Futurum Tech Webcast

This episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast – Interview Series, is part of our Women in Tech and features Women Who Tech's Allyson Kapin. Kapin is the founder of Women Who Tech, the largest network of women-led startups, investors, and allies working to increase diversity and funding in tech. Women Who Tech is a nonprofit organization working to build a culture and inclusive economy focused on accelerating women tech entrepreneurs and closing the funding gap.

Women Who Tech conducted The State of Women in Tech and Startups 2020 research study to identify what barriers and challenges people face in the tech sector, and also to help track whether the systemic sexism and racism that respondents experience have shifted since the organization's 2017 survey. Did the #MeToo movement play a role? What happened to gender parity, or investors' perceptions around gender parity in tech and whether investors believe gender plays a role in access to funding? Has anything changed since 2017?

You can get The State of Women in Tech and Startups 2020 Report here.

Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show, the contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.

On this special episode of The Futurum Tech Podcast - Interview Series host Daniel Newman welcomes Yaron Sverdlov, General Manager of SmartOps Division at Amdocs to discuss the impact COVID-19 has had on digital transformation and cloud migration of service providers and where we go from here.

Yaron and I explored how COVID-19 has impacted digital transformation within the telecommunications industry. Compared to companies in other industries, telecom companies were already well into digital transformation, providing the infrastructure we all need to stay connected. But almost overnight there was a greater demand for connection. Yaron shared that we are seeing telecom companies becoming more advanced, more digital, more open, and enabling a different level of support. Companies have had to move to a cloud environment that enables them to react much faster than before. And we likely will keep building on this moving forward.

Cloud adoption trends. Yaron shared that previously many telecom companies were laggards when it came to cloud adoption. The two biggest barriers to adoption were security risk and operating costs. Companies were used to storing everything on-prem where you could guarantee security and you had a capital expense. But now, these issues are becoming less relevant as it becomes more imperative to operate in the cloud. Yaron also shared that every company plans their journey differently and many now are in the middle of their migration process. It's an exciting time in the market.

Hybrid cloud management. Yaron explained that the immediate future for many telecom companies will be some sort of Hybrid IT architecture. These large enterprises have an extensive list of applications and programs that will be costly to migrate completely to the cloud so for the foreseeable future many will use on-prem and off-prem solutions including multiple public clouds. Managing the migration and the operation of this new architecture will be complex. Amdocs offers a Hybrid Cloud Management Platform which allows companies to manage all parts of the migration process.

The financial side of cloud migration. Yaron and I discussed that in addition to moving to a hybrid cloud architecture, service providers are moving FinOps tools to the cloud to be able to better serve customers. Companies are starting to build FinOps tools that use AI to determine how resources are being used and how that relates to KPIs. This will likely change the way we operate, helping companies be more efficient from end to end.

Building infrastructure on public clouds. Lastly, we explored the recent AWS Amdocs partnership announcement and their ability to run on any public cloud. By working with AWS and Azure, Amdocs understands how to get the most out of the cloud in a cost-effective way. These partnerships eliminate the barriers to adoption that many companies were dealing with. It's a smart move for everyone involved.

If you'd like to learn more about Amdocs, their partnerships, services, and product offerings, be sure to check out their website.

Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show, the contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.

In this episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast, Futurum analysts Shelly Kramer and Sarah Wallace discuss digital transformation trends in Big Tech and how strategic, collaborative partnerships is a trend we're going to see more of. Collaborative partnerships allow vendors to leverage one another's strengths and serve customers in more effective, more meaningful ways.

In our conversation, we explored some strategic collaborative Big Tech partnerships including:

Cisco and ServiceNow

Siemens and Salesforce

Workday and Salesforce

Siemens and HPE

IBM and Adobe

SAS and Microsoft Azure

Our conversation centered on the specifics of some of these collaborations and our predictions around digital transformation for Big Tech and how strategic, collaborative partnerships are good for business and good for customers. Putting people at the center of your digital transformation and return to work strategies is important.

Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show, the contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.

On this special episode of The Futurum Tech Podcast - Interview Series host Daniel Newman welcomes Chandrashekar LSP, Product Evangelist at Zoho to discuss a recent work engagement survey, how COVID-19 has impacted IT architecture and how to revamp your IT architecture with one easy test.

LSP and I explored how COVID-19 has accelerated digital transformation. Every company, no matter the industry, was impacted. Most had no choice but to pivot. In the last six months, we've seen more digital transformation than the last decade. There has been a tremendous increase in technology adoption as businesses shifted to working from home environments. Zoho specifically saw clients increase productivity and collaboration technology spend to keep business running effectively. In turn, this technology has given companies a new lease on the way to do business.

Zoho's work engagement survey. LSP shared that in April 2020, Zoho conducted a survey to determine how engaged people are at work. The survey had three parts that covered alignment and leadership competence, employee happiness and satisfaction, and the technology tools that are used in the workplace including the technology strategies that are in place. The survey found that people are happy doing what they do, but companies can improve employee experience when it comes to technology, a telling result for all companies involved.

Silos exist in almost every company. The survey showed many businesses struggle with silos, be it data silos, or technology silos. Too often, companies adopt pieces of technology but do not have the right IT architecture and discipline in maintaining the software. We were experiencing a software creep in IT and marketing until COVID when IT departments had to standardize the technology being used to drive a better customer experience.

Revamping your IT architecture. LSP and I discussed what he calls the four C test to find the right software that fits your company and your needs. The first C is context. Systems need to give seamless context across applications so you can easily jump from one application to another to work on an issue. The second C is continuity. Software needs to be accessible from different devices and different spaces in order to be effective. The third C is convenience. Is the software simple and easy for all employees to use? The final C is collaboration. Is the application or software something that multiple employees can collaborate on at once? Chandrashekar explained that companies could easily justify their tech investments by performing this test.

Zoho's different approach to business. Lastly, we explored what makes Zoho different from other companies including their stance on privacy. Chandrashekar reiterated that Zoho does not sell any user information and they don't run ads in their software. That's a lot of money to sacrifice, but it's worth it to protect customers. We also examined the breadth and depth that Zoho offers which includes 45 products that can be deployed across an organization to solve almost any problem. Everything is integrated and information is shared across the applications, eliminating silo walls before they can even be created.

If you'd like to learn more about Zoho, their work engagement survey, or any of their products and services, be sure to check out their website. Listen to the full episode below and don't forget to subscribe to the Futurum Tech Podcast so you never miss an episode.

Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show, the contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.

On this special episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast - Interview Series, host Daniel Newman welcomes Maria Morais, Global Industry Director - Consumer Industries at SAP to discuss retail and the shifting forces that are having an impact in the industry, including the technology behind it all.

Maria and I explored the trends that retail companies are watching and implementing as things return to normal in the post-pandemic era. The biggest trend is focusing on digital maturity. Companies that were already customer-centric, digitalizing processes across the organization have been able to embrace the unknowns brought about by COVID so much better than the companies who were stuck in the old way of thinking. We are living in an era where companies that embrace digitalization throughout all sides of business, not just customer-facing commerce, will be more efficient and better positioned for success.

Preparing for disruption. Maria shared how COVID-19 disrupted the retail industry and easily showed which companies were agile enough to handle the changes. Many larger companies were able to quickly adapt, but smaller companies struggled. This has to change. Companies, regardless of size, need to be prepared for disruption. Maria shared one great example of a small florist in London that started selling farm-to-table vegetable boxes during the quarantine shut down. This quick pivot allowed the company to stay afloat until lockdown restrictions were relaxed.

Unified commerce is the future. We discussed that omnichannel experiences are not customer-centric enough to be sustainable for the future. Unified commerce, which completely reimagines the way retail companies operate. It's commerce everywhere. It's bringing digital into every part of a brick and mortar location and empowering sales associates to better serve customers. It's connecting every store and the website together no matter the location. Each retailer may be different and have different pain points, but the technology is the same.

