Cloud Wars Live with Bob Evans

The Big Themes:Know your why. Don’t do projects with unclear outcomes or that do not solve a defined business issue/goal. Digital transformation only works if there’s actually a business transformation.Integrations.They’re more important that you think, take longer and can be problematic. The less spaghetti, the less mess.Your team will make or break your success. Pick the best partner, project leader, and internal team for your project, and if you don’t have a solid executive sponsor, you’re fighting an uphill battle.Control what you can control. Before your project gets approved, start getting your house in order. Clean up bad data before you start your project. Make sure you have a way to manage your project systematically throughout. The Big Quotes:“Customers and vendors celebrate this idea of go-live, like yay! And they have cakes and they take pictures and isn't that great. But the reality is that's really when the work begins.” This episode is brought to you by BMC Software. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

The Big Themes:Not so Unified Communications. As many/most companies have shifted to some version of remote work, we’re seeing both the benefits but also the limitations of video communications.Virtual culture: We’re nearing a year of virtual, remote work for many of us. Nurturing, supporting and reinforcing culture is challenging in the best of circumstances. Ironically working remotely is forcing companies to be more intentional about their culture, causing some to reassess their cultural attributes and beliefs, and how best to train, nurture, and harness them.5G, Cloud, Mobile, and IIoT are converging: To create a massive market transition. This is most acutely true in manufacturing, where we’re already getting glimpses of the future. While the news is mostly focused on the consumer impact, the reality is the B2B impact may be even larger. The Big Quotes:“There's another dynamic that we don't focus on, but I think is playing a major role here. And that's the dynamic of the multi-generational workforce.” This episode is brought to you by BMC Software. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

The Big Themes:Authentic dialogue is dying in America: Stanford Research shows us that people are caring more about themselves and less for others.Good conversationalist vs. “selfie”: Many people think the purpose of a discussion is to win. At one point changing your mind was called “learning.” Today it’s called flip-flopping.People are told to shout their story: Not to listen. Not to collaborate. Not to learn. Not to teach. Just “tell it.”We will either have civil discourse – or civil war: This is the time to elevate the value of authentic dialogue. In person. And online.The Big Quotes:“We talk to each other and if we're human beings, we sort it out, that's the best mechanism, just be human with each other.”This episode is brought to you by BMC Software. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

The Big Themes:Last mile networking – down to last few feet: Data to/from the edge will skyrocket in quantity and in value.IT risk-awareness rises: Cybersecurity attacks are on the rise. Russia, China, Iran, etc. are going for third-party attacks on the US.2021 is predicted to be the biggest job growth in history: Government stimulus will drive infrastructure and investment, and trigger a seller’s market for talent.Healthcare changes are massive: Tele-everything – talk, telemetry, teleoperation, and vaccines and other therapeutic drugs. And—at last!—doctors can practice across state lines. The Big Quotes:“If you’re a CEO, a board member, a C-suite executive, you've got to be ready to sense and respond faster than ever. You've got to be able to move faster and you've got to be able to take those leaps, and manage your risks better than you ever could.” This episode is brought to you by BMC Software. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

Visit Cloud Wars for more.

The Big Themes:Shift in size, scope, and delivery: The pandemic has caused a shift from mega projects to more incremental work. Many large projects were put on hold and have been modified or scaled back.Systems integration market: Their world has been turned upside down with everyone working from home and travel restrictions. How are they coping?No customer conferences to “Press the Flesh”: All in-person events have been cancelled, which has made it difficult for smaller firms to get noticed.How have customer expectations changed: Systems integrators are so busy focused on challenging market conditions – and not focused on internal projects.The Big Quotes:“I think in 2021, the businesses that really stepped up this year are going to see the benefits next year, when things get back on track and we go back to some semblance of normal again.”This episode is brought to you by BMC Software. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

Visit Cloud Wars for more.

Visit Cloud Wars for more.

Visit Cloud Wars for more.

