Futurum Tech Webcast

On this episode of the Futurum Tech Podcast – Interview Series I am joined by Nakul Duggal, SVP and General Manager of Automotive at Qualcomm. Nakul leads the team that manages Qualcomm's automotive strategy, the semiconductor and software portfolio, and the ecosystem development which includes partner relationships. With the explosive growth of electronic and autonomous vehicles, this is a very exciting part of the company to be involved in right now. Our conversation covered several aspects around the changes in vehicle technology we've seen in the last few decades and what we can expect in 2021 as well as some exciting Qualcomm announcements. Check out my quick review below: Qualcomm's Automotive Announcements My conversation with Nakul explored the following: A quick look into the expansion of the Snapdragon Ride Platform. How Qualcomm has partnered with Amazon to bring Alexa technology into its Snapdragon Automotive Systems. Why partnering with legacy automotive companies like GM makes a difference for Qualcomm. What the Digital Cockpit experience will be like for consumers now that it is integrated with Alexa. Bringing 5G into the automotive space through different aspects of the portfolio. There is so much opportunity for growth in the automotive space and I am eager to see where these announcements from Qualcomm take us this year and beyond. If you'd like to learn more about Qualcomm's automotive announcements be sure to read the recap from my colleague Olivier Blanchard: Qualcomm's Automotive Sector Strategy Shifts Into High Gear This Week With A Bevy Of Announcements Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show, the contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.

On this episode of the Futurum Tech Podcast – Interview Series I am joined by Federico Agnoletto, Senior Economist at GSMA Intelligence. Federico is part of the analyst arm of GSMA, one of the largest trade unions in the world representing mobile operators. GSMA Intelligence provides data and insights on the mobile industry and the wider ecosystem — a very important topic right now. Our conversation covered a recent study GSMA did in partnership with Qualcomm about millimeter-wave 5G and the total cost of ownership over the next five years. It was a fascinating conversation and one you don't want to miss. Understanding Millimeter-wave (mmWave) 5G My conversation with Federico also revolved around the following: The details of how and when mmWave 5G could be most cost effective An exploration into the connection between mmWave deployments and 5G success What operators are missing by going forward with 5G deployments but not mmWave Economic analysis of different deployment scenarios across a wide range of areas including rural, suburban, and urban 5G is booming. Teleco companies are building more infrastructure to support the expansion; device manufacturers are building more compatible devices for consumers. But mmWave deployments are still lagging behind 5G deployments. The good news? The study found that mmWave deployments can be cost-effective for all involved. I think it's only a matter of time before these deployments are seen worldwide. If you'd like to learn more about the report, check out the breakdown from my colleague Olivier Blanchard here: GSMA Intelligence Report: Mobile Operators may Still be Underestimating the ROI of 5G mmWave Deployments Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show, the contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.

In this episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast, Interview Series, Futurum co-founder Shelly Kramer hosts a roundtable discussion on how automation is being used in exciting ways in the Oil & Gas industry. Her guests include Brad Onofrio, Sr. Director for Sales Ops for Calumet, Frank Wilson, Business Solutions Manager at Patterson-UTI Management Services and Jon Gilman, CEO and founder of Clear Software. They're conversation included: Brad Onofrio sharing some information about Calumet and describing some of the customers they serve as well as some of the challenges the industry faces. Frank Wilson gave an overview of Patterson-UTi Drilling, what the company does, who they serve, and some of the challenges they've faced in a year that was difficult before a global pandemic came around. Jon Gilman introduced us to his company, Clear Software, a bit about his career backstory, as well as what he and his team at Clear Software are doing in the Oil & Gas industry as they work with energy companies who are interested in intelligent automation. Frank shared his experiences on some of the areas at Patterson UTI where they have implemented automation technologies. He candidly shared their strategy, their challenges, and what he sees for the future of automation at Patterson UTI. Brad talked about what's happening at Calumet as it relates to automation throughout the organization, the challenges they've faced and the exciting opportunities they see ahead for automation and intelligent automation within the Oil & Gas industry. Jon closed our roundtable discussion with some examples of other use cases from Clear Software's energy customers, as well as even what customers in other industries are looking for as it relates to automation and intelligent automation, and what he sees ahead in the coming two to five years. This is a great discussion and one conversation you don't want to miss.

In this episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast – Women in Tech series, host Shelly Kramer has a conversation with Akanksha Mehrotra, VP Marketing for Dell Technologies on Demand Program and Services & Dell Digital Bus about her work on Project APEX, the trend to everything-as-a-service and end-to-end aaS that we are starting to see a lot of in the marketplace. This is particularly timely because companies of all sizes are finding that IT operations are just too complex, they are having frustrating experiences with the inconsistency between on prem and off prem management and operations, and they are also dealing with the reality of both a global pandemic and a distributed workforce, along with a dearth of skilled tech talent. Dell's Project APEX is the expansion of the consumption-based offering that Dell initially brought to market in 2019 and Akanksha explained that the offering is all about simplifying how Dell Technologies' customers can consume IT as a service. Here are some key highlights of our conversation: APEX is designed to deliver a radically simplified experience, featuring pay-as-you-go and pay-as-you-use options. Akanksha explained what she sees as the reason there's growing interest in as-a-Service offerings for on-prem infrastructure. She also explained why Dell Technologies' is doubling down on as-a-service offerings, which is largely in response to what they see as customer desire for ease and agility, along with the attraction of security, performance, low-latency, and control that you get with an on-prem solution She shared that an additional strategic move here is that Dell Technologies is looking to serve a wider base of customers than only the enterprise, and infrastructure on demand, wherever they need to run their workloads, along with a pay-as-you-go solution, is attractive to a wide range of organizations of all sizes. Lastly, Akanksha and I we discussed Dell Technologies' Cloud Console, which is a single web interface that customers can use to navigate their entire IT journeys. Cloud Console will provide the foundation for Dell's Project APEX, and the solution is meant to unify the company's as-a-Service and cloud strategies, technology offerings, and go-to-market efforts. APEX aims to provide a consistent as-a-Service experience wherever a company runs its workloads, including on-premises, edge locations and public clouds. All in all, our conversation was an interesting one and one I think you'll be interested in if you're thinking about your organization's cloud journey, simplifying IT operations, and also exploring Infrastructure-as-a-Service offerings to see how they might benefit you. Dell's Project Apex is rolling out in beta now and Akanksha provides more information in our interview on what's ahead on that front.

This episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast – Interview Series is part of our recently launched Women in Tech Series. I'm thrilled to have as my guest today Lisa Joy Rosner, Senior Vice President of Brand and Digital for Oracle. She leads the team that is responsible for all things around the verbal and visual identity of the company. But more than that, and like me, Lisa Joy is living the life of a busy executive while also managing to raise four kids in the process. Our conversation was intended to tackle a tech-related topic, but once we realized we had so much in common, we decided to quickly pivot and discuss something even more important — women in tech and the impact of COVID-19. The stark reality of the impact of a global pandemic on women is not pretty. Women have been three times more likely to have their careers impacted in some way by the pandemic compared to men. According to the National Women's Law Center nearly 2.2 million women left the workforce in 2020. And, despite the positive job market gains in the last few months, women are re-entering the workforce at a slower pace, if at all. Many continue to stay home, because the strain of being an educator, caretaker, and employee has been too much. Women in Tech and the COVID-19 Pandemic Lisa Joy and I have both lived lives that have been largely comprised of balancing work and family. We've also both witnessed firsthand the impact that the last year has had on our female colleagues, so we thought it was time to have a discussion about what leaders in tech — and other industries too — can do to help ease the strain of the pandemic for everyone, but especially for women. Our conversation covered: The importance of empathy for ourselves, colleagues, customers, and partners. How understanding and flexibility from leaders can go a long way. The little gestures that make a big difference for employees. The mental and emotional toll the pandemic is having on employees and how we as leaders need to do a better job. It was a fascinating conversation and an incredibly important one to be had right now. No matter where you are in the workforce hierarchy, this is definitely be one episode you don't want to miss.

On this episode of the Futurum Tech Podcast – Interview Series I am joined by Mike Nash, Chief Technologist and VP of Customer Experience and Portfolio Strategy, Personal Systems at HP. Mike is responsible for making sure products and technology that HP develops meets the needs of customers — a vital role in today's business climate. Our discussion centered on how HP is delivering on the future of work and play at CES 2021 and was a great addition to my conversation with HP's Alex Cho on The Six Five Podcast with Patrick Moorhead. Be sure to check out that conversation as well. The Future of Work and Play at CES 2021 My conversation with Mike also revolved around the following: An exploration into HP's 2021 CES theme "The Three C's" and how it ties into 2020's theme "The PC is Essential" How remote work and hybrid work might continue to evolve this year How HP is building the solutions to meet the changing needs of consumers What HP is excited about sharing at CES 2021 including the new advancements being made in software and services CES is an exciting time of year for tech companies as they launch new products. And even though this year is remote, the advancements that are being announced, including a few from HP are going to continue to move digital transformation forward. This episode is a must listen for anyone interested in the technology that will continue to transform the way we work and live. Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show, the contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.

