IT Visionaries

Latest Episodes:

Developing for Intent: How Conversational A.I. is Helping Brands Make Meaningful Connections with Consumers Jun 03, 2021

Show notes

Is chat support helpful or annoying?

To me, it’s both.
It’s helpful because it’s the way I prefer to be helped. It’s asynchronous, it allows for multitasking, and it can be done anywhere.

But, it’s also annoying. It sucks when you type something in and your customer service agent or bot has no idea what you’re talking about.

LivePerson is trying to make customer interactions smarter.

Joe Bradley is Chief Scientist at LivePerson, and his mission is to define and anticipate customer needs and intent, via each and every single customer-to-brand interaction. On this episode of IT Visionaries, Joe explains the difference between creating conversational A.I. that not only can hold meaningful conversations with the user, but also understands the intent of the customer. He also gives a look into the future of how A.I. will empower brands to create better customer experiences. Enjoy.

Main Takeaway

What’s the Intent: The future of conversational technologies is going to rely heavily on A.I. and machine learning to not only be able to process the question the consumer is asking, but to be able to understand the intent of what the customer is asking.
Importance of the Hand-off: Conversational intelligence can coherently communicate with the customer on its own, but perhaps more importantly is able to store that information in a centralized location so that when a customer service representative gets to the case, the hand-off is clear and there is no breakdown in the conversation from the consumer’s perspective.
How to Manage Your Data: When developing A.I. solutions, it's important to think of ways to creatively encourage your customers to engage with the platform so that you can collect useful first party data. By asking leading questions that get to the root cause of the customer’s issue, you can design a platform that is not only consistently learning from your customers, but also building trust.

IT Visionaries is brought to you by the Salesforce Platform - the #1 cloud platform for digital transformation of every experience. Build connected experiences, empower every employee, and deliver continuous innovation - with the customer at the center of everything you do. Learn more at salesforce.com/platform

This episode of IT Visionaries is brought to you by Meter - the company building better networks. Businesses today are frustrated with outdated providers, rigid pricing, and fragmented tools. Meter changes that with a single integrated solution that covers everything wired, wireless, and even cellular networking. They design the hardware, write the firmware, build the software, and manage it all so your team doesn't have to.

That means you get fast, secure, and scalable connectivity without the complexity of juggling multiple providers. Thanks to meter for sponsoring. Go to meter.com/itv to book a demo.
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IT Visionaries is made by the team at Mission.org. Learn more about our media studio and network of podcasts at mission.org.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Have we Reached the End of the Digital Transformation Road? Jun 01, 2021

Show notes

Every company is undergoing some kind of digital transformation. Whether you’re upgrading your tech stack, migrating to the cloud, or analyzing your processes to improve your employee experience, every enterprise is saddled with the need to improve their systems. But what if that daunting process was a thing of the past? What if instead of having to undergo massive technology upgrades every few years that process was continuous? If you ask Jon Knisley, Principal Consultant, Automation and Process Excellence at FortressIQ, that’s the way of the future.

“Process data is that missing puzzle piece that nobody's had access to. Once we get it in place, that's when you'll have a complete and comprehensive understanding of how [your company] truly operates. I'm starting to play with this idea that when we get to that point, is that going to be the end of our digital transformation journey?

The end of digital transformation? Sounds too good to be true, but is it? In this episode of IT Visionaries, Jon explains why the reality of continuous system improvement through the use of automation tools is not far off. Plus, Jon dives into data-driving insights, powering continuous transformation across enterprises and why employees should embrace automation tools. Enjoy!

Main Takeaways

Building a Roadmap for Tomorrow: Understanding how your organization actually operates is foundational to improving key business initiatives. Enterprises need to have a 360 view of how their organization operates on a day-to-day basis to have a better understanding of not only the knowledge that long-time employees possess, but how they can improve the overall experience for those employees as well.
It’s an Ongoing Process: Digital transformation projects tend to be slow and take years to complete. Companies should not rely on large-scale changes every few years, but instead implement a continuous improvement model where they are consistently measuring their tech stack to understand what is being done today so they can improve, automate and optimize for tomorrow.
Automation as a Companion: Employees should view A.I. and automation as a companion to their work efforts and not as a piece of technology that is going to eliminate jobs. When automation is implemented properly into an organization, it should free up employees to be more productive and more creative.

