AWS for Software Companies Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Ep047: Pricing Strategies for Generative AI with Sara Yamase of Simon-Kucher & Partners Jul 23, 2024

Show notes

Sara Yamase, Partner at Simon-Kucher & Partners, Head of Software, Internet and Media Practice shares guidance and industry examples on generative AI pricing and GTM strategies.

Topics Include:

What percentage of companies are developing Gen AI features for customers
Projected returns on Gen AI investment
Articulating the value is 1st step in building pricing and monetization strategy
Almost half of VC funding in last 5 quarters were for AI solutions
Getting through the hype cycle and trough of disillusionment
Education, Marketing, Food industry examples of companies clarifying value of generative AI to customers
Having strong data sets for identifying trends
Pricing tenets for generative AI
Indirect monetization – more usage, faster, greater productivity, etc
Standalone Generative AI software with bespoke pricing
Ability to scale pricing per customer usage
Subscription selling for generative AI software
Choosing pricing model for generative AI solutions
Summaries and session wrap up

Ep046: AI and Cybersecurity - Navigating the Future with Darktrace Jul 16, 2024

Show notes

Today Nicole Eagan, Chief Strategy and AI Officer and Michael Beck, Global CISO of Darktrace AI Research centre share experience, predictions and guidance on the future of AI and Cybersecurity.

Topics Include:

A brief history of Darktrace
Applying AI to the challenge of cyber security
Changes and evolution of cyber security threats
What are the key security challenges business are facing?
Generative AI provided a seismic shift with threat actors
Best practices for managing and scaling security teams
Guidance for leaders for baking AI into workflows
Responsible AI best practices for building trust
Trends of Generative AI on the security landscape
Leveraging Generative AI to transform the customer experience
Predictions for emerging technology trends over the next 10 years
Recommendations and parting wisdom for security and AI
Keeping a workforce trained and relevant for technology trends
Interview wrap up

Participants:

Nicole Eagan – Chief Strategy Officer and AI Officer, Darktrace
Michael Beck – Global CISO, Darktrace
Phil Le-Brun – Director, Enterprise Strategy, Amazon Web Services

Ep045: Selling to C-Suite Best Practices with ActionIQ, FloQast and Wiz Jul 09, 2024

Show notes

A panel discussion with executives from ActionIQ, FloQast and Wiz on experiences and best practices for working and selling to customer C-suites.

Topics Include:

Panel introductions
Keeping products and sellers focused on C-Suite outcomes
Customer C-suite focus, identifying internal champions
Keeping sales motion concise for key C-Suite
Connecting value for enterprise space
Impact of Generative AI and inventing on behalf of customers
Customer impressions of GenAI and going beyond the hype
Helping customers reimagine / hack their business
C-suite concerns about Generative AI
Flipping objections into selling points for C-Suite
Building confidence for security, data and GenAI for Executives
Final thoughts, Session wrap-up

Participants:

Justin DeBrabant – Chief Product Officer, ActionIQ
Stefan van Duyvendijk – Accounting Operations Evangelist, FloQast
Rick Kickert – Senior Vice President of Revenue Growth & Strategy, Wiz
Veronica McCarthy – Senior Sales Manager, ISV, Amazon Web Services

Ep044: Generative AI and the Future of Global Identity Verification Jul 02, 2024

Show notes

We feature a conversation with Yuelin (李玥琳)Li, Chief Product Officer of Onfido and Phil Le-Brun - Enterprise Strategist, Amazon Web Services, about the pivotal role of AI, machine learning, and generative AI in fraud prevention and security in the identity verification industry.

Topics Include:

Yuelin Li career journey
Overview and mission of Onfido
Use of AI and Machine Learning at Onfido
Successes in reducing fraud with identity verification
Challenges faced and overcome with Machine Learning
Secure rapid iteration and constant experimentation
Working with customers in highly regulated industries
Hot topics and ethics with Generative AI
Training, managing bias and maintaining accuracy of models
Staying aligned with customers
Skillets required, creating development paths for staff
Creating a culture of learning in the organisation
Deciding how to place bets on technology advances
What excites Yuelin Li most about Generative AI
Advice for other companies setting out on a similar journey
Session wrap-up

Ep043: Collaborating with AWS for Transformative Impact with Generative AI Jun 25, 2024

Show notes

Executive Leaders from Proofpoint, Sumo Logic and Zendesk share their experiences and best practices for collaboration with AWS to deliver transformative impact to their business using Generative AI.

Panelists:

Patrick Wheeler, Director, Product Management, Proofpoint
Bashyam Anant, Senior Director, Product Management, Sumo Logic
Patrick Copeland, Chief Engineering & Product Officer, Zendesk
Olawale Oladehin, Director ISV Solutions Architecture, North America, AWS

Topics Include:

Introductions of Panel
Where each organization is doing with Generative AI
Designing data strategy around business outcomes
Making subject matter experts within the business
Defining what success metrics and value to focus on
Metrics and KPIs and framework for experiments
Thinking and leveraging partnerships for Generative AI
Developing skillsets, retraining teams and managing resources
Lessons learned, what would you change, advice for others
Session wrap-up

Ep042: Build & Leverage AI Within Enterprise Applications & Workflows – with Jimmy Hillis of Airtable Jun 18, 2024

Show notes

Jimmy Hillis, Head of Engineering at Airtable, shares examples, guidance and major themes for how businesses can successfully build and leverage AI within their enterprise applications and workflows.

