AI-powered applications.Challenges faced by application developers with AI integration.Importance of AI as a collaborator, not replacement.Cross-functional workplace complexity with multiple apps.Reducing task redundancy via generative AI automation.Case study: AI accelerating creative project briefings.Business outcomes achieved through thoughtful AI implementation.McKinsey and Gartner projections on generative AI's potential.Top use cases: R&D, customer operations, sales, marketing.Bridging data silos for richer user experiences.Security and compliance challenges in AI implementations.Zoom's federated model for adaptable AI architecture.Meeting summaries powered by Zoom AI Companion.Expanding generative AI into chat, whiteboards, voicemails.Vision for AI amplifying, simplifying, and delegating tasks.Integrating external data for personalized user experiences.Open platform approach for seamless data exchange.AI Companion empowering users with actionable insights.Role of AWS in enabling AI-first solutions.Addressing notification overload with smarter AI design.Enhancing end-to-end workflows with unified AI tools.Encouragement for developers to embrace thoughtful AI adoption.Participants:Brendan Ittelson - Chief Ecosystem Officer, ZoomFedrico Torreti - Head of Product, AppFabric, AWSSee how Amazon Web Services gives you the freedom to migrate, innovate, and scale your software company at https://aws.amazon.com/isv/

Jonathan Shulman, Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company, highlights the transformative potential of AI in the software industry and the evolutions needed to capture emerging market opportunities.Topics Include:AI's transformative potential in the software industry.Why AI is a massive business opportunity.Software industry evolution: Mainframe to Cloud SaaS eras.Potential entrance into a new AI-driven era.AI spend forecast: $15B to $200B by 2026.Most AI spend repurposed from existing IT budgets.Legacy software spend likely shifting towards AI.Importance of targeting specific, high-impact AI use cases.Key areas disrupted: sales, marketing, software engineering.AI's adoption rates vary by industry and function.Four waves of AI: predictive to agent-based.Most companies are still in early AI stages.Prioritize building agentic, end-to-end AI solutions.Winning companies invest disproportionately in AI innovation.Position offerings to tap into AI-specific budgets.Deliver complete workflows, not isolated point solutions.Generative AI accelerates development and iteration cycles.Scaling AI pilots remains a major industry challenge.Tool fragmentation undermines productivity and innovation.Change management critical for successful AI integration.Rethinking team roles and processes for AI deployment.Consumption-based pricing models gaining industry traction.Shift from perpetual to subscription to consumption models.Balancing value-driven and cost-efficient consumption pricing.AI market poised to redefine IT and business landscapes.Participants:Jonathan Shulman – Senior Partner, McKinsey and CompanySee how Amazon Web Services gives you the freedom to migrate, innovate, and scale your software company at https://aws.amazon.com/isv/

AWS's Miguel Álava and BoardWave's Phill Robinson explore how European software companies can overcome market fragmentation, leverage cloud and generative AI, and adopt global strategies to scale competitively.Topics Include:Introduction of Miguel Álava and Phill RobinsonOverview of BoardWave's mission and communityChallenges for European software companies in scaling globallyComparison of US and European software market dynamicsCloud adoption benefits for European software scalabilityModern licensing models to centralize operations in EuropeImpact of fragmented European markets on growthCOVID-19's effect on sales strategies and efficiencySelling enterprise software across Europe via cloud toolsRole of centralized marketing in global competitivenessAdvantages of targeting the US before EMEA expansionBoardWave's "Voyager" model for scaling internationallyImportance of solving universal versus local market problemsUsing cloud infrastructure to penetrate diverse marketsGenerative AI's role in product innovation and scalingGenerative AI's transformational impact on global software industryEuropean software companies' opportunity to lead in AIBuilding a collaborative European ecosystem for innovationLessons from Silicon Valley's collaborative success modelBoardWave's mentoring programs for European software CEOsAWS's support for cloud adoption and business scalingThe evolving role of Chief Product Officers (CPOs)AI's potential to enhance cross-market product functionalityStrategic next steps for scaling European software businessesVision for Europe as a software superpower by 2034Participants:Phill Robinson – Founder, BoardwaveMiguel Alava – EMEA ISV General Manager, Amazon Web ServicesSee how Amazon Web Services gives you the freedom to migrate, innovate, and scale your software company at https://aws.amazon.com/isv/

Richard Borstein of RingCentral and Richard Sonnenblick of Planview discuss how AI-driven innovations enhance customer and employee experiences, and unlock organizational growth through cutting-edge tools and strategies.Topics Include:Importance of integrated communication tools for businesses.Challenges caused by disconnected communication platforms.Role of data in enhancing business operations.How RingCentral addresses communication and data integration issues.Benefits of real-time conversational intelligence in organizations.Leveraging AI to transform communication into actionable insights.Unlocking customer and employee voices through AI.How AI identifies patterns in customer interactions.Overview of RingSense for Sales AI tool.Real-world success story with RingSense for Sales.Streamlining customer interactions using AI-powered analysis.Enhancing employee productivity with AI-driven tools.AI solutions for faster, accurate information searches.Overview of RingCentral's Ring CX contact center solution.Improving customer satisfaction through AI-powered call analysis.Case study: Success with Ring CX at Worldwide Express.Features and benefits of RingCentral Events platform.Integrating event tech with existing customer workflows.Personalizing events with branding and engagement tools.PlanView’s use of AWS to drive innovation.Solving governance challenges with PlanView’s solutions.How generative AI accelerates productivity and decision-making.Making every user a power user with AI.Practical examples of generative AI in project management.Unlocking growth with next-gen AI-driven business tools.Participants:Richard Bornstein - Chief Business Development Officer, RingCentralRichard Sonnenblick Ph.D – Chief Data Scientist, PlanviewSee how Amazon Web Services gives you the freedom to migrate, innovate, and scale your software company at https://aws.amazon.com/isv/

Benjamin Flast, Director, Product Management at MongoDB discusses vector search capabilities, integration with AWS Bedrock, and its transformative role in enabling scalable, efficient, and AI-powered solutions.Topics Include:Introduction to MongoDB's vector search and AWS BedrockCore concepts of vectors and embeddings explainedHigh-dimensional space and vector similarity overviewEmbedding model use in vector creationImportance of distance functions in vector relationsVector search uses k-nearest neighbor algorithmEuclidean, Cosine, and Dot Product similarity functionsApplications for different similarity functions discussedLarge language models and vector search explainedIntroduction to retrieval-augmented generation (RAG)Combining external data with LLMs in RAGMongoDB's document model for flexible data storageMongoDB Atlas platform capabilities overviewUnified interface for MongoDB document modelApproximate nearest neighbor search for efficiencyVector indexing in MongoDB for fast queryingSearch nodes for scalable vector search processingMongoDB AI integrations with third-party librariesSemantic caching for efficient response retrievalMongoDB's private link support on AWS BedrockFuture potential of vector search and RAG applicationsExample use case: Metaphor Data's data catalogExample use case: Okta's conversational interfaceExample use case: Delivery Hero product recommendationsFinal takeaways on MongoDB Atlas vector searchParticipants:Benjamin Flast - Director, Product Management, MongoDBSee how Amazon Web Services gives you the freedom to migrate, innovate, and scale your software company at https://aws.amazon.com/isv/

