Cloud Wars Live with Bob Evans

This episode is brought to you by Oracle.For this sponsored Cloud Wars Live conversation, I spoke with Craig Wilensky. Craig is CEO at JASCI, a SaaS provider that specializes in warehouse management, order fulfillment, carrier shipping, and labor management software. JASCI also provides data and analytics, parcel shipping, machine learning, and robotics.Craig shares with me the three primary concerns among his customers. First is speed. Next is reliability. Finally, security: JASCI needs to deliver speed and reliability while also keeping customers data secure. It’s clear that Craig has a passion for his customers, which are primarily e-commerce companies with razor-thin margins. So we dive into how a collaboration with Oracle helps JASCI deliver speed, reliability, and security. Specifically, we discuss Oracle's ATP (autonomous transaction processing) platform. Craig tells me ATP has been a critical tool in helping his customers keep up with their competitors, the big tech giants. For example: by leveraging ATP, average decision-making time of JASCI AI software is less than 100 milliseconds. (And he wants to bring it down into the five millisecond range!) We're in a "whole new world" of retail, Craig says. And JASCI software is doing some really hard work for customers, including big data, decision learning, and automation. But what Craig focuses on, and what Oracle is helping JASCI accomplish, is making it look like no work at all.This episode is brought to you by Oracle. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Each month, “Ammirati on Innovation” episodes will look at ways that the disruptive-startup mentality is spreading beyond young entrepreneurs to big established corporations. Serial entrepreneur, venture capitalist and Carnegie Mellon B-school professor Sean Ammirati, who sits at the intersection of these high-change dynamics, provides insight.Episode 4In this episode, Sean and I discuss how Microsoft and OpenAI announced a joint initiative, which they call AGI, and how $1 billion – no matter how big the company is – is a big investment. I quote from Sam Altman, Chairman and former CEO of YCombinator and now CEO of OpenAI, “The creation of AGI will be the most important technological development in human history with the potential to shape the trajectory of humanity.” Sean says Sam is not someone you would bet against, because it is the best-run tech accelerator out there. He then returns to how Bing feels like the old Microsoft, not the new Microsoft. Sean then notes that with challenge comes great opportunity, and people have some really exciting opportunities in front of them. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Each month, “Lochhead on Different” episodes will explore the need to differentiate people, products, and services in a world that encourages a lot of imitation. A best-selling author, top podcaster, and former tech-industry CMO, Christopher Lochhead is a student of not only business and technology and marketing but also human nature, human folly, human genius, and very human joy.Episode 6In this episode, Chris and I discuss the role of Chief Growth Officer, a hybrid version of the CMO, the CIO, and the CDO. Chris wonders if it’s a stupid thing – or not. We also look at the fact that America is losing the AI war to China and Russia, and the lamestream media is not reporting on it. Chris also talks about how FaceApp, which projects you forward several years is – wait for it – created by Russia. And did you know that 23andMe uses your DNA for the benefit of the drug companies?Later, the conversation turns to private equity. We discuss how and why “Value Extraction Engineers” are putting themselves first—as opposed to the founders, employees, and shareholders. Chris says, “If you lay down with dogs, don’t be surprised when you get fleas.”  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Each month, Tony Uphoff, visionary CEO of Thomasnet.com, joins Cloud Wars Live for a recurring segment. “Uphoff on Industry” will explore the innovations, upheavals, and breakthroughs reshaping the the world of manufacturing and industrial markets. Join Tony and me as we discuss disruptive new trends in the digital-industrial world: not just how products are designed, sourced and manufactured, but also the new ways in which industrial companies are getting up to speed on marketing, sales and customer experience.Episode 4In this episode: Tony and I discuss the future, and the near-past. We heartily agree on just how fortunate we have been to have had a ringside seat for the utter transformation of technology in recent years. (We also agree that if you aren’t fluent in technology change yet, you’re going to be left behind.) Next, Tony and I discuss how his company, ThomasNet.com, covers 72,000 categories—and the fact that every second, someone’s buying a product or service.Tony goes on to explore the business implications of massive population shifts. Namely, that the Baby Boom generation and the Millennial generation are now roughly 50/50 in the workforce. Also that there will be 10 billion people on the planet by the year 2050 (which isn’t very long from now). Finally, Tony does a bit of a rant on the restaurant industry – which you definitely don’t want to miss. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Each month, “Lochhead on Different” episodes will explore the need to differentiate people, products, and services in a world that encourages a lot of imitation. A best-selling author, top podcaster, and former tech-industry CMO, Christopher Lochhead is a student of not only business and technology and marketing but also human nature, human folly, human genius, and very human joy.Episode 6In this episode, Chris and I discuss how the Chief Growth Officer is a hybrid version of the CMO, the CIO, and the CDO. He wonders if it’s a stupid thing – or not. Chris goes on to say that we’re losing the AI war to China and Russia, and the lamestream media is not reporting on it. He also talks about how FaceApp, which projects you forward several years is – wait for it – created by Russia. And then he discusses how 23andme uses your DNA for the benefit of the drug companies.The conversation then turns to private equity, and how “Value Extraction Engineers” are putting themselves first, as opposed to the founders, shareholders, and employees. Chris says, “If you lay down with dogs, don’t be surprised when you get fleas.” See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Each month, Tony Uphoff, visionary CEO of Thomasnet.com, joins Cloud Wars Live for a recurring segment. “Uphoff on Industry” will explore the innovations, upheavals, and breakthroughs reshaping the world of manufacturing and industrial markets. Join Tony and me as we discuss disruptive new trends in the digital-industrial world: not just how products are designed, sourced and manufactured, but also the new ways in which industrial companies are getting up to speed on marketing, sales and customer experience.Episode 4In this episode: Tony and I discuss how we’ve been fortunate to have a ringside seat on the transformation of technology – and how if you aren’t fluent, you’re going to be left behind. Next, we discuss how ThomasNet.com has 72,000 categories, and every second someone’s buying a product or service. Tony goes on to say how the Baby Boom generation and the Millennial generation are now 50/50 – and how there will be 10 billion people on the planet by the year 2050, which isn’t very long from now. And, he does a bit of a rant on the restaurant industry – which is something you don’t want to miss. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Each month, “Ammirati on Innovation” episodes will look at ways that the disruptive-startup mentality is spreading beyond young entrepreneurs to big established corporations. Serial entrepreneur, venture capitalist and Carnegie Mellon B-school professor Sean Ammirati, who sits at the intersection of these high-change dynamics, provides insight.Episode 3In this episode, Sean and I talk about decision-making, from a couple of angles. First, we explore the choice that giant global corporations have to make when a new opportunity comes along. Namely, do we do this ourselves, or partner up to make it happen? We also affirm that companies can walk and chew gum at the same time— meaning that they need to care about customers AND users at the same time. Sean has a podcast called “Agile Giants,” where he interviews guests ranging from CEOs, CTOs, and VCs to authors. With that unique POV underpinning his thoughts on the subject, Sean tells us that Oracle and Microsoft teaming up together makes for strange bedfellows. Later, Sean reveals that knew he wanted to be a programmer from the age of seven (!!!). See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Each month, “Lochhead on Different” episodes will explore the need to differentiate people, products, and services in a world that encourages a lot of imitation. A best-selling author, top podcaster, and former tech-industry CMO, Christopher Lochhead is a student of not only business and technology and marketing but also human nature, human folly, human genius, and very human joy.Episode 5In this wide-ranging episode, Chris and I discuss Mary Meeker’s popular annual Internet Trends Report. Inside is a fact that caught Chris’ attention: today, 3.8 billion people are on the internet. So Chris explains why he believes we need to get the other half on it, too. Taking a somewhat opposite tack, we also debate the merits and the downsides of internet usage. The report reveals that Gen Z spends between 5 and 10 hours per day on their phones.Next, the conversation turns to Cutco, a knife company whose mantra is “Changing lives by selling knives.” We look at how its employee experience differs from that of a Facebook or other leading tech companies. Then, Chris explains why your life is like a smile. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

“Wayne Sadin on Digital Strategy” episodes will explore the fast-changing and high-stakes world of digital business. We’ll focus on what CEOs and boards must do to lead their companies successfully into the Digital Age. Today, we talk about the relationship between boards and the C-suite, and the most important questions to ask an incoming CIO.Episode 6In this episode: Wayne and I discuss how the cloud is driving us to new features as we get things done faster. He also talks about how hyperscale is for Google, Amazon, Microsoft – and everybody else is going to be a second-class citizen. Later, he asks why invest in putting a million servers and data centers around the world? You could just as easily hire 5,000 developers and build an application that will make your customers so happy, they’ll never think about leaving. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Each month, “Ammirati on Innovation” episodes will look at ways that the disruptive-startup mentality is spreading beyond young entrepreneurs to big established corporations. Serial entrepreneur, venture capitalist and Carnegie Mellon B-school professor Sean Ammirati, who sits at the intersection of these high-change dynamics, provides insight.Episode 3In this episode, Sean and I talk about how you can walk and chew gum at the same time – meaning that you need to care about your customers AND your users. Sean has a podcast called “Agile Giants,” where he interviews guests ranging from CEOs, CTOs, and VCs to authors. He speaks about how Oracle and Microsoft teaming up together makes for some pretty strange bedfellows. Later, Sean reveals that knew he wanted to be a programmer from the age of seven (?). See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Here’s my conversation with Arpan Shah, who is the General Manager for Azure Infrastructure Marketing at Microsoft. As the tech companies in our Cloud Wars Top 10 rankings drive transformation not just in individual corporations but also in entire global industries, it’s essential for business executives to understand the strategic intentions of each of these vendors. That’s what this new limited series is all about.Episode 3: MicrosoftIn this episode, Arpan and I discuss the most fascinating form of digital transformation he sees happening among Microsoft’s business customers. Plus, why hybrid cloud is so critically important at this moment in time. We explore the connections between hybrid and red-hot edge computing, and where Microsoft’s hybrid strategy is headed next. Press play to get some compelling insight from inside the Cloud Wars #1 vendor. (You’ll want to hear Arpan’s response to claims from Microsoft’s cloud competitors that they can do everything Microsoft can, and do it just as well.) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Here’s my conversation with Juergen Mueller, CTO, and Christian Klein, COO. As the tech companies in our Cloud Wars Top 10 rankings drive transformation not just in individual corporations but also in entire global industries, it’s essential for business executives to understand the strategic intentions of each of these vendors. That’s what this new limited series is all about.Episode 7: SAPIn this episode, Juergen explains how Qualtrics was a game-changing acquisition – and a very simple integration. He also discusses how SAP is not competing with the hyperscalers – they’re in a “co-opetition.” Christian describes how SAP has the ability to connect the pieces of the Intelligent Enterprise. He also describes how all industries are undergoing a huge transformation – and how SAP can help them transform through new business models, data analytics, and AI. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Each month, Tony Uphoff, visionary CEO of Thomasnet.com, joins Cloud Wars Live for a recurring segment. “Uphoff on Industry” will explore the innovations, upheavals, and breakthroughs reshaping the world of manufacturing and industrial markets. Join Tony and me as we discuss disruptive new trends in the digital-industrial world: not just how products are designed, sourced and manufactured, but also the new ways in which industrial companies are getting up to speed on marketing, sales and customer experience. Episode 3In this episode, Tony and I look at a the “flywheel” effect, with simple systems that companies don’t need to think about. Next, he switches to how 17 year-old Formula 1 drivers grew up in the age of simulators, using them thousands and thousands of times. Tony discusses the role of MRO (maintenance, repair, and operations), and how it may change to “optimization,” which could be a new machine – or a new capability. And he talks about how AI and ML have emerged, and we’re starting to see levels of scale and speed – and also applications that we haven’t thought of before. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Each month, “Lochhead on Different” episodes will explore the need to differentiate people, products, and services in a world that encourages a lot of imitation. A best-selling author, top podcaster, and former tech-industry CMO, Christopher Lochhead is a student of not only business and technology and marketing but also human nature, human folly, human genius, and very human joy.Episode 5In this wide-ranging episode, Chris and I discuss how Mary Meeker’s report says over 3.8 billion people are on the internet – and we need to get the other half on it too. We also look at how 34% of workers say they’re engaged – and the rest of them?? We turn to Cutco, a knife company that has the mantra is “Changing lives by selling knives” and how it turned itself into a personal growth company. Then, Chris discusses how your life is like a smile. From from zero to 20 you’re pretty happy, but from 25 to 45, happiness starts to drop off as we build our careers, meet spouses, and collaborate in the manufacture of human beings. Then we begin to come out the other side and the happiness curve goes back up. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Each month, seasoned executive Tony Uphoff joins Cloud Wars Live for a recurring segment. “Uphoff on Industry” will explore the innovations, upheavals, and breakthroughs reshaping the the world of manufacturing and industrial markets. Join monthly guest Tony Uphoff, CEO of Thomasnet.com, and me as we discuss disruptive new trends in the digital-industrial world: not just how products are designed, sourced and manufactured, but also the new ways in which industrial companies are getting up to speed on marketing, sales and customer experience.Episode 1In this episode, Tony and I look at how the world of work is changing. No longer starkly divided between white collar and blue collar, today “new collar” jobs are on the rise. We also debunk some misunderstandings about U.S. manufacturing. (Hint: the U.S. remains a formidable power, with 248,000 new jobs created in 2018.) Finally, we dive into some less-discussed forms of digital transformation: now that the B2B buyer has gone online, there are fewer habit- and knowledge-gaps between the millennial and the baby boom generations. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.