Diginomica

 Much of what is discussed here is about the change in training needed to help IT people better understand the business. Lo-code and No code may be fashion mots du jour but they count for little if the developer doesn't have a good sense of what business problem is at stake. Simply asking to help with digital transformation doesn't cut it. 

On today's agenda, Marks & Spencer's tilt at Ocado, manufacturing excellence (aka dumping the spreadsheet), motoring mayhem in the modern city and a ministerial meerkat. You have to be British to get this last one but trust me, it's worth it. 

On today's agenda, digital burgers, ethical crises and cloudy success - and a sad dose of Breaking Bad bigotry.

Each customer story provides a different angle on the work companies are undertaking to further their digital transformation journeys.  Accuride is especially interesting as it plays off a podcast I recorded with CIO Paul Wright. We've been following this firm for 4 years and the story keeps improving, despite multiple technology providers plus M&A in the mix. 

It's the use case edition folks with awesome success stories that feed directly into topics that matter in the 21st century. 

I have a fascinating conversation with Jonathan Phillips who leads the SAP Business ByDesign implementations at Aspen Pumps, a mid-sized UK based manufacturer of condensate pumps. There are tremendous lessons to be learned about how to establish a successful, mission-driven culture. 

I kid you not - this is indeed the pants off edition.  Before we get to that though we're talking Avon, reproductive rights and a thumbs down for financial wellness in the context of HR issues.  Pants off? Check this:

Accuride, a supplier of wheels for the trucking industry is on an implementation journey that includes Plex, Workday and SAP.  The story has important implications for those faced with disparate landscapes and where the prospect of getting to a 'one-size fits all' doesn't fit.  In this story, Paul Wright, Accuride's CIO explains what is happening and why.  For example, we easily forget that different geographies have different laws concerning the export of data, which, in turn, changes the technology decision dynamic. Similarly, some countries have poor internet connectivity making the choice of moving to the cloud much more complex, if not impossible.  Then there's the question of reporting across multiple geos. Here, Paul has an interesting take on how Workday Prism is helping.  Finally, we talk about IoT and other advanced technologies. You'll be in for a surprise if you think that this industry is going full speed on these topics. 

Jon and Den get together to talk about some of the things we're thinking about as diginomica moves into its 7th year. We also talk about some of the things we didn't get to during the week and how the independent analysts are firing up a new type of conversation that focuses on what customers want in the 21st century.  Check out diginomica.com for a write up that includes a bunch of links on the topics we discuss. 

DJ Adams is one of my all-time heroes as both a proponent of open source and teacher/mentor to children who he encourages to learn coding skills in his home town of Manchester.  He's coming up to a year as an 'evangelist' in the developer relations team at SAP. It's been a year of experimentation including the recent launch of his own live streaming show where he talks and writes code in real time.  We talk about these issues and the many challenges involved in creating a podcast or live stream that people want to listen/view.  We also talk (briefly) about beer, an understanding of which is a pre-requisite for being a modern-day coder.  Enjoy.

Lora Cecere has spent her entire career working in the supply chain arena as both practitioner and analyst. Most recently, she delivered a message to practitioners that says we're looking at supply chains from the wrong end of the proverbial telescope. Instead of looking inside out we should be looking outside in, focusing on value-based outcomes driven by market signals and not, as is currently the case, based on the primacy of orders as the lead indicator for what should be planned for in the supply chain. It's a wakeup call for a world where healthcare is moving to wellness and where some forecasts say that the world will not be able to feed itself by 2050.  In this discussion, Lora recaps the main points of her current thinking and offers a framework for the future that includes the use of advanced technologies including machine learning for essential tasks like data cleansing.  She also has a warning for the usual suspects - the startup world is coming to get you. 

On today's agenda, New Relic's smart acquisition, gig economics that don't make sense and non-integrating integrators who drive Brian mad. And because you can't make this stuff up - check out the image below:

If you don't know Francine McKenna then you should. I first fell across Francine many moons ago when she was putting out re: the auditors, an in-depth look at the audit profession and how it fails investors. Today, Francine has a regular beat on Marketwatch that again talks of the issues behind corporate reporting. In today's call we discussed the problems around non-GAAP reporting and how it is out of control yet no-one wants to address the fundamental issue of companies reporting whatever the heck they like ahead of filing the 10-K.  There's a timebomb ticking here folks. During our call she talked about a small number of companies that file and report at the same time. One of which is Amazon. That company doesn't always get the love it earns but it is doing the right thing.   There will be a written version of this story in the next day that includes links to her latest story about the GAAP and non-GAAP issue. Enjoy. 

On today's agenda, a great conversation about Dreams and Details as authored by Jim Snabe, chairman of Siemens, a Googley cloudy newspaper courtesy of The Telegraph and 'street' retail via Ralph Lauren...and something for Brexit fans. Plus the added bonus of a smidgeon of British humor. If it flummoxes you then check out what Americans thought of our erstwhile comedians Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer. 

Excuse the banging sounds at the beginning. The mice upstairs are dancing while wearing hobnail boots. 

We're late I know but then there's a good reason. I was on a 3-day death march to move and set up a new office. It's all done now but boy was it a PITA - literally, as I discovered muscles I'd forgotten about, in my rear end no less. 

I scored a scratchy call with Bonnie and Michelle of Raven Intel, a new HR analyst firm that hosts peer-reviewed implementation stories and assessments. It makes for an interesting conversation. 

A fun packed show that covers a red-headed bastard child, digital tax services and an updated users story. Where does the man bun fit in? There's a cracking joke at the end. 

It's all happening today folks with SAP shocking some with news of an €800-950 million significant restructuring plan, Starbucks putting your coffee on a bike (?!) and Marc Benioff, CEO Salesforce announcing the 5th Industrial Revolution. 

Community has been something of a Cinderella but Rachel Happe believes that 2019 will be a breakthrough year. Hear how she parses this long running story out. You might be surprised at some of the benefits.