David Gildea of Druva shares their approach to building cost-effective, fast generative AI applications, focusing on cybersecurity, data protection, and the innovative use of LLMs for simplified, natural language threat detection.Topics Include:Introduction by Dave Gildea, VP of Product at Druva.Focus on building generative AI applications.Emphasis on cost and speed optimization.Mention of Amazon's Matt Wood keynote.AI experience with kids using "Party Rock."Prediction: GenAI as future workplace standard.Overview of Druva's data security platform.Three key Druva components: protection, response, and compliance.Druva's autonomous, rapid, and guaranteed recovery.Benefits of Druva’s 100% SaaS platform.Handling 7 billion backups annually.Managing 450 petabytes across 20 global regions.Druva’s high NPS score of 89.Introduction to Dru Investigate AI platform.Generative AI for cybersecurity and threat analysis.Support for backup and security admins.Simplified cybersecurity threat detection.AI-based natural language query interpretation.Historical analogy with Charles Babbage’s steam engine."Fail upwards" model for LLM optimization.Using small models first, escalating to larger ones.API security and customer data protection.Amazon Bedrock and security guardrails.Testing LLMs with Amazon’s new prompt evaluation tool.Speculation on $100 billion future model costs.Session wrap upParticipants:·        David Gildea - VP Product Generative AI, GM of CloudRanger, DruvaSee how Amazon Web Services gives you the freedom to migrate, innovate, and scale your software company at https://aws.amazon.com/isv/

Urmila Kukreja of Smartsheet and Nick Simha of AWS discuss leveraging Amazon Q’s Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) solution to enhance productivity by enabling employees to quickly access relevant information within secure, integrated workflows like Slack, improving efficiency across the organization.Topics Include:Introduction by Nick Simha, AWS.Overview of Amazon Q’s role in data analytics and Gen AI.Gen AI’s impact on productivity, ~30% improvement backed by Gartner study findings.General productivity improvement seen across various departments.Amazon Q’s developer code generation tool – rapid developmentGen AI and LLMs’ challenges: security, privacy, and data relevance.Foundation models lack specific organizational knowledge by default.Empowering Gen AI to grant system access can cause issuesPrivacy concern: Sensitive data, like credit card info, can be central in data breachesCompliance is critical for organizational reputation and data integrity.Data integration techniques: prompt engineering, RAG, fine-tuning, custom training.RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) balances cost and accuracy effectively.Implementing RAG requires complex, resource-heavy integration steps.Amazon Q simplifies RAG integration with "RAG as a service."Amazon Q’s Gen AI stack overview, including Bedrock and model flexibility.Amazon Q connects to 40+ applications, including Salesforce and ServiceNow.Amazon Q respects existing security rules and data privacy constraints.Plugin functionality enables backend actions directly from Amazon Q.All configurations and permissions can be managed by administrators.Urmila Kukreja from Smartsheet explains real-world Q implementation.Smartsheet’s Ask Us Engineering Slack channel: origin of Q integration.Q integration in Slack simplifies data access and user workflow."Ask Me" Slack bot lets employees query databases instantly.Adoption across departments is high due to integrated workflow.Future plans include adding data sources and personalized response features.Session wrap upParticipants:Urmila Kukreja – Director of Product Management, SmartsheetNick Simha - Solutions Architecture Leader - Data, Analytics, GenAI and Emerging ISVs, AWSSee how Amazon Web Services gives you the freedom to migrate, innovate, and scale your software company at https://aws.amazon.com/isv/

Harold Rivas – Chief Information Security Officer at Trellix, discusses the role of generative AI in cybersecurity, focusing on Trellix's adoption of AI for threat detection and model governance, while emphasizing the importance of privacy, responsible innovation, and cross-functional collaboration.Topics Include:Introduction to generative AI and its impact on cybersecurityHarold’s background in financial services and cybersecurity rolesTrellix’s focus on product feedback through the Customer Zero ProgramOverview of machine learning's role in anomaly detection at TrellixDevelopment of guided investigations to assist security operations teamsGenerative AI's growing importance in cybersecurity at TrellixLaunch of Trellix WISE at the RSA Conference in 2024Addressing the overload of security alerts with AI modelsIntegration of various AI models like Mistral and AnthropicReducing anomalies and workload for security operations teamsImportance of privacy in generative AI adoption and data governanceChallenges with GDPR and CPRA regulations in AI implementationFocus on privacy frameworks like the NIST Privacy FrameworkNeed for multi-stakeholder involvement in AI governanceDiscussion on model governance inspired by financial services practicesImportance of inventorying and testing AI models for securityBenefits of an AI Center of Excellence (AICOE) within organizationsModel governance in generative AI for regulatory and business outcomesThe impact of AI on labor, jobs, and decision-making processesAddressing cyber risk and threat modeling in AI environmentsThe double-edged sword of AI in offensive and defensive cybersecurityMITRE Atlas framework's role in AI-driven cybersecurity strategiesPotential negative consequences. Auto dealership hacked – Chevy Tahoe sold for $1Importance of vulnerability management and developer trainingEvolution of AI security tools and responsible use of generative AICollaboration, governance, and agility in AI adoption across organizationsQ&A 1: Outcomes and responsibilities an generative AI COE should have?Q&A 2: Model governance and financial implicationsQ&A 3: CISO response to model development, compliance and learning with customer dataQ&A 4: Thoughts and suggestions for rating systems for modelsQ&A 5: Selecting and evaluating modelsQ&A 6: Advice and experience for model deployment and technical controlsQ&A 7: Human reviewing AI responses to ensure accuracyQ&A 8: Will AI help avoid major outages in the future?Q&A 9: How to test and see maturity of models?Session wrap upParticipants:·        Harold Rivas – CISO at TrellixSee how Amazon Web Services gives you the freedom to migrate, innovate, and scale your software company at https://aws.amazon.com/isv/

