Stories From the Cloud

It's not easy to predict the future. But when it comes to budget forecasts, the right data and the right models are better than any crystal ball. Tony Nash, CEO and founder of Complete Intelligence, explains how AI and the cloud are giving companies better tools to see into their financial futures.

Knowledge is power. And in the business world, knowing what your customers truly think of you is an extremely powerful tool. But those insights are hard to come by. Tony McCormack, CEO of Joulica, explains how advanced analytics are helping call center workers better understand their customers — so they can provide better service.

There are risks any time you move to new tech. The cloud in particular has caused friction between CISOs, who are laser-focused on security, and other execs. This gap presents an opportunity for leaders to come together and rethink how they can do business both more efficiently and more securely, says KPMG's Brian Jensen. In this episode, Jensen shares key takeaways from the 2020 Oracle and KPMG Cloud Threat Report and what they mean for today's businesses.

Streaming video has come a long way, but there's still a sizeable lag from when live events happen to when they show up on your screen. That's the problem Phenix aims to solve. CMO Jed Corenthal discusses the ramifications of real-time video for sports fans, gamblers, music aficionados, and other content consumers — and how the cloud can make it happen.

"How likely are you to recommend this podcast to a friend?" That question might give you flashbacks to all the lengthy customer service surveys you've been asked to fill out over the years. You know, the ones that don't always solicit the type of feedback you actually want to give — or that a brand wants to receive, for that matter. Rado Raykov, CEO of Holler Live, talks about how his startup is rethinking customer feedback for the social media, swipe-up/swipe-down age.

Early detection is the key to stopping pests and diseases that threaten agricultural crops. But when plant-eating beetles hide under leaves and plants show no visible signs of disease until it's too late, that's not an easy task. AgroScout, a startup based in Israel, aims to solve this problem using drones, multispectral imaging and data science. CEO Simcha Shore explains how these different technologies come together to help farmers get a leg up.

Hoarding isn't just a problem with papers in our desks or socks in our drawers. It affects enterprise applications, too. When companies feel obligated to keep all their data and pack as many features as possible into their apps, it can make them less efficient. Daniel Newman, principal analyst and founding partner of Futurum Research, says modern cloud apps can help businesses use less data — and use it better.

Internet of Things devices that weren't built with security in mind open the door to downtime, intellectual property theft, and worse. The problem is, if you can't see the cyberattacks against these devices' vulnerabilities, you can't fight them. Michael Yehoshua, vice president of global marketing for security firm SCADAfence, discusses major IoT threats and how to protect against them.

Are robots coming for manufacturing jobs? That's a very common question in the industry. But the reality is, except in the largest high-volume factories, pencils and paper still rule the day. On this episode, Mark Carleton, COO of manufacturing software provider MESTEC, explains how technology can help modernize and improve operations.