Busting the omnichannel - enterprise hacks and chats

Enterprise media blowout - where are brands getting it wrong? (and right)

Before everyone gets into trouble at fall events, it's time to bear down on enterprise video and media, and look at where brands are getting it wrong - and right. Paul Greenberg and Brent Leary of PPN/CRM Playaz, the recipients of my informal enterprise video award, have lived the highs and lows of audience engagement with video - time to put them in the chair with your questions. This blowout edition will also include surprise mystery guests! (Thomas Wieberneit of CRMKonvos, another enterprise video finalist, will join for the post-game analysis and podcast wrap at the 30:00 mark). Note: by the time we finished this video, I think we had boiled down a bunch of key takeaways for getting enterprise media right. 

Google’s cookie brouhaha and gen AI marketing highs and lows - with Liz Miller

This one started as a soloflight, but the timing was good for Constellation's Liz Miller to crash the show as only she can do, and take a Google-cookie-backtrack victory lap, and make sense of the gen AI creativity debate from a CMO/marketing angle. There is a bit of a without-a-net vibe here until Liz shows up at the 11:00, but I recommend tracking this from the beginning to hear the context of the article on AI, creativity and job impact we will discuss. The podcast starts with the introduction of an important piece on gen AI and impact on creative jobs by journalism Brian Merchant. As I originally pitched the show: "One more notable article on gen AI creativity came out that we need to break down. I may get a couple guests to crash this session. Feel free to join and have your cam ready, maybe you'll be one of them." Stay to the end and get a cameo from Brent Leary as well, he goes off on Google's moves before heading into his own broadcast...

Enterprise month in review - how vendors mess up their messaging in BI (and beyond)

Yep, it's time. Join me and Brian Sommer for this month's highs and lows of the enterprise. Our special guest will be Lawson Abinanti, who has some tough love for BI vendors on how their messaging falls short. We'll probably push into some FP&A and AI talk as well. What do customers really need from their BI and data vendors? As always bring your savviest comments and sharp wit. Note: you can see the slide deck on the YouTube replay at: https://www.youtube.com/live/AEvI7vnsCTk.

SAP’s clean core mantra - hashing out fresh data and new developments

SAP's "clean core" mantra raises enough questions to earn its own podcast. So, in the aftermath of SAP Sapphire and ASUG's Annual Conference, Josh Greenbaum and ASUG CEO Geoff Scott join Jon Reed again. We start with the open questions each of us are pursuing after the show. Then we shift into the SAP clean core discussion: is clean core marketing/sales hype, or a way of achieving deeper customer value from SAP? Scott reveals fresh data from ASUG on customer views, and Reed asks the guys to react to recent blog posts from SAP, as well as the clean core partner certification. We wrap with the question: where should SAP customers take this from here?

Workshopping gen AI creativity III - with Barb Mosher Zinck

In the final segment (for now) of our Workshopping Generative AI creativity series, Barb Mosher Zinck joins the show to reveal what she sees as a practioner - and as diginomica's lead digital marketing writer. This is Zinck's first time appearing on Jon's show, but the two have debated content strategy for years, resulting in Jon's longer dbook on informed B2B buyers (which Zinck edited). Today, Zinck joins the live show to elaborate on her notable blog post, "Is content creation the best use for generative AI in marketing?" After discovering that Twitter/X borked the live stream, Jon breaks down what he's learned on gen AI and creativity to date, and a discussion of the lessons behind Barb's blog post ensues. You can see the post at: https://diginomica.com/content-creation-best-use-generative-ai-marketing.

CFO dilemmas - are finance leaders strategic, or struggling with admin?

After taping a Sage analyst event podcast review in Atlanta, Jon Reed and Brian Sommer jumped right into a shorter companion podcast on a hot event topic: CFO dilemmas. Are CFOs able to own business growth? Are they truly moving past admin, or is this is the same admin versus strategy dilemma that has plagued finance leaders for decades? Can AI make a dent here? Are there any relevant AI for finance use cases?