Executive leaders from Arctic Wolf, Docker and Illumio share insights on fostering a strong security culture, balancing innovation with security, and addressing challenges in data protection and AI model development.Topics Include:Overview of security culture in different company teamsImportance of guidelines and secure IT infrastructure for AI modelsChallenges of accessing customer data while maintaining securityNeed for anonymization in early AI model developmentDocker's open-source ecosystem and security integrationDogfooding own products to ensure product reliability and trustworthinessIllumio’s high customer trust and responsibility for strong security practicesBalancing security awareness with development speed at IllumioGamifying security training to increase awarenessInterlocking with customers to enhance security understanding for developersEmbedding security into the development process from the startIllumio's approach to security in agile, cloud-native developmentAdapting customer success strategies for evolving security needsRise of non-developers using AI in enterprisesEducating business leaders on security best practicesScaling customer enablement and education through community engagementChallenges of placing security responsibilities in the developer workflowArctic Wolf’s AI strategy for secure developmentUse of anonymized data in secure AI model trainingGenerative AI’s potential to augment human creativity and efficiencyPanelists' views on private AI and segmented model developmentMeasuring security culture progress with gamification and development metricsAddressing human factors in cybersecurity and social engineering threatsEmphasizing resiliency and containment in preventing widespread cyberattacks.Participants:Dean Teffer – Vice President of Artificial Intelligence, Arctic WolfDixie Dunn – VP of Customer Success, DockerMario Espinoza – Chief Product Officer, IllumioBrian Shadpour – General Manager, AWSSee how Amazon Web Services gives you the freedom to migrate, innovate, and scale your software company at https://aws.amazon.com/isv/

Hear the generative AI journeys of Cohere, Epiq, and Forcura, including their market assessments, use case prioritization, responses to ethical and security considerations, while discussing generative AI's impact on healthcare, legal industries, and business applications.Topics Include:Panel Introductions by David CristiniWhere is Focura at in their AI journeySummary of Epiq’s AI journey to dateCohere’s AI journey to dateWhere did each company begin and assessing the market opportunitiesPrioritizing of use cases for EpiqFocura’s quick focus and results with generative AISimplifying healthcare and improving patient experience with generative AIHow do experiments and proof of concepts develop into production?Indicators that Cohere uses to identify customers ready to move fastUsecases that allows Forcura customers to move forwardGuidance on engaging the Executive Team – getting Executive alignmentHow are legal and healthcare customers responding to AI solutions and challengesChanges of priority from customer advisory panelsEvolving questions and concerns of functionality and dataSome customers reporting AI evaluation is slowing them downUsecases that are easier to start off with to gain trust and tractionDealing with AI concerns of ethics, security and privacy – managing objectionsUnderstanding ethics concerns – privacy can often be about where data residesCustomers often want “traceability”Accuracy and reducing hallucinations – AI comes with risk, business have to decide on business riskFuture facing – what are we excited about?Generative AI is excellent at translation services – ROI is excellentBusiness applications and social impact of generative AIParticipants:MaryAnn Wofford – VP of Sales, CoherePaul O'Hagan - Senior Director Product Management – AI Platform, EpiqAnnie Mueller Erstling – COO, ForcuraDavid Cristini - Director, ISV Sales North America, AWSSee how Amazon Web Services gives you the freedom to migrate, innovate, and scale your software company at https://aws.amazon.com/isv/

J.B. Brown, VP of Engineering at Smartsheet, shares how integrating Amazon Q with Smartsheet's flexible work management platform has streamlined productivity and enhanced employee support through AI-driven automation.Topics Include:Introduction by J.B. Brown, VP of Engineering at Smartsheet.Story about improving productivityContext about Smartsheet as an enterprise-scale work management platform.Examples of Smartsheet use in healthcare, TV streaming, and small businesses.Focus on not changing how companies work, offering flexibility.Integration with popular enterprise tech stack tools like Okta and Slack.Automations in Smartsheet for notifications and data synchronization.Smartsheet’s customer base includes large enterprises and small businesses.Overview of Smartsheet’s scale: 15 million users and $1 billion revenue.Smartsheet’s employee support system, including 270+ "Ask Us" Slack channels.Mention of AWS and the introduction of Amazon Q Business.Building a Smartsheet Q Business app for streamlined employee support.Setting up an Amazon Q Business app with proprietary data sources.Implementation of Slack integration for Smartsheet employee support.Example of AI summarizing Slack threads for improved efficiency.Demo of Amazon Q Business outperforming human experts in knowledge retrieval.Emphasizing the value of reducing response time and decision-making delays.Future development plans: Smartsheet-Amazon Q connector.Using AI to interrogate and manage Smartsheet project data.Invitation to AI-minded Smartsheet customers to test the new connector.Participants:J.B. Brown - VP of Engineering at SmartsheetSee how Amazon Web Services gives you the freedom to migrate, innovate, and scale your software company at https://aws.amazon.com/isv/

AWS's Shahid Mohammed and Darktrace's Michael Beck discuss how generative AI innovations are transforming cybersecurity by both enhancing defences and introducing new, sophisticated threat management strategies.Topics Include:Shahid Mohammed introduces himself as a lead solution architect at AWS.Mike Beck is Global Chief Information Security Officer at Darktrace.Darktrace specializes in AI-driven cybersecurity solutions for digital environments.Darktrace secures multiple digital data pots: email, network, cloud, SaaS, and endpoint.The conversation focuses on innovation in cybersecurity through AI.Mike emphasizes the benefits of Gen AI despite its security risks.Gen AI enables more complex, targeted attacks against organizations.Attackers use Gen AI to tailor attacks through phishing and deepfakes.Gen AI increases phishing complexity by eliminating common detection cues.Data privacy risks arise when large models process sensitive business data.Businesses must be mindful of AI’s impact on data sovereignty and security.Shahid compares the cybersecurity space to an arms race due to Gen AI.Mike stresses the importance of choosing the right AI for each task.Darktrace uses unsupervised machine learning and Gen AI together for defense.AI is essential for scaling cybersecurity efforts given today's threat complexity.Darktrace relies on AWS cloud for compute power, scaling, and innovation.AWS infrastructure helps accelerate Darktrace's R&D and operations securely.Security leaders should implement Gen AI policies and training.Mike advises technical controls and monitoring for safe Gen AI use.Gen AI is here to stay, but businesses must handle its security implications carefully.Participants:Michael Beck – Global CISO - DarktraceShahid Mohammed – Solution Architect Manager – Amazon Web ServicesSee how Amazon Web Services gives you the freedom to migrate, innovate, and scale your software company at https://aws.amazon.com/isv/