In this episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast, I was joined by my colleague, Fred McClimans, to take a look at the Russian government hack of the multiple government agencies, likely some Fortune 500 companies including telecoms and global accounting firms — and counting. We explored the timeline as we know it today, how the hack happened and the role Texas-based SolarWinds software played in the hack, how it was discovered, and the role the Three As: acquisition, aggregation, and activation of data play in a cyberattack. For starters, it's safe to say the U.S. in general has been stunned by this attack, and with good reason. This is easily the biggest crises the NSA has encountered and the threat and risk of exposure for critical information, security, and infrastructure is high. Early assessments point to a state actor, Russia's S.V.R., a successor to the KGB, as the mastermind behind the cyberattack. The hackers, known by the nicknames APT29 or Cozy Bear are part of the SVR and are the same group that hacked the White House email servers and the U.S. State Department during the Obama administration. Our discussion included: The timeline of the attack, first discovered by FireEye, a global cybersecurity firm, about a week ago. After reviewing some 50,000 lines of source code, the FireEye team discovered the culprit — a backdoor vulnerability in a product made by SolarWinds, a software provider serving all five branches of the U.S. military, the Pentagon, the State Department, NASA, the National Security Agency, the Department of Justice and the White House. Also 10 leading U.S. telecoms companies and top five U.S. accounting firms are SolarWinds customers, along with many other of the Fortune 500. The Treasury Department and Commerce Departments were the first breaches discovered, and we now know those affected includes the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, whose Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is in charge of — well, cybersecurity, and there are no doubt more targets that will be discovered as the investigation continues. FireEye said that its investigation had identified "a global campaign targeting" governments and the private sector that, beginning in the spring had slipped malware into a SolarWinds update. This malware gave hackers remote access to a network, making everything visible. SolarWinds estimates some 18,000 users, both private and government entities, unwittingly downloaded the Russian-tainted malware as part of a routine software update. The attack was "the day you prepare against" said Sarah Bloom Raskin, the deputy Treasury secretary under the Obama administration, and it's safe to say there are cybersecurity experts the world over who've been operating on little sleep since the hack was discovered. We talked in depth about the three As of a hack (this one or any cyberattack) as being very simple: it's all about data. Data Acquisition, Data Aggregation, and Data Activation. Getting it, organizing it, and then figuring out how best to use it to achieve your goals, nefarious or otherwise. The CISA issued an emergency directive this past Sunday to power down the SolarWinds software. While that is a logical, and important move, what it means is that a whole lot of very large organizations are likely "flying blind" without the use of software they've long relied on for access and visibility into their systems. This hack is a direct hit to the digital supply chain and is an example of what happens above the operating system. It no doubt will be a security event that will likely have far-reaching impact, and we're certain there are many interesting discoveries still ahead. We've done research on security and the role it plays in the enterprise and in governments for both Dell and Cisco in recent months. If you're interested in security and what business leaders are thinking about their organizations' security, we encourage you to download and read this research. You'll find it here: Four Keys to Navigating the Hardware Security Journey (done in partnership with Dell) Unified Communications and Collaboration: The Primacy of Security, Privacy, and Trust (done in partnership with Cisco) Unified Communications and Collaboration: The Essential Differentiators for 2020 and Beyond (done in partnership with Cisco)

In this episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast, Interview Series, which we streamed on LinkedIn Live, I'm joined by Don Schuerman, the CTO of Pega for a conversation about the culture of digital transformation based on a recently published Futurum Research report commissioned by Pega. The Futurum report: Four Insights on the Culture of Digital Transformation Today, was the result of a survey of over 500 business leaders and general staff across North America, EMEA and APAC, with an industry split across automotive, communications, financial services, healthcare, media, and the public sector. The goal of this research was to do something different from all the other research on digital transformation out there. So much of DX conversation is around processes and technology, but we wanted to look at the people part of that equation. Instead of focusing exclusively on gleaning insights from the C-Suite and middle managers, we wanted to explore how what workers throughout the organization as a whole thought about their company's digital transformation efforts, how different roles contribute to driving digital transformation initiatives. Lastly, we tackled what we called the "real meat" of this study, and the fact that it will hopefully serve as a wake-up call to senior leaders about how to successfully think about the company's digital transformation journey. The key really is about culture and working to create a holistic culture of digital transformation where everyone is involved, and everyone plays a role. In addition, there are a few other things that business leaders can do to make this a reality — and you'll want to not miss that part of our conversation. Don also shared some insights on how Pega is working with customers to help overcome the challenges they face, and that's all about collaboration, transparency, and customer experience. Download the report today: Four Insights on the Culture of Digital Transformation Today

In this BIZTALKS roundtable I recently hosted, sponsored by AT&T Business, I was joined by Kevin Jackson, CEO of GC Globalnet, Helen Yu, Founder & CEO of Tigon Advisory Corp, and Jason Inskeep, Director of the 5G Center of Excellence at AT&T. Our conversation in this roundtable discussion was focused on the fact that technology is getting smarter at an incredibly rapid pace. From traffic-routing networks to autonomous vehicles, the future of business will be automated, intelligent, and connected. With that in mind, we wanted to tackle the topic of how business leaders can guide their technology investments for the coming year and beyond. Making smart investments in the right emerging and existing technologies will allow organizations of all sizes to not only survive, but also be competitive in 2021 and beyond. This panel of incredibly smart business leaders discussed: The current mood among business leaders right now and what we see ahead in 2021 The essential tech investments that business leaders should make next year How to make long-term plans around investing in technology What processes and skills business leaders should be looking for to make full use of their existing technology The indicators business leaders should be keeping an eye on throughout the next year to guide investments in the years to come The no-brainer tech investments our panel recommends for Q1 of 2021 The importance of assessing tech talent, infrastructure needs and other assessments — and why that's important to do Tips for making businesses more resilient and more capable of embracing and succeeding at digital transformation in 2021 and beyond. What to stop doing and/or investing in in 2021 and beyond. The skills that businesses should be looking to train and/or hire for in the coming year The role 5G is playing and will play for business in 2021 And be sure and join me, Tamara McCleary, Bernard Marr, Kevin Jackson, Glen Gilmore, Dez Blanchfield, and Jason Inskeep on Wednesday, December 9, 2020 at 12pm CST over on Twitter for another one of @ATTBusiness's #BIZTALKS Twitter chat, where we'll be exploring more about 2021 tech trends. You can find the chat here and we'd love to have you participate. Bring your amazing questions and your insights and jump into the chat.

On this episode of the Futurum Tech Podcast - Interview Series I am joined by Cristina Rodriguez, Vice President for the Data Center Group and General Manager of the Wireless Access Network Division for Intel. Cristina is part of the global organization that is driving change through 5G network build-out, edge computing, improving AI, and improving radio access networks. It's an exciting space to be in right now as the demand for faster networks and easier access to data increases across enterprise organizations. Our conversation covered several aspects of network transformation including a broad overview of digital connectivity and networking. We also explored how Intel has focused on the transformation of the network and the importance of that role this year. 2020, while crazy in a lot of aspects, really created new opportunities for the growth of 5G and network transformation. The Transformation of Network Infrastructure My conversation with Cristina also revolved around the following: How virtualization and transformation of the network will enable opportunities in the future. The role Intel has played in transforming the network architecture from core to edge to access. Specifically the few things the company has focused on in the last few years to deliver this transformation to customers. An exploration of the partnerships Intel has made to achieve the core to edge network transformation. Intel's thinking around RAN transformation and what they anticipate for 2021. A brief overview of Intel's partnerships with Amdocs, Verizon and VMware. Where We Go From Here 2020 proved that we need faster connectivity speeds which means we need better networks and stronger infrastructure. Intel realizes this and is partnering with various organizations to build and deliver the solutions that we need. If you'd like to read more about what Intel is doing in this area, check out their website. These changes will impact all of us in the coming years. If you are involved in network transformation in your organization make sure to put this on your 'must listen' list. Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show, the contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.

Futurum analysts Daniel Newman and Olivier Blanchard discuss in detail the allegations of the EU against Amazon.

On this episode of the Futurum Tech Podcast – Interview Series I am joined by Jeff Scheaffer, VP of Product Management and Strategy at Cisco. Jeff leads the group focused on networking across data centers, campuses, branches, and the wide area connections — a hot topic right now given the current global situation. Digitization of the network is really the underpinning of a lot that is going on in the changing business world. Developing this foundation for your organization has never been more important. Our conversation covered several aspects of network transformation, AI in the network, and intent-based networking. Jeff also shared an executive's perspective on what is really going on in the enterprise. It was a fascinating conversation and one you don't want to miss. Intent-Based Networking is Driving Change My conversation with Jeff also revolved around the following: How businesses and people shifted in 2020 and the various pieces of infrastructure that made it all possible. The transition to digitizing the network in order to improve the application experience driven by the concept of intent-based networking. The security challenges companies must overcome moving to a zero-trust environment. Ways Cisco is taking intent-based networking to the next level in the coming years including how they are leveraging the automation of the digital environment. The benefits for organizations who are able to turn to automation to manage their network environments. How Cisco plans to drive value and innovation for customers in the future. In my opinion, the intent-based networking and the changes that Jeff talked about will be a key component to driving digital transformation in the future. If you are part of maintaining the network for your organization then this episode is one that needs to be on your 'must listen' list. Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show, the contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.

In this episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast host Shelly Kramer is joined by fellow analysts Daniel Newman and Fred McClimans for a conversation around the technology drivers and considerations around the upcoming and highly anticipated COVID-19 vaccinations and the technology that's involved in making those vaccines a reality. The conversation revolved around the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine, which was submitted on Friday for emergency authorization, as well as the Moderna vaccine, which is on a similar track. The conversation revolved around four key areas where technology can play a significant role. These included: Supply chain considerations, getting the manufacturing just right, the monitoring and analytics needed and role technology plays in supply chain; Distribution of the vaccine, not just in the US but around the world, where different storage situations might be challenging; Delivery of the vaccine, the acutal dosing of the population, what type of data collection is required for that, what the privacy concerns are; and Tracking the progress of people who have been vaccinated, their progress, side effects, etc. and how involved monitoring will be and what technology will be required. What technology is involved? The IoT, the IIoT, sophisticated analytics, AI layered into analytics and using machine learning to sift through and anonymize data, blockchain and others. These are exciting times as we move close to a vaccine, and for a bunch of tech geeks, equally exciting to think about the digital transformation at work here and all the technology drivers involved in making a worldwide vaccine initiative a reality.

