Busting the omnichannel - enterprise hacks and chats

Acumatica Summit 2024 - the podcast review

After a hectic week in Vegas, Jon asked returning champ Josh Greenbaum back onto the show to review impressions and takeaways from their time digging into Acumatica with customers, partners, and execs. Josh hadn't been to this show in a few years, so it was a good time to chart Acumatica's progress - and the work still ahead. Acumatica is one of the most differentiated cloud ERP vendors, and most interesting enterprise vendors period. But in the AI/data platform era, all vendors face new challenges. Where does Acumatica land? We discuss.

The five horsemen of the business apocalypse, with Josh Greenbaum - ”behind the blog” podcast edition

Time for another "blogs that matter" special edition. Bring your smartest/snarkiest questions as we dig into Josh's recent post, the five horsemen of the business apocalypse. Those of you with AI fatigue will especially enjoy this one, as it turns out there are other pressing business problems to talk about in 2024. Note: if you enjoy unfiltered podcasts without sponsors or a business model, consider giving a lovely review and help me beat the algo. Josh's post: to reference his post, see: https://eaconsult.com/the-five-horsemen-of-the-business-apocalypse-a-quick-guide-to-the-real-issues-that-should-be-keeping-every-ceo-awake-at-night/

Enterprise month in review - end of year blowout edition with Meg Bear and Brian Sommer

Bring your snarkiest snark, enterprise wit, and burning questions for one more enterprise month in review for 2023. Join Jon Reed, Brian "Brain" Sommer and special guest Meg Bear for our picks of enterprise highs and lows. Note: if you believe in the mission of this show: free/uncensored independent enterprise content with no commercial model, then consider giving me a good rating and review. It's the best way to keep the show momentum going. I know it's tedious but help us beat the algorithm... For any of these review shows that reference slides,  you can always catch the video replays on my YouTube channel. 

The future of SAP tech events - and the great SAP innovation debate

Sometimes, discussions go off the rails - in the best way possible. Earlier this fall, independent analyst Josh Greenbaum and ASUG CEO Geoff Scott joined Jon Reed to try to make sense of shift's in SAP's innovation/AI strategy - and the messaging around it. In this in-depth return, things get a bit heated. 

We start off with a catch up from the last talk - and what we learned from events such as ASUG Tech Connect about SAP customer priorities - as SAP tech leaders contend with S/4HANA deadlines, AI confusion/opportunities, economic headwinds and more. 

The conversation shifts to a discussion of the future of SAP tech events, particularly in North America. Should/will SAP TechEd return to Vegas? Where does ASUG Tech Connect fit in? How will SAP tech pros upskill for AI, BTP etc? 

The final phase of the conversation, on SAP's innovation strategy, goes off the rails as Jon and Geoff take very different positions, and Josh finds himself in an unexpected role as mediator of sorts, and calmest voice in the room. Final note: the goal here was to surface a conversation that matters to SAP and its customers. All three of us agree that customers should own/claim their own innovation agenda - the questions center around how SAP should fit into that. No, we didn't resolve anything here, but did we find some common ground? We hope this debate gives customers motivation to press forward on their innovation strategy - and to engage in dialogue with SAP and user groups, be it ASUG or in other regions.

Podcast timeline summary: 
2:00 - ASUG Tech Connect and customer priorities, including AI and clean core
30:00 - The future of SAP tech events
45:00 - The SAP innovation debate II

Prior September podcast discussion: https://jonerp.podbean.com/e/the-sap-innovation-debate-hashing-out-sap-s-rise-and-ai-plans-with-greenbaum-and-scott/

SAP tech leaders on the ground - AI or S/4HANA? Live from ASUG Tech Connect with Josh Greenbaum

On the last day of the first ASUG Tech Connect in New Orleans, Jon sat down with Josh Greenbaum to make sense of what just happened. What was on the agenda of the SAP tech leaders present? Was the show a success? If so - why? How did the interest in AI compare to the interest in S/4HANA? We discuss our own session with customers, what we learned in our pursuits - including Greenbaum's six week SAP show tour. Jon brings up the issue of the clean core, and Greenbaum shares why our talk with Juergen Mueller wound up in discussing new possibilities for RISE - as a process evaluation and landscape management solution. Would that fly? Greenbaum connects the Signavio and Cloud ALM dots, and we head out.

