IT Visionaries

Latest Episodes:

How to Build a Hiring Process Based On Skill, Not Pedigree Jan 19, 2021

Show notes

It’s true what they say, “finding a job is a full-time job.” After all, as the hiring process becomes more global and recruiters are constantly inundated with an influx of applications, on the other end of that equation are the candidates submitting those applications, who grow weary as the days go by with no response.

As with most things, processes change over time, but, with some technical exceptions, the hiring process has mostly remained the same. Until now. Vivek Ravisankar felt called to address the pain points of hiring after speaking with a recruiter. a

“I remember walking up to a recruiter one day and asking, ‘Hey, can you tell me how this whole recruiting process works?’ He pulled out his Macbook and he had two folders: pass and fail. He would look at a resume for 10-15 seconds and determine which folder [the resume] was actually going to go into. I was thinking, ‘Man, you have way too much power in your hands.’ But I can also understand and empathize with them because if you're Amazon, you don’t have a better way to do it either. So that was a trigger point. This needs to be fixed.”

The fix came in the form of HackerRank, a platform that helps developers put skills over pedigree. On this episode of IT Visionaries, Vivek explains what that means, and how it helps developers stand out from the crowd. Plus he explains the dangers of utilizing A.I. throughout the hiring process and why distributed workforces are great for company diversity.

Main Takeaways

Supply and Demand: As companies continue to trend towards software companies, developers currently remain one of the most sought after candidates. However, that trend is drastically changing as the number of companies that employ developers rise.
A.I. Is Not A Magic Pill: When it comes to the hiring process, A.I. should be used as a way to streamline your workflow, but not as an indicator of if a person is fit for a particular job or an identifier of their hard skills. Instead, use the technology to identify if candidates have similar skills to past hires and then sort them into individual piles to accelerate the process.
Whatcha Going to Do With all That...Data: Data is what fuels HackerRank’s platform insights. In order to build a comprehensive candidate profile, the company conducts hundreds of thousands of challenges and assessments a day. The data that is then gathered, sorted and distributed to help construct a candidate profile, but is also used as a learning tool for each applicant to better understand where they rank amongst their peers.

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

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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.

Living on the Edge: How Netskope is Redefining Edge Security Jan 14, 2021

Show notes

When Netskope CEO and founder Sanjay Beri left his role with well-known Juniper Networks, he knew the internet and the way that we protected ourselves virtually was changing. The issue is that while Sanjay knew companies needed to leave their old security tactics behind, convincing members of the C-Suite that they needed to invest in new security measures is a very difficult task. So he showed them why.

“Without them telling us anything, we basically uncovered all their shadow IT, all their data that was being filtered not by malicious people, but by their own employees who just didn't know better,” he said. “It's so apparent that people don't know where their data is and by showing them where their data is they realize how exposed they really are.”

Sanjay is working to make security more proactive, less reactive, and more educational via his new venture with Netskope. On this episode of IT Visionaries, Sanjay discusses how companies can uplevel their security techniques, why SaaS applications are leaving your data unprotected and exposed in areas you might not realize, and why it’s time security companies start educating their peers on best practices.

Main Takeaways

Lost in Translation: Every 10 to 15 years, the language of the internet changes. As that happens, your SaaS application must change with it. Software that is 15 years old, is unable to understand the new intricacies of the internet, which leaves companies and users vulnerable to various threats.
Living on the Edge: Your security needs to live where your employees reside — which recently is at the edge — so that no matter where employees work, your system is there to protect them. With so many employees working remotely in 2021, most of a company’s data and documents are living in the cloud, even if your company is not cloud-native, so necessary security needs to be put in place to protect it.
Here to Educate and Protect: Security teams have a responsibility to not only protect their end-users, but they also must be educating the end-users on why and how they are putting themselves at risk. The purpose of this educational philosophy is so that users can understand the risks once they have been briefed, and you can then take action to minimize risk.

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.

Email Delivered: Why Email Delivery is Just the Beginning of Mailchimp's Democratization of Marketing Tools Jan 12, 2021

Show notes

Have you ever wondered about how your favorite newsletter ended up in your inbox? Who sent it? Why was that email scheduled for that particular time? What is being tracked when you click that open button? Most likely, those questions haven’t crossed your mind, but that doesn’t change the fact that the digital trail a simple email creates can have a lasting impact on your online persona. Welcome to the world of email marketing, specifically the Mailchimp universe, which includes an all-in one marketing platform that delivers more emails daily than the average consumer can fathom.

“We didn't send two billion emails on Black Friday, we delivered two billion emails. What's really interesting for Mailchimp as a platform is that delivery is hard and it's a big part of it but that's really where the story begins. At least when it comes to the email side of things, because delivering it starts it, and then they open it, which gets tracked. They click it. And then when they click it, and they go out to do a thing, they now land on a Mailchimp property. All of those activities the user is taking is going to drive their marketing properly.”