This week's episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast – Interview Series featured an interview with DataXstream CEO Tim Yates and SAP Global Head of Wholesale Distribution Magnus Meier. DataXstream is an SAP partner that builds solutions to help customers maximize the effectiveness of their ERP infrastructure in order to get the most out of their SAP investments. Moreover, what they're doing is working. DataXstream won the 2020 SAP Pinnacle Award as SAP App Center's Partner of the Year back in April. In our conversation today, we explored the future of wholesale distribution, including trends in digital transformation within the industry, the current state of the industry in 2020, and how COVID-19 has changed the way wholesalers work. The Future of Wholesale Distribution We took a brief look at the wholesale industry as a prelude to the conversation. In the US alone, there are approximately 415,000 wholesale businesses with combined annual sales of about $7.8 trillion. Supply chain visibility and order complexity challenges plague these companies and, at a time when customers have more choices than ever and expect top-notch customer service, wholesalers that don't prioritize fixing these issues won't survive. This is the problem that Tim, Magnus and their teams at DataXstream and SAP are trying to solve. Our conversation was a wide-ranging one, including discussion of the following: Common challenges facing wholesale distributors and whether COVID-19 has made these challenges worse An understanding of the complexities in order and inventory management The possible technology solutions that wholesalers are turning to in order to ease their order and inventory management problems, including a look into OMS+, the order management system from DataXstream What successful customers have done to shorten time to value in order to maximize ROI when investing in software solutions A few customer use cases that explore how SAP and DataXstream customers have been able to meet their challenges head on by using OMS+ In today's fast-paced, data-driven, customer-centric business climate, it's easy to understand how a wholesaler could benefit from a solution that has the ability to save time, increase productivity, and drastically improve the customer experience. OMS+ does just that. Our team at Futurum Research had an opportunity to evaluate the OMS+ software solution recently. We broke down the key benefits for wholesalers and why it is a good software investment. You can check that out here. OMS+ is currently available on SAP App Center. We wrapped up our conversation with a discussion about what's next for wholesalers. Tim and Magnus brought a wealth of knowledge to the conversation and it's one you don't want to miss. Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show, the contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.

In this episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast, I'm joined by my colleagues here at Futurum Research, Olivier Blanchard and Ron Westfall for a conversation around the battle for DoD 5G and how, and why, that's flaring up, and a look at what's ahead. DoD Use Cases for 5G are Broad We discussed the fact that DoD use cases for 5G are broad, and it's not just about secure cellphone communications. These use cases include things like: AR/VR training for mission planning and operations Increasing efficiencies and strength of transshipments Smart warehousing Distributed command and control using 5G to assist in air, space, and cyberspace lethality The ability to allow Air Force radar systems to dynamically share spectrum with commercial 5G users DoD Contract Awards are Vast – and Growing Olivier noted that the DoD has already awarded some $600 million in contracts to a dozen companies, including AT&T, Nokia, and Ericsson, to develop a half a dozen 5G testbeds across the United States. AT&T is providing connectivity at three facilities and we discussed some additional projects currently underway, including one at Naval Base San Diego and one at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. Our conversation included the fight for 5G midband real estate, which falls under the category of "unlicensed spectrum," and all that's involved there. We discussed the Beat China for 5G Act, which would require the FCC to auction the band by December 2021, around which there are competing amps. One is the "business as usual" camp, which supports having the FCC auction off the band per the Beat China for 5G Act and the other supports having the DoD retain control of the band but lease it to commercial operators in the "wholesale" model. Our discussion turned to the Request for Information on Defense Spectrum Sharing issued by the DoD on September 18th 2020 and the issues of spectrum sharing at play here. We also discussed Rivada, one of the companies proposing the leasing of the DoD tech infrastructure to a private corporation and a free market approach to next gen 5G networks. Rivada is a US-based communications tech business financially backed by Peter Thiel, Karl Rove, and other prominent Republicans, which is partly why the discussion around this topic is particularly relevant as one administration eventually transitions to another. It's important to note here, and our discussion revolved around this, that this exploration on the part of the DoD is about 5G Dynamic Spectrum Sharing capabilities, not a nationwide 5G network. Ron walked us through Open RAN technology, which introduces new U.S.-based competitors like Mavenir, Altiostar, and Parallel Wireless into the 5G competitive and ecosystem mix, and which are an alternative to Huawei, ZTE, Ericsson, and Nokia, all of whom have traditional RAN models. It was one of many discussions our team here at Futurum Research will have about 5G and what's ahead. We know that geopolitical concerns related to national security can (and will) quickly shift as 5G technology rapidly evolves — and we'll be there leading the discussion.

This episode of the Futurum Tech Podcast - Interview Series is the tenth and final installment of our Intelligent Enterprise Industry Series — done in partnership with SAP. I welcomed Dr. Betty Moon, an executive advisor for the banking and capital markets industry at SAP to discuss how she is working with enterprise organizations during this time of turmoil to further their intelligent enterprise story. are helping organizations focus on furthering their intelligent enterprise story. The Interconnected Bank SAP recently partnered with Oxford Economics to conduct a research study to identify how an interconnected mindset impacts organizations. Banks and other financial institutions are no stranger to disruption. FinTech, new startups, digital payment systems, and 24-hour customer service demands were on everyone's radar well before the pandemic hit. Many organizations were making steady progress with their transformations and were proactively dealing with the changes, but there are still areas that can be improved. This study includes findings from 3,000 senior executives, including 300 from the banking sector, and covered the challenges, opportunities and current state of the industry. My conversation with Betty revolved around the following: The biggest changes banks and other financial institutions have experienced in 2020 as a result of COVID-19 disruptions New ways banks are digitizing their businesses to meet rapidly changing consumer demands The technology investments that are bringing banks the most value What the banks that haven't shifted to digital need to do now to speed their digital transformations Why Systems Thinking is making a difference for leading banks Betty and I explored some of the findings of the Oxford Economics report: The Interconnected Bank that will have a big impact on the future. We only explored a few topics in the report and there's so much more to it. If you're interested in a comprehensive view of the subject download The Oxford Economics report here.

This episode of the Futurum Tech Podcast - Interview Series is the ninth installment of our Intelligent Enterprise Industry Series — done in partnership with SAP. I welcomed Paul Larson and John Buckley, executive advisors for the consumer products industry at SAP to discuss how they are helping organizations focus on furthering their intelligent enterprise story. The Interconnected Consumer Products Company SAP recently partnered with Oxford Economics to conduct a research study to identify how an interconnected mindset impacts organizations. It also covers the industry's progress to date. Consumer products companies have made a lot of progress in digital transformation but still have several areas to work on including collaboration, data-sharing, and talent management. The report includes findings from 3,000 senior executives, including 300 from the consumer goods sector. My conversation with Paul and John revolved around the following: How the consumer products industry is doing in 2020 and the effects COVID-19 has had on companies. The different ways executives are using systems thinking to break down silos. How organizations within the consumer products industry are using an integrated approach to reduce costs and improve speed. The impact talent has had on companies looking to improve digital transformation initiatives. How companies are able to get the most out of their data. The technology investments consumer products companies are making to spur digital transformation. Paul, John and I explored some of the findings of the Oxford Economics report: The Interconnected Consumer Products Company that will have a big impact on the future. We only explored a few topics in the report and there's so much more to it. If you're interested in a comprehensive view of the subject download The Oxford Economics report here.

This episode of the Futurum Tech Podcast - Interview Series is the eighth installment of our Intelligent Enterprise Industry Series — done in partnership with SAP. I welcomed Lance Senoyuit, an executive advisor for the financial services industry at SAP to discuss how he is helping organizations focus on furthering their intelligent enterprise story. The Interconnected Insurer SAP recently partnered with Oxford Economics to conduct a research study to identify how an interconnected mindset impacts organizations. It also covers the industry's progress to date, along with challenges, benefits, and best practices that are facing the insurance industry. The report includes findings from 3,000 senior executives, including 300 from the insurance sector. My conversation with Lance revolved around the following: How the insurance industry is doing in 2020 as a result of the pandemic. The digital transformation initiatives organizations in the insurance industry are undertaking. How organizations within the insurance industry are innovating a mostly stagnant industry. Ways insurance companies are approaching recruiting and retaining talent. The data silos that currently exist in the industry and how the leading organizations are eliminating them. The landscape of insurance partnerships. Lance and I explored some of the findings of the Oxford Economics report: The Interconnected Insurer that will have a big impact on the future. We only explored a few topics in the report and there's so much more to it. If you're interested in a comprehensive view of the subject download The Oxford Economics report on the Interconnected Insurance sector here.

It's been a roller coaster of a week in the U.S., with an election on Tuesday that we figured would be a nail biter. A lot of things came into play — pollsters getting it wrong, social media insanity and propaganda were commonplace, and the importance of data and analytics for projections has never been more important. On this episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast, I'm joined by my colleagues and fellow analysts Olivier Blanchard and Ron Westfall as we take a look at what went down, what we saw from an analysts' point of view as well as a look at the impact of the election on the market this past week. We explored the following: Voting laws are complicated, and the reasons that we are, as expected, waiting for results even though that's frustrating. Election security and voter trust in the system What the Department of Defense did this time around to combat cyberattacks The role of the USPS in all the uncertainty around the election The impact of data on polling, messaging, targeting, and on vote count projections How AI models underperformed And what happened with the US stock market and why In summary, it's been an interesting week. Find us over at Futurum Research https://futurumresearch.com

This episode of the Futurum Tech Podcast - Interview Series is the seventh installment of our newly launched Intelligent Enterprise Industry Series — done in partnership with SAP — where I will be speaking with advisors and executives across ten different industries on how they are focusing on furthering their intelligent enterprise story. I'm excited to welcome Anthony Sabatini, an executive advisor for the utilities industry at SAP. The Interconnected Utilities Sector SAP recently partnered with Oxford Economics to conduct a research study to learn how executives from around the world are managing end-to-end processes, business networks, and talent recruitment to support strategic goals amid rising levels of uncertainty. The report includes findings from 3,000 senior executives, including 300 from the utilities sector. My conversation with Anthony revolved around the following: The primary demands utility companies are responding to. How the utility industry is shifting to a customer-centric model. The changes that companies are making to meet the new demand — both internally and externally — for greater personalization and ease of use. How companies in the utilities industry are investing more in employees. The new investments, including in technology, that the utilities industry is making to deal with challenges. The impact these changes are having on the culture of utilities companies. Anthony and I explored some of the findings of Beyond Efficiency: How the Utilities Industry Leverages Systems Thinking, but I know we only scratched the surface. If you're interested in a comprehensive overview of the subject download The Oxford Economics report on the Interconnected Utilities Industry here.