The Big Themes: Wall Street/Main Street: The software sector had a great year. The markets didn’t correct. Main Street not so much – stores are boarded up and it’s a ghost town. Disney played this perfectly: Netflix and Disney are going head-to-head. Both companies have done well in 2020, but you’re going to see Disney outperform Netflix in 2021. Walmart and Amazon: Does Walmart really want to finance their number one competitor – and does Amazon want that too? Rockefeller, Standard Oil, and AWS: John D. Rockefeller fought hard not to have Standard Oil split apart, but the wealth creation that happened was huge. The Big Quotes: “I still think Amazon needs to spin out AWS. It's crazy that they haven't yet.” This episode is brought to you BMC Software. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

The Big Themes:Process geeks rejoice! Reimagining business process is the next frontier: New technologies; especially in AI and Machine Learning are enabling a complete reimagining of business processes, way, way beyond simple process improvements. They hold the potential to catapult business performance but require new ways of thinking about business process and how employees work with technology.“Nothing can happen for decades. And then decades happen in weeks.” Quote attributed to Scottish MP George Galloway. The COVID-19 pandemic has radically and irrevocably accelerated pre-existing trends. Eight weeks after the pandemic reached US shores eCommerce grew to 27% of retail, which represents a decade of growth in eight weeks. In essence business leaders are now running against 2030 expectations. This has huge implications for business leaders across most every industry.The pandemic will create a revolution in healthcare: 99% of people accessed healthcare during the pandemic, without setting foot in a doctor’s office, much less a hospital. This forced embrace of telemedicine will drive an explosion of innovation and holds the potential to materially change the burdens of the beleaguered US healthcare system. The Big Quotes:“The data shows maybe I don't need to go to from point A to point B to point C. Maybe I just go from point A to point Z.” This episode is brought to you by BMC Software. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

The Big Themes:The end of Silicon Valley: Elon Musk and Larry Ellison of Oracle are pulling up their tents and going to Texas.Eric Yuan, founder and CEO of Zoom: 2020 entrepreneur of the year: Eric Yuan. This one’s really obvious – he gave Zoom to the schools, and he had the biggest B2C growth stories in the history of the technology industry.Fender’s fabulous fret-filled adventure: Fender thought at the time that there would maybe be 100,000 people. The company set its sights on over 1,000,000 million people. Seven million PR impressions, 1,300 powerful stories, and 140 artists in social shares have resulted in a 150% increase in paid subscriptions.Don’t let them go on CNBC looking like a dork: The bottom line is to make your executives look good – not bad. The Big Quotes:“There's never been a greater time in history than right now – this moment right now to be in the information technology industry.” This episode is brought to you by BMC Software. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

The Big Themes:Strategic planning: Strategic planning is a lot about what you want to do – but also about what you’re able to do.True cloud-native ERP: That includes business intelligence, low-code, data lake – and is different from old-style on-prem ERP. Clients who haven’t seen this are just getting used to it.5G and other advanced networking: The bandwidth is terrific, but latency is the game changer for IoT apps, and other simplified “edge computing.”There are no stupid questions: If someone on CIO’s team makes a CEO or board member feel like he or she has asked a dumb question, get rid of that IT person. The Big Quotes:“How are you enabling? How are you empowering? How are you teaching them to think differently?” This episode is brought to you by BMC Software. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

The Big Themes:General contractor and owner: Eternal truth: it all comes down to motivating people – from high-tech to one of the most basic human activities, which is building a home.Men and women in uniform: Military members and veterans are great leaders and achievers. Can be enormous assets to businesses looking for character, achievement, team players.Fear kills: The only thing that sells better than sex is fear. Fear of being left out, and fear of not being in the group.The wooly mammoth: Sorry to say but some companies are wooly mammoths from bygone era—they’ve got 2 legs in the tarpit and don’t even realize they’re doomed. The Big Quotes:“You can avoid a lot of the chaos by simply understanding what makes people tick, and how to get the very best out of people.” This episode is brought to you by BMC Software. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