Daryl Martis of Salesforce and Rashna Chadha of AWS share how Amazon Bedrock integrates with Salesforce to enhance AI applications, highlighting the partnership's strategic benefits, AI model customization, and secure deployment options.Topics Include:Introduction to Amazon Bedrock and Salesforce partnership.Overview of Amazon Bedrock as an API-based generative AI service.The strategic collaboration between AWS and Salesforce.Salesforce Data Cloud and its integration with Amazon Bedrock.Overview of Salesforce Einstein and its use of Amazon SageMaker.Recent AI launches between Salesforce and AWS, including Slack AI and MuleSoft.Use cases of AI services like Amazon Textract within Salesforce.Bringing Your Own Large Language Model (BYO LLM) with Bedrock.Foundation models offered by Amazon Bedrock (Anthropic, Cohere, Llama).Overview of security, privacy, and compliance in Bedrock AI services.Salesforce Data Cloud’s unified customer data and real-time AI capabilities.Bedrock’s support for custom AI model evaluation and metrics.Consumption models in Bedrock: on-demand vs. provision throughput.Bedrock’s agent capabilities for real-world applications like scheduling.Demo of using Amazon Bedrock models within Salesforce.Participants:Daryl Martis – Director of Product Management, Einstein AI - SalesforceRashna Chadha – AI/ML Specialist – Principal Solution Architect – Amazon Web ServicesSee how Amazon Web Services gives you the freedom to migrate, innovate, and scale your software company at https://aws.amazon.com/isv/

Ashish Arora, Head of Engineering & Machine Learning, Product Analytics at Autodesk, shares how personalized AI-powered experiences and real-time data can drive product adoption, featuring insights into Autodesk’s transformation journey, leveraging machine learning, and delivering actionable recommendations to millions of users.Topics Include:Real-time data description and examplesLeveraging AWS for real time and generative AI servicesAutodesk’s journey leveraging AWS to transform architecture and deliver personalized insightsOverview of Autodesk and product portfolioUtilizing data gathered for customersPersonalized data-driven insights for customers on Autocad and other productsDescriptive insights: providing usage data for customersPrescriptive insights: Making recommendations to customers based on their workflowsPredictive insights: Using ML to recommend products and featuresAutodesk processes 100+ billion events across all products, delivered 350+ million insights to customers, served to 3.5 million customersExample walkthrough – RachaelArchitecture of Autodesk data and insight processLeveraging LLMs – Sagemaker and BedrockBringing it altogetherSession wrap upParticipants:Ashish Arora – Head of Engineering & ML, Product Analytics - AutodeskBrian Slater – Principal Solutions Architect – Amazon Web ServicesSee how Amazon Web Services gives you the freedom to migrate, innovate, and scale your software company at https://aws.amazon.com/isv/

A panel discussion on presenting on security and data to Boards of Directors, focusing on metrics, ROI, generative AI, securing intellectual property, and strategic board engagement.Topics Include:What security metrics are most valuable for Board of DirectorsArticulating ROI of security programQuantifying benefits of security programSales enablement of the security teamDriving efficiencies within the business with generative AI and moreQuantifying business and template-based reporting to Boards with Diligent softwareLeveraging consultants and 3rd parties to leverage messages to Board of DirectorsManaging and communicating data posture and risk managementWorking with data leadership, securing intellectual propertyChallenges of labelling dataEducating boards on software architecture principles and generative AIHigh focus and techniques for securing IPEnrolling Boards with generative AI use cases and innovationCreating communities of excellenceGamifying security and generative AI to increase internal knowledgeQ&A 1: Taking action on a summarized documentQ&A 2: Mental model for evaluative SaaS partnersQ&A 3: Using the board to influence budgetary decisionsSession wrap upParticipants:Satheesh Ravala - Chief Technology Officer, DiligentJosh Blackwelder – Deputy CISO, Sentinel OneRobert Huber - Chief Security Officer, Head of Tenable Research, President Tenable PublicKaren Henlsey - Principal WW Data & Generative AI Strategist, AWS

Lacework’s VP and Head of Engineering Arash Nikkar, and Product and Security Software Engineer Teddy Reed, discuss their work with generative AI and Amazon Bedrock, focusing on threat detection, chat interface improvements, and the rapid development of AI-driven solutions.Topics Include:Introducing Lacework with Arash NikkarWorking with AWS and BedrockFocusing on threat detectionLacework ingests over a trillion events each dayComposite alerts for detecting anomaliesDeveloping and improving the chat interfaceTeddy Reed talking chat interface improvementsReviewing the architectureFast engagement with generative AI / AWS BedrockThe rapid delivery with Bedrock – took 20% of expected timeBest practice – build in time to review and verify responsesMeasuring customer’s engagement and return frequency and feedbackUnderstanding customer sentiment and topic analysisAchieving 60% completed results and feedbackTransparency of source, responseEnabling assistant to have more access to data from LLMUsing AWS’ model evaluator, raising the accuracy scoresMoving everything over to Bedrock for multiple reasonsFamiliarity of AWS tools helpful for all development and security teamsAlways challenging assumptions – is chat interface the right interface?Q&A 1: Using vector database for analysis, using results as system promptQ&A 2: Approaching cost-optimization and balancing ROIQ&A 3: Using as automated remediation for findingsQ&A 4: Data source Bedrock in leveragingSession wrap upParticipants:Arash Nikkar – VP, Head of Engineering – LaceworkTeddy Reed – Product and Security Software Engineer - Lacework

Massimo Ghislandi from AWS interviews Frank Contrepois, Chief Innovation Officer of Strategic Blue and Dvir Mizrahi, Head of FinOps for WIX sharing perspectives and best practices for FinOps, implementation, challenges and future FinOps trends for software companies.Topics Include:FinOps is a new approach to managing cloud finances, bridging the gap between finance, engineering, and business stakeholdersThe implementation of FinOps can take a top-down or bottom-up approach, requiring collaboration and a common language across teamsShifting the conversation from "costs" to "investment" and "efficiency" has been an effective strategy for driving cultural changeFocusing on automation, governance, remediation, and anomaly detection can have a greater impact than just cost observabilityEducating finance teams on technical cloud concepts and vice versa is crucial for building trust and alignmentThe future of FinOps may involve expanding beyond just cloud to encompass all IT assets and aligning with a company's overall values and business objectivesPotential changes in legislation or accounting practices related to cloud could drastically impact the FinOps landscapeParticipants:Frank Contrepois – Chief Innovation Officer, Strategic BlueDvir Mizrahi – Head of Financial Engineering (FinOps), WIXMassimo Ghislandi – ISV Marketing Leader, EMEA, AWS