I think we'll all agree that a global pandemic has permanently changed many aspects of how businesses work, and perhaps none more than the operation of contact centers. The reality is, today more than ever, that contact centers play an outsized role in business operations. That's true whether you're a consumer or a manager charged with leading contact center operations — contact centers are the lifeblood of a business. Contact centers are are how customers get taken care of and how business gets done. And with work from home looking as though that's going to stay around for a while, taking a look at contact center operations and figuring out how to maximize efficiencies for both employees and consumers is, well, important. There's a challenge though, and businesses the world over are feeling this. You might say that's exactly why I decided to bring this group of smart people together and tackle this topic as part of our Futurum Tech Webcast Interview Series shows. The Cloudification of the Contact Center — The Smart Path Forward While contact centers are without question important to business operations, in many instances, they are problematic. How so? With roughly 90 percent of call centers still using on-premise technologies, organizations have been forced to rethink how they continue to provide high levels of customer service, while still allowing their employees to safely work from home. And this topic, the difference between cloud-based contact centers and on-prem ones, exploring cloud migration, and how to do that successfully (and quickly) is exactly what we're focused on in this conversation today. I'm joined by Jeff Nicholson, Vice President of CRM at Pegasystems, Jon Gilman, CEO of Clear Software, and Brandon Knight, Vice President of Contact Center Practice at Telarus to discuss why it is critical that organizations migrate contact center functions to the cloud, how to migrate, and some of the obstacles these organizations may face along the way — and how to get through those. Our conversation included: An exploration of the differences between cloud-based contact centers and on-premise ones The challenges customers are facing during their migrations and some of the unexpected successes they've encountered along the way How moving on-premise ERP systems to the cloud fits into the context of cloud-enabling the contact center A realistic look at the time it will likely take for full cloud migration The 'secret sauce' to success of cloud migration Real-world case studies from clients of Pega, Clear Software, and Telarus

This episode of the Futurum Tech Podcast - Interview Series is the sixth installment of our newly launched Intelligent Enterprise Industry Series — done in partnership with SAP — where I will be speaking with advisors and executives across ten different industries on how they are focusing on furthering their intelligent enterprise story. I'm excited to welcome Maria Mizell, an executive advisor for the public sector industry at SAP. The Interconnected Public Sector SAP recently partnered with Oxford Economics to conduct a research study to identify how an interconnected mindset can impact management as organizations attempt to navigate times of uncertainty, especially now during the COVID-19 pandemic. The report includes findings from 3,000 senior executives, including 300 from the public sector. My conversation with Maria revolved around the following: The state of government today in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. How many government organizations rely on outdated ways of working. How interconnectedness is impacting the effectiveness of these organizations. The changes we are seeing governments make in regards to interactions with citizens. The technologies that are enabling better citizen interactions at every level of government. The impact of the millennial workforce on the public sector. Maria and I explored some of the findings of The Public Sector Transformation Imperative report, but I know we only scratched the surface. If you're interested in a comprehensive overview of the subject download The Oxford Economics report on the Interconnected Public Sector here.

This week's episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast – Interview Series, featured an interview with Cisco's Niraj Gopal. Niraj is the Director of Project Management for Webex Enterprise Security and Compliance and "owns" the 360 degree approach to Webex security, which spans so many things. In our conversation today we explored trends in online collaboration and communications platforms, some key differentiators between platforms, how COVID-19 has changed the way we work (and live), and what's going on in the enterprise leaders' minds as it relates to the security afforded by these platforms. Niraj is responsible for all things related to enterprise security and compliance at Webex, including identity management, end-to-end encryption of customer content, Data Loss Prevention, the DPL/CASB partner ecosystem, mobile device security, third party platform certifications, and security policy controls in Control Hub. With more than 20 years of experience in enterprise security management, the creator of a number of innovative products, and the holder of 7 patents (and counting), he's a self-described fanatic when it comes to solving customer problems. That's probably why we get along so well — I'm a bit of a fanatic about that myself. Our conversation revolved around some primary research our team at Futurum recently published, in partnership with Cisco: Unified Communications & Collaboration, the Essential Differentiators for 2020 and Beyond and Unified Communications & Collaboration, the Primacy of Security, Privacy and Trust. We discussed: Trends in online collaboration since COVID-19 changed the way we work, including security issues. In spite of a lot of news about security breaches of online meeting platforms, we don't hear about that much as it relates to Webex. What is Cisco doing differently? Besides what users can do to protect their own data, thoughts on what IT and security admins can do to make sure that data doesn't get breached, especially in persistent messaging. What vendors can do to help prevent and protect against data breaches. How work from home has changed the workload for IT admins, and what they can do to ensure the safety of devices being used by remote employees. How visibility and control when users collaborate outside of their company is a critical part of data protection initiatives. How E2E encryption safeguards meetings and why that's more important today than ever before. The evolving role of collaboration platforms in healthcare and what's involved in delivering telehealth services remotely. We wrapped up our conversation with a discussion about what's next on the roadmap for collaboration security. Niraj brought a wealth of knowledge to the conversation around not only trends in UC&C, how vendors and platforms differ and why understanding those differentiators are important for enterprise leaders charged with making decisions around UC&C platforms and, last but never least, the role that security plays in all of this today and what to know and look for. And if you're interested in a deeper dive on either UC&C trends and differentiators you need to know about and/or security as it relates to UC&C platforms, you can download our research reports here: Unified Communications & Collaboration, the Essential Differentiators for 2020 and Beyond Unified Communications & Collaboration, the Primacy of Security, Privacy and Trust

This episode of the Futurum Tech Podcast - Interview Series is the fifth installment of our Intelligent Enterprise Industry Series — done in partnership with SAP. Be sure to check out the other episodes to hear the insights from other industry execs. On this episode, I welcomed Craig Quantz and Stuart Harris, two executive advisors for the professional services industry at SAP to discuss how they are focusing on furthering their intelligent enterprise story. The Interconnected Professional Services Firm SAP recently partnered with Oxford Economics to conduct a research study to identify how an interconnected mindset impacts organizations including how COVID-19 has upended professional services firms and how organizations are finding ways to work at peak efficiencies in spite of the turmoil. The report includes findings from 3,000 senior executives, including 300 from the professional services sector. My conversation with Craig and Stuart revolved around the following: How organizations are shifting to digital services and virtual firms as a result of the pandemic. The new strategies firms are pursuing including outcome based engagements, leveraging talent networks, knowledge as a service subscriptions and others. Which strategy has been the most successful thus far. An exploration into why the professional services industry is the least connected industry Craig, Stuart and I explored some of the findings of the Oxford Economics report: The Interconnected Professional Services Firm, but we only scratched the surface. If you're interested in a comprehensive view of the subject download The Oxford Economics report on the Interconnected professional services sector here. Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show, the contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.

This episode of the Futurum Tech Podcast - Interview Series is the fourth installment of our Intelligent Enterprise Industry Series — done in partnership with SAP. I welcomed Robin Wilson and Randy Evins, two executive advisors for the retail industry at SAP to discuss how they are focusing on furthering their intelligent enterprise story. The Interconnected Retail Industry SAP recently partnered with Oxford Economics to conduct a research study to identify how an interconnected mindset impacts organizations, especially the connection between systems thinking and business outcomes. Many retailers have broken down barriers, but there is still a lot of work to be done to balance the human-centered, data-driven approach. The report includes findings from 3,000 senior executives, including 300 from the retail sector. My conversation with Robin and Randy revolved around the following: The changing business models in the retail industry and the type of technologies that are driving the change. How organizations are using systems thinking to break down existing silos to be more productive. Different ways leaders are taking advantage of the integrated approach to deliver value to customers. The impact of talent in the workforce on the integrated approach to business. An exploration of the ways organizations are getting the most from their data. How intelligent technologies will continue to shape the industry for years to come. Robin, Randy and I explored some of the findings of the Oxford Economics report: The Responsive Retailer: Agile, Data-Driven, and Focused on Experiences that will have a big impact on the future. We only explored a few topics in the report and there's so much more to it. If you're interested in a comprehensive view of the subject download The Oxford Economics report on the Interconnected Retail industry here. Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show, the contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.

This episode of the Futurum Tech Podcast - Interview Series is the third installment of our Intelligent Enterprise Industry Series — done in partnership with SAP. I welcomed David Shimbo and Craig Kindleman, two executive advisors for the oil and gas industry at SAP to discuss how they are focusing on furthering their intelligent enterprise story. The Interconnected Oil and Gas Sector SAP recently partnered with Oxford Economics to conduct a research study to identify how an interconnected mindset impacts organizations including how data has impacted the supply chain and ways organizations are building better workforces. The report includes findings from 3,000 senior executives, including 300 from the industrial manufacturing sector. My conversation with David and Craig revolved around the following: How volatile oil prices are impacting the operational strategies in the different petroleum segments. The digital transformation initiativesorganizations in the oil and gas industry are undertaking. How organizations within the oil and gas industry are innovating a mostly stagnant industry. Ways organizations are improving productivity and operational efficiencies while reducing costs. David, Craig and I explored some of the findings of the Oxford Economics report: Thinking Beyond the Barrel: Increasing Agility Through Systems Thinking that will have a big impact on the future. We only explored a few topics in the report and there's so much more to it. If you're interested in a comprehensive view of the subject download The Oxford Economics report on the Interconnected Oil and Gas sector here. Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show, the contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.

