Coffee Break With Game-changers, Presented By Sap

Today’s buzz: Banking fraud. They’re smart, they’re creative, and they’re determined to make your money their money. They succeed using a recipe of new technology and old-fashioned chutzpah. Our challenge: harness the same technology to detect emerging fraud patterns and stop cyber-criminal organizations from digging deeper into our collective pockets. How are we doing so far? The experts speak. Prakash Santhana, Deloitte: “Do you have any idea who your customer is?” Nuno Sebastiao, Feedzai: “When banking systems cannot distinguish customers from criminals, the bad guys win. To outsmart bad guys, we have to fight fire with fire.” Carl Snyder, SAP: “As fraudsters become more and more sophisticated, especially in the online and cards space, leveraging predictive analytics and immediate fraud detection must become the gold standard in the battle against fraud for banks and credit card companies.” Join us for more insights on Banking Fraud: Can Technology Outsmart the Bad Guys? – Part 2

Today’s buzz: Insurance. The insurance industry is on a paper-to-digital journey that will affect every aspect of its business – especially the customer experience. Really? We can only hope they’ll finally get it right. The experts speak. Kathy Ann Hutson, IBM: “The consumer's connected life, where everything is intelligently connected, opens up the possibility for refreshed thinking in the insurance industry.” Deb Smallwood, Strategy Meets Action: “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” (Steve Jobs) Nathan Golia, Insurance & Technology: “There you can compare insurance plans, side-by-side, the same way you’d shop for a plane ticket on Kayak or a TV on Amazon. (U.S. President Obama, talking about the healthcare.gov website) Pat Saporito, SAP: ‘Beware of geeks bearing gifts,’ a pun on ‘Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.’ Big Data is everywhere, but the real issue is getting big value from Big Data. Join us for The Digital Insurer: Customer Centricity Trends – Part 2.

Today’s buzz: Predictive. IBM’s Watson beat Mensa on Jeopardy. Target knows your family. Match.com picks mates. How are they so smart? The experts speak. John Elder, Elder Research: “Humans and machines have very different strengths and weaknesses. The best decisions come from combining their two types of wisdom. Greta Roberts, Talent Analytics: “When a predictive approach is added to the hiring process, cost-benefit models sometimes show it is more powerful to screen out potential bottom-performing hires.” Eric Siegel, “Predictive Analytics”: “Everyone's heard that correlation does not entail causality. But without establishing any causality, how can we trust a predictive model?” Henner Schliebs, SAP: “Are CFOs the better CEOs? Advanced finance analytics drive the strategic role of finance heads with holistic intelligence about financial, operational and company performance. Master your margins – become a king.” The New CFO Agenda: Tying Predictive to Financial Performance–Part 2.

Today’s buzz: The city. Your city is a complex vital entity with the power to impact your local quality of life as well as national and global economies. How is your city running? Is innovation part of its DNA, spirit, budget and capabilities? The experts speak. Sean Patrick O’Brien, SAP: “What defines a best run city, how can you measure this, what do you benchmark against, and is this the same way citizens, businesses and officials make such a judgment?” Meghan Cook, Center for Technology in Government, Univ. at Albany, NY: “The mesh is an emerging business model based on a network enabled sharing – on access rather than ownership ... where consumers have more choices, more tools, more information, and more peer-to-peer power to guide the choices” (Lisa Gansky, author of The Mesh: Why the Future of Business is Sharing). Cindy King, City of Edmonton: “Make sure what you do is a product of your own conclusion (Jim Rohn). Join us for Best-Run Cities: Urban Matters – Part 2.

Today’s buzz: Bribery and corruption are alive and well. The global economy continues to bring great opportunities and great risks. Wherever you do business, do you have measures in place to detect and thwart clever bribery and corruption fraud schemes, especially those cooked-up by trusted staff or consultants? Perhaps technology can help. The experts speak. Thomas Fox, attorney, independent consultant: “GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in China will be a complete game-changer in bribery and corruption enforcement across the globe.” Vincent Walden, Ernst & Young: “’Parkinson's Law: Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.’ Why: Think about the ‘new’ types of work we will do, given the game-changing performance enhancements of Big Data.” Melissa Lea, SAP: “Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe” (Albert Einstein). Join us for Compliance: Focus on Anti-Bribery/Anti-Corruption – Part 2.

