Many industries were agile and fortunate enough to operate remotely, creating the digital environments necessary to work from home. But how will how we work? Our businesses evolve sustainably? And how will the data underlying the technologies that support our businesses provide us the necessary insights for differentiation?

These ideas will be explored with research analysts and local executives at the upcoming 麻豆原创 ANZ digital event, on 24th March at 9:30 am AEDT / 11.30 am NZ.

This digital forum offers three panel discussions running sequentially: The Future of Work, Purpose-led Sustainability, and Creating a Data-driven Culture.

As the nature of work has changed dramatically since the pandemic, businesses everywhere are still trying to understand what workforce strategies can keep their employees safe, connected, and empowered.

Delve into The Future of Work with panellists Nicola Bourke, General Manager IT Program Delivery, The Star Entertainment Group, Gaston Carrion, Managing Director of Strategy and Consulting for Asia Pacific Talent and Organisation Lead, Growth Markets, and Global Employee Experience Lead at Accenture; and Abbie Lundberg, Business Technology Analyst, Harvard Business Review Analytic Services.

The panellists will discuss how with the rise of hybrid workforce, we鈥檝e definitely seen a paradigm shift when it comes to how organisations maintain employee engagement and morale. How do you keep employees engaged and enthusiastic about what they do? Hybrid working arrangements means that it鈥檚 now possible for a lot of candidates to pick up positions in entirely different cities or even countries so although there is a wider pool of available and suitable talents it also means the environment is far more competitive.

How will organisations need to re-think their talent acquisition policies?

In the second session, understand how we can work together and create sustainable, scalable solutions for our shared global challenges with Purpose-led Sustainability. Join panellists: , Graham Winkelman, Head of Carbon Management, BHP and Todd Pruzan Senior Editor for Research and Special Projects at Harvard Business Review Group.

This panel discussion will look at how organisations can pivot profit towards purpose by supporting a purpose-led and sustainable agenda. It will look at how the panellists are fostering a culture of 鈥榳in-win鈥� sustainability and embracing the circular economy. They鈥檒l also delve into how can organisations of all sizes manage to scale and remain competitive with sustainable business practices at the centre of their strategy.

A vital tool in creating a better future for all of us is intelligent technology backed by data-driven insights. The power of data analytics can create lasting business change that enhances the experiences of customers, suppliers and employees.

To create ongoing success in this digital economy, tune into Creating a Data-driven Culture with: Julia Jack, CMO for Mercury; David Scullin, Chief Digital Officer for Zespri; Andrew Birmingham, Editor-in-chief and Associate Publisher at Which-50; and Alex Clemente, Founding Managing director of Harvard Business Review Analytic Services.

厂础笔鈥檚 will reflect on the future of work and how to sustainably grow your business, and the power of intelligence in delivering great customer experiences. and join us, 24th March at 9:30 am AEDT / 11.30 am NZ.

The post Creating New Perspectives for 2021 and Beyond appeared first on 麻豆原创 Australia & New Zealand News Center.

Finance leaders from mid-sized businesses (100 to 999 employees) are known for keeping a watchful eye on nuanced signals and indicators of potential risk. And yet recent results from a survey conducted by Oxford Economics and 麻豆原创 of small and mid-sized businesses found that roughly half of finance executives from mid-sized businesses cite risk management (54 per cent) and spend visibility (45 per cent) as top challenges for their function.

In many ways, COVID-19 presented a perfect storm of cash-flow issues in a matter of days. Economic contraction fuelled by government pressure closed non-essential stores and offices. Revenue was lost due to interrupted manufacturing operations and overwhelmed supply chains. Credit risk exposure rose as liquidity constraints emerged, once-successful hedging strategies failed, access to working capital tightened, and customer accounts became riskier.

Throughout this time, demand for 麻豆原创 Ariba Discovery, a solution that was made available at no cost through the end of 2020 to help connect buyers and suppliers and keep supply chains intact, grew significantly in Australia 鈥� with buyer postings up +317 per cent and supplier responses up +339 per cent since the lockdown started in March. This demand highlighted the appetite for digital tools for businesses of all sizes to help them manage the effects of the crisis.

