Technology Revolution: The Future of Now

Today's buzz: The city. Your city is a complex vital entity with the power to impact your local quality of life as well as national and global economies. How is your city running? Is innovation part of its DNA, spirit, budget and capabilities? The experts speak. Sean Patrick O'Brien, SAP: "What defines a best run city, how can you measure this, what do you benchmark against, and is this the same way citizens, businesses and officials make such a judgment?" Meghan Cook, Center for Technology in Government, Univ. at Albany, NY: "The mesh is an emerging business model based on a network enabled sharing – on access rather than ownership ... where consumers have more choices, more tools, more information, and more peer-to-peer power to guide the choices" (Lisa Gansky, author of The Mesh: Why the Future of Business is Sharing). Cindy King, City of Edmonton: "Make sure what you do is a product of your own conclusion (Jim Rohn). Join us for Best-Run Cities: Urban Matters – Part 2.

Today's buzz: Bribery and corruption are alive and well. The global economy continues to bring great opportunities and great risks. Wherever you do business, do you have measures in place to detect and thwart clever bribery and corruption fraud schemes, especially those cooked-up by trusted staff or consultants? Perhaps technology can help. The experts speak. Thomas Fox, attorney, independent consultant: "GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in China will be a complete game-changer in bribery and corruption enforcement across the globe." Vincent Walden, Ernst & Young: "'Parkinson's Law: Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.' Why: Think about the 'new' types of work we will do, given the game-changing performance enhancements of Big Data." Melissa Lea, SAP: "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe" (Albert Einstein). Join us for Compliance: Focus on Anti-Bribery/Anti-Corruption – Part 2.

Today's buzz: Corporate responsibility (CR). How's yours? William Newman, Newport Consulting: "Disney's decision to pull out of Bangladesh based on the government's slow response to the building collapse illustrates CR isn't just for branding anymore. Lives are at stake." John Edelman, Edelman PR: "Sustainability has moved from license-to-operate to license-to-lead...companies public or private, big or small, should start activating around these issues."" Mark Delisi, CSC: "Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved." (Helen Keller) Richard Crespin, CEI: "What was good for our country was good for General Motors, and vice versa. (Charlie Wilson, GM president) Nicolette van Exel, SAP: "Focus only on the things your organization is good at, aligned to one or two social problems, so you can make real social and business impact." Join us for CR: Nice or Must Have? Part 2.

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: Caregivers. In April, we discussed how technology is being developed to help 65 million U.S. caregivers, and others around the world, who provide weekly care to the ill, disabled and aged. Now, half a year later, we'll examine the realities of this technology – benefits, limitations, negatives, challenges – and a wish list for the future. The experts speak. Jayne Dixon Weber, National Fragile X Foundation: "Technology can help you when you get a diagnosis. It can help you get information, find doctors, find other people in your situation…and it can help you feel overwhelmed." Louise W. Gane, MS, M.I.N.D. Institute: "Dare to reach out your hand into the darkness to pull another hand into the light." (Norman B. Rice, former Mayor of Seattle, WA) Faheem Ahmed, SAP: "The 'health' industry is much larger than the 'healthcare provider' industry. Sometimes people don't recognize themselves as caregiver." Join us for Caregiving Goes High-Tech: Benefits, Challenges, Wish List.

Today's buzz: Manufacturing. Reality check: manufacturers must adapt or die. Survival means automating your shop floor, deploying M2M technology, leveraging Big Data. What else? What is government's role? The experts speak. Brian Raymond, National Association of Manufacturers: "We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there (East Bound and Down, Smoky and the Bandit theme song, sung by Jerry Reed, 1977). Mike Walton, Atos: "If the leader is filled with high ambition and he pursues his aims with audacity and strength of will, he will reach them in spite of all obstacles!" (Karl von Clausewitz). Scott Bolick, SAP: "The factory of the future will have only two employees, a man and a dog. The man will be there to feed the dog. The dog will be there to keep the man from touching the equipment." (Warren G. Bennis) Join us for Manufacturing Survival: Idea to Performance.

Today's buzz: SMEs. A recent Oxford Economics study of 2,100 small to mid-size enterprises in 21 countries found that those leveraging technology to boost innovation, strengthen customer relationships, improve agility and expand business, are able to compete effectively against multinationals. How? The experts speak. Steve Freeman, Decision First Technologies: "To achieve an agile and competitive enterprise, SMEs require the individual within flatter organizations to make better, more timely decisions. This reality places self-service information access at the core of a successful SME's information strategy." Edward Cone, Oxford Economics: "Live in fragments no longer. Only connect..." (E.M. Forster, Howards End) Kevin Gilroy, SAP: "Technology and innovations are the competitive equalizers for SMEs anywhere. An SME can 'look' as competitive as a large company, present themselves anywhere, and compete globally with rivals of any size." Join us for Equipped to Compete: Tech-Powered SMEs.

The buzz: CRM. Has your company's CRM evolved to keep up with today's digitally-empowered, brand-controlling customers – or is it stuck in vanilla call-center mode? If the latter, wake up! Your audience is seizing the power moment-by-moment via smartphones, 4G networks, social networking – and defying traditional CRM tools. The experts speak. Brent Leary, CRM Essentials: "When it comes to building lasting relationships with customers living in The Millisecond Economy, 'speed thrills and the lack of it kills'". Susan Etlinger, Altimeter: "The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence; it is to act with yesterday's logic (Peter Drucker, management consultant, self-described 'social ecologist', 1901-2005). Jamie Anderson, SAP: "My philosophy born from eight years in the recording industry: 'I'd rather be a failure at something I love than a success at something I hate (quoting George Burns, late actor) '". Join us for Engaging Your Customer: New Recipe for A Long Marriage.

The buzz: Things. Your POV on The Internet of Things and M2M (machine to machine) technology: Real or vapor? Now or futuristic? Listen up! Companies that fail to implement M2M will fall behind their competitors, say a majority of IT decision makers in six countries surveyed by Harris Interactive for SAP. The experts speak. Don Peppers, Peppers & Rogers Group: "When devices begin to join the Internet of Things in vast numbers (as will happen over the next ten years), they won't just talk to you, they'll talk to each other and they'll begin to make smart decisions themselves. Lights, thermostats, and door locks will 'learn' your habits and begin adjusting automatically." Benjamin Wesson, SAP: "Sometime in 2008, the number of 'things' connected to the Internet exceeded the number of people on earth (Berg Insights 2012). Indeed, every time you turn on your car, the car is capturing telemetric data to be analyzed later by service personnel." Join us for more on The Internet of Things and You.

The buzz: Millennials are here. Retailers, watch out. Tom Julian, Doneger Group: "A celeb today has more impact and influence as a player in fashion and the retailer than an award-winning young designer." Greg Girard, IDC: Get off of the catwalks and on the sidewalks to see what's coming next. Pinterest is the newest sidewalk. Sarah Austin, Pop17.com: "Micro-celebrities, fashion bloggers, and Hollywood celebrities are the new trendsetters. They embrace technology blogging platforms, social media and photography. Naima Mora, Model: "Fashion and technology have allowed us as millennials to put ourselves in the spotlight that was traditionally held for celebrities." Hadi Labarang, FSHN: "Bloggers and photographers with a significant following are now celebrities of their own." Layla Sabourian, SAP: "88 percent of millennials admit to following every celebrity's move in weeklies and online." (Young Entrepreneur Council) Hear Fashion Retailer Alert: Delight Millennials or Die! – Part 2