This episode of the Futurum Tech Podcast - Interview Series is the second installment of our newly launched Intelligent Enterprise Industry Series — done in partnership with SAP — where I will be speaking with advisors and executives across ten different industries on how they are focusing on furthering their intelligent enterprise story. I'm excited to welcome Gary Nelson, an executive advisor for the industrial machinery and components industry at SAP. The Interconnected Industrial Manufacturer SAP recently partnered with Oxford Economics to conduct a research study to identify how an interconnected mindset impacts organizations including how data has impacted the supply chain and ways organizations are building better workforces. The report includes findings from 3,000 senior executives, including 300 from the industrial manufacturing sector. My conversation with Gary revolved around the following: How companies that rely heavily on face to face sales are reacting to COVID-19 and preparing for the next potential disruption. The ways customers can use different software systems to connect their entire enterprise. How companies within the IM&C industry are improving collaboration across the supply chain. Collaboration across the organization and with external partners is requiring more data The importance of integrating data not just internally but externally as well to drive insights and analytics when going to market. Gary and I explored some of the findings of The Interconnected Industrial Manufacturer report that will have a big impact on the future. We only covered a few aspects of the report in our conversation. If you're interested in a comprehensive view of the subject download The Oxford Economics report on the Interconnected Industrial Manufacturer here. Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show, the contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.

This episode of the Futurum Tech Podcast - Interview Series is part of our newly launched Intelligent Enterprise Industry Series — done in partnership with SAP — where I will be speaking with advisors and executives across ten different industries on how they are focusing on furthering their intelligent enterprise story. I'm excited to welcome Tom Madonna, an executive advisor for the automotive industry at SAP. The Interconnected Automaker SAP recently partnered with Oxford Economics to conduct a research study to identify how an interconnected mindset impacts organizations, including how data has impacted the supply chain and ways organizations are building better workforces. The report includes findings from 3,000 senior executives, including 300 from the automotive sector. My conversation with Tom revolved around the following: How automotive companies, both original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and suppliers, are starting to build their mobility services and platforms to gain insights about their products and customers. The ways customer insights are allowing organizations to evolve and deliver for the next generation How companies within the automotive industry are changing their mindset when it comes to HR and human capital management. Collaboration across the supply chain that is requiring more and more data Integrating data both internally and externally to drive insights and analytics when going to market. Tom and I explored some of the findings of The Interconnected Automaker report that surprised him the most. We only scratched the surface of the report in our conversation. If you're interested in a comprehensive view of the subject, download The Oxford Economics report, The Interconnected Automaker: Agile and data-driven here. Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show. The contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.

In this episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast – Women in Tech – Interview Series, I'm joined by Ritu Kapoor, from Automation Anywhere. In our conversation today we're going to cover some exciting news coming out of Automation Anywhere's Innovation Day event, which was held on Wednesday, October 7th. Ritu is the is head of product strategy at Automation Anywhere, and she focuses on front office automation solutions — RPA, AI and machine learning technology to increase the pace of automation in the front office, back office and any office to help organizations lower operating costs and become more productive. She also heads up competitive and market intelligence for the company, which means if you're playing in the RPA and automation space, she knows what you're doing. In our conversation, we explored RPA adoption and how it continues to transcend other technologies, especially now when organizations are speeding up all parts of their digital transformation efforts. We also talked about the state of women in tech, some of the inroads we've made and seen, as well as the challenges ahead. Our conversation then turned to perhaps one of the most exciting announcements to come out of Automation Anywhere's Innovation Day — the announcement about AARI, the Automation Anywhere Robotic Interface. Here are the highlights: Ritu walked us through AARI's AI-powered automation technology, which was designed to help organizations quickly and easily connect various business processes and empower employees to work alongside automation technology (in a bot-to-human interface) in a seamless fashion. The challenges today's organizations report as it relates to adopting or considering the adoption of automation solutions, which include: - Scale. Only 15% of companies using RPA have scaled past 50 bots - Building business resiliencies is a key challenge/area of focus, and organizations are often not sure of the role automation solutions can play here - Culture around innovation, specifically as it relates to RPA, doesn't exist - Ability to maintain QC over standards, compliance, while still empowering citizen devs How the adoption of AI-powered technology like AARI can play a role in both speeding digital transformation as well as in building business resiliency The key differentiators of Automation Anywhere's AARI from other automation technology on the market today. Some use case examples of how AARI can make employees more productive in the workplace. An overview of AARI can help organizations as a whole manage bots and applications by aligning how employees work and making accessing the technology easily by embedding it in browsers, desktops, mobile, and apps that employees use every day (for example, Salesforce). AARI is available worldwide, with pricing starting at $35/mo/user. For more information on AARI, check it out here SHOW LESS

This episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast – Interview Series is part of our newly launched Women in Tech Series. Shelly Kramer, founding partner and senior analyst at Futurum Research welcomes Jasmina Omic, with Riscure, a global security lab offering security services and tools. Today's conversation revolved around cybersecurity and the IoT, highlighting industry-wide security concerns related to the IoT and a discussion on the importance of being PSA Certified. PSA Certified offers a framework for security connected devices, from analysis, to security assessment, and certification. The framework provides standardized resources to help resolve the growing fragmentation of IoT requirements and ensure that security is no longer a barrier to product development. Our conversation covered: Digital Transformation and the impact of DX for the IoT industry, which is predicted to reach a global market size of $150 Billion by 2025. The pervasiveness of the IoT and the growth that's ahead. The security weaknesses that are often an inherent part of the IoT. Why security is fundamental and the current drivers of IoT security, including government-driven initiatives across the globe. The impact of the growth in IoT on the industry is significant. There's a LOT happening, and it can be confusing. Consumers, OEMs, the software ecosystem, SIPs, etc., all must be constantly aware of what they need to do to keep up with the governmental changes. What PSA Certified offers and why an overarching certification and recognition scheme helps the whole ecosystem to develop secure solutions easier. PSA Certification is important because it can increase confidence in your product, demonstrate compliance to standards, and demonstrate that industry best practices have been followed and applied in every step of the development process. The mission of PSA Certified is to provide a framework for security devices which was architecture agnostic. The organization also co-found a certification scheme with seven security expert companies (Jasmina's company, Riscure is one of those companies). The goal of PSA Certified is to help align the industry as a whole, set a level of security, and enable a transparent conversation on security that results in everyone talking the same language about the same structures of security. With over 40 products from over 25 companies now certified, there is much excitement about what's ahead for PSA Certified and the good the organization can do in the IoT ecosystem. Visit Futurum Research for more tech insights: https://futurumresearch.com For more on PSA Certified, visit them here: https://www.psacertified.org/ For more on Jasmina Omic and Riscure, visit them here: https://www.riscure.com/ Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show, the contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.

In this episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast, Futurum analysts Shelly Kramer and Ron Westfall discuss the digital divide and explore where the telco industry is in its journey to closing that divide. We explore how closing the digital divide is a top priority for government and society the world over, and how service providers can rise to meet the needs and challenges the digital divide presents. The topics explored include: Funding available to telco service providers to help close the digital divide, especially in rural areas; Low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites and the role satellites are playing in making inroads related to bridging the digital divide; 5G technologies such as fixed wireless access (FWA) and the growth opportunities that exist for telcos within the next five years; The technical and business considerations telcos must focus on moving forward (including automation of the network operations lifecycle (including network service orchestration, network controller, and analytics capabilities), along with appropriate security protections that provide E2E security assurance (protecting against malware, DDoS, application protection and privacy, and threat analytics). The importance of partnerships we believe are vital to telco operator success in bringing the kind of support, innovation, infrastructure, and opportunity to the areas they serve. We highlighted the work of Cisco with its recently announced rural broadband push, along with other vendors like Ericsson, Nokia, and ADTRAN, who are also making key moves and building alliances and partnerships with telcos and Communication Service Providers (CoSPs). We also explored some innovative things that vendors like Netcracker and Marvell are doing and the role those initiatives will play in this ecosphere moving forward. For more analyst insights related to the digital transformation of the telecos and Communications Service Providers (CoSPs), check out the Futurum Research blog. Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show, the contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.

On this episode of the Futurum Tech Podcast – Interview Series I am joined by Sonny Dasgupta. Sonny is the Head of Product Marketing for the SAP Customer Data Cloud, a foundational pillar under the SAP customer experience business. The SAP Customer Data Cloud solutions – which includes the SAP Customer Identity, SAP Customer Consent and SAP Customer Profile solutions — enables businesses to deliver better customer experiences, and develop trusted relationships with customers by allowing them more control over what data is used — a must have in today's world. Our conversation covered several aspects of the future of customer experience including data analytics, the cloud and how enterprises and customers are going to be impacted as data continues to drive customer experience changes. It was a fascinating conversation and one you don't want to miss. The Future of Customer Experience My conversation with Sonny also revolved around the following: How businesses need to change their business models to deliver better experiences and stay differentiated from the competition especially now . The challenges companies must overcome to offer best in class personalization for their customers and how that enables trusted relationships to flourish. We also explored the impact that lack of trust can have on the bottom line. Ways businesses can embrace the regulatory and compliance environment while still delivering a personalized customer experience without becoming invasive or creepy. Where companies need to start to deliver top notch customer experiences including a step by step process for dealing with fragmented customer data. We also explored how to focus on what your company does best without getting overwhelmed by the process of delivering personalized customer experiences. In my opinion, the future customer experience is not just the job of one department, but actually a responsibility shared across the organization. If you are part of delivering an outstanding customer experience, then this episode is one that needs to be on your 'must listen' list. Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show. The contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.

This episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast – Interview Series, is part of our Women in Tech and features Women Who Tech's Allyson Kapin. Kapin is the founder of Women Who Tech, the largest network of women-led startups, investors, and allies working to increase diversity and funding in tech. Women Who Tech is a nonprofit organization working to build a culture and inclusive economy focused on accelerating women tech entrepreneurs and closing the funding gap. Women Who Tech conducted The State of Women in Tech and Startups 2020 research study to identify what barriers and challenges people face in the tech sector, and also to help track whether the systemic sexism and racism that respondents experience have shifted since the organization's 2017 survey. Did the #MeToo movement play a role? What happened to gender parity, or investors' perceptions around gender parity in tech and whether investors believe gender plays a role in access to funding? Has anything changed since 2017? You can get The State of Women in Tech and Startups 2020 Report here. Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show, the contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.

