Technology Revolution: The Future of Now

Today's buzz: Donations. Businesses are pressured to do the right thing via donations, especially at year-end. Giving feels good. It could feel even better all year long if your company expands its generosity to support NPOs and NGOs around the world. How? The experts speak. Joana Breidenbach, betterplace.org: "The social sector and philanthropy will experience a similar disruption to industries such as news and retail – digital tools challenge existing power relations, practices, and business models. Executed well, they hold the potential for civil society organizations to be much more efficient and effective." Alex Lapusan, Zitec: "There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction" (John F. Kennedy). Nish Pangali, SAP: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has" (Margaret Mead). Join us for Tech Donations: Transforming NGOs & NPOs – Part 2.

Looking for a crystal ball to help you predict what 2014 may bring for your business? We've got the next best thing – more than 40 thought leaders sharing their expert insights into the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better next year and beyond. Following our first 16 thought leaders' predictions on Dec. 18, we now bring you SAP Game-Changers Radio 2014 Predictions – Part 2 LIVE with featured guests: Greg Girard, IDC; Chris Carter, Approyo; Eric Stine, SAP; Quentin Fisher, CSC; Paula Rosenblum, SSResearch; Mark Breading, Strategy Meets Action; Elizabeth Hedstrom Henlin, TBRI; John Elder, Elder Research; Greta Roberts, Talent Analytics; Scott Mitchell, OCEG; Meghan Cook, CTG Albany; Mark Delisi, CSC; Steve Peck, SAP; Nola Masterson, Science Futures; Henner Schliebs, SAP. Be sure to mark your calendar for Part 3 on Jan. 22, 2014. Wishing you a positively game-changing New Year!

Today's buzz: Giving. Your company is continually pressured to help locals less fortunate via cash, clothing, food, toys donations. Giving is good, right? What if you expand that generosity worldwide to effect social change by supporting nonprofits and NGOs through localized, company-sponsored giving and volunteer campaigns? The experts speak. Akhtar Badshah, Microsoft: "Passion is overrated! Mobilizing and powering social change requires far more than the passion of an individual and the simplistic notion of a technology solution." Chris Worman, TechSoup: "Thanks to... social media, we are witnessing the rapid decentralization and democratization of authority. Reconciling this shift to less formal, yet powerful citizen-driven models, with traditional civil society, keeps me up at night." Nish Pangali, SAP: "Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good." (Minor Myers Jr.) Join us for their insights on Tech Donations: Transforming NGOs & NPOs – Part 1

What's on your wish list this holiday season? If it's a crystal ball to help you predict what 2014 may bring for your business, we've got the next best thing – more than 40 thought leaders sharing their expert insights into the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better next year and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us on Dec. 18 for SAP Game-Changers Radio 2014 Predictions - Part 1 live! Featured guests: R "Ray" Wang, Constellation RG; Deb Smallwood, SMA; Jamie Anderson, SAP; Jill McGillen, Next Turn Consulting; Brian Sommer, TechVentive; Pat Saporito, SAP; John Edelman, Edelman PR; Brian Barnier, ValueBridge Advisors; Brent Leary, CRM Essentials; Steve Boese, HR Happy Hour; Jen Cohen Crompton, Blogger; Jason Rose, SAP; Lee Dittmar, Deloitte; JP Finnell, SAP; Susan Etlinger, Altimeter; Swen Conrad, SAP. And mark your calendar for Part 2 and 3 on Jan. 8 and Jan. 22, 2014. Happy holidays!

Today's buzz: Mobility. Welcome to the Mobile 2.0 world. Enterprise mobility is moving at triple-Internet speed. Adoption of BYOD and enterprise-wide B2E, B2B and C2B is disrupting traditional computing. Your company may soon need a BYOA (Bring Your Own App) policy. Tablets will soon outsell PCs. Arm yourself with knowledge or be left behind. The experts speak. Michael O'Farrell, Mobile Institute: "Companies that know how to harness the power of enterprise mobility will have a tremendous competitive edge in the global mobile economy." Ben Robbins, Palador: "Mobile in the enterprise: You've got to know why, before you'll see ROI." Carolyn Fitton Coad, SAP: ""You are not alone. We're all in this together — networked, connected, up in the cloud, flying through wi-fi and the web, carrying it all in our pockets and purses with handheld mobile phones and tablets." (Enterprise Mobility for Dummies Book - first paragraph) Join us for Enterprise Mobility for Dummies: You can run but you can't hide.