But just as the Australian economy was slowly starting to regain momentum, the Victorian Government has introduced stage 4 restrictions following a second wave of infections. The Treasury has estimated this six-week lockdown will cost the national economy about $9 billion. The ongoing sense of uncertainty highlights the importance of increasing resiliency with cash-flow management and digital tools, with three steps that mid-sized businesses should take to secure cash flow.

1. Ensure continuity of finance operations and workforce

Financial systems should be able to support mission-critical activities 鈥� such as urgent supplier payments, cash transfers, and trade management 鈥� whether the employees are processing them in the office or from a remote location.

When facing disruption, businesses need to make sure they have the finances on hand to keep business moving. Organisations need to ensure business continuity and reduce supply chain risk while still controlling costs and working capital. Moreover, suppliers need access to cash so they can keep delivering the goods and services required.

麻豆原创 Ariba has been putting the power back into the hands of suppliers by affording them choice and flexibility when it comes to payment terms. This is especially important at a time when effective cash management has never been more crucial to both buyers and suppliers. This not only safeguards the supply chain, but also allows businesses to build crucial relationships and resources to enhance financial results over the long term.

2. Manage finances proactively

As organisations reforecast revenue and profitability, continued cost and cash control will be critical to rebuilding the bottom line. But as customers begin buying again, businesses must balance the need to free up working capital with sourcing the materials and talent needed to meet customer demand.

Through times of volatility or steady growth, knowing the company鈥檚 financial status is critical. This is why, in the past few months, 麻豆原创 customers have been using our technology to run daily cash forecasts. Daily reports on key figures 鈥� including the daily cash position, cash-flow forecasting, the structure of free cash flow, working capital and debt 鈥� enables finance teams to do liquidity planning for at least 12 weeks.听

If this kind of reporting is not already in place, financial leaders need to implement tools that provide a combination of visibility and predictive analytics. Blending data insight with guidance gives finance leaders a clear view of the business and helps future planning.

3. Balance risk with opportunity

Analysing a range of scenarios enables finance leaders to evaluate the potential impact of risks and implement strategies to enhance competitive advantage. It also means they can finetune product and capacity plans by rethinking the implications of commodity risk and monitoring external markets.

Tapping into insights from cash-flow planning analysis, finance teams can adjust their hedging strategies by:

• Addressing foreign exchange risks
• Shifting limit management practices for ad hoc tasks
• Mitigating credit risk within the supply chain
• Reshaping the funding strategy with extended credit lines and new sources of liquidity
• Adjusting the ongoing operating model and updating the existing business continuity plan

4. Respond to the challenge and get ready for what鈥檚 next

Whether running in good financial shape, struggling for profitability, or facing low cash reserves, all mid-sized businesses can become vulnerable to cash-flow instability. It doesn鈥檛 require a global pandemic to experience it.

In the short term, state and federal governments are supporting businesses with emergency loans and payments. But as these forms of business life-support are withdrawn in coming months, organisations will need to find new ways to manage risk, increase resiliency and maintain profitability.

So, how do high-performing finance leaders help their business navigate through times of volatility and financial opportunity? It all comes down to a foundation of timely, meaningful and predictive insight with guidance on the potential implications for financial status, performance and viability.

To find out more about how 麻豆原创 can help small and mid-sized businesses, visit .听

The post How SMEs can avoid the cash-flow crunch appeared first on 麻豆原创 Australia & New Zealand News Center.

To watch the Procurement Reimagined session with BHP’s Chief Procurement Officer, Sundeep Singh, you can .

The post BHP uses 麻豆原创 Ariba to drive deeper into its $20bn spend appeared first on 麻豆原创 Australia & New Zealand News Center.

