Cloud Wars Live with Bob Evans

Driving Innovation at SAP

The Big Themes:

• Focus on business transformation: SAP's new board area, customer services and delivery, aims to help customers with business transformation rather than just technology transformation. This involves moving to the cloud and adopting innovations like AI to enhance business agility and efficiency.
• Collaboration with hyperscalers and system integrators: SAP collaborates closely with hyperscalers for optimal cloud operations and system integrators for business transformation. This co-engineering approach ensures high availability and promotes SAP’s cloud solutions through partners.
• Acceleration and simplification: SAP emphasizes the importance of not delaying digital transformation. With examples like Fresenius and BMW, SAP shows that moving to the cloud and adopting new technologies can be accelerated and simplified, benefiting customers with faster upgrades and new capabilities.

The Big Quote: “First of all, this is always the right time to start. Now. So never wait. Because all of this world is in the stage where investing in digital capabilities is always the right thin

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Episode 41 | Oracle's AI-Driven Future

The Big Themes:

• Oracle's AI advancements: Oracle showcased rapid advancements in AI capabilities, introducing 50 new AI features, including generative AI models for tasks like creating job descriptions and email templates. It aims to ensure speed in innovation, with 25 of these capabilities specifically tailored for HR.
• Oracle's commitment to healthcare: Oracle is strengthening its focus on healthcare, moving its headquarters to Nashville, the epicenter of healthcare tech. Since acquiring Cerner in 2021, Oracle is working to integrate clinical, patient, and administrative systems into a seamless ecosystem. Its commitment extends beyond Cerner, as it tailors offerings for clients using Epic, enhancing workforce management, recruitment, and operational efficiency.
• Improving candidate experience: Oracle is enhancing the candidate experience with its latest updates to Oracle Recruiting Cloud. A new product line, Boost, aims to improve recruitment efficiency through AI-driven tools, offering candidates a more personalized and engaging application process. These advancements reflect a broader trend in the industry to prioritize not just customer and employee experiences, but also those of potential hires.

The Big Quote: "I think [conference attendees] [are] really jazzed because of what the possibilities with AI are . . . what they were showing, in terms of AI, brought a new spring in their step."

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AI Frontiers

The Big Themes:

• Shift from digital to AI transformation: There's been a significant evolution in the focus of businesses from digital transformation to AI-driven innovation. Initially, companies aimed to enhance their existing digital processes using the latest technologies. However, the current emphasis is on leveraging AI to fundamentally transform business operations and create new value.
• Partner ecosystem collaboration: ServiceNow’s strategy involves deep collaboration with a diverse ecosystem of partners such as Accenture, NVIDIA, Hugging Face, and Microsoft. By integrating NVIDIA's AI capabilities or Microsoft's Copilot features, ServiceNow can offer more robust and versatile tools to its clients. This collaborative approach helps businesses adopt AI more effectively.
• Importance of taking the first step: Wright stresses the significance of starting the AI journey. While the potential of AI is vast, the initial step is often the hardest, and people get bogged down in pontificating and debating possibilities. Businesses are encouraged to begin their transformation process to explore and realize the opportunities AI presents.

The Big Quote: "Every month, [AI] opens up more and more possibilities. And I think that's the mindset that you need . . . you don't need to be thinking, 'How can I do what I did before better?' You need to be thinking, 'How can I do now what I could never do before?'"

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AI Drives Transformation

The Big Themes:

• ServiceNow's strong partner ecosystem: ServiceNow showcased its commitment to a partner-first strategy with a substantial presence of partners at the event. The Partner Innovation Zone and Partner Pavilion demonstrated partners' critical role in ServiceNow’s ecosystem. Erica mentions PartnerFinder, a ServiceNow tool designed to make it easy for customers to select the partner that's the best fit for them.
• GenAI and ServiceNow: Erica talks about GenAI's pivotal role in ServiceNow's future. ServiceNow's partners have been at the forefront of this AI revolution, undergoing extensive training on Pro Plus since September 2023. Jensen Huang from NVIDIA spoke at the event about ServiceNow's significant impact on NVIDIA's operations and their collaborative efforts in AI.
• Major partnerships and innovations: Key announcements included a significant partnership with Microsoft, integrating Microsoft’s Copilot with ServiceNow’s Now Assist, and a collaboration with Genesys for call center technology. These developments reflect ServiceNow's expansion into the front office.