The Big Themes:Apple and a thousand Intel employees: The M1 chipset Apple wanted was a billion-dollar investment in 5G, which they did in 2019. Will Apple use M1 to go up against AWS?The 800-pound gorilla: Microsoft has a culture that looks less transactional and more collaborative. They are a Trojan Horse – and an 800-pound gorilla.Oracle and SAP are back at it again: They’re both creating elegant and powerful new apps for industry-specific solutions in what promises to be a huge new market.Transform the industry: How we can be business partners to transform healthcare, manufacturing, automotive, and mobility – and how to adjust those businesses over the next 12 to 18 months.The Big Quotes:“I literally can't come up with anybody other than potentially Jeff Bezos, who just wants to be CEO of this whole thing, who this isn't a win for spinning out AWS at this point.”This episode is brought to you by BMC Software. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

We spoke with David Trice, Honeywell Forge Chief Product Officer and General Manager Connected Buildings, in a Cloud Wars Live Perspectives. Here is our conversation.The Big Themes:Honeywell Forge: Enterprise performance management is bringing a new solution to the table – eliminating the barriers of complexity.Transforming into a software company: Honeywell is going to be a software company – and an industrial company.Mobile first software company: How you engage with the customer, how a building operates, how the supply chain operates, and what we do in the next step of our transformation.Reinventing everything: Honeywell’s business is to reinvent everything – from on-premise hardware driven-control systems to virtualized capability to digital transformation.The Big Quotes:“We understand, there's a lot of complexity. That's why we purpose-built Honeywell Forge to rethink the problem.” Visit Cloud Wars for more.

The Big Themes:Mix of old school and new school: Know that there are different types of recruiters, just like there are different types of CXO executives and HR executives.The virtual employee: Bill Gates, Chairman and Founder of Microsoft is saying 50% of employees going forward will work from home – and 30% of office space will diminish.A huge gap in the industry: Bringing in diversity is a huge priority. Retaining talent so that they stay for 10 or 20 years is another goal.Looking ahead to 2021: The head of talent needs to be much more focused on earning the right to be a strategic partner and trusted advisor. The Big Quotes:“The head of talent acquisition really needs to have a seat at the table too.” This episode is brought to you by BMC Software. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

The Big Themes:A project leader: Who has enough political capital to see the effort through to the end – and people who are culturally aligned with them.Projects with poor technology succeed because of great teams: Projects with great technology fail because of bad ones. You choose which one.An experienced technical person: One who’s deeply and intimately familiar with the product idiosyncrasies and pitfalls – and is willing to take that chance.Commitment: Project team members who can stay throughout the duration of the project – both from the systems integrator side and the customer side. The Big Quotes:“I'm from Chicago. You always think of Michael Jordan, but really, and truly that was Phil Jackson that I would call the project leader.” This episode is brought to you by BMC Software. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

The Big Themes:Seeing a shift from hyper-specialization: What are the implications for recruiting, retaining, and developing talent in today’s market? Will the era of collaboration give way to a more structured approach to building teams and organizational structures?Digital transformation is blurring the boundaries between domains: Technology is asking questions about finance. Finance is asking questions about sales. Marketing is helping to define core financial metrics.In a world where everyone has access: Same data, and same information. What sources can leaders turn to seek an advantage?The role curiosity plays: Business success will grow exponentially in the next decade. Leaders can see the patterns and the connections between various disciplines and functions. And data sets will become highly prized.The Big Quotes:“I think Steve Jobs took a lot of inspiration from just the relentless curiosity that Walt Disney had.”This episode is brought to you by BMC Software. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