The first two articles in our 鈥淒ealing with Disruption鈥� series looked at how digital technologies might enable governments around the world to nudge citizens towards cooperation and coordinated action in containing COVID-19, and to address issues of hand washing, face touching, self-isolation, collective action, and crisis communication. In this article, the 麻豆原创 Institute for Digital Government (SIDG) will present a conceptual architecture for Digital Nudges and demonstrate how it could be applied to improve crisis communications relating to a second-wave outbreak of the Coronavirus.

Using digital nudges to support government responses to coronavirus

To demonstrate how our conceptual architecture might be applied, we will consider the scenario of a second-wave outbreak of the Coronavirus, such as was .

Figure 1: The first- and second-wave outbreaks of COVID-19 in Australia.

was identified on 25 January 2020. The number of new cases rapidly increased and peaked nine weeks later, with reported on 28 March. The Australian government responded very successfully with a for flattening the curve, and by mid-April there were a relatively low number of new cases being reported daily. Although the virus had not been eliminated, it appeared to have been suppressed sufficiently for lockdown restrictions to be eased across Australia. Unfortunately, were identified in Melbourne on 20 June, foreshadowing a second-wave and prompting a reinforcement of restrictions to contain the outbreak. Even so, Australia鈥檚 second-wave proved more difficult to contain than the first, peaking at reported on 5 August.

Due to the localized nature of the second-wave outbreak, stay-at-home restrictions were reintroduced only in metropolitan . Most notably, in North Melbourne and Flemington were immediately locked-down, with residents of 33 Alfred Street subsequently required to isolate for two weeks. While it was generally agreed that this was a necessary measure, the immediacy of the action combined with various communication challenges resulted in widespread confusion and concern among the 3,000 public housing tenants. captured the sentiment at the time:

• 鈥淲hen I came back home I did see hundreds of cops everywhere, so it was really intimidating.鈥�
• 鈥淚t鈥檚 been getting more and more intense, people are really panicking.鈥�
• 鈥淲e weren鈥檛 told any information, they just shut us down, didn鈥檛 let us leave our houses.鈥�
• 鈥淚 just feel like we鈥檙e being treated like criminals.鈥�
• 鈥淲e do not need 500 officers guarding the nine towers. We need nurses, we need counsellors, we need interpreters.鈥�

In what has been an unprecedented year, the hard lockdown of Melbourne鈥檚 public housing towers was an unprecedented action by the Australian government, law enforcement and public health services. To that point, Australian citizens had not experienced a lockdown under guard, except in cases of returned citizens undertaking hotel quarantine.

In special cases such as this, efficient and effective crisis communication is key 鈥� not only in ensuring compliance 鈥� but in promoting cooperation through credibility, empathy and respect. Behavioral Science can assist by influencing individual decisions towards the most positive outcome, and digital technologies can be used to scale and personalize traditional nudges to improve outcomes for mass cohorts.

Conceptual Architecture for digital nudges聽

Figure 2: A conceptual architecture for digital nudges.

Nudging is a delicate process, with significant preparation required to avoid unintended consequences 鈥� especially when the stakes are as high as they are in the case of COVID-19. These stakes are raised even higher when the nudges are to be delivered by governments, at scale, using digital technologies. The is to optimize utility and mitigate risk using an iterative process of randomized controlled trials with rapid cycle evaluation. Whether the nudge is to be delivered as part of a trial, or to the population at large, an iteration of the nudging process typically spans:

• Design and contextualize: The nudge is designed to achieve the outcome of interest, based on an exploration of the available data. A key consideration is the situational and social context of the environment in which the nudge is to be deployed. In the case of crisis communications, nudges need to for citizens鈥� circumstances.
• Simulate and deploy: Randomized controlled trials can be used to simulate the likely response to a given nudge. A variation of this approach would involve using , to enable simulations to be run faster and safer than with human subjects. In the case of crisis communications, these simulations could be aligned to the accepted thresholds of a national or local containment strategy.
• Monitor and measure: Having deployed the nudge, social listening and devices can be employed to monitor the actual response. Although it may be difficult to measure the effectiveness of nudges as a behavioral modifier, a control group who does not receive the nudge may be used. In the case of crisis communications, we might also consider performance against 鈥渇ake news鈥� as a measure of effectiveness.
• Analyze and improve: Here we distinguish between measurement and analysis, specifically within the context of diagnostics 鈥� analyzing why a particular action has been taken or a particular outcome achieved. Based on this analysis, improvements can be made to the design of the nudge, and thus the iteration continues. In the case of crisis communications, certain visualizations (e.g. ) might be published to encourage community cooperation and coordinated action.