We feature a panel of executives from ASAPP, Glean, Smarsh, Socotra and AWS sharing essential strategies, including the role of Generative AI, trust-building, and addressing legal challenges to secure executive buy-in for transformative initiatives.Topics Include:Introductions to panelExample of ideal Executive SellerDepth of business acumen and problem solving are important skills for Executive SellersFraming a customer problem and create the argumentMaking selling to a C-Suite a team sportKeeping sellers and produce C-suite relevantRevolution and renaissance positioningTrust with the C-suite – do salesperson have a texting relationship w decision makers?How is Generative AI driving customer’s satisfaction and dissatisfaction?Data is the new oilDefining the business problem for insurance industryHelping customers reimagine business with Generative AI80% of customers report the chatbot makes them madThe data journey is the precursor to the Generative AI journeyThe top unique legal challenges with Generative AILegal now brought into early stage of sales processTurning legal concerns into an opportunityThe book “Never Split the Difference” by Christopher VossCalls to action from each panellistSession wrap-upParticipants:Daniel Rood – Senior Vice President Marketing, ASAPPAJ Tennant – Vice President Sales & Success, GleanNeva DePalma – General Council, SmarshEkine Akuiyibo – Chief Business Officer, SocotraLauren Larscheid – Sr. Sales Leader, Business Applications, AWS

Today Anthropic’s Zach Witten takes us on a deep dive into Anthropic’s cutting-edge AI models—Claude Haiku, Sonnet, and Opus—exploring their safety-first approach to generative AI and sharing essential tips for prompt engineering.Topics Include:Introductions, about Anthropic3 models: Haiku, Sonnet and OpusScaling laws for hardware, data and computeCompeting to be safest AI solutions, safety-first organizationLeader in jailbreak resistanceInterpretability features and breakthroughs for AI modelsBasics of prompt engineeringImproving prompts with ClaudeDetails matter – small changes to spelling, context will greatly improve resultsSystem prompt – role setting will improve results (i.e. “You are an expert mathematician…” for math queryBe clear and direct – use XML tags where possibleEncourage Claude to think step-by-step – answering fast comes with accuracy riskUse examples to provide additional clarity to ClaudeBonus tips for image-based prompt engineeringQ&A 1) Who wrote the meta-prompts in the cookbook?Q&A 2) Guidance for writing prompts for prompt generatorQ&A 3) Best practices for tabular and structured dataQ&A 4) Maintaining “tone” across hundreds/thousands of responsesQ&A 5) Reverse engineering a prompt

Today, Dr. Ratinder Paul Singh Ahuja of Pure Storage takes us through how his organization is leveraging Amazon Bedrock to enrich the digital experience for end users and increase returns for the company.Topics Include:IntroductionsGenerative AI activity within Pure StorageOwnership and expertise of team, role of generative AIRapid changes require dedicated team reporting to office of CTOWhere Pure Storage is investing – Productivity gains, Customer Experience, R&DVision starts with the needs of the business usersGenAI Ops – Content, Voctor databases for ingestion, query strategies & securityExample – Purchase Acquisition ProcessFeatures for a mobile experienceConfigurations and logs are getting more enhanced with generative AIDefining schema and improving large language model for more accurate responsesSecurity models and deploymentSummary and session wrap upQ&A 1) How did the team get trained to use the generative AI tools and systems?Q&A 2) How did the team reduce the hallucinations?Q&A 3) How did you decide on which foundation models to use?Q&A 4) The ROI of this particular use caseQ&A 5) Models working with poly-morphic evolving inputsSession conclusion

Federico Torreti and Tom Sly of AWS discuss how application developers can leverage Generative AI to enhance cross-app experiences, minimize custom integrations and increase the value-add of enhanced communication features.Topics Include:Federico Torreti intro: What is AWS’ vision for applicationsFocus of Machine Learning & AIAbility to build rapid prototypes, experimentationCambrian explosion of SaaS applicationsThe challenge of toggling of multiple applicationsBringing the world of disconnected appsData and focusing on the primary value for customerGenerating more content will raise number of alerts and potential of burnoutTom Sly intro: Being delighted by businessesCustomers expect personalization from businessesMore than 150,000 customers leverage AWS for communications strategyLeveraging messaging to increase customer delight2 examples: restaurant and medical needSession wrap upParticipants:Federico Torreti – Head of Product – Amazon Q, Amazon Web ServicesTom Sly - Director, Special Projects, Amazon Web Services

Sara Yamase, Partner at Simon-Kucher & Partners, Head of Software, Internet and Media Practice shares guidance and industry examples on generative AI pricing and GTM strategies.Topics Include:What percentage of companies are developing Gen AI features for customersProjected returns on Gen AI investmentArticulating the value is 1st step in building pricing and monetization strategyAlmost half of VC funding in last 5 quarters were for AI solutionsGetting through the hype cycle and trough of disillusionmentEducation, Marketing, Food industry examples of companies clarifying value of generative AI to customersHaving strong data sets for identifying trendsPricing tenets for generative AIIndirect monetization – more usage, faster, greater productivity, etcStandalone Generative AI software with bespoke pricingAbility to scale pricing per customer usageSubscription selling for generative AI softwareChoosing pricing model for generative AI solutionsSummaries and session wrap up

Today Nicole Eagan, Chief Strategy and AI Officer and Michael Beck, Global CISO of Darktrace AI Research centre share experience, predictions and guidance on the future of AI and Cybersecurity.Topics Include:A brief history of DarktraceApplying AI to the challenge of cyber securityChanges and evolution of cyber security threatsWhat are the key security challenges business are facing?Generative AI provided a seismic shift with threat actorsBest practices for managing and scaling security teamsGuidance for leaders for baking AI into workflowsResponsible AI best practices for building trustTrends of Generative AI on the security landscapeLeveraging Generative AI to transform the customer experiencePredictions for emerging technology trends over the next 10 yearsRecommendations and parting wisdom for security and AIKeeping a workforce trained and relevant for technology trendsInterview wrap upParticipants:Nicole Eagan – Chief Strategy Officer and AI Officer, DarktraceMichael Beck – Global CISO, DarktracePhil Le-Brun – Director, Enterprise Strategy, Amazon Web Services

A panel discussion with executives from ActionIQ, FloQast and Wiz on experiences and best practices for working and selling to customer C-suites.Topics Include:Panel introductionsKeeping products and sellers focused on C-Suite outcomesCustomer C-suite focus, identifying internal championsKeeping sales motion concise for key C-SuiteConnecting value for enterprise spaceImpact of Generative AI and inventing on behalf of customersCustomer impressions of GenAI and going beyond the hypeHelping customers reimagine / hack their businessC-suite concerns about Generative AIFlipping objections into selling points for C-SuiteBuilding confidence for security, data and GenAI for ExecutivesFinal thoughts, Session wrap-upParticipants:Justin DeBrabant – Chief Product Officer, ActionIQStefan van Duyvendijk – Accounting Operations Evangelist, FloQastRick Kickert – Senior Vice President of Revenue Growth & Strategy, WizVeronica McCarthy – Senior Sales Manager, ISV, Amazon Web Services

