Technology Revolution: The Future of Now

Looking for a crystal ball to help you predict what 2014 may bring for your business, your industry, your marketplace? We've got the next best thing – dozens of expert insights into the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better this year and beyond. These thought leaders will appear on SAP Game-Changers Radio 2014 Predictions – Part 3 LIVE: Todd Wilms, SAP; Mic...

Today's buzz: Donations. Businesses are pressured to do the right thing via donations, especially at year-end. Giving feels good. It could feel even better all year long if your company expands its generosity to support NPOs and NGOs around the world. How? The experts speak. Joana Breidenbach, betterplace.org: "The social sector and philanthropy will experience a similar disruption to industries s...

Looking for a crystal ball to help you predict what 2014 may bring for your business? We've got the next best thing – more than 40 thought leaders sharing their expert insights into the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better next year and beyond. Following our first 16 thought leaders' predictions on Dec. 18, we now bring you SAP Game-Changers Radio 2014 Pre...

Today's buzz: Giving. Your company is continually pressured to help locals less fortunate via cash, clothing, food, toys donations. Giving is good, right? What if you expand that generosity worldwide to effect social change by supporting nonprofits and NGOs through localized, company-sponsored giving and volunteer campaigns? The experts speak. Akhtar Badshah, Microsoft: "Passion is overrated! Mobi...

What's on your wish list this holiday season? If it's a crystal ball to help you predict what 2014 may bring for your business, we've got the next best thing – more than 40 thought leaders sharing their expert insights into the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better next year and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us on Dec. 18 for SAP Game-Ch...

Today's buzz: Mobility. Welcome to the Mobile 2.0 world. Enterprise mobility is moving at triple-Internet speed. Adoption of BYOD and enterprise-wide B2E, B2B and C2B is disrupting traditional computing. Your company may soon need a BYOA (Bring Your Own App) policy. Tablets will soon outsell PCs. Arm yourself with knowledge or be left behind. The experts speak. Michael O'Farrell, Mobile Institute:...

Today's buzz: Giving. Your company is continually pressured to help locals less fortunate via cash, clothing, food, toys donations. Giving is good, right? What if you expand that generosity worldwide to effect social change by supporting nonprofits and NGOs through localized, company-sponsored giving and volunteer campaigns? The experts speak. Akhtar Badshah, Microsoft: "Passion is overrated! Mobi...

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...

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. P...

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 insura...

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 p...

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 w...

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 cons...

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, b...

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...

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, Nationa...

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 J...

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...

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...

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 Intern...

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 Holl...

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...

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, S...

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 & Techn...

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 nev...