Futurum Tech Webcast

In this episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast – Interview Series, I'm joined by Angela Lepelley, the Sales Director, AI and Automation at Five9 for conversation about a topic that is steadily increasing in importance: AI in the contact center.

For most people, contacting a contact center is a dreaded task. Whether by phone, video, chat, or email, interacting with contact center agents, historically speaking, has been an onerous experience. We also know that customer experience is a top priority for businesses, and many have started to understand the value of also improving the experience in the contact center. But how exactly does that happen? Angela and I explore that in greater detail during the course of our conversation, and also covered the following:

• A look at the current, and often frustrating realities of the contact center for employees and customers and why AI is playing a role there.
• What is driving the adoption of AI in the contact center as well as common barriers to adoption that organizations are facing.
• Not everything in the contact center can be automated. We explored ways that organizations are determining what automation can augment and what still needs to be done by an employee.
• Automation and AI in the contact center, like an organization's overall digital transformation, is a journey that is never complete. It is a constant evolution that businesses need to keep tracking, which can be a complicated process. We discussed what organizations should think about as they evaluate automation and AI platforms and potential vendor partners

In this episode of Futurum Live! From the Show Floor, Futurum Research Senior Analyst and VP of Sales Steven Dickens talks with Broadcom's Director of Product Management and Strategy Deborah Carbo and David Stokes, Senior Director, Engineering during the SHARE Conference in Columbus. Their conversation focused on Broadcom's CA 1® FlexibleStorage™ solution, the newest addition to their mainframe software portfolio, how the new solution provides secure, cost-effective mainframe data storage options for hybrid IT environments, and what Broadcom is doing to help their customers leverage a hybrid cloud strategy. To learn more about Broadcom visit their website.

On this episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast – Interview Series, host Steven Dickens is joined by Phil Straw, CEO of SoftIron to discuss the launch of their new product, HyperCloud.

Their conversation covered the following:

• An overview of the current challenges for organizations trying to deploy private cloud
• A look into HyperCloud and what makes it unique
• How HyperCloud will positively impact organizations and
• HyperCloud's key differentiators

If you'd like to learn more about HyperCloud, read the Press Release on SoftIron's website. Be sure to subscribe to never miss an episode.

On this episode of The Main Scoop cohost with Greg Lotko, SVP and GM, Mainframe Software at Broadcom, and I are joined by Joao Bezerra Leite, Fintech investor and former Itau technology executive. We discuss the impact of Fintech on traditional banking institutions and the mainframe's vital role in banking transformation.

Our conversation also covered the following:

• A dive into the global trends that are impacting the financial sector
• A look into the tech trends that are driving change
• The evolving role of the mainframe in digital transformation

It was a great conversation and one you don't want to miss. Like what you've heard? Check out Episode One of The Main Scoop and be sure to subscribe to never miss an episode of The Main Scoop series.

Futurum Research Senior Analyst and VP of Sales Steven Dickens talks with Kyndryl's Richard Baird, VP, CTO and Engineering Lead, Core Enterprise and zCloud, and Jonathan P. Dietz, VP, Core Enterprise and zCloud U.S. Practice Leader, during the SHARE Conference in Columbus. Their conversation explored Kyndryl's growth trajectory over the last year, their focus on building alliances, and what they are doing to modernize the mainframe platform.

To learn more about Kyndryl visit their website.

Futurum Research Senior Analyst and VP of Sales Steven Dickens talks with Rocket Software's President, Infrastructure Modernization Business Unit Phil Buckellew during the SHARE Conference in Columbus. Their conversation touched on infrastructure modernization, the mainframe tools they offer their customers, and the expansion and transformation the company has been experiencing.

To learn more about Rocket Software visit their website.

Futurum Research Senior Analyst and VP of Sales Steven Dickens talks with SVA Software, Inc.'s Vice President of Sales & Marketing Lisa Schwab during the SHARE Conference in Columbus. Their conversation focuses on what the company is doing in the mainframe space, the pillars of their zOptimization platform, and how SVA Software, Inc.'s combined software and service is a big differentiator for them in the market.

To learn more about SVA Software, Inc. visit their website.

In this episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast – Interview Series, I'm joined by Amanda Mountain, Global Vice President of eCommerce at SAP, for a fascinating and timely conversation on the topic of continuous learning.