The Big Quote: “[In a year], I still think we'll be talking about GenAI . . . we'll have real use cases. I think we'll be able to really share productivity statistics that show the impact of GenAI so that people are like, 'Wow.' We're going from, 'Is this real? Should I do a proof of concept?' to 'How do I proliferate GenAI across the platform . . . knowing the company will have at least crossed the 20,000 customer mark in terms of attendance?'"

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Episode 51 | Strategic IT Budgeting

The Big Themes:

• Integrated investment approach: Wayne advocates for aligning IT investments with broader company goals, urging against treating IT as a separate entity. This approach ensures that IT projects are evaluated alongside other investments, prioritizing those with the highest strategic value.
• Time allocation for CIOs: Wayne recommends that CIOs dedicate around 20-25% of their time to budget-related activities, including engaging with business stakeholders, discussing investment priorities, and strategic planning. This time investment is critical for ensuring that IT initiatives are aligned with broader business objectives.
• Comprehensive project costing: A transparent and comprehensive approach to project costing, where expenses are aggregated to provide a holistic view of total project costs can be beneficial. This strategy prevents budget overruns and facilitates better decision-making throughout the project lifecycle.

The Big Quote: “Don't budget only for implementation. I see this all the time. If the project is going to be $10 million to put it in, what's your first year, first 18 months of costs? People say my project is to put in Product X. Now when the product is done, there's the ongoing cost — especially in the SaaS [software-as-a-service] world, that's not insignificant."

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Cloud ERP and Generative AI

The Big Themes:

• Generative AI in cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP): Russell discusses how SAP is responding to evolving customer demands by prioritizing integrating generative AI technologies into its cloud ERP offerings. This proactive stance not only aligns with market trends but also underscores SAP's commitment to innovation and customer-centricity.
• Anticipation for Sapphire: The anticipation surrounding SAP's forthcoming Sapphire event is palpable. Attendees are eager to gain valuable insights, learn from real-world success stories, and engage in meaningful networking opportunities. This anticipation underscores the pivotal role of Sapphire as a premier platform for SAP to showcase its latest innovations, share thought leadership, and foster collaboration within its vibrant ecosystem.
• Executive leadership Involvement: Executive leaders such as CEOs and CFOS are broadening their involvement in strategic technology decisions, transcending traditional IT boundaries. This expanding engagement encompasses leveraging AI to drive value and results, not solely focused on efficiency and cost optimization but also broader organizational goals.

The Big Quote: “[Customers] were doing proof of concepts, they were testing how [GenAI] could potentially solve business problems. They've moved beyond that. Now they're looking for solutions. They're looking for outcomes. They understand the power of the technology, but it needs to be matched with real benefits, real value, real outcomes."

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The Big Themes

• Customer priorities: Josyula identifies top priorities for ServiceNow customers, including business transformation driven by technology, a focus on GenAI and AI more broadly, and vendor consolidation (choosing a few strategic platforms and going all in). With customer priorities in mind, ServiceNow is on a journey to becoming the AI platform for end-to-end transformation, developing GenAI products and services to improve both the employee and customer experience.
• Understanding non-tech executive priorities: Having a relationship CIOs and CTOs can be helpful because they often play a part in driving business transformation that's driven by technology. It's helpful for non-tech execs to see the benefits of ServiceNow within their own functions. Partners also contribute to fostering conversations about successful outcomes, serving as great reference points demonstrating value.
• What to expect at Knowledge24: Attendees can expect to hear more about how ServiceNow is rapidly innovating in AI and GenAI in its platform and across several solutions areas as well as how ServiceNow is focusing on customer value with its ecosystem.