The Big Themes:A sprint to the finish line: Digital transformation doesn’t just mean changes in our business models. We’re seeing a fundamental change in our culture.Truly engaging with customers: Not only you are benefiting yourself, but you are also benefiting others – and that’s true empathy.Seven and a half billion people on this planet: We all want to be happy, and that journey to happiness is not a bad thing.Amazon makes zillions of dollars with Prime: If they say it’s going to be delivered on November 6th, and it shows up on November 5th you go wow!The Big Quotes:“Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said, ‘If I had known that being nice to customers would have worked so well, I would have done it a lot sooner.’” This episode is brought to you by BMC Software. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

The Big Themes:ServiceNow vs. IBM: The market cap of ServiceNow, with $4 billion in revenue, is closing in on that of IBM, which is a 115-year-old company with $75 billion in revenue! Meanwhile, Bill ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott teams up with IBM to unleash AI on IT. Go figure!The markets continue to go up: The economy at large is finding its sea legs – but it’s always about the future.Let's figure out what customers want: Customers want solutions and they want solutions for the businesses that they're in, and the industries that they operate in.Not the dream job it once was: Young people feel that working at Facebook today is about as appealing at working for a tobacco company. For top students at Carnegie Mellon, the dream job is with Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The Big Quotes:“It’s impossible to imagine a CEO on the golf course at Augusta saying, ‘I really need to fix my cloud infrastructure, but I don't really care as much about my ERP solution.’ That’s just not how they think!” This episode is brought to you by BMC Software. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

The Big Themes:His grandfather Jack and father-in-law Phil: Jack served in World War II, and Phil in Korea. Both served and fought—and lost too many friends—so that we wouldn’t have to.How is it possible that the internet didn’t blow up?: No industry in history has been tested like the tech industry. Our IT professionals are heroes.The worst cyberattacks in history: Massive security breaches, but the cloud worked to become an essential service, and data became an essential service.So many companies were able to migrate millions of workers: According to Stanford researchers 42 percent of the US labor force is now working at home full-time. The Big Quote:“We have a hundred percent volunteer military, and it's not like we pay them millions of dollars a year. These people are not Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos.”This episode is brought to you by BMC Software. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

The Big Themes:The power of trust: We’re trying to create a better experience – for our customers, our partners, and our employees. But navigating that trust is all-important.Avoiding the creepy factor: Tech companies who are applying this technology have to be very careful of how they leverage it.An actual video avatar: We understand that the computer’s not real – but if it comes in as a projected human, we respond to it in that way.Virtual agents and the customer experience: A core element of platforms across the spectrum, virtual agents are here to stay.The Big Quotes:“When I sit on some of these briefings with technology companies that are demoing some of this new technology, it's staggering, it’s mind blowing.”This episode was brought to you by BMC Software. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

This episode is brought to you by HVR.For this sponsored episode of Cloud Wars Live, I spoke with Anthony Brooks-Williams, CEO of HVR. As a cloud provider of data-replication and data-integration solutions, HVR takes hybrid to the next level.The Big Themes:People are taking a digital approach to their businesses: Where are they sending that data? They're typically sending it to the cloud.HVR had the best quarter ever: It was a wow moment. And Q1 is looking even better for them.Data is the lifeblood of corporations: Whether the challenge is operational efficiencies, inventory management, or better communication with their customers, more companies across multiple industries are turning to HVR for their hybrid data. HVR’s customer include some of the world’s largest corporations.HVR helps connect the dots to help leaders lead: What kind of data do companies want? What is the strategy? Ultimately it gets driven down from the top.The Big Quotes:“It's constantly evolving because customers’ expectations are rapidly changing.” This episode is brought to you by HVR. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

The Big Themes:Cool technology, but: You don’t want AI bots running your show. Many companies are defaulting too quickly to technology. “Old-fashioned” personal engagement is essential.Looking for the rising star: Companies want aggressive young talent that they can mold into the leaders of tomorrow.Companies are not giving them the chance: Because companies have employees with more practical experience, they’re not getting younger people into the fold.You’ve got to do your own homework: Your LinkedIn profile and your social media sites are important. But you need some coaching with your manager or other friends and then tailor your resume to specifically do those things.The Big Quote:“I believe in relationships. I believe in market intelligence, I believe in competitive intelligence.”This episode is brought to you by BMC Software. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