That means you get fast, secure, and scalable connectivity without the complexity of juggling multiple providers. Thanks to meter for sponsoring. Go to meter.com/itv to book a demo.
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IT Visionaries is made by the team at Mission.org. Learn more about our media studio and network of podcasts at mission.org.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What Really Gives Your EV that Extra Charge with AMP CEO, Anil Paryani May 27, 2021

Show notes

In the last year, a number of auto companies have announced huge investments into the development of electric vehicles, with some committing to transforming their entire fleets over to clean energy. In the past, the biggest hurdle consumers and businesses had to overcome when switching to electric power was the question of battery life. Drivers were worried, and understandably so, about whether their car’s battery would be powerful enough to get them where they needed to go, hassle-free. The answer is yes, and it’s thanks to some interesting software that a cleaner future is possible.

"By unleashing what we call depth of discharge and top of charge on a battery just with software, we can add five to 10% range. And so that may not sound a lot, but if you have a car that's 300 miles, now it's 330 miles that trip to the beach is no problem.”

Anil Paryani is an EV industry veteran and pioneer who possesses more than 30 patents and currently he serves as the CEO of Automotive Power, where he is committed to getting the most out of your electric vehicle. On this episode of IT Visionaries, Anil explains what really controls an EV battery’s capacity and overall performance, and he reveals why you might not need that fast charging station afterall.

Main Takeaways

Can I Get Some Charge?: In order for electric vehicles to become widely adopted, consumers need to feel confident that they can get to their desired destination. Fast-charging stations already exist, but there is still a mental hurdle consumers have to clear in order to feel secure in their ability to get from point A to point B. As such, more charging stations and options are still needed in more locations to give drivers the sense of security they require.
Running to the Edge: Preventing lithium platinum plating is what will keep your car running efficiently for as long as possible. Lithium plating is what happens when the battery is pushed past its maximum abilities. In order to prevent this from happening, the software that the car runs on must be optimized to keep the battery running at the edge.
Cool Car, Man: One of the main obstacles EVs face is the stigma that electric cars are not fun to drive. Initially, when manufacturers designed EVs, they were small and seen as practical, everyday cars for consumers. Now, the tides are changing as OEMs, such as Tesla, Ford and Audi, are now bringing EVs to everyday, classically-cool, performance-based models such as the Mustang.

That means you get fast, secure, and scalable connectivity without the complexity of juggling multiple providers. Thanks to meter for sponsoring. Go to meter.com/itv to book a demo.
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IT Visionaries is made by the team at Mission.org. Learn more about our media studio and network of podcasts at mission.org.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Putting Industrial Data to Work with GE Digital CTO, Colin Parris May 25, 2021

Show notes

Industrial equipment lasts for decades, and the data produced by these machines are invaluable to the organizations that rely on them. So what happens when industries that rely on industrial equipment, with on-location workers, and limited digital reliance face a pandemic and limited to no travel.

“I had a CEO of one of the big utilities [companies] telling me, he taught, given the last discussions he had with his leaders, that it would take five to six years to do digital transformation. When COVID started last year, they did a lot of what they thought would take five years in five weeks. It worked, so now the question is can you continue doing it?”

Colin Parris is the SVP and CTO of GE Digital, a billion dollar software division dedicated to creating better outcomes using the immense data produced by industrial machines.At GE, Coliin leads software, systems, and analytics teams to push the boundaries of how data can power industrial digital transformation. On this episode of IT Visionaries, Colin explains one of the ways GE Digital is transforming industries with their digital twins program. He explains exactly how digital twins is helping factories effectively predict the lifetime of machines, maintenance schedules, and predictive optimum yields all with an eye towards safety to ensure their plants stay up and running. Colin also touches on the importance of gathering data at the edge and the impact that kind of computing will have on efficiency.