The Big Quote: "We are on this journey of being the AI platform for end-to-end digital transformation. And what this means is we started with our roots in it, we had IT service management and operations management. But quickly, our customers, in many cases, pulled us deeper into it, as we looked at helping them deliver on asset management, security, and risk."

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Episode 40 | AI Empowerment at Workday

The Big Themes:

• Rapid innovation with Workday Extend: Workday Extend is a pivotal aspect of Workday's platform strategy. It facilitates rapid innovation, enabling quick responses to emergent needs such as workforce adjustments during the COVID-19 pandemic. The platform's flexibility empowers users to develop bespoke solutions tailored to their unique requirements. It reflects Workday's ambition to evolve beyond being solely an application company
• Bringing in more partners: Workday sees partnerships as integral to its growth and innovation trajectory. Workday is broadening its partner ecosystem beyond conventional implementation collaborators, embracing a spectrum of innovation partners. This expansion aims to leverage diverse expertise to develop industry-tailored solutions and enhance platform extensibility.
• AI Marketplace launch: Workday plans to launch an AI marketplace, representing a significant initiative aimed at accelerating AI-driven innovation within its ecosystem. This marketplace will serve as a platform for partners to develop and distribute AI solutions built on the Workday platform. It is positioned as a means to provide customers with access to a curated selection of tested AI products while offering revenue-sharing opportunities for partners.

The Big Quote: “The pace that customers want AI is a different one than all of us in the IT industry are talking about it."

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Episode 50 | Securing the Digital Frontier

The Big Themes:

• Multi-cloud complexity & AI: The adoption of multi-cloud environments presents significant management challenges for IT teams, including complexities in configuration, monitoring, and integration. Simultaneously, there is increasing interest in harnessing AI to enhance cybersecurity, with discussions centering on automating tasks and responses for more effective threat management.
• Need for proactive cybersecurity measures: Proactive cybersecurity measures are to be preferred over reactive ones. It suggests that organizations should invest in tools and strategies that predict and prevent security threats rather than just responding to them.
• Adaptability and skill development: In the face of technological advancements and changing job requirements, adaptability and continuous skill development are crucial. You want a workforce that can adapt to new technologies and think critically about their applications in the business context.

The Big Quote: “When a company gets breached. . . somebody always wrote a memo that went 'Doesn't that look funny to you?'. . . imagine if we had a tool that kept watch that listened, that learned, that advised and maybe even got shrill. An email isn't going to go 'Hey, man, read me now.' But the right AI tool might very well be programmed to say, 'I'm going to keep texting that CIO until they listen to me.'"

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Episode 39 | The Shifting Tech Landscape

The Big Themes:

• Significant M&A activities: After a quiet period last quarter, there's been a notable trend of merger and acquisition (M&A) in the HR technology space. Specifically, Bonnie outlines key acquisitions by major players like Ceridian, Workday, ServiceNow, and Cornerstone, emphasizing the strategic moves to enhance product offerings and stay competitive.
• Evaluating M&A impact: Bonnie advises customers to carefully assess the impact of M&A on their contracts, pricing, and support levels. Changes are inevitable but may vary depending on the acquiring company's integration strategy. Customers need to scrutinize initial contracts and understand potential changes in service quality and pricing structures.
• Customer success and satisfaction: The importance of customer feedback and satisfaction emerges as a key theme, with Bonnie advocating for customer-centric approaches and the use of reviews to gauge vendor performance and customer sentiment in the midst of industry transformations.

The Big Quote: “You want to be aware that when . . . a consulting party gets acquired, the culture is going to change drastically, and you want to make sure that what you had in the past —those great relationships and all of that knowledge, and partnership that was built — that isn't going to change in a new sort of model. And be aware that it very likely could."

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