On this special episode of The Futurum Tech Podcast - Interview Series host Daniel Newman welcomes Yaron Sverdlov, General Manager of SmartOps Division at Amdocs to discuss the impact COVID-19 has had on digital transformation and cloud migration of service providers and where we go from here. Yaron and I explored how COVID-19 has impacted digital transformation within the telecommunications industry. Compared to companies in other industries, telecom companies were already well into digital transformation, providing the infrastructure we all need to stay connected. But almost overnight there was a greater demand for connection. Yaron shared that we are seeing telecom companies becoming more advanced, more digital, more open, and enabling a different level of support. Companies have had to move to a cloud environment that enables them to react much faster than before. And we likely will keep building on this moving forward. Cloud adoption trends. Yaron shared that previously many telecom companies were laggards when it came to cloud adoption. The two biggest barriers to adoption were security risk and operating costs. Companies were used to storing everything on-prem where you could guarantee security and you had a capital expense. But now, these issues are becoming less relevant as it becomes more imperative to operate in the cloud. Yaron also shared that every company plans their journey differently and many now are in the middle of their migration process. It's an exciting time in the market. Hybrid cloud management. Yaron explained that the immediate future for many telecom companies will be some sort of Hybrid IT architecture. These large enterprises have an extensive list of applications and programs that will be costly to migrate completely to the cloud so for the foreseeable future many will use on-prem and off-prem solutions including multiple public clouds. Managing the migration and the operation of this new architecture will be complex. Amdocs offers a Hybrid Cloud Management Platform which allows companies to manage all parts of the migration process. The financial side of cloud migration. Yaron and I discussed that in addition to moving to a hybrid cloud architecture, service providers are moving FinOps tools to the cloud to be able to better serve customers. Companies are starting to build FinOps tools that use AI to determine how resources are being used and how that relates to KPIs. This will likely change the way we operate, helping companies be more efficient from end to end. Building infrastructure on public clouds. Lastly, we explored the recent AWS Amdocs partnership announcement and their ability to run on any public cloud. By working with AWS and Azure, Amdocs understands how to get the most out of the cloud in a cost-effective way. These partnerships eliminate the barriers to adoption that many companies were dealing with. It's a smart move for everyone involved. If you'd like to learn more about Amdocs, their partnerships, services, and product offerings, be sure to check out their website. Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show, the contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.

In this episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast, Futurum analysts Shelly Kramer and Sarah Wallace discuss digital transformation trends in Big Tech and how strategic, collaborative partnerships is a trend we're going to see more of. Collaborative partnerships allow vendors to leverage one another's strengths and serve customers in more effective, more meaningful ways. In our conversation, we explored some strategic collaborative Big Tech partnerships including: Cisco and ServiceNow Siemens and Salesforce Workday and Salesforce Siemens and HPE IBM and Adobe SAS and Microsoft Azure Our conversation centered on the specifics of some of these collaborations and our predictions around digital transformation for Big Tech and how strategic, collaborative partnerships are good for business and good for customers. Putting people at the center of your digital transformation and return to work strategies is important. Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show, the contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.

On this special episode of The Futurum Tech Podcast - Interview Series host Daniel Newman welcomes Chandrashekar LSP, Product Evangelist at Zoho to discuss a recent work engagement survey, how COVID-19 has impacted IT architecture and how to revamp your IT architecture with one easy test. LSP and I explored how COVID-19 has accelerated digital transformation. Every company, no matter the industry, was impacted. Most had no choice but to pivot. In the last six months, we've seen more digital transformation than the last decade. There has been a tremendous increase in technology adoption as businesses shifted to working from home environments. Zoho specifically saw clients increase productivity and collaboration technology spend to keep business running effectively. In turn, this technology has given companies a new lease on the way to do business. Zoho's work engagement survey. LSP shared that in April 2020, Zoho conducted a survey to determine how engaged people are at work. The survey had three parts that covered alignment and leadership competence, employee happiness and satisfaction, and the technology tools that are used in the workplace including the technology strategies that are in place. The survey found that people are happy doing what they do, but companies can improve employee experience when it comes to technology, a telling result for all companies involved. Silos exist in almost every company. The survey showed many businesses struggle with silos, be it data silos, or technology silos. Too often, companies adopt pieces of technology but do not have the right IT architecture and discipline in maintaining the software. We were experiencing a software creep in IT and marketing until COVID when IT departments had to standardize the technology being used to drive a better customer experience. Revamping your IT architecture. LSP and I discussed what he calls the four C test to find the right software that fits your company and your needs. The first C is context. Systems need to give seamless context across applications so you can easily jump from one application to another to work on an issue. The second C is continuity. Software needs to be accessible from different devices and different spaces in order to be effective. The third C is convenience. Is the software simple and easy for all employees to use? The final C is collaboration. Is the application or software something that multiple employees can collaborate on at once? Chandrashekar explained that companies could easily justify their tech investments by performing this test. Zoho's different approach to business. Lastly, we explored what makes Zoho different from other companies including their stance on privacy. Chandrashekar reiterated that Zoho does not sell any user information and they don't run ads in their software. That's a lot of money to sacrifice, but it's worth it to protect customers. We also examined the breadth and depth that Zoho offers which includes 45 products that can be deployed across an organization to solve almost any problem. Everything is integrated and information is shared across the applications, eliminating silo walls before they can even be created. If you'd like to learn more about Zoho, their work engagement survey, or any of their products and services, be sure to check out their website. Listen to the full episode below and don't forget to subscribe to the Futurum Tech Podcast so you never miss an episode. Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show, the contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.

On this special episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast - Interview Series, host Daniel Newman welcomes Maria Morais, Global Industry Director - Consumer Industries at SAP to discuss retail and the shifting forces that are having an impact in the industry, including the technology behind it all. Maria and I explored the trends that retail companies are watching and implementing as things return to normal in the post-pandemic era. The biggest trend is focusing on digital maturity. Companies that were already customer-centric, digitalizing processes across the organization have been able to embrace the unknowns brought about by COVID so much better than the companies who were stuck in the old way of thinking. We are living in an era where companies that embrace digitalization throughout all sides of business, not just customer-facing commerce, will be more efficient and better positioned for success. Preparing for disruption. Maria shared how COVID-19 disrupted the retail industry and easily showed which companies were agile enough to handle the changes. Many larger companies were able to quickly adapt, but smaller companies struggled. This has to change. Companies, regardless of size, need to be prepared for disruption. Maria shared one great example of a small florist in London that started selling farm-to-table vegetable boxes during the quarantine shut down. This quick pivot allowed the company to stay afloat until lockdown restrictions were relaxed. Unified commerce is the future. We discussed that omnichannel experiences are not customer-centric enough to be sustainable for the future. Unified commerce, which completely reimagines the way retail companies operate. It's commerce everywhere. It's bringing digital into every part of a brick and mortar location and empowering sales associates to better serve customers. It's connecting every store and the website together no matter the location. Each retailer may be different and have different pain points, but the technology is the same. Working toward sustainability. Lastly, Maria explored the demand for increased sustainability in retail. One of the main problems in retail is a lot of garments end up in landfills because it's unclear what they are made of. How can you reuse something if you're not sure what it is? Companies should work toward extending the product lifecycle through recycling initiatives and other business model changes. But this will take transparency in the supply chain. Some companies like L'Oreal and Nike are leaders in the space, but there is still room for growth. If you'd like to learn how SAP is using technology to help retailers make these changes, be sure to check out their website. Don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast. Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show, the contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.

On this special episode of the Futurum Tech Podcast - Interview Series, host Daniel Newman welcomes Karthik Rau, General Manager of Application Management at Splunk to discuss observability and application monitoring, COVID-19, and how IT departments are dealing with the recent changes brought about by the pandemic. Karthik and I explored the rapid acceleration of digital initiatives due to COVID-19. Pre-pandemic, we were seeing companies slowly adopt digital transformation initiatives. But almost overnight, this progress was rapidly accelerated as companies were forced to go digital. We've seen a rapid adoption of SaaS solutions and other digital initiatives to support a remote workforce. It was a decade of digital transformation in three months. All of these changes have changed the way the IT department operates, and it's most likely never going back. The New Role of IT Departments. Karthik shared that as companies invest more in technology to support digital transformation initiatives, IT's responsibility becomes more about enabling the organization to build the software that they need to drive their digital business forward as quickly as possible. It's a significant shift to be more agile. Rapid shifts in every industry. We discussed the impact COVID-19 has had on every industry. From education to healthcare to consumer goods, every organization had to pivot how they operate — most moving to a mobile-first environment. They've had to buy the technology and the software to support the changes as well as shift the culture to ensure the change. Lastly Karthik shared about the impact of observability and the fundamental changes to app development. As companies have moved more towards SaaS, the underlying infrastructure has changed from on-prem to highly elastic public and private clouds. All of which is driving a larger DevOps approach creating massive amounts of data. It's critical to avoid mistakes in the world of app development so companies need an observability solution that can track and monitor all the data that is created to catch errors and find trends. If you're interested in learning more about Splunk and how their offerings can help you, be sure to check out their website. Don't forget to listen to the full episode below and while you're at it, be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode.