August marks the start of Back-to-School season. For students, it's an exciting time that kicks off another year of learning and growth. But we'd like to take the time to focus on the importance of continuous learning for businesses. Now is as good a time as ever to prioritize continued education. The future of work is going to take skills many people don't have – where can they learn them? In fact, a World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report found that "50% of employees will need reskilling by 2025 to keep pace with emerging technologies."

Addressing the prevalence of disengaged employees as well as the skills shortage organizations are facing today is an imperative across industries, from retail to the public sector. So what can organizations do to address the current situation? That's just what Amanda and I are going to be discussing.

Our conversation covered:

• The current state of the workforce, as we are seeing an unprecedented number of people leaving jobs in search of something more fulfilling. At the same time, employers are struggling to fill empty positions leaving a heavy burden on the remaining employees to cover positions they might not have been hired for. We explored data from SHRM that showed a whopping 47.8 million workers quit their jobs, an average of nearly 4 million a month. We also explored research from Pew Research Center on the top reasons U.S. workers left a job in 2021, in which low pay and no advancement opportunities and feeling disrespected at work topped the list.
• We explored why people leave jobs and the important role that creating a culture of continuous learning plays in both talent acquisition and talent retention.
• We discussed today's workplace landscape and how it is unlike anything we've encountered before. As a result of the monumental shifts the pandemic has ushered in, companies are combatting both talent retention challenges and an ever-growing IT skills gap. It has become increasingly apparent that education and training must evolve with the landscape.
• Today's learners want – and need — different solutions than L&D leaders have relied on in the past. Amanda shared some of the SAP offerings on that front as well as some insights on how learning behaviors and desires have changed, and what technology solutions are doing to address those changes. Amanda shared how SAP is responding to the need with solutions like the Go1 Learning solution, which provides SAP SuccessFactors customers access to the largest marketplace of off-the-shelf content ready to use via the Open Content Network and SAP Enable Now, which is a comprehensive digital adoption tool that delivers time-of-need learning to help people develop the skills they need to do their job effectively.
• What's an organization to do? When strategizing about how to mitigate the skills gap, who is responsible for implementing continuous learning measures? Is it organizations or individual employees? We have thoughts!
• What exactly is the CURIOSITY mindset and insights from Amanda on things she's doing on her team to encourage this and how you can implement programs like this too.

Amanda shared details about how some of SAP's partners are addressing these needs and some of the innovative solutions that are available in the SAP store, including the following:

• Centrical for Enterprise Learning Solutions from SAP
• BLEND - Learning Experience Platform (LxP) by TalenTeam
• The Immerse Platform
• Collaborative Learning Platform
• Global Business Skills from Hardskills
• SAP Litmos

You can find more information on SAP's wide range of learning and development offerings at the SAP store, and I hope you'll pop over and take a look. You'll likely be amazed at what's available for you and your organization to help get your learning and development programs dialed in to what today's workers want and need.

On this special episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast – Interview Series I am joined by Stefan Krauss, SVP, Global Head of Discrete Industries and Energy & Natural Resources at SAP. This is the third episode in a series — done in partnership with SAP — where I will be speaking with advisors and executives across several different industries on the state of their industry and what we can expect in the future.

In our conversation we discussed the following:

• The areas of opportunities for the high tech and industrial manufacturing industries
• A deep dive into how the current market is causing organizations to develop new business models for growth
• An exploration into ways organizations can evolve from product-centric to service-centric
• A look into the challenges organizations will have to overcome during this evolution

The high tech and industrial manufacturing industries, like many other industries, have undergone dramatic shifts in the last few years and many organizations within these industries are still dealing with the changes. My conversation Stefan explores how organizations can navigate these changes and find success for the future. It's definitely one you don't want to miss.

If you'd like to learn more about the industries, be sure to check out our research brief How High Tech and Manufacturing Organizations Drive Business Impact from Digital Transformation.

On this special episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast – Interview Series I am joined by Esam Elashmawi, Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer at Lattice Semiconductor. Our conversation centers around Lattice's recent Q2 earnings, what to expect from the company going forward, what their strategy is, and much more you won't want to miss.

In our conversation we discussed the following:

• A broad overview of recent earnings from around the industry
• A deep dive into the recent record breaking Q2 2022 revenue report from Lattice, and how they can continue their growth and success
• A look into the CHIPS Act and how it will drive innovation in the future
• An exploration of FPGA's as an industry and as a market, and how more applications could leverage an FPGA that maybe wasn't considered before

If you'd like to learn more about Lattice Semiconductor, check out their website here.