Working toward sustainability. Lastly, Maria explored the demand for increased sustainability in retail. One of the main problems in retail is a lot of garments end up in landfills because it's unclear what they are made of. How can you reuse something if you're not sure what it is? Companies should work toward extending the product lifecycle through recycling initiatives and other business model changes. But this will take transparency in the supply chain. Some companies like L'Oreal and Nike are leaders in the space, but there is still room for growth.

If you'd like to learn how SAP is using technology to help retailers make these changes, be sure to check out their website. Don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast.

Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show, the contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.

On this special episode of the Futurum Tech Podcast - Interview Series, host Daniel Newman welcomes Karthik Rau, General Manager of Application Management at Splunk to discuss observability and application monitoring, COVID-19, and how IT departments are dealing with the recent changes brought about by the pandemic.

Karthik and I explored the rapid acceleration of digital initiatives due to COVID-19. Pre-pandemic, we were seeing companies slowly adopt digital transformation initiatives. But almost overnight, this progress was rapidly accelerated as companies were forced to go digital. We've seen a rapid adoption of SaaS solutions and other digital initiatives to support a remote workforce. It was a decade of digital transformation in three months. All of these changes have changed the way the IT department operates, and it's most likely never going back.

The New Role of IT Departments. Karthik shared that as companies invest more in technology to support digital transformation initiatives, IT's responsibility becomes more about enabling the organization to build the software that they need to drive their digital business forward as quickly as possible. It's a significant shift to be more agile.

Rapid shifts in every industry. We discussed the impact COVID-19 has had on every industry. From education to healthcare to consumer goods, every organization had to pivot how they operate — most moving to a mobile-first environment. They've had to buy the technology and the software to support the changes as well as shift the culture to ensure the change.

Lastly Karthik shared about the impact of observability and the fundamental changes to app development. As companies have moved more towards SaaS, the underlying infrastructure has changed from on-prem to highly elastic public and private clouds. All of which is driving a larger DevOps approach creating massive amounts of data. It's critical to avoid mistakes in the world of app development so companies need an observability solution that can track and monitor all the data that is created to catch errors and find trends.

If you're interested in learning more about Splunk and how their offerings can help you, be sure to check out their website. Don't forget to listen to the full episode below and while you're at it, be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode.

For this week's episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast, Futurum's Daniel Newman and Sarah Wallace discuss major cloud announcements by vendors such as HPE, Oracle, AWS, Microsoft, and IBM that have been made in the last few weeks. These announcements confirm that there is continued momentum in cloud, especially during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic when companies have had shift to accelerate their digital transformation.

This webcast covered announcements from:

• HPE's virtual Discover event and the unveiling of its new Ezmeral software platform, as well as the acquisition of Silver Peak.

• Oracle's announcements around its Dedication Region Cloud@Customer and others

• Microsoft's announcements from its Inspire event, including updates to Dynamics 365 and Power Platform

• AWS announcements of its Low Code/No Code with new Honeycode, its launch of Relational Database Service for AWS Outposts, and the availability of AWS IoT SiteWise for industrial customers

• IBM and Adobe's partnership to digitally transform regulated industries

• IBM, Red Hat and SAP helping customers who want to run SAP Cloud Platform on-prem

Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show, the contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.

For this week's episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast, analysts Shelly Kramer and Sarah Wallace discuss how the Future of Work has transformed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tech industry has seen major announcements vendors regarding remote collaboration, workplace transformation and safety, and distance certification.

Their conversation includes a look at:

• Cisco Live's Collaboration launch, which focuses on workplace transformation, helping IT transform to a 'new normal,' moves to enable seamless remote workflows with expanded integrations with productivity tools, enhanced security around collaboration, and more.

• HPEs return to work solutions announced during HPE's Discoverevent, including touchless entry solutions, fever detection tech, workplace alerts, and some other really cool offerings.

• Siemens' partnership with Salesforce on a new workplace technology suite that allows companies to safely return to work and some of the specifics of that offering.