Main Takeaways

Measuring Success and Proving Value: Measuring success or measuring value from data and analytics is a difficult proposition. A best practice for measuring value is to set a baseline and make sure that you pick the right tool to advance your use case. Then you can measure that baseline to provide the value of those investments to gain the credibility to advance your analytics.
It’s a Balancing Act: When you are measuring your data and setting baselines, you must be using both data at the edge and cloud-based data to predict the life expectancy of a system. When you manage data locally, you are consistently setting benchmarks with your local products, and then by sending that data to the cloud, you’re allowing your systems in other areas to use that data to then prevent potential problems.
Industrial Problems: The two biggest issues currently facing the industrial industry right now are decarbonization, reducing a factory’s carbon footprint and cyber security, protecting that software that manages and runs their machines. The software that runs inside machines now must not only be able to predict when a machine might need maintenance, but that software must make sure the machine is not only safe and secure, but keeps it running efficiently in order to help it’s sustainability efforts.

That means you get fast, secure, and scalable connectivity without the complexity of juggling multiple providers. Thanks to meter for sponsoring. Go to meter.com/itv to book a demo.
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IT Visionaries is made by the team at Mission.org. Learn more about our media studio and network of podcasts at mission.org.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Finding Product Market Fit with Matik Founder and CEO, Nikola Mijic May 20, 2021

Show notes

Nikola Mijic is the Founder and CEO of Matik, and he has one piece of advice of for anyone entering the start-up arena:

“When people ask me what have you learned through this experience of starting your own company, I would say how to ruthlessly prioritize because your users and your customers and prospects are gonna want the world, and it's your job to be able to decipher what is valid and what is habitual.”

Building, scaling, and maintaining success is every entrepreneur’s dream, and there’s one way to get there. By consistently meeting customer expectations and finding product-market fit. On this episode of IT Visionaries, Nikola peels back the curtain on how he stepped outside of his comfort zone of product management and took a chance in launching Matik, a personalization tool designed to automate Google slides and powerpoint presentations with customized data points. Nikola also explains why customer success is dependent on managing expectations and how data-driven insights are not here to kill dashboards, but to assist them.

Main Takeaways

Get Your Priorities Straight: When you’re running a company, prioritization is not just a nice-to-have, it’s a necessity. When you are first starting out, prospects and clients are going to consistently be asking you to over deliver with your products and services. You won’t be able to do everything or meet every expectation, so you have to prioritize what is possible and be sure you can deliver on what you promise.
Trust Your Data: Your products need to be rooted and consistently measured based on what your data is telling you. Is the user using the product? If they are not, use your data to understand why and get to the bottom of why a particular product is succeeding or failing.
Not Here to Replace your Dashboards: Dashboards still serve a purpose of being exploratory while providing the ability to quick insights, but they don’t solve the entire problem of pulling all that data into a single place so that you can quick find those insights and make them accessible.

That means you get fast, secure, and scalable connectivity without the complexity of juggling multiple providers. Thanks to meter for sponsoring. Go to meter.com/itv to book a demo.
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IT Visionaries is made by the team at Mission.org. Learn more about our media studio and network of podcasts at mission.org.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Playing War: How Technology is Helping to Train the Military’s Next Great Soldiers May 18, 2021

Show notes

For years there has been a debate about whether video games are the next great learning tool, or gateways to desensitization due to violence and a lack of face-to-face interaction. The debate rages on, but regardless of the long-term side effects of video games, there are scenarios where they are being put to use in practical ways as it relates to military training.

“The idea of training soldiers using computer games was like, ‘There's no way a computer game can train my guys how to shoot. You have to go out into the mud and do it for real.’ And while there's some truth there, what we offered was like an accelerator for decision-making processes.”

Mark Dzulko had been serving in the military for 13 years when he recognized the potential that computer-based simulation tactics could have in the military. As the CTO and Director at Bohemia Simulations, Mark is now turning the potential into something practical. On this episode of IT Visionaries, Mark breaks down the difference between traditional consumer-based video games and Bohemia’s simulation device, plus, he explains how the company scaled despite having a limited customer base.

Main Takeaways

An Open World: By using open source tools, engineers are able to quickly draft up different scenarios to fit a potential need rather than completely build a model from scratch. This gives simulation a sense of agility and scalability that traditional training models, such as pre-built flight simulators, do not have.
Game vs Reality: Video games are built with an end goal in mind: to achieve the highest possible score. Simulations are designed to recreate actual life tactics. By being put in a simulated scenario, soldiers can hone their response times and get a better sense of how to react before being deployed.
How to Make It: When you bring any product to market, it’s important to have an understanding of if you have product-market fit first. But when your customer base is limited it’s even more important to know that you will solve a problem for that base of customers in a reliable way, which will help ensure your success from the start. Constantly testing and gathering feedback from potential buyers before you hit that market is a strategy to put in place so that when you are ready to launch your product, it’s already set up for the customer to succeed.