Topics Include:

Introductions and Airtable overview
Challenges businesses have articulating how AI will add value
Core insights: AI needs to leverage your own data
AI functionality needs to live within existing tools and workflows
Have workflow and business experts building prompts for the desired function
AI presents a new set of fears and restrictions
Examples for successful implementation of AI
Airtable AI field examples and automations feature
Example of leveraging technology to reduce manual activity
Data governance, training data for use
Network governance and Flexibility
Recapping the themes, session wrap up

Ep041: Driving Growth for SaaS on AWS - Best Practices, Learnings and Observations Jun 11, 2024

Show notes

In this highly informative episode, we share strategies and best practices for driving growth for SaaS companies featuring Kulwinder Kalsi, head of UK and Ireland Enterprise Software and SaaS Architecture and Johan Broman, Head of Solutions Architecture for Independent Software Vendors for Europe, Middle East & Africa.

Topics Include:

Discover the main expectations end customers have of SaaS companies, including frictionless tenant onboarding, instrumentation/monitoring, pricing transparency, and focusing on core innovation.
Explore key trends shaping the SaaS industry, such as the shift towards consumption-based pricing models, complex pricing strategies that align packaging with customer segments, and leveraging other software partners to remove undifferentiated heavy lifting.
Learn how AWS can help SaaS companies with its global infrastructure, robust security measures, and rich ecosystem of services and partners to accelerate growth and innovation.
Get insights into monetizing data strategies that SaaS companies can adopt to unlock additional revenue streams from their tenant data.
Understand the different ways AWS partners, including systems integrators, professional services, and other software vendors, can support SaaS companies through their journey.
Receive practical advice on approaching cloud migration and modernization, including aligning leadership, assessing growth vs. retention goals, and choosing the right mix of lift-and-shift or full modernization.
Gain a nuanced perspective on developing AI solutions, covering use case identification, model selection, deployment techniques like prompt engineering and fine-tuning, and the importance of monitoring and management.
Hear expert tips on navigating the rapidly evolving generative AI landscape, leveraging AWS services like SageMaker and Bedrock, and utilizing specialized AI chips like Trainium and Inferentia.

Ep040: Business Applications Transforming Industries Jun 05, 2024

Show notes

Business applications are catalyzing profound transformations across industries, streamlining operations, enhancing productivity, and fostering innovation. Leveraging advanced technologies such as generative AI, these applications are reshaping traditional business models, driving agility, and fueling competitive advantage in the global marketplace.

Panelists:

Neboysa Omcikus - Head of Strategy, https://www.linkedin.com/company/gleanwork/Glean
Steve Antonakakis - Divisional COO, Enterprise Productivity, PDI Technologies
Shiv Sehgal - Executive Vice President, Audience Analytics, RSG Media, a Naviga Global company
Karen Hensley - Principal Data Strategist, AWS

Topics Include:

Panel Introductions
How did you decide where to focus with Generative AI?
Quantifying the value of projects with customers
Delivering the value and capability for customers
Do customers care deeply about the technology or the experience?
How did you move from “test and experiment” phase to production
How did you reevaluate your data strategy when developing software?
Working with customers on their data safety, security and ethics
Driving innovation within data regulatory and compliance requirements
Looking into the future – What’s the next wave of transformation for industry specific solutions?

Ep039: The Future of Generative AI Models with Anthropic May 28, 2024

Show notes

Nicholas Marwell, Member of Technical Staff of Anthropic, shares predictions for Generative AI models as well as guidance on safely training and scaling them for the near future.

Topics Include:

Where are Generative AI Models heading
About Anthropic
Claude Opus, Claude 3 Sonnet & Claude 3 Haiku
Scaling laws impact on models
Training models for text, images and multimedia
AI Safety, high stakes and stewarding through potential dangers
Constitutional AI and interpretability research
Benefits of Features – combinations of neurons
Final thoughts – high growth and pace for coming months and years

Ep038: McKinsey's Top Software Trends - AI, Investment and Regional Opportunities Apr 30, 2024

Show notes

Daniele Di Mattia, Partner at McKinsey and Company and Miguel Alava, General Manager of AWS for software companies in EMEA, discuss strategic software industry insights and trends in Europe, Middle East, Africa and beyond that will shape the future of investment, product development as well as opportunities for regional and global expansion.

Topics include:

Macro environment challenges and focus on cost optimization for software companies
Generative AI's massive impact and expanding total addressable market
The need for increased R&D investment in Europe, Middle East and Africa region
Leveraging cloud elasticity and optimization for cost-conscious environments
Impact of generative AI on product development and developer productivity
Embedding generative AI in sales, marketing and customer operations
Importance of data strategy and prioritizing high-value use cases
Being bold and courageous in investing during technological inflection points
Opportunities for software companies to lead in their respective market segments

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