Eric Muntz is the CTO of Mailchimp, and on this episode of IT Visionaries, he dives into the ins-and-outs of how the email delivery giant has expanded its offerings in an effort to democratize marketing tools. Eric also touches on why email delivery is just the beginning of any marketing journey and how Mailchimp effectively scaled from a few thousand users to millions of users.

Takeaways

Just the Beginning: Email delivery is just the beginning when it comes to the world of email marketing. When you open up an email, that email collects various forms of data and multiple user touchpoints. From the link a user clicks on to determine if the email is secure, to the potential landing page where a person winds up, it all creates multiple responses within the Mailchimp platform, which will then trigger follow-up emails, promo codes, etc.
Thundering Herd: Thundering Herd in technology circles refers to the amount of stress that is placed on servers that have traditionally been passive but are now being asked to carry high-traffic loads in a short amount of time. Think of ecommerce sites that get bombarded the second a highly anticipated product goes up for order. In order to avoid crashes and stresses on your infrastructure, you have to constantly be backing up and batching your servers.
Started From the Bottom Now We Here: When you’re rising through the ranks of your organization, one of the most important skills to learn is how you go from working on a product to understanding how you can give your team the tools to effectively do their jobs. Likewise, when hiring a staff, it’s important to really focus on the applicants that are just as excited about the project and product as you were when you joined the company.

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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 Build a High-Value Customer Experience Products with Conga SVP, Eric Carrasquilla Jan 07, 2021

Show notes

As the Senior Vice President of Product for Conga, Eric Carrasquilla knows two things: No. 1 products can fundamentally change the workflow of any business. And No. 2, more times than not, customers will tell you what they need, even if they don’t necessarily know how to describe it.

“We keep going back to this Apple example, the famous one related to the iPod… No one asked for your entire music catalog in a deck of cards. They asked for a bunch of other stuff. But Steve Jobs, being able to come back and say, ‘I understand the problem you're trying to solve.’ You don't want to lug all this stuff around and it's difficult to go through and do, so what about this?’ And having people go, ‘Oh, yes, it's what I need. And didn't know what to ask for.’”

That's the challenge faced by anyone in the business of product development: to deliver revolutionary products and services, without having to be asked to do so. On this episode of IT Visionaries, Eric details how his team goes about meeting that challenge by developing services with the customer experience at the forefront. Plus, he explains the importance of working hand-in-hand with your developers.

Main Takeaways

Might Not Be the Product they Want, But it’s the Product They Need: One of the defining features of any company is how it listens and gathers information from its clients. When it comes to product development, this is key. Your clients might not always be able to convey to you the exact problem they need to be solved, but through discovery, research, and multiple conversations, similar themes will begin to emerge that will help your product team understand what needs should be addressed.
This isn’t Monopoly: As a product team, it’s important to understand that your department does not have a monopoly on good ideas. Remember, ideas can come from all departments — clients, R&D, product, etc.. Don’t back yourself into a corner and think that only your team knows how to solve problems. Siloed and structured approaches rarely succeed.
Acquired Remotely: When you are going through an acquisition, the first thing you need to ask yourself is how do our products complement each other? What areas of the acquiring company are useful and how can we integrate those into our network? When you are doing this in a remote environment, communication is of the utmost importance. You should be constantly over-communicating with your teams to make sure you are achieving the best result, but also making the transition as easy as possible.

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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 Zero Trust Isn’t the Answer, but Full End-to-End Encryption is with Wire CTO, Alan Duric Jan 05, 2021

Show notes

Let's be frank. Security and the steps we take to protect ourselves are never top-of-mind. In fact, most users tend to operate under the mindset that bad things happen to other people and companies, never hitting too close to home. Until it does… Maybe it’s an email you click on, or a message that contains sensitive information you pass along to a coworker that ends up in an unsecured inbox. Regardless of the method or point of entry,, bad actors, or hackers will eventually attack if and when they can.

“More and more people go into it with the same logic as when people are buying burglar alarms for [their] home. It usually sells greatly when a home in your neighborhood gets broken into. You hear about it and then say, ‘Maybe I should actually protect myself.’ Whenever something like that happens, then those circles start to resonate with it just unfortunately, they need to get burned in order to learn about it.”

Alan Duric isn’t one of those kinds of people though. Alan is the CTO and COO of Wire, and he lives with three key terms always top of mind: Security, end-to-end encryption and prevention. On this episode of IT Visionaries, Alan discusses some of the leading trends happening in the security space — including addressing the age-old issue of how users should be more proactive and less reactive. Plus, Alan details why email continues to be the most troubling form of communication.