The enterprise month in review show - event highs and lows blowout edition

Join Jon Reed and Brian "Brain" Sommer for this special fall event review, featuring guest star Laurie McCabe from the SMB Group. As usual, your snarky comments and smart ideas are expected. We'll pick the most notable content of the month, and try to make sense of a hype-laden AI event season. Note: if you like uncensored, unsponsored enterprise content like this, help me surface it with a good rating, it's one of the only ways free content like this can beat today's algorithms. Thanks.

Work is broken - how are we going to fix it? With Melissa Swift

"We need a language on what's going wrong with work" - fantastic lead quote from my guest on Friday the 18, Melissa Swift. Bring your sharpest commentary on the problems of work, and what better work futures look like, with and without AI. Swift, the author of "Work Here Now: Think Like a Human and Build a Powerhouse Workplace," will count down the top reasons why work is broken, and skewer a few of her most disliked HCM catch phrases. Then we'll take stock: where do we go from here? What would a smart/savvy/inclusive workplace look like, and what are the building blocks of that? Bring your questions and let's see where this goes.

SuccessConnect 2023 in review - talking customer success, skills, and show surprises with Luke Marson

On the final day of SuccessConnect 2023, Jon sat down with Luke Marson for a wide ranging discussion on what he learned from his customer discussions at SuccessConnect, and how that matches up with what he heard from the keynote stage. Luke shares the questions about onboarding that were one big theme in his customer talks. He also details what the most successful SuccessFactors projects looks like. We compare notes on what constitutes customer success, the value of AI, and why skills is a core opportunity for SuccessFactors going forward.

SuccessConnect ’23 review - did the event deliver? With Chris Paine

Jon reignites his old school SuccessConnect podcast troublemaker series with SuccessFactors community leader and partner Chris Paine. Chris wrote a post prior to SuccessConnect about his predictions and expectations - did the show deliver? What did he learn as of the end of day one? The guys also get into the AI topic, reviewing how SAP can succeed in AI, what customers think, and how AI might impact implementation services in good and bad ways. *** Audio note: the main recording ran into an issue, so this final is a splice between two recordings. I've leveled over the volume but you may notice the splice - the result isn't perfect but I hope it's pretty listenable.***

Chris' pre-event blog post: https://www.wombling.com/hr/successconnect-2023-expectations/

Chris' post-event blog post: https://www.wombling.com/hr/successconnect-2023-expectations-met-and-exceeded/

Jon's 1st show post on gen AI and more: https://diginomica.com/successconnect-23-under-hood-saps-generative-ai-news-and-beyond

 

Generative AI in the enterprise - project myths and realities with Vijay Vijayasankar

On diginomica, I've been pushing back on the generative AI hype machine with vigor, but also digging into its enterprise possibilities. Who better for an enterprise AI gut check than Vijay Vijayasankar? Vijayasankar has a deep interest/passion for AI but also has a reputation for debunking its misconceptions.

In his role at IBM managing financial services clients, he can also speak to project realities - and how customers weigh GenAI risks and opportunities. I lay out my generative AI views/research for a gut check from Vijayasankar. We also discuss why he wrote his post on GenAI in the enterprise, and what he thinks customers should prioritize, as they move into GenAI projects. Vijayasankar also shares his own project learnings, and promising use cases.

We hit on many issues in this podcast, such as whether bias and hallucations can ever be eliminated from LLM, and whether domain experts, customer data and reinforcement learning can improve the accuracy/effectiveness of GenAI for the enterprise. As Vijayasankar notes in the podcast, the views he expresses here, and in his post, are his views alone, not his employer.

