Digital Transformation: How to Reboot IT & Business Collaboration

For many years now the mantra from many research organizations and technical influencers is cloud first. This has been ably demonstrated by the growth of the Hyperscalers in the marketplace, with AWS growing by at least 30% each quarter between 2014 and 2020 and Azure with growth figures dropping to only 50% for the last quarter of 2020 we can see that public cloud adoption is on a significant rise.

The IT industry is famous for consistently and repeatedly proving one size does not fit all and basing all customer requirements on a single public cloud may not provide the functional landscape required by the enterprise. SaaS services that the enterprise wants to consume may be not be available in a single cloud and regulatory frameworks, internal governance and proximity may restrict where data may reside and be processed.

In crisis many firms are looking to preserve cash and adapt their IT platforms and solutions to cope with immediate demand – pivoting their IT and business models where necessary. Enterprises should now be taking a deeper look at their end-to-end digital journey and identifying when they must start to bring their product development, marketing, and IT functions together, so they can effectively digitise, evolve, online.

So what are the options for an enterprise and what needs to be considered when adopting multi-cloud:

-What is the true cost of public cloud, including those hidden costs for example egress, CDN’s, diminished SLA’s
-Data Sovereignty: where can the data reside and what is the cost (and effort) to move it between clouds
-How do you manage multi-cloud consistently and uniformly and maintain a consistent security and SLA posture
-Does the reward of operating in more than one cloud provide enough benefit to offset the threat landscape increase
-How does hyperconverged infrastructure fit into a multi-cloud solution
-What you need to consider when transitioning into multi-cloud

Artificial Intelligence technologies are possibly the most substantive and meaningful change to modern business. The ability to process large amounts of data with varying degrees of structure and form enables large leaps in insight to drive revenue and profit. Likewise, governments and civil society have significant opportunity for improvement of the lives of the populace. However, with the power that AI brings comes the risks of any technology innovation. This interactive session will cover some of the ethical issues that AI can bring. Attendees should expect to learn:
• How making decisions at the speed of AI could be ethically challenging
• Examples of how companies have structures to approach AI policy
• The pitfalls of managing the human side of AI development
• Potential legal implications of using AI to make decisions
• Advice for addressing potential ethics issues before they are unsolvable

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming pervasive in several sectors. Most of the adoption of AI has been in the Cloud where intelligent models are stored. But due to data transmission and other technology limitations, AI in the Cloud can face latency issues especially when deployed at scale. Hence, there is a need for AI to be deployed on Edge devices as well. This has necessitated an increase in investment on Edge Intelligence and Storage.

This talk will present these Corporate and Venture Capital Investment Trends in Edge AI. It will depict how Edge AI can be the next frontier of Corporate Innovation. It will showcase these Corporate Investment trends in the context of the sectors that are primed for adoption of Edge AI.

The talk will give a solid view of how Edge AI is here to stay and has the potential to become the underlying platform for driving the next generation consumer experience across applications like autonomous vehicles, media production and streaming, etc.

COVID has been a massive collision of technology and people – a pileup. Overloaded bandwidth and learning to secure a work-from-home device was the easy part. For many businesses, next comes the “do or die” part where they must either pivot their business plan to accommodate their existing tech resources, or find viable ways to access and utilize the upgraded technologies they need to stay in business.
This talk covers 3 key pieces to ramp up a business’ technology abilities. First is CSuite buy-in of the budget, the technology, and the training. Second is a Digital Transformation (DT) plan that is iterative, as well as inclusive of others in the organization. With this plan we can equip our organizations to handle, afford – and even enjoy – the cutting edge technologies that are now within their reach. Third is an emphasis on innovation. A tech-savvy company has a world of possibilities for growth and success.
One example that I will share in the talk is the interoperability of geo-positioning (smart contracts), optimized search algorithms, and a logistics dashboard, using platforms that are unique, cutting-edge, highly effective, and within reach of the majority of businesses who will benefit from the services they provide.
Next up is innovation – 2020 gave us quite a ride, and chaos was a significant factor at many levels. With the solid footing of an effective DT program, this chaos (disruption) will translate to creativity and innovation. The tech staff can definitely shine here.
Next up is the brass tacks of of the business: profit. CSuite buy-in will will require budget, analytics, plans for next phase, etc.
Takeaways
- Moving forward with tech requires implementing an inclusive, engaging DT plan, with CSuite buy-in and budget approval
- A tech-savvy team understands the potential of what they are using and can innovate new ways to use their tech to make money
- Consistent innovation, and an understanding of the newest tech is crucial to company growth

Automation has been a driver of transformation ever since the first industrial revolution and it is also at the heart of the today’s digital transformation efforts. More importantly, the speed at which automation is happening is increasing exponentially as we embrace Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Deep Learning. Mix this with the reliability and low latency of edge devices that sit next to the data they consume and there is a powerful combination that can deliver near-instant, actionable insights.

Join this webinar to explore some of the changes you can make to harness the power of automation and turn data into information and action in real time.

About Simon Ratcliffe, Principal Consultant - Advisory Services:
An established thought leader and innovator, Simon served as a Virtual CIO, CIO Advisor and Leadership Mentor for a wide variety of organisations before joining Ensono as Principal Consultant. Simon works with organisations to build high performing IT teams, develop structured training and development plans and to foster a culture of innovation and change. Simon holds a Masters in Psychology and is a trained accountant and former finance director as well as being an RFU Licensed Rugby Coach.