We also discussed our thoughts on what's ahead — the Future of Work world will require a transformation of the actual work that's done, a transformation of the workplace, and a transformation of the workforce as well — and all that's entailed there.

It was a fascinating discussion and we're glad to have you as part of it.

Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show, the contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.

In this episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast, analysts Fred McClimans and Shelly Kramer explore the topic of future-proofing the enterprise and transforming business operations. No politics, no economics — just a hard look at the importance of putting a plan process that doesn't just digitize things today and answer the easy questions (e.g. do we use Microsoft Teams or Cisco Webex for our meetings?), but which truly transforms operations in order to make the business as a whole more resilient and more agile moving forward.

Our conversation in the show today includes the importance of assembling an internal SWOT team, an exploration of what that team looks like, and the things teams should consider as they try to plan for the future.

Some of the key factors organizations must consider and which we cover in more detail in this episode include:

• The importance of moving operations to the cloud
• The most effective use of collaboration platforms
• Managing and planning for data center resources
• Rethinking security operations, evaluating enterprise SOCs
• Evaluating contracts around your data center, office space, and supply chain, and managed services security contracts
• How these things are monitored and how information is shared within the enterprise so as to provide real-time insights
• Evaluating what happens to productivity with a WFH workforce and how to facilitate that
• Managing the social needs of employees and the rule both collaboration platforms play there

Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show, the contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.

On this episode of the Futurum Tech Podcast – Interview Series, host Daniel Newman welcomes Tim Tully, CTO and Senior Vice President of Splunk to discuss leadership through the crisis, how companies have changed in the last three months and new approaches to cloud, AI and ML technologies. Tim also gave a quick overview of .conf20, Splunk's upcoming virtual tech conference this October.

In our conversation, Tim and I explored how businesses have changed in the last few months. Digital transformation has been pushed forward faster than ever before with more technology adoption and better communication systems being utilized. It's apparent now that the working remotely can be successful, which ultimately removes hiring barriers that might have once been in place. Companies like Splunk can hire the best person for the job regardless of location.

Confronting problems with more empathy and EQ. Tim shared that the pandemic has forced Splunk executives to look at the problems the company is facing with a sense of empathy. They're more focused on understand how the situation has impacted employees and customers and their livelihoods. This has been an awakening for a lot of companies to really concentrate on employees and individuals over the bottom line.

Turning toward technology and data. Tim and I discussed the technology Splunk has set up to help themselves and customers understand their data through the pandemic. The first piece of technology — the Remote Work Insights app, which is free on GitHub — is a dashboard that allows people to see how their resources are being used by employees at home. For example, customers can see how their VPN is being used and if they're going to need more bandwidth. They're able to make decisions based on data without ever slowing down the business. Tim also shared that Splunk has seen an uptick in their app usage. More clients are using the dashboards to quickly view KPIs wherever they might be. It's clear the way people work and how they approach technology are changing.

A change in architecture. We also discussed how many companies are adopting more hybrid architecture. Tim shared that he has been encouraging Splunk customers to move to a hyperconverged data plane. It's the idea that data can live both on-prem and in the cloud but be in one data pipeline. Customers want the ability to process data where it is, reduce costs, and then route the data to products in different clouds. This is not a surprising move given Splunk's "Data to Everything" motto.

A different approach to machine learning. Tim shared his thoughts on the new direction Splunk is taking with machine learning (ML). When you think of ML, you most likely think about a hypothesis and plugging in data that's at rest to help a system learn. Splunk is taking a different approach with their stream processing which is a low latency level of processing that enables real-time machine learning continuously. Many tech experts and analysts have long surmised that ML would move this direction eventually. Splunk is making it happen.

A teaser to .conf20. Lastly, Tim and I talked a little bit about Splunk's annual conference .conf20 which will be taking place virtually this year on October 20-21. There will be keynotes and exciting new product releases — definitely something you don't want to miss. Sign up now to be notified when registration is open.

Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show, the contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.