On finance admin, AI, and eliminating the close - the Sage analyst event review

Jon Reed and Brian Sommer crashed an empty conference room to hash out what they learned at a whirlwind Sage analyst day event. Sage has ambitious plans for AI and automation in finance and beyond. "Eliminating the close" is one way of framing these goals - but is it realistic? Jon gets into Brian's pesky questions from the show, and what he learned. The two also hash out some of Sage's AI pursuits such at the digital fingerprint. It's been years since Sage acquired cloud finance vendor Intacct - now the entire product line is changing, but what does this mean for customers? Note: check out the second shorter companion podcast on the dilemmas facing CFOs and finance leaders.

Workshopping Gen AI enterprise creativity part 2 - parsing the BS with Brent Leary

Note: Barb wasn't able to make this session due to tech issues, but Brent Leary of Playaz Production Network hopped on, and he had some terrific content on what he has seen on gen AI and creativity this event season... On the heels of part one, Barb Mosher Zinck published a notable blog post on this topic, so our work isn't finished here. Let's see what Barb has to say, and I have a couple more debunkings to share. Bring your smartest/snarkiest stuff as usual and let's try to advance this convo. (We did discuss Barb's post a bit on this show; I'll have her back on in July to delve further).

Workshopping generative AI ”creativity” in the enterprise - parsing the BS - with Thomas Wieberneit

I've had my fill of gen AI "creativity" BS for the enterprise. And yet, there are some pros and cons to discuss - and use cases to consider. What does Thomas Wieberneit think? I know he will come with strong views and we'll hash this one out - want to join us and provide your views as well? I will also outline some of my theories of attention and B2B buyer engagement, and how I see AI helping - and not. Note: this video also contains a vigorous debate on the impact of gen AI on enterprise job loss, thanks to some savvy commenters. Note: if you enjoy these ad-free, unscripted, uncensored enterprise convos, do consider leaving a strong rating on your fave podcast channel. This podcast will always be free and unsponsored. If you want to follow along with the slides, check the replay at https://www.youtube.com/@jonreedofdiginomica.

SAP Sapphire 2024 review - Talking RISE field views, BTP economy and public cloud surprises with Brian Dennett

On the final afternoon of SAP Sapphire, Jon sat down with Brian Dennett for a sleep deprivation show review. Brian's SAP adventures have landed him with a partner that is expert on RISE and BTP, so it was the perfect time to dig into the pros and cons of RISE, where the value lies, and whether "clean core" is a crucial concept for SAP customers - or a marketing/commercial catch phrase. Also: what is the "BTP economy," and why should customers cast a wide net when it comes to their implementation partner moving forward? Jon also shares some of his customer feedback and surprises: including customer advocacy of the S/4HANA public cloud edition. We wrap with a brief chat about cynicism versus open-minded curiosity in the role of market analysis.

Enterprise Month in Review - where are the big ideas in HR - and HR tech?

In this special edition of the Enterprise month in review, Brian Sommer and Jon Reed will also be joined by special guest Thomas Otter of Acadian Ventures... Otter will answer: where are the big ideas in HR? Will AI count? Join us and give us your snarky wisdom and input. Brian and Jon will also do our picks of the month. Editor's note: this audio edition restores the first 7:30 minutes of the broadcast that did not go out to the live stream and the video version. You may hear the splice and a shift in audio sound after the splice - but it was worth it for the extra material!

ESG for finance - where do we stand now?

In this ten minute update, Jon Reed asks Brian Sommer for the latest on why ESG is disrupting finance - and touching just about every corporate cost center. This podcast took place in advance of Brian's session at Planful Perform 2024 on ESG for finance professionals. Jon also asks Brian to weigh in on why ESG is perceived as too political, and what the stakes are to sidelining this conversation for that reason. Note: this is the final section of a longer Planful Perform review that's also been released, so check the feed for that one.

Planful Perform ’24 Review - impact of AI on finance and customer priorities

In this on-site podcast taping in San Diego, Jon Reed and Brian Sommer review the hot topics at Planful Perform 2024. Obviously the potential and perils of AI for finance gets attention, but there is more - including the financial planning market, and what finance customers need to achieve better project results. Note: the final section of this podcast, on the impact of ESG for finance, is being released separately, so check the feed for that.