Today’s buzz: Corporate responsibility (CR). How’s yours? William Newman, Newport Consulting: “Disney’s decision to pull out of Bangladesh based on the government’s slow response to the building collapse illustrates CR isn’t just for branding anymore. Lives are at stake.” John Edelman, Edelman PR: “Sustainability has moved from license-to-operate to license-to-lead...companies public or private, big or small, should start activating around these issues.”” Mark Delisi, CSC: “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” (Helen Keller) Richard Crespin, CEI: “What was good for our country was good for General Motors, and vice versa. (Charlie Wilson, GM president) Nicolette van Exel, SAP: “Focus only on the things your organization is good at, aligned to one or two social problems, so you can make real social and business impact.” Join us for CR: Nice or Must Have? Part 2.

Today’s buzz: Sports. Whether you play sports or just watch, you may already be seeing the impact of an exciting new ‘player’ on the court, the field, the track, the pool, the television. Its name is technology and it’s enhancing how players play, coaches coach, equipment runs, teams collaborate, fans enjoy, and lots more. The experts speak. Michael Gliedman, NBA: “A man of my mind can do anything” (Steely Dan, Don’t Take Me Alive, 1976). Marcus Baur, Sailing Team Germany: “We ain’t seen nothing yet” (Andrew McAfee, TEDxBoston, 2012). Jen Cohen Crompton, Something Creative: “If the stadium simply becomes a stage, the game will have lost a vital element. I believe this is the next great issue—how to make games important to people when they can sit in their living room?” (Marc Ganis, SportsCorp). Steve Peck, SAP: “Life is like a dogsled race. If you ain't the lead dog, the scenery never changes.” (Lewis Grizzard, writer/humorist). Join us for Sports Go High-Tech: Score!

Today’s buzz: Caregivers. In April, we discussed how technology is being developed to help 65 million U.S. caregivers, and others around the world, who provide weekly care to the ill, disabled and aged. Now, half a year later, we’ll examine the realities of this technology – benefits, limitations, negatives, challenges – and a wish list for the future. The experts speak. Jayne Dixon Weber, National Fragile X Foundation: “Technology can help you when you get a diagnosis. It can help you get information, find doctors, find other people in your situation…and it can help you feel overwhelmed.” Louise W. Gane, MS, M.I.N.D. Institute: “Dare to reach out your hand into the darkness to pull another hand into the light.” (Norman B. Rice, former Mayor of Seattle, WA) Faheem Ahmed, SAP: “The ‘health’ industry is much larger than the ‘healthcare provider’ industry. Sometimes people don't recognize themselves as caregiver.” Join us for Caregiving Goes High-Tech: Benefits, Challenges, Wish List.

Today’s buzz: Manufacturing. Reality check: manufacturers must adapt or die. Survival means automating your shop floor, deploying M2M technology, leveraging Big Data. What else? What is government’s role? The experts speak. Brian Raymond, National Association of Manufacturers: “We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there (East Bound and Down, Smoky and the Bandit theme song, sung by Jerry Reed, 1977). Mike Walton, Atos: “If the leader is filled with high ambition and he pursues his aims with audacity and strength of will, he will reach them in spite of all obstacles!” (Karl von Clausewitz). Scott Bolick, SAP: “The factory of the future will have only two employees, a man and a dog. The man will be there to feed the dog. The dog will be there to keep the man from touching the equipment.” (Warren G. Bennis) Join us for Manufacturing Survival: Idea to Performance.

Today’s buzz: SMEs. A recent Oxford Economics study of 2,100 small to mid-size enterprises in 21 countries found that those leveraging technology to boost innovation, strengthen customer relationships, improve agility and expand business, are able to compete effectively against multinationals. How? The experts speak. Steve Freeman, Decision First Technologies: “To achieve an agile and competitive enterprise, SMEs require the individual within flatter organizations to make better, more timely decisions. This reality places self-service information access at the core of a successful SME’s information strategy.” Edward Cone, Oxford Economics: “Live in fragments no longer. Only connect...” (E.M. Forster, Howards End) Kevin Gilroy, SAP: “Technology and innovations are the competitive equalizers for SMEs anywhere. An SME can ‘look' as competitive as a large company, present themselves anywhere, and compete globally with rivals of any size.” Join us for Equipped to Compete: Tech-Powered SMEs.