The Big Themes: • Metrics that matter: As the ability to track most anything as “data” accelerates, there’s a lag between technology’s ability to capture data and people’s ability to understand the data, spot patterns – and more importantly act on it. • Are millennials negatively impacted by WFH? The young generation of managers will have a gap in their learning curve based on not being able to regularly interact with their peers, mentors, and industry face-to-face. • Leading in times of crisis: These are very unique times for leaders, and perhaps the best approach is to.... • Focus on your True North: What are the needs of my customer? How are those needs changing? What do my employees need to adapt, to succeed, to excel? What is my company’s new opportunity? And how do we make money with that? The Big Quote: “I think it's a time for leaders to make sure that they're calibrating their aggression and taking advantage of these opportunities.” This episode is brought to you by BMC Software. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

The Big Themes: • Good, fast, or cheap – you can only pick two: Don’t shortchange your project results by not investing enough in user training and adoption activities. • Garbage in – garbage out: There’s a reason you’re changing systems, and it’s easy to think that a new user interface will make it easy to clean up old information. Not so! • Pick the best team: Make sure that the team you meet in the sales process is the same team that will stay with you during implementation. • Big bang rarely works: The big-bang approach results in an implementation that has a positive and lasting impact. Most customers wish they’d been more patient and measured with the schedule. The Big Quote: “The partner is really the one that is going to help make or break the success of the software that you purchased.” This episode is brought to you by BMC Software Visit Cloud Wars for more.

The Big Themes: • Microsoft told 160,000 employees: You have the permanent right to work from home. All the big tech companies are starting to adapt because a lot of their workers can work from anywhere. Huge implications for every type of business. • Apple will evangelize 5G. The new wave of iPhones will help millions of businesspeople grasp the significance and power of 5G without having to understand the technical details behind this extraordinary technology. • “Augmented” Reality becoming “Regular” Reality? As more of this powerful new technology becomes commonplace, it will expand our perception of what’s “real”—and it will seem normal, not the stuff of sci-fi. Are you ready? • CXOs who refuse to understand technology are doomed to fail. Doesn’t matter how old you are or what your early experiences were with IT—no CXO can expect to succeed unless she or he has a deep and ongoing sense of how technology can drive new levels of business value. The Big Quote: “When you put in your technology 10, 20, 30, or 40 years ago you’ve stopped maintaining it.” This episode is brought to you by BMC Software. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

The Big Themes:• The power of the network effect: Will it trigger next wave of M&A for software companies?• A crisis is a terrible thing to waste: This crisis has been a great accelerant – and now the question is can you take advantage of that accelerant.• Tech addiction: What’s happening across society right now is around tech addiction. There is a right way and there is a wrong way – which do you choose?• Pets.com was way too early: The Super Bowl commercial in 2001 was the demise of pets.com. Actually, the idea was perfect—but the timing was brutally wrong. There’s a big lesson in that for all of us today.The Big Quotes:“Three cell phones that can't talk to each other don't really have any value by themselves. It's the ties between the three that become valuable.”This episode is brought to you by BMC Software Visit Cloud Wars for more.

The Big Themes: • Home projects vs. digital transformation projects: There are going to be challenges along the way—here’s how to keep calm and soldier on! • Embrace the disruption: Enjoy the journey. In the end, is you’ll be able to see the full value of the project. • Prepare to be annoyed: There are times you are going to be annoyed with your software vendor for certain things – but stay focused on the larger goal. • Pursue the gain, get over the pain: Bonnie has some customers who say it was twice as much time as they thought – and a lot more expensive than they thought – but they still rated the project as excellent. The Big Quote: “If they're going to be impactful to your business, they're going to be big and complicated – and there are going to be challenges along the way.” This episode is brought to you by BMC Software. Visit Cloud Wars for more.