Digital nudges: Core capabilities

As described in our first article, predictive analytics, contextualization, and experience management are the core capabilities required to deliver digital nudges. Breaking down these capabilities will enable us to illustrate how they can support policymakers and service agencies, working with behavioral scientists and technology partners, to improve the effectiveness of traditional nudges.

• Predictive Analytics:
  • Behavioral Insights: The ability to detect patterns in citizen behavior, based on transactional and experiential data. For example, based on their prior responses to government requests, we can expect Citizen X to comply with stay-at-home orders.
  • Journey Visualization: The ability to visualize the citizen鈥檚 journey over time, including major life events, changes in circumstance, and their interactions with government. For example, based on the healthcare, social services and financial supports they have recently accessed, Citizen X is likely a vulnerable person who will need additional supports.
  • Simulation: The ability to simulate the likely responses to a digital nudge, including the ability to compare alternative approaches. For example, Nudge A will increase compliance with stay-at-home orders by 5%, with 80% confidence.
  • Next Best Action: The ability to recommend the optimal course of action, based on (autonomous) machine learning. For example, Nudge A will be most effective for Citizen X, while Nudge B will be most effective for Citizen Y.

• Contextualization:
  • Profiling: The ability to assemble a digital profile of a citizen, by combining data from multiple sources (as permitted by government regulations). For example, we know that Citizen X is at high risk, since they are over 80 years of age and live in high-density public housing.
  • Segmentation: The ability to create target groups, comprising citizens with similar profiles and needs. For example, Segment A comprises citizens of working age, who are likely concerned about the impact of stay-at-home orders on jobs.
  • Campaigns: The ability to proactively outreach to target groups with nudges tailored to their circumstances. For example, Nudge A will be delivered to citizens of working age, while Nudge B will be delivered to citizens over the age of 65.
  • Preferences: The ability to communicate with citizens via their preferred channel, and at their preferred time and place. For example, Citizen X usually responds promptly to SMS sent around lunchtime.

• Experience Management:
  • Social Listening: The ability to monitor social media to track changes in citizen sentiment over time. For example, citizens under lockdown are complaining that police presence is making them feel like criminals.
  • Surveys: The ability to solicit direct feedback from citizens. For example, Citizen X responded that they couldn鈥檛 understand the specifics of the stay-at-home order because English is their second language and no translation service was provided.
  • Measurement: The ability to measure the response to a digital nudge, based on transactional and experiential data. For example, Nudge A increased compliance with stay-at-home orders by 3%, compared with the control group who did not receive the nudge.
  • Diagnostic Analytics: The ability to uncover why certain nudges are, or aren鈥檛, working. For example, Nudge A was widely criticized as being disrespectful, resulting in a lower level of compliance than anticipated.

The underlying business platform supports the design, development, and management of our digital nudges.

• Analytics: The ability to analyze transactional and experiential data. Desirable features include the ability to:
  • surface actionable insights based on predictions;
  • dynamically drill-down into records of interest;
  • visualize citizen journeys over time; and
  • update data and visualizations in real-time.

• Intelligent Technologies: The ability to build, execute and manage machine learning applications. Desirable features include the ability to:
  • process big data holdings to build advanced machine learning models;
  • support profiling and segmentation of data in line with contextualization capabilities;
  • generate predictions and next best action recommendations; and
  • make improvements based on (autonomous) machine learning.

• Data Management: The ability to access and work with big data, in real-time. Desirable features include the ability to:
  • consolidate data from multiple sources;
  • work with transactional data in real-time, without impacting operational systems;
  • work with analytical data in-place, without the need for replication; and
  • ensure the security and privacy of citizen data.