The buzz: CRM. Has your company’s CRM evolved to keep up with today’s digitally-empowered, brand-controlling customers – or is it stuck in vanilla call-center mode? If the latter, wake up! Your audience is seizing the power moment-by-moment via smartphones, 4G networks, social networking – and defying traditional CRM tools. The experts speak. Brent Leary, CRM Essentials: “When it comes to building lasting relationships with customers living in The Millisecond Economy, ‘speed thrills and the lack of it kills’”. Susan Etlinger, Altimeter: “The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence; it is to act with yesterday's logic (Peter Drucker, management consultant, self-described ‘social ecologist’, 1901-2005). Jamie Anderson, SAP: “My philosophy born from eight years in the recording industry: ‘I’d rather be a failure at something I love than a success at something I hate (quoting George Burns, late actor) ’”. Join us for Engaging Your Customer: New Recipe for A Long Marriage.

The buzz: Things. Your POV on The Internet of Things and M2M (machine to machine) technology: Real or vapor? Now or futuristic? Listen up! Companies that fail to implement M2M will fall behind their competitors, say a majority of IT decision makers in six countries surveyed by Harris Interactive for SAP. The experts speak. Don Peppers, Peppers & Rogers Group: “When devices begin to join the Internet of Things in vast numbers (as will happen over the next ten years), they won’t just talk to you, they’ll talk to each other and they’ll begin to make smart decisions themselves. Lights, thermostats, and door locks will ‘learn’ your habits and begin adjusting automatically.” Benjamin Wesson, SAP: “Sometime in 2008, the number of 'things' connected to the Internet exceeded the number of people on earth (Berg Insights 2012). Indeed, every time you turn on your car, the car is capturing telemetric data to be analyzed later by service personnel.” Join us for more on The Internet of Things and You.

The buzz: Millennials are here. Retailers, watch out. Tom Julian, Doneger Group: “A celeb today has more impact and influence as a player in fashion and the retailer than an award-winning young designer.” Greg Girard, IDC: Get off of the catwalks and on the sidewalks to see what's coming next. Pinterest is the newest sidewalk. Sarah Austin, Pop17.com: “Micro-celebrities, fashion bloggers, and Hollywood celebrities are the new trendsetters. They embrace technology blogging platforms, social media and photography. Naima Mora, Model: “Fashion and technology have allowed us as millennials to put ourselves in the spotlight that was traditionally held for celebrities.” Hadi Labarang, FSHN: “Bloggers and photographers with a significant following are now celebrities of their own.” Layla Sabourian, SAP: “88 percent of millennials admit to following every celebrity’s move in weeklies and online.” (Young Entrepreneur Council) Hear Fashion Retailer Alert: Delight Millennials or Die! – Part 2

The buzz: Millennials are here. Retailers, watch out. Tom Julian, Doneger Group: “Millennials have become the most racially diverse, most educated, self-expressive, liberal, upbeat generation to date. They have impacted shopping/commerce, the work environment, social media platforms, and lifestyle behavior around technology.” Greg Girard, IDC: “Savvy retailers are evolving and melding digital and physical omnichannel assets to engage millennials, the vanguard of a pervasive digital persona touching nearly every aspect of 21st century life. Retailers that don't will soon be ‘out of fashion’.” Frida Wollweber, Cucuka: “Retailers be alert, millennials’ expectations are high! Offer your finger, they will take your hand. Listen, don’t talk. Gain their trust and they will treat you well.” Li Gong, SAP: “Fashionista millennials say, ‘I don't want to see products on a model or mannequin. I want to see how other girls wear them’.” Hear Fashion Retailer Alert: Delight Millennials or Die! – Part 1

Today’s buzz: Diversity. Inclusion now covers race, age, gender, religion, impairments, skills, viewpoints and more. How will it benefit your company? The experts speak. Paul Albert, Albert Investments: “Outstanding women directors I know would rather see the primary emphasis on their qualifications to contribute, with their label as a woman irrelevant to their board nomination.” Nola Masterson, Science Futures Management: “The pressure to fit in or ‘lean in’, as the current crowd likes to quote, is a problem for a well-run board.” Brian Barnier, ValueBridge: “Too often, risk management does more to put blinders on than take them off. Board diversity can help take blinders off to more easily see risk in the business.” Nicole McCabe, SAP: “It’s not about whether a diverse board will positively impact the business. It’s whether that board can be inclusive enough to take advantage of the business benefits.” Join us for Board and Workforce Diversity: Enterprise Risks, Opportunities, Rewards.