Main Takeaways

You are The Weakest Link, Goodbye!: Despite all the forms of cybersecurity, email attacks still remain the weakest link because it is tough to regulate and prevent outside actors from infiltrating a system. Instead, passing sensitive information back and forth through email, consider using encryption-protected messaging services.
A Little Proactive and Less Reactive: The time is now for companies to take a hard look at how they are protecting themselves and evaluate all options. With various forms of security, including zero trust, encryption, etc. One of the biggest problems when it comes to security understanding the risk vs reward factor.
So, Can you Hack this? One of the leading benefits of full end-to-end encryption is the ability to protect every message and every video conference — sending or receiving — from being attacked. When each individual form of communication is encrypted with its own unique key, it’s as if that message is being protected inside its own individual fortress.

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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 Software is Powering the Blind to See Again Dec 31, 2020

Show notes

The idea of virtual reality has captivated humans for the longest time. After all, the ability to live a second life, free of the physical obstacles that the real world presents is a dream worth falling into. But what if there was a bridge between the powers of virtual reality and its ability to impact the real world? That’s the mission that Ammad Khan, the CEO and Co-founder of IrisVision, set out to make possible.

“I have always believed that technology has the tremendous potential of really changing the way we do things every day. And it's become really evident, since the launch of the smartphones in our lives and using the platform capability on the smartphone that so many of the things that we previously could not even think of have become possible.”

One way the impossible is becoming reality is through the work of IrisVision, which uses the powers of virtual reality tools to enable people who have been declared legally blind the ability to see again. On this episode of IT Visionaries, Ammad discusses the power of the IrisVision software and provides case studies on how the product is working in the real world. Plus, he details the company’s go-to-market strategy and why it was integral to develop multiple prototypes before making the product widely available.

Main Takeaways

But First, Science: Founded in 2016, IrisVision is based on Dr. Frank Werblin’s research around retinal functions. Werblin and Khan, who possessed a background in mobile technology, worked together to find a software solution for helping individuals with low-vision see again. Virtual reality, combined with the increasing use of technology, allows the eyes to put together pixels, in order to make blurred vision more clear.
Test, Test, Test: Before you send any product to market, you need to make sure you have a sound basis for how the product works and perform multiple use cases. Rushing a product to market without understanding how it performs under varying variables could be disastrous. Make sure you take the proper time to prototype your device so when it hits shelves, you’re off and running

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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.

Patent Pending: How the UPTO Office is Expediting the Time From Submittal to Approval Dec 29, 2020

Show notes

The United States Patent and Trademark Office wants to modernize its technology stack, but to accomplish its ambitious goal, Jamie Holcombe, the CIO for USPTO has two main objectives: snapping out of a spell that binds people to age-old projects, and scaling its current way of doing things.

“What I saw was the ability to actually outsource a lot of our infrastructure, and that means not actually having the data center that we currently do in Alexandria, although it's very efficient. What we need to do is have resiliency. And so what I'd like to do is create the ability for our applications to work in the cloud on the internet, instead of having to come to the USPTO data center. And so that's what we're doing right now. We've stabilized our core applications to the point where in COVID-19 we've been able actually to increase our productivity metrics. It's unbelievable how great we're doing in this limited environment.”

On this episode of IT Visionaries, Jamie details how his office is bringing its technology stack into the 21st century and how they are expediting the time it takes for a patent to get approved through the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques.

Main Takeaways

You Better Check Yourself: The discovery process is integral when you are looking to deploy any kind of artificial intelligence or machine learning techniques. Before deploying these algorithms, you need to make sure that you are creating the necessary feedback loops and understand what the data is telling you and where your deficiencies are in your algorithms.
Clean-Up Your Room: Before you embark on any digital transformation that affects your customer, you have to make sure that your house is in order first. This can mean updating your network’s infrastructure and finding new ways to manage your data.
Same Old Song and Dance: Just because your department or office has been around for hundreds of years, does not mean your processes are perfect. When you have employees that stick around, that’s great! But make sure you are continuously challenging your team to think about new ways and processes to streamline your approach.

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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.

The Algorithms that Bring you Style with Stitch Fix’s Director of Data Science, Tatsiana Maskalevich Dec 24, 2020

Show notes

The old saying, “look good, feel good,'' fits Stitch Fix perfectly. The direct-to-consumer, online personal styling service has boomed due to its ability to not only match consumers with trendy and comfortable clothes, but to make it a personalized experience for each buyer.

“At the end of the day, we want to be rooted in personalization. First and foremost, it's important for us that [consumers] not only come to Stitch Fix to complete a transaction, but that you really think about us as your partner style.”

From curating stylish experiences, to matching each individual with their own personal stylist, Stitch Fix and taken eCommerce and the subscription model to the next level. On this episode of IT Visionaries, Tatsiana Maskalevich, the Director of Data Science at Stitch Fix, takes listeners into the algorithms that help curate those experiences and the science behind it all.