That means you get fast, secure, and scalable connectivity without the complexity of juggling multiple providers. Thanks to meter for sponsoring. Go to meter.com/itv to book a demo.
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IT Visionaries is made by the team at Mission.org. Learn more about our media studio and network of podcasts at mission.org.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Creating a Data-Driven Digital Pass for your COVID Vaccine with Claire Hough, CTO Carbon Health May 13, 2021

Show notes

Let’s be frank: the healthcare industry needs help. Medical records have far too many inconsistencies, patients struggle to find ways to transfer information from one doctor to another, and as the world slowly begins to reopen and the focus on health increases, the industry is going to have to lean on modern technology more than ever in order to track and maintain records as it relates to COVID-19.

“There are several like electronic health information systems out there and their operability is pretty poor. You have to be able to get that information [to your doctors]. You have to be able to integrate it and make it accessible to your patients, as well as your primary care providers. And, that's something that we do better than anybody else.”

Claire Hough is the CTO of Carbon Health, a tech-enabled healthcare provider that is developing data-driven programs in an effort to help modernize the healthcare industry by removing the boundaries of health care to create high-quality experiences. On this episode of IT Visionaries, Claire details how Carbon Health has used technology and data to solve a wide array of issues in healthcare, including the delivery care model. Plus, Claire dives into her past experiences scaling startups such as Netscape, Napster, and Udemy.

Main Takeaways

User Error: There’s a saying when it comes to data, “garbage in, garbage out.” When it comes to data entry, this still applies because there is still far too much room for user error. Workers are manually inputting data in spreadsheets allowing for a margin of error, and this is one of the biggest problems facing the healthcare industry. By using an automated system that removes the physical person from that process, you can access a clearer picture of your data without concerns about input accuracy.
Not Enough Information: The healthcare industry is overrun with processes that are not streamlined or convenient for patients. When a patient gives information to a physician or an urgent care provider, that information remains only with those sources rather than shared widely to the patient’s broader healthcare team.. By creating a central record system that controls every aspect of the healthcare process, companies are able to not only have the most accurate information regardless of where a patient is seen, but it creates a better overall customer experience for your patient who no longer have to repeatedly provide the same information.
Built to Scale: When you’re scaling your engineering teams, you have to think about what the company is going to look like in the near future and not just what you need in the present. Make sure the people you are bringing on can work in a fast-paced environment and possess multiple skill sets.

That means you get fast, secure, and scalable connectivity without the complexity of juggling multiple providers. Thanks to meter for sponsoring. Go to meter.com/itv to book a demo.
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IT Visionaries is made by the team at Mission.org. Learn more about our media studio and network of podcasts at mission.org.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How to Architect Your Technology to Meet the Consumer’s Needs with Amdocs Division President, Avishai Sharlin May 11, 2021

Show notes

Move fast and break things. A famous adage adopted by many software companies. But what if you’re an industry giant where innovation is required, but failure is absolutely not an option. That doesn’t seem to be a mix for success.Meet Amdocs, a company withe more than 26,000 employees and generating more than $4.2 billion in revenue annually, the expectations for success are a little bit higher.

“The difference between great companies and good companies is how much your endurance is to failure.”Avishai Sharlinis the Division President for Amdocs Technologies, a company that works with communication and media companies to help consumers complete more than 1.7 billion digital journeys every day. On this episode of IT Visionaries, Avishai explains how Amdocs uses open source tools to provide the scale and agility needed to operate some of the world’s most complex systems, and he reveals why and how Amdocs is helping to accelerate many companies' journeys to the cloud.