We feature a conversation with Yuelin (李玥琳)Li, Chief Product Officer of Onfido and Phil Le-Brun - Enterprise Strategist, Amazon Web Services, about the pivotal role of AI, machine learning, and generative AI in fraud prevention and security in the identity verification industry.Topics Include:Yuelin Li career journeyOverview and mission of OnfidoUse of AI and Machine Learning at OnfidoSuccesses in reducing fraud with identity verificationChallenges faced and overcome with Machine LearningSecure rapid iteration and constant experimentationWorking with customers in highly regulated industriesHot topics and ethics with Generative AITraining, managing bias and maintaining accuracy of modelsStaying aligned with customersSkillets required, creating development paths for staffCreating a culture of learning in the organisationDeciding how to place bets on technology advancesWhat excites Yuelin Li most about Generative AIAdvice for other companies setting out on a similar journeySession wrap-up

Executive Leaders from Proofpoint, Sumo Logic and Zendesk share their experiences and best practices for collaboration with AWS to deliver transformative impact to their business using Generative AI.Panelists:Patrick Wheeler, Director, Product Management, ProofpointBashyam Anant, Senior Director, Product Management, Sumo LogicPatrick Copeland, Chief Engineering & Product Officer, ZendeskOlawale Oladehin, Director ISV Solutions Architecture, North America, AWSTopics Include:Introductions of PanelWhere each organization is doing with Generative AIDesigning data strategy around business outcomesMaking subject matter experts within the businessDefining what success metrics and value to focus onMetrics and KPIs and framework for experimentsThinking and leveraging partnerships for Generative AIDeveloping skillsets, retraining teams and managing resourcesLessons learned, what would you change, advice for othersSession wrap-up

Jimmy Hillis, Head of Engineering at Airtable, shares examples, guidance and major themes for how businesses can successfully build and leverage AI within their enterprise applications and workflows.Topics Include:Introductions and Airtable overviewChallenges businesses have articulating how AI will add valueCore insights: AI needs to leverage your own dataAI functionality needs to live within existing tools and workflowsHave workflow and business experts building prompts for the desired functionAI presents a new set of fears and restrictionsExamples for successful implementation of AIAirtable AI field examples and automations featureExample of leveraging technology to reduce manual activityData governance, training data for useNetwork governance and FlexibilityRecapping the themes, session wrap up

In this highly informative episode, we share strategies and best practices for driving growth for SaaS companies featuring Kulwinder Kalsi, head of UK and Ireland Enterprise Software and SaaS Architecture and Johan Broman, Head of Solutions Architecture for Independent Software Vendors for Europe, Middle East & Africa.Topics Include:Discover the main expectations end customers have of SaaS companies, including frictionless tenant onboarding, instrumentation/monitoring, pricing transparency, and focusing on core innovation.Explore key trends shaping the SaaS industry, such as the shift towards consumption-based pricing models, complex pricing strategies that align packaging with customer segments, and leveraging other software partners to remove undifferentiated heavy lifting.Learn how AWS can help SaaS companies with its global infrastructure, robust security measures, and rich ecosystem of services and partners to accelerate growth and innovation.Get insights into monetizing data strategies that SaaS companies can adopt to unlock additional revenue streams from their tenant data.Understand the different ways AWS partners, including systems integrators, professional services, and other software vendors, can support SaaS companies through their journey.Receive practical advice on approaching cloud migration and modernization, including aligning leadership, assessing growth vs. retention goals, and choosing the right mix of lift-and-shift or full modernization.Gain a nuanced perspective on developing AI solutions, covering use case identification, model selection, deployment techniques like prompt engineering and fine-tuning, and the importance of monitoring and management.Hear expert tips on navigating the rapidly evolving generative AI landscape, leveraging AWS services like SageMaker and Bedrock, and utilizing specialized AI chips like Trainium and Inferentia.

Business applications are catalyzing profound transformations across industries, streamlining operations, enhancing productivity, and fostering innovation. Leveraging advanced technologies such as generative AI, these applications are reshaping traditional business models, driving agility, and fueling competitive advantage in the global marketplace.Panelists:Neboysa Omcikus - Head of Strategy, https://www.linkedin.com/company/gleanwork/GleanSteve Antonakakis - Divisional COO, Enterprise Productivity, PDI TechnologiesShiv Sehgal - Executive Vice President, Audience Analytics, RSG Media, a Naviga Global companyKaren Hensley - Principal Data Strategist, AWSTopics Include:Panel IntroductionsHow did you decide where to focus with Generative AI?Quantifying the value of projects with customersDelivering the value and capability for customersDo customers care deeply about the technology or the experience?How did you move from “test and experiment” phase to productionHow did you reevaluate your data strategy when developing software?Working with customers on their data safety, security and ethicsDriving innovation within data regulatory and compliance requirementsLooking into the future – What’s the next wave of transformation for industry specific solutions?

Nicholas Marwell, Member of Technical Staff of Anthropic, shares predictions for Generative AI models as well as guidance on safely training and scaling them for the near future.Topics Include:Where are Generative AI Models headingAbout AnthropicClaude Opus, Claude 3 Sonnet & Claude 3 HaikuScaling laws impact on modelsTraining models for text, images and multimediaAI Safety, high stakes and stewarding through potential dangersConstitutional AI and interpretability researchBenefits of Features – combinations of neuronsFinal thoughts – high growth and pace for coming months and years

Daniele Di Mattia, Partner at McKinsey and Company and Miguel Alava, General Manager of AWS for software companies in EMEA, discuss strategic software industry insights and trends in Europe, Middle East, Africa and beyond that will shape the future of investment, product development as well as opportunities for regional and global expansion.Topics include:Macro environment challenges and focus on cost optimization for software companiesGenerative AI's massive impact and expanding total addressable marketThe need for increased R&D investment in Europe, Middle East and Africa regionLeveraging cloud elasticity and optimization for cost-conscious environmentsImpact of generative AI on product development and developer productivityEmbedding generative AI in sales, marketing and customer operationsImportance of data strategy and prioritizing high-value use casesBeing bold and courageous in investing during technological inflection pointsOpportunities for software companies to lead in their respective market segments