For this week's episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast, Futurum's Daniel Newman and Sarah Wallace discuss major cloud announcements by vendors such as HPE, Oracle, AWS, Microsoft, and IBM that have been made in the last few weeks. These announcements confirm that there is continued momentum in cloud, especially during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic when companies have had shift to accelerate their digital transformation. This webcast covered announcements from: HPE's virtual Discover event and the unveiling of its new Ezmeral software platform, as well as the acquisition of Silver Peak. Oracle's announcements around its Dedication Region Cloud@Customer and others Microsoft's announcements from its Inspire event, including updates to Dynamics 365 and Power Platform AWS announcements of its Low Code/No Code with new Honeycode, its launch of Relational Database Service for AWS Outposts, and the availability of AWS IoT SiteWise for industrial customers IBM and Adobe's partnership to digitally transform regulated industries IBM, Red Hat and SAP helping customers who want to run SAP Cloud Platform on-prem Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show, the contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.

For this week's episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast, analysts Shelly Kramer and Sarah Wallace discuss how the Future of Work has transformed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tech industry has seen major announcements vendors regarding remote collaboration, workplace transformation and safety, and distance certification. Their conversation includes a look at: Cisco Live's Collaboration launch, which focuses on workplace transformation, helping IT transform to a 'new normal,' moves to enable seamless remote workflows with expanded integrations with productivity tools, enhanced security around collaboration, and more. HPEs return to work solutions announced during HPE's Discoverevent, including touchless entry solutions, fever detection tech, workplace alerts, and some other really cool offerings. Siemens' partnership with Salesforce on a new workplace technology suite that allows companies to safely return to work and some of the specifics of that offering. We also discussed our thoughts on what's ahead — the Future of Work world will require a transformation of the actual work that's done, a transformation of the workplace, and a transformation of the workforce as well — and all that's entailed there. It was a fascinating discussion and we're glad to have you as part of it. Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show, the contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.

In this episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast, analysts Fred McClimans and Shelly Kramer explore the topic of future-proofing the enterprise and transforming business operations. No politics, no economics — just a hard look at the importance of putting a plan process that doesn't just digitize things today and answer the easy questions (e.g. do we use Microsoft Teams or Cisco Webex for our meetings?), but which truly transforms operations in order to make the business as a whole more resilient and more agile moving forward. Our conversation in the show today includes the importance of assembling an internal SWOT team, an exploration of what that team looks like, and the things teams should consider as they try to plan for the future. Some of the key factors organizations must consider and which we cover in more detail in this episode include: The importance of moving operations to the cloud The most effective use of collaboration platforms Managing and planning for data center resources Rethinking security operations, evaluating enterprise SOCs Evaluating contracts around your data center, office space, and supply chain, and managed services security contracts How these things are monitored and how information is shared within the enterprise so as to provide real-time insights Evaluating what happens to productivity with a WFH workforce and how to facilitate that Managing the social needs of employees and the rule both collaboration platforms play there Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show, the contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.

On this episode of the Futurum Tech Podcast – Interview Series, host Daniel Newman welcomes Tim Tully, CTO and Senior Vice President of Splunk to discuss leadership through the crisis, how companies have changed in the last three months and new approaches to cloud, AI and ML technologies. Tim also gave a quick overview of .conf20, Splunk's upcoming virtual tech conference this October. In our conversation, Tim and I explored how businesses have changed in the last few months. Digital transformation has been pushed forward faster than ever before with more technology adoption and better communication systems being utilized. It's apparent now that the working remotely can be successful, which ultimately removes hiring barriers that might have once been in place. Companies like Splunk can hire the best person for the job regardless of location. Confronting problems with more empathy and EQ. Tim shared that the pandemic has forced Splunk executives to look at the problems the company is facing with a sense of empathy. They're more focused on understand how the situation has impacted employees and customers and their livelihoods. This has been an awakening for a lot of companies to really concentrate on employees and individuals over the bottom line. Turning toward technology and data. Tim and I discussed the technology Splunk has set up to help themselves and customers understand their data through the pandemic. The first piece of technology — the Remote Work Insights app, which is free on GitHub — is a dashboard that allows people to see how their resources are being used by employees at home. For example, customers can see how their VPN is being used and if they're going to need more bandwidth. They're able to make decisions based on data without ever slowing down the business. Tim also shared that Splunk has seen an uptick in their app usage. More clients are using the dashboards to quickly view KPIs wherever they might be. It's clear the way people work and how they approach technology are changing. A change in architecture. We also discussed how many companies are adopting more hybrid architecture. Tim shared that he has been encouraging Splunk customers to move to a hyperconverged data plane. It's the idea that data can live both on-prem and in the cloud but be in one data pipeline. Customers want the ability to process data where it is, reduce costs, and then route the data to products in different clouds. This is not a surprising move given Splunk's "Data to Everything" motto. A different approach to machine learning. Tim shared his thoughts on the new direction Splunk is taking with machine learning (ML). When you think of ML, you most likely think about a hypothesis and plugging in data that's at rest to help a system learn. Splunk is taking a different approach with their stream processing which is a low latency level of processing that enables real-time machine learning continuously. Many tech experts and analysts have long surmised that ML would move this direction eventually. Splunk is making it happen. A teaser to .conf20. Lastly, Tim and I talked a little bit about Splunk's annual conference .conf20 which will be taking place virtually this year on October 20-21. There will be keynotes and exciting new product releases — definitely something you don't want to miss. Sign up now to be notified when registration is open. Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show, the contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.

On this special episode of The Futurum Tech Podcast - Interview Series host Daniel Newman welcomes Raju Vegesna, Chief Evangelist at Zoho to discuss data privacy and security including examining Zoho's new bold stance on privacy. In the last few years, it seems like the respect of privacy has declined. Ad networks collect massive amounts of information about consumers, giving seemingly endless targeting options to companies, but there is no control given to the user about what information is collected — and that needs to change. Raju and I explored how companies use adjunct surveillance to make money off of customers. Data is being collected about us, from our shopping habits to our browsing history, and a lot of it is being done without our knowledge. While it's more common in the consumer world, it's also happening in the B2B world too. Companies embed tracking or analytics code to monitor what is being done on their sites, but this information collected by third parties is then sold to other companies. Zoho said enough with this practice. Zoho's bold stance on privacy. Raju shared that Zoho no longer embeds any tracking or analytics software from third parties on its websites or applications. Everything that is embedded is a Zoho product with an easy to understand explanation of what data is being collected. Zoho's customer's can enable tracking from other parties, but it is not something that Zoho does which is a compromise they are willing to make. The privacy pendulum is swinging back toward permissions. We discussed the potential future in this area. I've been a purveyor of privacy for many years and hope that more companies follow Zoho's lead. Raju believes that more companies will. He shared that recently The New York Times eliminated a lot of the trackers on their website which is hopefully generating some awareness around these tracking practices. Ultimately it would be great if users get full control over what data is being collected and shared. What success will look like. Lastly, Raju shared what the payoff will look like from this stance on privacy — and he doesn't mean in financial terms. Zoho is lucky since it is a private company, they are able to create and take this stance. It is the right thing to do and Raju shared that they have the freedom to take this risk. Raju posed the question, "what's the point of being financially profitable if you're morally bankrupt." For the company, it really only matters if they are doing the right thing. I recently explored Zoho's new stance on privacy and adjunct surveillance. Be sure to check out the article to learn how they are looking to set themselves apart from other B2B vendors. If you'd like more information about Zoho and their offerings you can visit their website. Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show, the contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.

In this episode of Futurum Tech Webcast, host Daniel Newman and Senior Analyst and Research Director Olivier Blanchard discuss the state and direction of the ever-expanding world of artificial intelligence (AI), and how, from the cloud to the edge, AI is expanding its reach including how chipmakers are driving the future of AI. In their discussion, Olivier and Daniel explored the business, societal, and other broad implications of this expansion, as well as how will these different tiers of AI technology will likely work together. They also touched on the following: The evolution of AI from a cloud and data center focus to on-device AI, and the importance of that evolution to the types of experiences that it creates for users. The challenges of cloud-based AI benefits, including latency issues, connectivity issues, overburdened networks, and outages, all of which result in performance issues and frustrations for users. The binary model of cloud-based AI and device-based AI and what that third layer in the edge can do. How AI is increasingly finding its way into smart phones (in ways that users might not even notice), some interesting use case examples, and where that is particularly useful. The role of chipsets, like Qualcomm's Snapdragon 865 chipsets, and some of the impressive functionality they are serving up — and what that means for the future of on-device communication. How AI is finding its way into factories, cities, and utilities and what that means for the future. AI's role in healthcare, especially during an epidemic, when speed is critical. The role of AI in autonomous vehicles that will someday become the norm. How AI is transforming enterprise-class analytics and democratizing enterprise software by making it not only more effective, but also more accessible and user-friendly. Olivier and Daniel also shared a little about their latest book (Human/Machine: The future of our relationship with machines) which examines how bots, voice interfaces, automatic scheduling, and autofill are already transforming the way we work, from speeding up the process of drafting an email to streamlining document creation and project management. Other insights from the Futurum Research team: CISO's Playbook for Leading Security During COVID-19 – Futurum Tech Podcast Interview Series

On this special episode of the Futurum Tech Podcast Interview Series, host Daniel Newman is joined by Doug Merritt, CEO of Splunk, to discuss the five steps for a data-driven future including how to establish data principles that make for a clear future. Without data we are flying blind — something companies can't afford to do in our current competitive environment. In our conversation, Doug and I explored the questions companies need to ask to define their data principles. There's a billion different ways data can be sliced, diced, collected, analyzed, and utilized, but you have to know what you're trying to do from the start. Questions like what data needs to be accessed, what data needs to be treated differently, and what will you do with the data need to be defined from the start. Principles aren't black and white. Doug shared thoughts on what often gets companies sidetracked when it comes to data principles. Too often, companies try to get too specific and black and white on exactly what is allowable and what is not. We are constantly moving and changing. Data principles are meant to serve as a framework. They are not meant to answer every question, but instead to give guidance. Data principle framework. Doug and I discussed the core framework that should be in place when dealing with data. First, and most importantly, companies need diversity. The more angles and diverse data sets you can get, the better. Second, companies need collaboration. It's important to bring as many different viewpoints, skills, backgrounds, and experiences of the people that are attacking the data together. Third, companies need to rely on curiosity and an open mindset when working with data. Finally, if you can bring diverse data sets, different collaborative sources and viewpoints, curiosity and an open mindset, you need to be able to admit that your viewpoint was wrong or that it changed. You need courage. The human element of data. We also discussed how to bring as many people as possible to the data. To master this proposition, companies are going to have to focus on training, education, exercises and even "lunch and learns" around data. If you want to solve a problem, you need employees from all aspects of the business, with the right expertise. Making data actionable. Lastly, Doug shared that employees need to be empowered to make decisions with the data. The people closest to the data, closest to the insight need to be able to make rapid, real-time decisions. At the same time, there should be checks and balances put in place to ensure that the right decisions are made. There should also be feedback for the employees and the management on whether the decision was effective or not. If you'd like to read more about these five steps be sure to check out Doug's thought-provoking article. Make sure to listen to the full episode of the podcast and while you're at it, hit subscribe so you never miss an episode. Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show, the contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.