• Application Development & Integration: The ability to develop and integrate business applications. Desirable features include the ability to:
  • accelerate the design and development of advanced machine learning applications;
  • run simulations in support of what-if analysis;
  • support an open ecosystem of development partners; and
  • integrate with external systems (e.g. geographic information systems).

In presenting this conceptual architecture, our intent has been to provide a framework that governments can use to deliver digital nudges. We believe this framework to be general-purpose, while acknowledging that certain scenarios will require additional capabilities. Our chosen use case of crisis communications serves as an illustrative example. Please note that, since this conceptual architecture is vendor-agnostic, the described capabilities could be sourced from any technology provider.

To read more about how digital technology can be used to improve public sector services, visit .

The post Dealing with Disruption: Conceptual Architecture appeared first on 麻豆原创 Australia & New Zealand News Center.

We still face all the same challenges and risks that we did before 鈥� and these cannot be overlooked, pandemic notwithstanding. Case in point: modern slavery.

In August, the Australian government took a big step in reminding us of this. It marked 鈥榃orld Day Against Trafficking in Persons鈥� by launching its much-anticipated online Modern Slavery Statements Register and a new Government Procurement Toolkit.

Assistant Minister for Customs, Community Safety and Multicultural Affairs Jason Wood MP said that the register will provide 鈥淎ustralian consumers, investors and civil society with an unprecedented window into the global supply chains that produce the goods and services we use every day鈥�. Anyone can go online and scrutinise the statements submitted to the register by government agencies and Australian businesses.

The launch of the registry comes one and a half years after The Commonwealth聽Modern Slavery Act 2018聽entered into force on 1聽January 2019, establishing a national Modern Slavery Reporting Requirement. Reporting entities, such as large entities with an annual consolidated revenue of $100 million, the Australian government itself and corporate Commonwealth entities, are expected to use the centralised portal to submit their modern slavery statements.

The annual Modern Slavery Statements called for are designed to encourage the Australian business community to identify and address their modern slavery risks and maintain responsible and transparent supply chains.

A new solution to an old problem

While for some, talk of slavery may feel like an anachronism, this is far from accurate. By the government鈥檚 own estimates, between 2015 and 2017, there were up to 1,900 modern slavery victims in Australia.听聽has put the figure at more than 40 million worldwide.

Modern slavery includes human trafficking, slavery, servitude, forced labour, debt bondage and worst forms of child labour. It disproportionately impacts women and girls. More than 70 per cent of modern slavery victims are female. Modern slavery can occur in every industry and sector but some are considered more at risk than others.

Nowhere to hide

Whether you鈥檙e a government agency or a business, getting started on the path to greater transparency and compliance involves a few steps. Review your forced labour policy, segment your supply chain by category and geography, monitor continuously for risk signals, design a risk assessment and controls framework, remediate identified risks and automate assessment processes.

The reality is that many government agencies and businesses don鈥檛 have the tools required to keep track of the risks in their extended supply chains due to the herculean task of data aggregation.

Transparency through tech

To effectively meet the mandatory reporting criteria under the Modern Slavery Act, executives must adopt a technology-led approach in order to accurately monitor and track their supply chains. This is critical to ensuring that unfair and abusive practices haven鈥檛 crept into second and third-tier suppliers in the supply chain.

Technology platforms like digital business networks provide newfound visibility into supply chains, enabling organisations to quickly and easily evaluate trading partners against huge volumes of data points, determine their exposure to risk and make more informed decisions. This provides buyers the opportunity to proactively, instead of reactively, manage these risks.

For example, 厂础笔鈥檚 cloud-based Ariba Network, where more than 3.46 trillion US dollars-worth of business-to-business transactions happen annually, currently gathers third-party data from over half a million data sources. This includes whether a potential trading partner keeps its supply chain clear of forced labour and has a record of responsible environmental stewardship.