Frank Della Rosa, Research Vice President of SaaS, Business Platforms, and Industry Cloud at IDC, shares the recent trends of the software industry and how some successful software companies are adapting their strategies to best take advantage and create value.Topics Include:The worldwide forecast for SaaS and cloud softwareMajor growth stats for SaaS and Cloud softwareNorth America growth deep diveTop businesses investing in generative AICo-creation with individuals, teams and machinesCriticality of roadmap for generative AIMonetizing generative AI’s impact on demandData’s role in the “Year of the Platform”Purpose built platformsEnterprise generative AI use casesOpportunities and challenges of generative AIInforming ISV and SaaS partners on tech buyer focusImpact of software architecture from edge infrastructureGenerative AI and application modernization servicesEnhanced productivity, operational excellence, Hyper personalizationDomain specific models and vertical SaaS companiesWhere are we going? What’s ahead?Reiterating the final points

Mark Billige, CEO of global consultancy firm Simon Kucher and Miguel Alava, General Manager of AWS for software companies in EMEA, discuss strategic software industry insights and trends that will shape the future of data, generative AI and cost optimization.Topics Include:Shift from Growth-at-All-Costs to Profitable Growth ModelsMonetizing the Value of Generative AI OfferingsTreating Data as a Monetizable Asset for Software CompaniesStrategies for Expanding into the U.S. Software MarketRethinking Software Pricing and Revenue ModelsOrganizational Changes Required for AI-Driven InnovationAvoiding Undervaluing Software Offerings and Leaving Money on the TableBalancing Cost Optimization with Investing in GrowthLeveraging Partnerships/Acquisitions for New Market Entry

Ep035: Today's podcast features panel discussion from the "AWS for Software Companies Generative AI and Data Executive Forum" featuring leaders from Anyscale, Qlik and Rapid7 sharing insights on data models, policies and optimization for Generative AI applications.Panelists:Zhe Zang, Head of Open Source Engineering, AnyscaleBrendan Grady, EVP & GM, Analytics Business Unit, QlikLaura Ellis, VP - Data Engineering and Platform Analytics, Rapid7Sherry Marcus Ph.D., Director, Applied Science, AWSTopics Include:Introductions of the panelWhat big bets are you making with your companies and why?What have the learnings been with data preparation?Balancing present needs with the future of AI – growing data literacyCost optimization for AI and Data platformsConstraints of hardware and growing expenseWhat models and solutions have customers been asking for?High stakes risks for AI and DataHow customers are reacting to different compute modelsGuardrails, filters and risk-mitigation best practicesData and AI pain pointsNew global policies challenging data and AI developmentChallenges with data qualityHow has AI changed and evolved with digital natives?Open and closed models in the marketMetrics and selection for modelsBiggest lessons learned in the AI and data spaceSession conclusion

A panel discussion from the AWS for Software Companies Generative AI and Data Executive Forum featuring leaders from DatologyAI, Gretal.ai and Zscaler sharing insights on data analytics, AI/ML and cost optimization.Panelists:Ari Morcos - CEO and Co-founder at DatologyAIJohn Meyers - CTO and Co-Founder at Gretel.aiSanjay Kalra - Product Management at ZscalerAndy Perkins – General Manager, Data, Analytics, GenAI at Amazon Web ServicesTopics Include:Top 3 keys to success integrating insights, AI-ML, generative AIBig business opportunities for data curation, data analytics to reduce costsRecent ML innovations for solving problems with dataBalancing utility and accuracy with synthetic data for privacyWhat is the role synthetic data plays in AI/ML OpsBenefits of synthetic dataCost optimization existing data in AI/ML platformReinvesting cost savings into innovation with data and generative AIInsights and predictions for data, AI/ML, generative AI to transform user journeys

Phil Le-Brun of AWS speaks to Brad Porter, CEO of Orion Health about the exciting future healthcare, communities that have adopted a “Digital First” strategy and improving the healthcare experience through data and technology.Topics Include:The ambitious mission and vision for Orion HealthcareImproving the clinician and patient experience through dataThe role of data in healthcareOpportunities for digitization and innovation in healthcareAI and data for improving healthcare predictability & efficiency.Using technology to “join the dots” for health trends of the populationExamples and benefits of communities that have a “Digital First” strategy for healthcareThe patient experience with their healthcare dataBuilding trust with personal health informationLearning about digital opportunities from personal experiences with healthcare

In this podcast we’ll hear from Stephen Manley, CTO of Druva, about the problem of data sprawl, and how AWS customers like Druva have prepared, orchestrated, and unified petabytes of data to analyze and perform at scale. Topics Include:Generative AI has flipped a lot of legacy AI in last few monthsOverview of Druva / a SaaS backup companyHow do we use generative AI to help customers get more value?What problems did we not expect with generative AI?Curating data to feed into LLMsIntegrating security and privacy into the productMeasuring performance with generative AIAWS team helping solve the issuesBetting big on AWS BedrockIngesting data into S3 with 5x performance improvementUnified view of security, aggregating data for efficiencyWalking through an example querySummary recommendations

Today, in collaboration with Business Insider India, Raviteja Dodda, Founder and CEO of MoEngage shares the story of how MoEngage is shaping customer engagement and provides guidance for other software leaders wishing to make the same journey. Topics Include:Jeff Klaus and Raviteja Dotta IntroductionsHow has the Customer Engagement Space evolved in recent years?How has SaaS help automate AI-driven personalization?Maximizing existing customersSteps and best practices for growing to multiple marketsDeveloping GTM approach for Asia, Europe and North American marketsCreating a “flywheel effect” by leveraging customer communitiesInnovating to stay ahead of the curve in the software industryMoEngage implemented AI in 2016 – how had that AI strategy evolved through to generative AI?Recommendations and Lessons Learned

Today, a session from the AWS for Software Companies Executive Forum at re:Invent, Jeremy Schnieder, Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company, shares some mega trends of the software industry.Topics Include:Software is growing significantly.Total value of Enterprise software industry has doubled in the last 5 yearsIT spending rising, SaaS now over 50% of software revenueOpportunities & major growth drivers with GenAIShifts balance of internal development and commercial software due to GenAIGenAI influenced changes in various market segmentsTactics that product led sales are usingProductivity benefits from generative AI-assisted software developmentProductivity metrics for generative AI

Gabriele Lasauskaite, Head of Growth & Community Programs at AWS, speaks with Luke Anear, CEO and Founder of SafetyCulture as he shares the story of SafetyCulture, becoming a critical app for businesses, supporting 75,000 customer globally and the plans for 100x growth in the coming years.Topics Include:How did SafetyCulture begin? What problem were you trying to solve?Who are the customers of SafetyCulture?Australian Open using SafetyCulture for their eventsAirlines relying on SafetyCultureThe role of technology on SafetyCultureThe importance of User ExperienceGrowing the SafetyCulture business 100x by 2032Interview wrap up

James Hunt, Vice President of Product Management of eGain shares the story of how eGain Analytics is helping Amazon Connect customers to measure, manage and optimize their contact centers.Topics Include:Overview of eGaineGain Solution hubs: Knowledge, Conversation & AnalyticsWhy enterprises choose eGain AnalyticsContact Center Analytics: Buy vs. BuildNavigating a migration from On-Premise to Amazon Connect – Best Practices & Pitfalls.A real customer migration experienceBuilding trust with large enterprises and government clientsHow eGain leverages AWS servicesThe Amazon/eGain partnershipAdvice for other software executivesFind out more: eGain.com and eGain on AWS MarketplaceNavigating the migration from On-Premise Solutions to Amazon Connect – Best Practices & Pitfalls.