Vijay's AI post: https://andvijaysays.com/2023/08/05/genai-in-the-enterprise-nine-themes-that-i-have-seen-so-far/

My AI post: https://diginomica.com/enterprises-will-test-limits-llms-and-chatgpt-just-beginning

 

Oracle CloudWorld - the instant review with Brian Sommer

In this spontaneous podcast review on the final afternoon of Oracle CloudWorld 2023, Jon Reed and Brian Sommer compare what they learned, culminating in Sommer's quip, "You may have to partner with your enemy, because that's what your customer wants." Customers definitely want more vendor options in their strategic mix - did CloudWorld support that premise? Is Oracle's generative AI messaging differentiated? Does Oracle have an industry applications advantage from their acquisitions, which go well beyond Cerner? And: did Larry Ellison's strong keynote push on healthcare resonate? These are some of the topics we hash out during this 25 minute recap. Production note: Jon's audio was a bit quiet due to a tech glitch, worked on tweaking that as best possible in post production, hopefully it will be solid enough for this time around.

The SAP innovation debate - hashing out SAP’s RISE and AI plans with Greenbaum and Scott

On July 20, 2023, during SAP's Q2 earnings call, SAP CEO Christian Klein made bold statements regarding the future of SAP innovation - in particular RISE, AI, and why SAP's close relationship with customers, including opt-in customer data, give SAP an AI advantage (and premium AI pricing).

It is our view that these statements constitute a notable change/evolution in innovation strategy that warrant debate, user group dialogue - and discussion on how customers should track these issues. Since Klein's earnings call statements, other executives inside of SAP have re-iterated and provided more context to these statements. These points are not necessarily firm policy yet, but are definitely messaging to look hard at.

Since that time, along with my podcast guests Geoff Scott, CEO ASUG, and analyst Josh Greenbaum, we've had a chance to clarify these points and press questions. We don't have all the answers, and this is still unfolding, but we now have enough information to have an informed debate with our own views. Some of the hottest issues, such as AI pricing, reflect a surging market that has not yet gelled around the value of AI and what that will look like for customers.

These AI pricing/value issues are not unique to SAP, but warrant scrutiny nonetheless (SAP's Business AI pages cover their value prop). We taped this podcast as a way of letting listeners know what we've learned so far, and to lay out the questions we can pursue across SAP events this fall, culminating in SAP TechEd India, virtual SAP TechEd, and ASUG TechConnect New Orleans, which occur across the same times in November.

Strong opinions are declared in this podcast but we do want to point out that SAP may yet shift and further clarify the policies we are debating. Those customers with specific questions should not treat this podcast as definitive, but contact SAP with open questions. We would also like to thank DSAG for providing their views, some of which are incorporated here.

Also a thank you to our various contacts at SAP, who worked hard to get us the most current information that is publicly available. They may not agree with our opinions, in fact we are pretty certain they will not, but we are much better informed due to SAP's efforts, and SAP's willingness to engage in an important community dialogue. Any inaccuracies will be corrected in the podcast description, but these topics are too important to wait for perfect information, some of which is likely to be tied to event announcements this fall, yet to be made public.

We expect to regroup with a shorter podcast later this fall to discuss what we learned at those events. Finally, we did cover, in brief, our initial takes on SAP's LeanIX acquisition, though we are out of time for a thorough review.

This discussion relies almost entirely on published information in our prior blog posts, and in other news stories and transcripts:

Geoff: https://www.asug.com/insights/asug-ceo-we-will-clarify-and-communicate-saps-cloud-strategy-for-our-community

Josh: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/joshuagreenbaum_read-the-full-story-now-activity-7092925003704266754-eN4b/

Jon: https://diginomica.com/generative-ai-disruptions-rise-and-grow-thomas-saueressig-reveals-next-steps-saps-ai-strategy

DSAG: https://dsag.de/presse/on-premise-customers-cut-off-from-innovations/

The enterprise month in review - show debut with Brian Sommer

Okay, bring your popcorn and saltiest commentary - it's the debut of the enterprise month in review with Brian Sommer and yours truly. In this edition, we are joined by Hyoun Park of Amalgam Research to discuss his important post on Zoom's terms of service issues, and the implications for customers considering AI moves in the enterprise. In each edition of this show, we'll each pick our top stories of the month (and why), and the underrated story that got lost in the hype. We'll pick our most loathed tech buzzword of the month - so will you - and our worst PR pitch. A surprise guest may crash the party - perhaps it will be you. We'll send you on your way with a project tip or two. If you like uncensored, unsponsored podcasts like this one, leaving me a strong review on a popular podcast platform makes a world of difference; thanks for listening.