Today's buzz: Giving. Your company is continually pressured to help locals less fortunate via cash, clothing, food, toys donations. Giving is good, right? What if you expand that generosity worldwide to effect social change by supporting nonprofits and NGOs through localized, company-sponsored giving and volunteer campaigns? The experts speak. Akhtar Badshah, Microsoft: "Passion is overrated! Mobilizing and powering social change requires far more than the passion of an individual and the simplistic notion of a technology solution." Chris Worman, TechSoup: "Thanks to... social media, we are witnessing the rapid decentralization and democratization of authority. Reconciling this shift to less formal, yet powerful citizen-driven models, with traditional civil society, keeps me up at night." Nish Pangali, SAP: "Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good." (Minor Myers Jr.) Join us for their insights on Tech Donations: Transforming NGOs & NPOs – Part 1

Today's buzz: Sports. Whether you play sports or just watch, you may already be seeing the impact of an exciting new 'player' on the court, the field, the track, the pool, the television. Its name is technology and it's enhancing how players play, coaches coach, equipment runs, teams collaborate, fans enjoy, and lots more. The experts speak. Michael Gliedman, NBA: "A man of my mind can do anything" (Steely Dan, Don't Take Me Alive, 1976). Marcus Baur, Sailing Team Germany: "We ain't seen nothing yet" (Andrew McAfee, TEDxBoston, 2012). Jen Cohen Crompton, Something Creative: "If the stadium simply becomes a stage, the game will have lost a vital element. I believe this is the next great issue—how to make games important to people when they can sit in their living room?" (Marc Ganis, SportsCorp). Steve Peck, SAP: "Life is like a dogsled race. If you ain't the lead dog, the scenery never changes." (Lewis Grizzard, writer/humorist). Join us for Sports Go High-Tech: Score!

Today's buzz: Banking fraud. They're smart, they're creative, and they're determined to make your money their money. They succeed using a recipe of new technology and old-fashioned chutzpah. Our challenge: harness the same technology to detect emerging fraud patterns and stop cyber-criminal organizations from digging deeper into our collective pockets. How are we doing so far? The experts speak. Prakash Santhana, Deloitte: "Do you have any idea who your customer is?" Nuno Sebastiao, Feedzai: "When banking systems cannot distinguish customers from criminals, the bad guys win. To outsmart bad guys, we have to fight fire with fire." Carl Snyder, SAP: "As fraudsters become more and more sophisticated, especially in the online and cards space, leveraging predictive analytics and immediate fraud detection must become the gold standard in the battle against fraud for banks and credit card companies." Join us for more insights on Banking Fraud: Can Technology Outsmart the Bad Guys? – Part 2

Today's buzz: Insurance. The insurance industry is on a paper-to-digital journey that will affect every aspect of its business – especially the customer experience. Really? We can only hope they'll finally get it right. The experts speak. Kathy Ann Hutson, IBM: "The consumer's connected life, where everything is intelligently connected, opens up the possibility for refreshed thinking in the insurance industry." Deb Smallwood, Strategy Meets Action: "Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower." (Steve Jobs) Nathan Golia, Insurance & Technology: "There you can compare insurance plans, side-by-side, the same way you'd shop for a plane ticket on Kayak or a TV on Amazon. (U.S. President Obama, talking about the healthcare.gov website) Pat Saporito, SAP: 'Beware of geeks bearing gifts,' a pun on 'Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.' Big Data is everywhere, but the real issue is getting big value from Big Data. Join us for The Digital Insurer: Customer Centricity Trends – Part 2.

Today's buzz: Predictive. IBM's Watson beat Mensa on Jeopardy. Target knows your family. Match.com picks mates. How are they so smart? The experts speak. John Elder, Elder Research: "Humans and machines have very different strengths and weaknesses. The best decisions come from combining their two types of wisdom. Greta Roberts, Talent Analytics: "When a predictive approach is added to the hiring process, cost-benefit models sometimes show it is more powerful to screen out potential bottom-performing hires." Eric Siegel, "Predictive Analytics": "Everyone's heard that correlation does not entail causality. But without establishing any causality, how can we trust a predictive model?" Henner Schliebs, SAP: "Are CFOs the better CEOs? Advanced finance analytics drive the strategic role of finance heads with holistic intelligence about financial, operational and company performance. Master your margins – become a king." The New CFO Agenda: Tying Predictive to Financial Performance–Part 2.