What is the role of partners in the SAP innovation debate?

In our prior podcasts on SAP's innovation direction, we debated everything from AI to RISE - with the goal of providing actions and context for customers. This time, we wade into deeper waters by looking at the role of SAP partners. Join us as Josh Greenbaum, ASUG CEO Geoff Scott and Jon Reed look at how SAP services partners are responding to disruptions inside and outside the SAP "ecosystem." How should partners address clean core/BTP versus customizations? How should customers evaluate partners? Are customers missing out on partners that are not on their radar screen? And what is the role of ASUG (and other SAP user groups) in helping customers engage and assess partners? What has ASUG learned from recent surveys on this topic? We cover all that and more in this lead up to SAP Sapphire and the ASUG Annual Conference.

Enterprise Month in Review - customer data pitfalls edition with Maureen Blandford

Join Brian Sommer and Jon Reed for another spicy, fun-filled edition of the Enterprise Month in Review. Our special guest feature is Maureen Blandford of Serendipitus, who will reveal her field lessons on the data pitfalls enterprises are falling into, and why slathering AI on questionable data is a fail. And: Blandford will tell us what the heck to do about it!

Note: you can follow along with the slides via the video replay on LinkedIn. 

Workshopping hyperpersonalization - defined, debunked, debated - with Thomas Wieberneit

Hyperpersonalization has been recognized as one of the seven defining patterns of AI. Why? Is it deserving? Useful? Buzzword mischief? Time for an enterprise BS detector dissection... Join me and CRM analyst and buzzword detoxifier Thomas Wieberneit as we pick apart hyperpsersonalization in this informal discussion. Where does hyperpersonalization work? Where does it fall short? Is the collateral damage of bad personalization worth the risk? As usual bring your sharpest insights and a bit of snark as well, we're going to need it. By the end, we even get around to the problem of music personalization - and Pink Floyd.

Enterprise month in review - the impact of AI on software selection and more

For this month's Enterprise Month in Review, Jon and Brian will be joined by a surprise special guest. We'll pick our top stories of the month, and then dig with our guest on the ups and downs of AI as a consideration in software selection, how to avoid the gotchas of software evaluation, how HR vendors are approaching AI, and more. As always, bring your smartest (and snarkiest) questions/comments. Note: if you enjoy these audio productions with unfiltered enterprise content, and no sponsors or commercials, consider leaving a good review so I can beat the algorithm...

The midmarket analytics (and AI) reality check - live from Sage Transform with Joni Girardi

On the final day of Sage Transform 2024, Jon Reed caught up with old school, returning podcast guest Joni Girardi of DataSelf. Girardi explained why self-service BI has fallen short for business and finance users in the midmarket. Jon gets Joni's take on what Sage Transform's AI announcements mean for customers when it comes to analytics, and the guys take on the impact of AI on analytics from a number of angles, until their room time expires and the podcast wraps.

Enterprise month in review - return to office blowout edition - featuring Molly Sands of Atlassian

Join Jon Reed, Brian Sommer and special guest Molly Sands, who heads up Atlassian's Team Anywhere, to hit the highs and lows of the enterprise year so far - with special attention to the impact of Return to Office mandates, and what companies should do differently. As always, bring your smartest and snarkiest commentary to share. Note: the link to Atlassian's Lessons Learned: 1,000 days of distributed at Atlassian can be found at: https://www.atlassian.com/blog/distributed-work/distributed-work-report

What does SAP’s AI push mean for customers? With Geoff Scott and Josh Greenbaum

Join Josh Greenbaum, ASUG CEO Geoff Scott and Jon Reed for their latest attempt to get to the bottom of SAP's innovation and AI strategy. But unlike their last contentious debate, this one is more of a back-and-forth on the impact of enterprise AI, what SAP's AI strategy means for customers - and how customers should respond. The main SAP news stories since the last podcast are also touched on, as well as another potent question: is RISE with SAP evolving into the transformation as a service tagline it has always been billed as? Is "cALM" (cloud ALM) an SAP buzzword to take seriously - especially when paired with Signavio and Lean IX? If so, why? Let's hash it out - and discuss how customers should respond.