Technology Revolution: The Future of Now

The buzz: "In this century the paramount moral challenge will be the struggle for gender equality around the world" (Nicholas D. Kristof). Organizations from the United Nations to university clubs have been trying to secure a world of equality in business for years. Recent initiatives like the UN Women Global Innovation Coalition for Change (GICC), WiDS and FQ (Female Quotient) have created a vast ecosystem matrix focused on creating change. How and where is it happening? The experts speak. Shelley Zalis, The Female Quotient: "In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different" (Coco Chanel). Judy Logan, Women in Data Science (WiDS) Conference, Stanford University: The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams (Eleanor Roosevelt). Anita Varshney, SAP: "Hope lies in dreams, in imagination and in the courage of those who dare to make dreams into reality" (Jonas Salk). Join us for The Future of Equality in Business, Technology and Innovation – Part 2.

The buzz: "The idea that social selling is dead or dying is a bit over exaggerated…Cold calling should be dead" (Koka Sexton). In conversations about account-based marketing, we keep hearing that cold calling, email and social selling aka digital selling are dead. True or false? It depends. The key to the longevity and success of any channel is its rocket fuel: content. Timely, targeted and relevant messages can help you break into target accounts and drive ongoing buyer engagement in a range of channels. The experts speak. Paul Slack, Vende Social: "What we've got here is failure to communicate" (Cool Hand Luke). Tom Martin, Converse Digital: "Man looks in the abyss, there's nothing staring back at him. At that moment man finds his character. And that is what keeps him out of the abyss (Lou Mannheim). Charrele Robinson-Brown, SAP: "Invest your evaporating time and leave a legacy behind for future generations" (Sunday Adelaja). Join us for Is Digital Selling Dead? – Part 2.

The buzz: When UX doesn't consider ALL users, shouldn't it be known as "SOME User Experience" or… SUX?" (Billy Gregory). The World Health Organization estimates 1B people, 1 in 7, live with a disability. Per the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, access to information technology is a basic human right. The impact of design and user experience (UX) on business success is profound. User experiences impact customer satisfaction and loyalty in a competitive marketplace. How to eliminate disability barriers in workplace software? Harness advances in natural language processing and artificial intelligence. The experts speak. Neil Milliken, Atos: "Diversity is reality, inclusion is a choice" (Stephen Frost). Debra M. Ruh, Ruh Global Communications: "It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see (Henry David Thoreau). Nicole Windmann, SAP: "Done is better than perfect" (Sheryl Sandberg). Join us for Accessible and Inclusive UX Design: The Business Case.

The buzz: "Augmenting human decision-making at the enterprise level will bring us to the next level in growth" (Joseph Byrum, Principal Financial Group). Companies are exploring how to cope with the volume and velocity of change, as political turmoil, climate change, market and supply chain globalization, rise and fall of economies converge into a perfect storm of business disruption. Will becoming an Intelligent Enterprise solve these challenges? If yes, are Machine Learning, Blockchain and IoT enough to get you there? The experts speak. Chris Beiswenger, PwC: "Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements, ... distinguishes the strong soul from the weak" (Thomas Carlyle). Scott Feldman, Technology Evangelist: "Only the paranoid survive" (Andy Grove). Shammy Sohal, SAP: I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet" (Sadi). Join us for Do Intelligent Technologies Make The Intelligent Enterprise? – Part 2.

The buzz: "The global human resource management (HRM) sector is projected to reach $30 billion by 2025. in other words, the business of creating innovative HR solutions is booming" ?(learn.g2crowd.com/2019-hr-trends). In 2016 Dr. Steve Hunt created the "Wine Bottle Index" to categorize HCM forecasts, trends and predictions by whether they address well-established vs. novel challenges (old vs. new wine) and use familiar vs. innovative solutions (old vs. new bottles). What is truly new in HCM versus old stuff in new bottles? The experts speak. Dr. Steve Hunt, HR Consultant: "The future looks a lot like the past, but different" (NZ Philosopher). Stacia Sherman Garr, RedThread Research: "Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever" (Mahatma Gandhi). David Youssefnia, Uplevel: "Entrepreneurship is at its best when it alters the future, and it alters the future when it jumps curves" (Guy Kawasaki). Join us for HCM Trends: The Wine Bottle Index.