Today’s buzz: Insurance industry. Do you gnash your teeth every time you deal with insurers? Do they even know the meaning of ‘customer experience’? The experts speak. Mark Breading, Strategy Meets Action: “The insurance industry is in the midst of a long transition from paper to digital, affecting every part of the business, but especially the customer experience.” Nathan Golia, Insurance & Technology: “I had the good providence to stumble upon a plan of the city council. A construction plan of epic proportions. We're calling it a freeway. Eight lanes of shimmering cement running from here to Pasadena. Smooth, safe, fast. Traffic jams will be a thing of the past.” (Judge Doom, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, 1988 film). Kathy Ann Hutson, IBM: “Customer-centered innovation is key to growth in the changing insurance marketplace.” Bob Cummings, SAP: “There is no path. A path only forms when you walk.” (Chinese proverb) Join us for The Digital Insurer: Opportunities with Customer Centricity Trends.

Today’s buzz: Corporate innovation. How often are your organization’s decision-makers really right? If not often enough, and their typical excuses wag a finger at your data – too much, too fast, too big, or just ‘bad’ – then take a closer look at the analytics tools they’re using. The experts speak. Elizabeth Hedstrom Henlin, TBR: “No matter where you are in your BI adoption journey, there has never been a better market to be a buyer of new technologies – especially within business intelligence and analytics.” Mark Lenke, CSC: “We are no closer to the answer if we cannot discover the right question, and the question after the question is the one to focus on. Leveraging a Big Data and analytics approach creates a flow of information that spawns new thoughts and analysis.” Puneet Suppal, SAP: “Newer forms of innovation are cropping up, some inspired by age-old practices from around the world. Rethink how to invest in the future.” Join us for Corporate Evolution: Investing in Analytics.

Today’s buzz: CMO. Who’s calling your marketing shots today – your MBA’ed CMO or hyper-vocal/social/mobile customers? A pop quiz to help you answer. Is your CMO (a) listening and responding to social sentiment? (b) a champion of memorable experiences with your legions of brand-owners? (c) using analytics to pull signals from your big and small data? Pencils down. Before deciding whether to hug your CMO or post their job, listen to the experts: Jonathan Becher, SAP: “Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.” (Albert Einstein or William Bruce Cameron, “Informal Sociology”) Steve Carlotti, Cambridge Group, “Listening and reacting is what is required today, and that’s a lot harder than the planning and acting that was required yesterday.” Allen Bonde, Digital Clarity: “In B2B, it’s critical for CMOs to emphasize thought leadership and selling big ideas versus simply selling products.” Join us for The New CMO in the Age of Customer Experience.

Today’s buzz: Technology startups. Some entrepreneurs soar to success right from the get-go. How? They simply deliver something the world really needs - and they do it uniquely well. Our in-the-trenches start-up experts share first-hand insights on vision, planning, brains, teams, funding and other challenges. Frantisek Vrabel, Semantic Visions: “I can think. I can wait. I can fast. (Herman Hesse, Siddhartha, Chap. 6) Rick Dutta, Nextvisionix: “We should not only use the brains we have, but all that we can borrow.” (Woodrow Wilson) Dan Somers, Warwick Analytics: “Many entrepreneurs, particularly first-timers, believe that money is the answer to all their prayers and do whatever it takes to raise it.” Kaustav Mitra, SAP: “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” (George Bernard Shaw) Join us for Start-Up Insider: From What-if to Wow!

Today’s buzz: Banking fraud. Show me the money! Earlier this year, a band of “cashiers” swiped prepaid debit cards at ATMs in NY City and 25 countries – and made off with $45 million in cash. The problem: they didn’t own the cards or the money. What are we doing to detect emerging fraud patterns and stop these emboldened outlaws and their sophisticated cyber-criminal organizations before they dig even deeper into our pockets? The experts speak. Nuno Sebastiao, FeedZai: “Flash attacks are a new threat in the online world. Imagine a version of the ATM attacks a couple of months ago, but in real/time, distributed and targeting many online merchants.” Prakash Santhana, Deloitte: “It is 10 p.m. Do you know where your credit card is shopping?” Eric Stine, SAP: “We’re faced with an increasingly demanding legislative and regulatory environment - and a creative class of criminal that keeps getting smarter.” Join us for more insights on Banking Fraud: Can Technology Outsmart the Bad Guys?