Main Takeaways

What Separates Good From Great: The difference between a good company and a great one is a company's ability to deal with failure. In technology, failure is inevitable, but the key is to make sure that with each failure, your team is continually learning from your mistakes and building off of them.
Different Ways to Architect Your Technology: There are no longer one-size-fits-all solutions for your digital products. Today, each individual piece of technology must be adaptable in order to meet a consumer's needs. This means that technology teams building products have to keep multiple solutions in mind and take into account the different ways users will use technology.
A Whole New World: With the rise of IoT devices, 5G networks will not only bring the bandwidth and low-latency needed to power today’s networks, but it will also enhance the ability for communication companies to better prioritize the amount of data they send to individual devices and how to protect them from cyber threats.

That means you get fast, secure, and scalable connectivity without the complexity of juggling multiple providers. Thanks to meter for sponsoring. Go to meter.com/itv to book a demo.
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IT Visionaries is made by the team at Mission.org. Learn more about our media studio and network of podcasts at mission.org.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Digital Dollar Project: The Large-Scale Modernization of the Financial Institution May 06, 2021

Show notes

NFTs, Cryptocurrency, Blockchain, Tokenization. There is more hype than ever for these technologies and endless debate on the utility of this technology. . While consumers are attempting to understand the value of cryptocurrency, governments and private firms across the globe are doing the same, and they are experimenting with the idea of a central bank for digital currency that will adapt and meet changing consumer needs.

Main Takeaways

Benefits of a Central Bank: The digitization of currency will not only simplify the distribution of government cash, but it will eliminate banking deserts, which are large populations of the country where traditional banking branches are not accessible to the general public. By moving to a digital currency, users will be able to easily complete transactions similar to how cash purchases are done, but without the time needed to complete a credit transaction.
Programmable Money: One of the exciting innovations and benefits of digital tokens is the concept of “programmable” money. This means that during the design and build phase, the technology that houses the currency can be reconfigured to scale and add critical functions at any time.
Easily Traceable: By modernizing currency and moving to a digital token, the flow of currency from one user to another will be much easier to track than physical transactions. When transactions are done digitally, you can trace that currency back to where it originated, making it simpler and easier to detect fraud.

That means you get fast, secure, and scalable connectivity without the complexity of juggling multiple providers. Thanks to meter for sponsoring. Go to meter.com/itv to book a demo.
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IT Visionaries is made by the team at Mission.org. Learn more about our media studio and network of podcasts at mission.org.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Why It's Time for Data Professionals to Adjust the Scope of Their Hiring Practices May 04, 2021

Show notes

Gabe Gumbs has a deep-rooted passion for technology and information security, and his goal is to share that passion to push data security to the forefront of every business's agenda.

“Security is all I've ever done. It's what I know, it's what I love. I enjoy every aspect of [security]. From building it, to talking about it, to marketing, into selling it to you, It's a passion.”

Gabe is the Chief Innovation Officer at Spirion — a leader in rapid identification and protection of sensitive data— and these days he’s channeling that passion to make the digital world a safer place. On this episode of IT Visionaries, Gabe explains his vision for data privacy and why it’s time to kick siloed data to the curb. He also provides a detailed view on the future of work and why the talent shortage that security professionals have discussed may not be exactly as drastic as it seems.

Main Takeaways

Silos are an Unnecessary Evil: Data professionals are ingesting data from various sources which is opening them up to unnecessary vulnerabilities. When data is sourced from multiple areas, such as datasets and the cloud, security models are spread thin, making that data harder to protect. By bringing that data into one single area, companies will have a better chance of not only understanding data, but protecting it as well.
Your Off-the-Shelf Model Needs to Go: Organizations that use a cybersecurity maturity model as a framework to measure the progress of their security tactics are leaving themselves vulnerable to attackers. Every bad actor is different, which requires a unique model to prevent those attackers from infiltrating your network.
The Security Skills Shortage That Wasn’t: Analysts have been writing about a cybersecurity shortage for years and some believe the data privacy sector will suffer a similar fate. The issue however is not a lack of talent, but rather data security professionals must broaden their hiring practices because security is no longer simply about keeping data safe, but it’s also about policy and compliance with new data rules.

That means you get fast, secure, and scalable connectivity without the complexity of juggling multiple providers. Thanks to meter for sponsoring. Go to meter.com/itv to book a demo.
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IT Visionaries is made by the team at Mission.org. Learn more about our media studio and network of podcasts at mission.org.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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