The buzz: "Few business applications have attracted as much management attention over the years as ERP systems … the line between fact and fiction or myth and best practice can be difficult to discern."?(www.atkearney.cz) In IT, curiosity drives innovation, some of it pie-in-the-sky buzz and some essential to modern life and business. New ERP and intelligent technologies and systems promise breakthroughs in organizations focused on healthcare, finance, retail, manufacturing and consumer products. How to separate fiction from fact? The experts speak. David Lowson, Capgemini "A dream will not become an innovation if there is no realization" (Ciputra). Alex Bulat, Capgemini: "It's not a good idea if it has not been killed at least three times" (Safi Bahcall). Brad Borkan, SAP: "Science is a process of investigating … posing questions and coming up with a method. It's delving in" (Sally Ride). Join us for ERP and Beyond: From Techno Buzz to Value-Add Solutions.

The buzz: "We will design products differently if we knew that those products were going to come back to us…and we could extract value from them" (T. Domenech). 150 years of industrial evolution have been dominated by a one-way Linear Economy model of production and consumption. Goods are manufactured from raw materials, sold, used, discarded or incinerated. How to get past this unsustainable practice? Welcome to the circular economy model, which maintains products, extends their service life, and repurposes one product's waste to maintain another – reuse, repair, remanufacture. The experts speak. Dan Wellers: Questions you cannot answer are usually far better for you than answers you cannot question" (Y.N. Harari). Christopher Koch: "There are no gray areas when it comes to survival. Either we go on as a civilization or we don't (Greta Thunberg). Will Ritzrau: "Action expresses priorities" (Gandhi). Join us for Circular Economy: Radical and Unproven or Saving the Planet? Part 3.

The buzz: "The fourth revolution brought by digital is a turning point for the fashion industry"?(Hasna Kourda, Save Your Wardrobe). Technology has infused itself across how consumers expect to engage with retailers and vice versa – in Fashion more than other industries. Why? Fashion retailers need technology to achieve creation-to-reuse sustainability; hyper-personalization; responsive manufacturing; just-in-time delivery; and instant inventory insight. For up-and-coming design houses and legacy design brands alike, nano seasons have no respect for laggards. The experts speak. Oliver Stocks, SAP: "Reasonable people adapt themselves to the world. Unreasonable people attempt to adapt the world to themselves. All progress, therefore, depends on the unreasonable people" (George Bernard Shaw). Rick Barber, SAP: "Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever" (Mahatma Gandhi). Join us for Dress for Success: The Future of Fashion Is Here! – Part 2.

The buzz: "Most people that I know are interested in on-demand stuff. Podcasts are essentially audio Netflix" (Jordan Harbinger). In our current digital renaissance, with disruptive breakthrough technologies maturing, an old-school yet cutting-edge marketing tactic is resurging: audio. From podcasts to audio whitepapers, apps to smart speakers, the world of sound is immediate, portable, affordable, customizable, and wherever you go. Are you on-board with audio yet? The experts speak. Pam Didner, Consultant and Author: "The word 'listen' contains the same letters as the word 'silent'" (Alfred Brendel). Kenneth Kinney, AI Media Group: "The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus" (Bruce Lee). Ginger Shimp, SAP: "Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can" (Arthur Ashe). Jeff Janiszewski, SAP: "The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing" (Walt Disney). Join us for Hear and Now: Audio Content in Digital Marketing – Part 2.

The buzz: "If we have data, let's look at data. If all we have are opinions, let's go with mine!" (Jim Barksdale). Machine Learning is impacting core business processes, but many companies are struggling with how to operationalize it. The key – and what data scientists spend 80% of their efforts on – is having the right data. What is good data? The experts speak. Ginger Gatling, SAP: "Chemistry is the study of matter, but I prefer to see it as the study of change" (Walter White, Breaking Bad). Blake Howitt, SAP: "If everyone is thinking alike, then someone isn't thinking" (Gen. George S. Patton). David Quirk, SAP: "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now" (Chinese Proverb). John Schitka, SAP: "We classify things for the purpose of doing something to them. Any classification which does not assist manipulation is worse than useless" (Randolph Bourne). Join us for Can't Live Without You: Predictive Machine Learning Needs Data Management – Part 2.