We feature a panel discussion from the AWS for Software Companies Executive Forum at re:Invent, featuring software leaders, founders and co-founders from Cohesity, HashiCorp, Postman and SentinelOne sharing how they grew their software business, software trends they are seeing and growth plans for 2024Panelists:Mohit Aron, Founder and Chief Technology and Product Officer, CohesityArmon Dadgar, Co-Founder and Chief Technical Officer, HashiCorp Ankit Sobti, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, PostmanEly Kahn, Vice President of Product for Cloud Security and AI/ML, SentinelOneCarol Potts, Director ISV Sales, North America, Amazon Web ServicesTopics Include:Software trends being seen in the market todayIntroductions from each panellistSeeing a market opportunity and the founders’ journeyThe evolving vision of software companiesInvolvement & impact of AWSReactions to present day market conditionsChanges for various sized customersStrategies for delivering value and staying nimbleWhere are software companies pushing for growth?Impact and approach to generative AISoftware and growth strategies for 2024Session wrap up

We feature a panel discussion from the AWS for Software Companies Executive Forum at re:Invent, featuring software leaders from Appen, Coinbase, Rapid7 and AWS sharing strategies and best practices to optimize their businesses to free up budgets and enable further software innovations. Panelists:Bobby Smith, Vice President of IT and Engineering, AppenSumanth Sukumar, Vice President Engineering, CoinbaseElaine Hardwick, Director of Engineering, Rapid7Sree Ratnasinghe, Director, NAMER Tech, Amazon Web ServicesTopics Include:Potential future market and impact of driving optimizationHow optimization drove innovationUsing optimization to free up budget & time for growth programsOptimization becomes part of the organizational cultureLessons learned through optimizationRunning internal competitions to drive innovation and modernizationAWS’ “Experience Based Accelerator” 3 day hackathon-style optimization programLeveraging AWS to help optimize to invest in generative AIInvestment returns in Bedrock and Code WhispererEnsuring team alignment for optimization focusMaking roadmap trade-offs – features v optimizationFinal thoughts, panel wrap up

We feature a panel discussion from the AWS for Software Companies Executive Forum at re:Invent, featuring software leaders from Canva, Databricks, Okta, PagerDuty and AWS discussing modern data strategies for software companies.Panelists:Fawaz Ahmed, Senior Director of Engineering, CanvaDavid Meyer, SVP of Product Management, DatabricksBhawna Singh, CTO, OktaTim Armandpour, CTO, PagerDutyBarry Morris, GM, In-Memory and Emerging DB, AWSTopics Include:Sharing approach to data strategiesCanva providing and leveraging user analytics.Databricks data strategy and architectureProcessing data with minimal latencyGovernance and challenges with generative AIBeyond the chatbots - fundamental shifts in data strategy with generative AIManaging data for generative AI verification and trustTraining and fine-tuning data modelsPrioritizing data integration and evolutionHow will generative AI evolve data over the coming yearsCan providing insights be monetized?Technology requirements for driving data-based decision makingPredictions for data and generative AI

Description:Today, a fascinating panel discussion from the AWS for Software Companies Executive Forum at re:Invent November 2023, featuring software leaders from Anthropic, Freshworks, Genesys, Snaplogic and AWS discussing the disruption, impact and opportunities of generative AI for software companies. Panelists:Matt Bell, Member of Technical Staff, AnthropicSiddhartha Agarwal, Senior Vice President, Product Strategy & Operations, FreshworksGlenn Nethercutt, Chief Technology Officer, GenesysJeremiah Stone, Chief Technology Officer, SnaplogicSherry Marcus Ph.D, Director of Applied Science, Generative AI, AWSAndy Perkins, Director ISV Sales, AWSTopics Include:Observations of the current state of generative AIHow will AI continue to disrupt industries?Agents and bots to help employers scaleImpact of generative AI on retail and supportLeveraging generative AI and automation to become lean and reduce wasteRisk management for generative AIEthical concerns – Security, data accuracy and privacyManaging/reducing “jailbreaks” – users attempting to break the modelsDeveloping leadership clarity and in-house expertise for large language modelsIncreased power of Product Managers, evolution of engineering departmentsHow SaaS companies work with generative AILeveraging AWS Bedrock for accelerationAdvice for Software Executives going into generative AIPartnering with AWS for POCs

We present a panel discussion with software leaders from Contrast Security and Tenable sharing guidance and best practices for security in DevOps practices. Panelists are:Mike Clausen - Director of Product Management, Contrast SecurityPhillip Hayes - Director Information Security, TenableTemi Adebambo - Head of Security Solutions Architecture, AWSTopics Include:The significance of introducing security into the DevOps processes for Modern ArchitecturesBalancing need for speed & agility with need for securityCommon challenges in security in DevOpsWhat does “Shift Left” mean to the panelists?Considerations & guidance for “shifting left”Best Practices for security testing & vulnerability managementSuggested metrics for organizational leaders 

Enjoy our panel discussion with executive leaders from ChaosSearch, Sentra and ZeroFox and discuss some best practices for secure data management and compliance in the cloud.Speakers:Thomas Hazel, CTO & Chief Scientist, ChaosSearchYoav Regev, CEO and Co-founder, SentraMike Price, Chief Technology Officer, ZeroFoxMark Terenzoni, Service Leader, AWS, Amazon Inspector and Amazon DetectiveTopics Include:Customers concerned about size of dataHow AWS manages large amounts of dataChallenges of compliance with data storagePeople challenges with data securityGetting security info from customers isn’t always easyComplexity of security options still challenging to many customers

Today we have a panel of software industry leaders from Braze, N-able and Rapid 7 discussing how to use security as a strategic advantage Speakers:Mark Shasha, Head of Security, BrazeUlrich Dangel, Director of Engineering, Rapid7Stefan Voss, VP of Product Management, N-ableClayton Smith, Global Startup Evangelist, Amazon Web ServicesTopics Include:Thesis: Security is good for businessIs security a differentiator and lead to sales?Is your customer base being more educated on security issues?How have you built a culture of security?How do you hire for a security cultureAre security teams involved in sales discussions?Is security risk communication easier with the cloud?