Companies are whiffing on ESG - why? Research reveal and chat with Brian Sommer

Companies are whiffing on ESG - but why? Regulatory requirements bring added pressure, but the incentive to change goes well beyond that - as a new wave of ESG vendors demonstrate. This is now well beyond reporting. It's tracking/managing ESG in real-time across supply chains. Join Brian Sommer for his ESG research preview/reveal session - and bring your best/toughest questions. Bonus: for the final third of the show, sustainability expert Tom Raftery joins the show to weigh on in how the ESG market is changing - and why. Note: if you like this type of unscripted, uncensored enterprise podcast, reviews on the popular podcast platforms are the best way you can help me.

Why digital transformations fail - new ideas required, with Maureen Blandford

Returning champ Maureen Blandford is back, but much has changed. Now she's a founder of Serendipitus - and she's got some tough love talk (and data insights) into why digital transformations fail. Join our interactive, no filter discussion as Maureen takes us through the top digital transformation botches, and what we're gonna do about it. No buzzword (or tech event) is safe, as life as a female founder tends to surface a lot of industry BS - and we're gonna call it out on Friday. Let's do this...

AI for video editing - and the highs and lows of enterprise video

Enterprise video can be effective - or a true yawner. Join special guest Brent Leary as we discuss the highs and lows of enterprise video, and the secrets of his portable video gear and Playaz Production Network adventures with Paul Greenberg. We're also going to hash out the AI for video editing use case, share recent experiments - and the best options out there. As always bring your questions and Friday attitude... Note: the video version, if you want to see the pics of Brent's setup, can be found on youtube.com/jonathanwreed. If you want more unfiltered/unsponsored enterprise content like this, consider giving me a rating on your fave podcast site. thx.

Enterprise spring event deconstruction - did we learn anything about anything except generative AI?

Enterprise spring events were a generative AI carnival - but did we learn anything customers can use now? Forget keynote reviews - what did customers learn that can actually help them compete in a spank tunnel economy? Let's have an informal rehash shall we? There was enough generative AI hype to create a circus, but did we actually learn anything customers can use? Let's hash this out. Jon also hands out letter grades for event achievements, and lack thereof. Also check the itunes channel for the full podcast archives.

On MACHwashing and the microservices enterprise - with Phil Wainewright

We're back, and about to go live - What is MACH-washing? Why is it worse than cloud-washing? No one better than Phil Wainwright to discuss, fresh off a deep dive into headless architectures and the MACH Alliance show. We discuss the hype around the micrservices enterprises, including Amazon's recent decision to retreat from microservices for a Prime Video use case. As part one ends, Brian Sommer challenges Jon and Phil to a wardrobe duel, and we begin our generative AI discussion.

Debating microservices, ESG and generative AI for the enterprise

Brian Sommer crashes the show to exhibit his wardrobe versatility and a fresh tie. We dive back into microsservices, this time from an ESG data perspective. Then the audience moves us into a debate/discussion on generative AI for the enterprise. We discuss viable use cases, as well as the limits and shortfalls. Jon shares what he learned when pressing vendors on issues like 1:1 personalization with generative AI. (Note: to see the ties you'll want to check the youtube video replay at youtube.com/jonathanwreed).

Making sense of Sapphire 2023 Orlando - with Josh Greenbaum

To make sense of the barrage of news stories, keynotes and meetings, Jon gets Josh Greenbaum in the podcast chair. Josh hit on a few key storylines he was pursuing at the show: the state of SAP Business Networks, partner ecosystem issues, and whether SAP's sustainability push has progressed. The guys also talk about their discussion with ASUG members at the ASUG Executive Exchange program on the Monday prior to Sapphire's kick off. The discussion closes with Josh and Jon's personal reflections on a memorable Sapphire LGBTQ+ Pride panel, moderated by Julia White.