In this episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast, host Daniel Newman and Senior Analyst and Research Director Sarah Wallace examined the emerging cloud for healthcare market, the impact COVID-19 has had on cloud providers, risks during implementation and transformation, and the need for a security-first environment. In their discussion, Daniel and Sarah explored the many advancements that have been made in the last few months as well as what's to come. They discussed: Microsoft's recentMicrosoft Cloud for Healthcare announcement. Google Cloud and AWS' expansion into the healthcare vertical with partners such as the Mayo Clinic and Cerner, an electronic health records (EHRs) provider. Big Tech's involvement in COVID-19 efforts, including Microsoft Azure's partnership with the State of Washington and hospital systems, to collection data in order to predict disease incidents as well as monitor hospital resources in real-time. AWS teamed up with non-profit insurer MetroPlus, Bain & Co., and the nonprofit AirNYC to help build and launch a chatbot for use in contacting at risk members in order to better serve them. Google Cloud's efforts in beefing up healthcare leadership, as well as focusing its COVID-19 response by providing communities with technology to help fight the virus outside of the hospital. Sarah also shared the importance of cloud providers' computing capability and scale in supporting these efforts during the pandemic and beyond and touched on the continued importance of security and patient privacy issues. Keep an eye out for our upcoming market insight reports that will cover Cloud for Financial Services and Cloud for Healthcare. Please also check out our Futurum Research cloud Insight articles, including: Amazon's AWS MetroPlus Chatbot Delivered a Significant Assist to a Nonprofit Insurer Google's COVID-19 Shift: Adjusting Search and Maps to Identify Telehealth Sources The COVID-19 Driven Evolution of the Financial Services Sector Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show, the contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.

In this special episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast Daniel Newman and Senior Analyst and Research Director Ron Westfall assess the 5G Security market, examining why 5G security warrants its own special requirements and considerations, what service providers need to do to make 5G security impregnable, the key use cases, the significance of endpoint security, the role of the 5G ecosystem, and why now is the time for action. In their discussion, Daniel and Ron investigated the reasons why 5G security is of paramount importance to the 5G ecosystem, especially service providers. They discussed: Why 5G security warrants its own separate and special category of mobile security; Shared research takeaways from the recent Futurum Research study, The 5G Edge: Powering Innovative Services and Experiences, indicating that service providers identified unifying cybersecurity systems at the edge as the top 5G priority for their enterprise customers; Assessed the emerging 5G use cases that require E2E security oversight, including the rapid proliferating IoT devices, ultra-low latency, and massive bandwidth increases; Addressed why endpoint security management is of particular importance, due in large part to the fact that the majority of security breaches occur at the endpoints. Discussed the critical role the ecosystem must play in delivering comprehensive 5G security, encompassing a wide range of players, such as cloud service providers, silicon vendors, and infrastructure suppliers, prime examples including AT&T deploying Samsung Galaxy 20 smartphones that use new purpose-designed security chips to strengthen overall security in 5G environments. Ron shared some interesting customer use case examples and why the time is now for service providers to fortify their 5G security portfolios and marketing messages, as 5G deployments are expanding rapidly even during the uncertainties of global pandemic and unrest. Please also check out our Futurum Research security Insight articles, including: CISO's Playbook for Leading Security During COVID-19 – Futurum Tech Podcast Interview Series Failing IoT Security Means Old Malware Makes IoT Comeback Nokia Secures Its Security Messaging Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show, the contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.

On this special episode of the Futurum Tech Podcast - Interview Series, host Daniel Newman welcomes Rahul Patel, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Connectivity and Networking Business Unit at Qualcomm. The conversation centered around new Qualcomm announcements including the WiFi 6 extension. Rahul and I spent time discussing the shift to a remote work environment for a big company like Qualcomm. Like all companies, the shift was almost overnight with employees needing to work from home, but unlike most companies, Qualcomm still needed some employees to be on-campus to continue manufacturing. The leadership team worked to equip employees with what they needed to work safely and efficiently, regardless of location. Qualcomm relied heavily on the existing infrastructure to support the necessary changes. And thanks to years of planning, Rahul shared that the company was virtually unaffected by the switch. Bringing WiFi 6E to market. Rahul shared the exciting news around the WiFi 6E launch as a result of the FCC opening up the 6 gigahertz spectrum. He explained that this additional expansion is like taking a highway during rush hour and making it two and a half times the original size. Now users have the original highway and the new larger highway to use to get connected. In terms of networking, this means apps are going to be moving into the six gigahertz spectrum. Building devices to be faster. Rahul also discussed the impact WiFi 6 and 6E are going to have on our devices. Qualcomm is building devices that will be able to operate in the fast lane of the highway. For applications, this means that low latency, high speed applications like gaming, virtual reality and augmented reality are going to be more realistic. Other benefits include better connectivity and fewer interruptions as the network can handle more devices. Hopefully these devices will be deployed by the end of this year or early part of 2021. WiFi 6 and 5G go hand in hand. While most of our conversation focused on WiFi 6, we also examined how 5G networks will complement WiFi 6. Rahul explained that 5G is your wide area network and WiFi 6 is your local area network. If you have one without the other, you're not going to realize the full experience of high speed connectivity. Qualcomm just introduced an access point portfolio called Network Pro Series that goes from supporting highest end performance in excess of 10 gigabits per second WiFi capability to three gigabits per second. Customers can build a network to scale from a hotspot in a coffee shop to something that will cover a stadium. Bringing it all home. Lastly, we discussed where this technology will likely go in the future. Rahul shared that Qualcomm is looking at an enterprisation of the home. We have more devices that need to be connected. We are streaming more and needing better connectivity speeds. And that's likely going to continue as we bring in other technologies like VR and AR. Qualcomm is working on bringing the technology together for a platform approach that ultimately presents the holistic experience to the end consumer. Consumers don't need to know what the technology is, they just need to be able to get connected. I can't wait to see what else Qualcomm builds and where it takes our technology. If you'd like to learn more about Qualcomm's announcements, be sure to check out their website.

On this special episode of the Futurum Tech Podcast - Interview Series, host Daniel Newman is joined by Logan Wilt, AI data scientist and Applied AI Center of Excellence Garage Leader at DXC Technology to talk about using AI to approach problem solving and the human-machine relationship we are now encountering. We also discussed how organizations can get started with AI and data collection — a must for the time we are living in. In our conversation, Logan and I discussed the coexistence of AI and humans. Despite the sci-fi movies, AI won't ever fully replace humans. AI is learning from every interaction, but it still has shortcomings that humans need to compensate for. Just like humans have shortcomings that AI can compensate for. Organizations need to embrace that employees and AI have to work together in order to get the most out of the technology. Ideal AI-Human relationships exist already. Logan shared her thoughts on the benefits of ideal human-AI relationships that we are already seeing even just from simple software applications in the home like a self-learning thermostat and an Alexa device. AI is learning patterns from our behavior that is eliminating the need for us to spend time programming or fiddling with the thermostat. It's a simple idea, but we are now free to spend more time on other tasks that might require more mental energy. Even something small like the predictive text in Google apps now can help us write an email faster. The ideal AI-human relationship allows us to spend time on things that really matter. Getting started with AI. Logan and I discussed how companies can get started on their AI journey which included understanding that AI and data are cyclical in nature, not linear. Logan recommended that companies start with the problem they want to solve and work backwards from there to determine the type of data that would need to be collected. Then examine it from the other direction and look at the type of data that needs to be collected and how it will be stored to determine the kind of AI that can be done. Data and AI influence each other. AI is creating jobs, not taking them. Lastly, I shared that AI, machine learning and data have created entire new departments in organizations with thousands of new jobs. Logan added that to fill these jobs, companies don't need a data god. You need someone who is logical and curious and willing to put in the time to examine the issues. Companies can benefit from upskilling existing employees who fit this description instead of hiring someone entirely new. Data and AI are here to stay and if we want to make the most of it, we need the right talent to drive the processes. If your company is looking at adopting AI or expanding your existing AI program, this is one podcast you don't want to miss. Also be sure to check out what DXC Technology is doing with AI — lots of exciting things are sure to come.

In this special episode of the Futurum Tech Podcast - Interview Series, host Daniel Newman is joined by Scott Harrell, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Intent Based Networking Group at Cisco to discuss the challenges and opportunities in the enterprise introduced by the pandemic and how existing technology will help us safely return to normal. Scott and Daniel covered a wide range of topics all related to the challenges and opportunities brought about by COVID-19 and how enterprises and learning to use the technology that they have to ensure business continuity both with employees at home and as we return to the workplace. They discussed: The greater need for agility in the enterprise which will likely lead to the faster adoption of new technologies like AI and automation. Potential opportunities for the IT department to reskill, retool, and retrain in order to reach higher levels of productivity. Using existing technologies like wireless devices on the network to help employees feel safe as they return to work. Scott shared interesting technologies from Cisco and how companies could use them to act as contact tracing apps — and what this might mean for the future of how we use networks.