Main Takeaways

Know Your Data: With so many avenues to collect data on the internet, the collection process is not the difficult part. The hardest part is how you turn your data into actionable insights that can benefit your customers’ experience. In order to manage your data appropriately, you must be constantly creating feedback loops so you can best understand what is working and what is not working.
It’s a Preference Thing: The customer experience is the number one pillar for any successful company. When you are creating curated experiences for your customers, you need to constantly be listening to what works for them and what does not work. Create a great experience by constantly giving your customers reasons to engage with your platform through quizzes and games or other interactive features.
Rooted in Data: One of the keys to building a successful data-centric platform is through the individuals constructing it. The algorithm you construct has to accomplish two things: It needs to continuously be learning about the person inputting that data, and it needs to continuously be relaying information back to the source. Focus on the foundation and infrastructure of your algorithm first, then experience second.

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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.
---

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.

Hiring Solved: How this Eightfold.ai Has Solved the Hiring Process through A.I. Dec 22, 2020

Show notes

What if there was a software that could take the guesswork out of finding a career or an employee? And what if that software could not only analyze your technical skills, but also those that could lead you to leadership positions down the road? That would be great news for the hiring managers and everyday Americans who struggle with and feel anxious about the complexities of completing a job search. Lucky for them then, that Eightfold.ai is working to make those worries a thing of the past through artificial intelligence.

“What we are doing is using the latest advances in deep learning and machine learning to really understand, not what people have done, but what they are capable of being next. What is their learning ability for a certain skill? If you know statistics and signal processing, you can learn machine learning very quickly. If you are good in programming, you can learn Python quickly. So really trying to understand the learning ability of each individual and using that to assess and understand who can be a great fit in what enterprise, in which function.”

With more than 100 customers, including AT&T, Cisco and Liberty Mutual, Eightfold.ai is using the power of data to solve the complexities that come with hiring thousands of employees. On this episode, Ashutosh Garg, discusses how A.I. can be used to identify which candidates are an ideal fit for an organization, and he gives an inside look at their process and the variables they look at to identify that perfect candidate.

Main Takeaways

It’s a Problem Rooted in Data: When you’re building any application that’s rooted in A.I., the number one priority needs to be data collection. The more data you have, the more inferences you are able to make. When Eightfold.ai launched its platform, it only worked with companies that hired more than 10,000 employees over a few years. The idea is that for every 10,000 employees hired, more than 1 million people were called, screened, etc., thus making the data sets they are able to pull from very large.
It’s About Fit: Finding the right employee should never be based solely on a candidate's skills. Instead, when you are going through the hiring process, think about how this particular person fits within a role and within your organization as a whole. Just because someone works at Google, does not mean they will fit at Facebook. Instead, evaluate an individual on all the variables a job requires, cultural fit included.
The Art of Possibility: Artificial intelligence is unlocking the possibility of not only creating a more diverse workplace, but providing opportunities to people who might not have the traditional background, but who have still found success. The technology unlocks for them the ability to find and pursue many more opportunities.

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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.

Using Automation To Drive A More Personalized CX with HGS Chief Digital Officer, Virgil Wong Dec 17, 2020

Show notes

For years, marketers and technologists have envisioned a world where technology would be advanced enough and smart enough, that they could reach consumers on a deeper and more emotional level. Turns out, through the power of automation, that world may now exist.

“I'm really talking about designing your digital channels so that they are cognitive. So you're reacting to what a customer might be feeling or thinking, being compassionate. So you're responding to the customer situation with a genuine effort to help. So we talk about implementing bots. It's not just about trying to impersonate a real-life human being. You really shouldn't try to do that, but we're about creating these solutions around automation that's very much attuned to the customer's emotions, their motivations, their challenges that they're facing.”

Robots in the workplace are not new, but automation as a driver of empathy and not a way to accomplish repetitive tasks is a game-changing advancement. Virgil Wong, who you just heard from, is the Chief Digital Officer for HGS Digital, a company focused on making empathy a driving force behind the customer experience. Virgil joins IT Visionaries to discuss how artificial intelligence, machine learning, and intelligent automation are more than just buzzwords. In fact, they are actionable pieces of technology that can drive brand loyalty and create the optimal customer experience.

Main Takeaways

Let’s Be a Bit More Empathetic: Whether your customer is interacting with you on a website, mobile app, or via chatbot, the experience they have with your technology must be based on empathy. When customers are working with bots, that automation needs to be able to identify that customers' pain points, and then react in a compassionate manner.
Walk Before You Run: When it comes to implementing sweeping customer experience changes, it’s important to start slow and discover what the pain points are, the processes involved, and how the technology can better serve the customer.
Time to Upgrade: Your data sets should be driving your roadmap and how you interact with your customers. When you have millions of conversations, take time to digest the themes of those calls and where some of your customers’ common pain points are. Then use that data to drive a better, more empathetic experience.

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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.