With these data points in hand, how businesses and government agencies interpret the data to mitigate their reputational, financial and environmental risks will be critical. Organisations must make sure they are making way for staff charged to turn these insights into meaningful action.

The same technology can give organisations both the supply chain visibility needed to become compliant, and much needed awareness and flexibility at a time when supply chain resilience is more important than ever. The outcome from acting on these insights is not just a legal and ethical requirement, but it is also proven that doing good is great for business as consumer demands are rising. With government spending always under extra scrutiny, it is vital for government agencies to lead the way.

A reputational chain reaction

While it may have been unspoken, there has been a view that 鈥榳hat happens in the supply chain stays in the supply chain鈥�. But this simply will not do in today鈥檚 environment. Those that fail to recognise this can expect to pay the price for complacency through lost reputation, revenue, challenges retaining talent and legal action. However, acting on this, taking a stand and driving change in everyday people鈥檚 lives will be rewarded by consumers.

Expect the 鈥渨indow鈥� that the Modern Slavery Act and register provide to create a technology-fuelled 鈥渞ace to reputation鈥� that will not only drive compliance but also broader organisational resilience and a more equitable society.

To hear more about how to use technology to improve your supply chain, register for 麻豆原创 Ariba’s , featuring BHP, Woolworths, ANZ Bank and more.

The post Stamp out slavery by seeing further into your supply chain appeared first on 麻豆原创 Australia & New Zealand News Center.

鈥淭hat was probably a great indicator of how our campaign was going in the 49er,鈥� Peter explained. 鈥淲e were really looking forward to the final build up through to Tokyo and we literally would have been finishing the final race in the Olympics yesterday or a few days ago with the closing ceremony of the Games coming up tomorrow. It鈥檚 amazing to look back and see how much COVID has changed things 鈥� it has thrown around the sporting calendar a lot.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 something that sailing has taught us 鈥� you鈥檝e just got to deal with the cards that are on the table play the best hand that you can. It鈥檚 a similar thing in sailing and dealing with what you get in the winds, since the winds are a pretty fickle thing, so you鈥檝e just got to play what you see and try to make the best out of it.鈥�

https://player.whooshkaa.com/episode?id=733165

According to Peter, the pair are currently working towards America鈥檚 Cup in March next year. 鈥淲e鈥檝e also got an ocean charity that we鈥檝e founded about ten months ago now, which we鈥檝e enjoyed putting a little more time into than we perhaps could have,鈥� he added.

鈥淲e鈥檙e also in the background planning as to how we think the next year is going to unfold and trying to account for a few scenarios 鈥� when borders are going to open up, if there is a second wave of COVID, etc. Right now, we鈥檙e really working hard for team New Zealand in America鈥檚 Cup commitments, but it鈥檚 really good to have those balancing items in your life that give a bit of diversity to what you鈥檙e doing.鈥�

Blair noted that he and Peter have been using for with their day-to-day debriefs. 鈥淭he boats are tracked so you can see the tracks, the speed, and see how different situations play out in the racetrack, because you might not catch all of that while you鈥檙e head down in your own boat,鈥� Blair said.

鈥淭hat really helps from day to day and we use it to change or adapt our strategy for the remainder of the competition. Generally, these sailing competitions like the world championships go for five days, so you really have to be on from the first day to the last.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 a great tool and we鈥檝e enjoyed it through the , but now, when you can鈥檛 get to high-level competition, we鈥檝e had some time to look back on some historic races and learn that way too. It鈥檚 an absolutely amazing tool and we鈥檙e lucky to have access to it.鈥�

Peter added that he and Blair have seen trials for an 麻豆原创 sailing app that is in development and shows great promise for the sport. 鈥淚 think it could change the way sailing is, from a club level right through to an Olympic level,鈥� Peter noted. 鈥淛ust making it easier for more mainstream sailing to really track and learn and make it easier. We鈥檙e really excited to see that unfold.鈥�

According to Blair, COVID-19 has provided a great chance to unwind, reflect, and plan. 鈥淲e have had an incredibly busy time over probably the last ten years 鈥� hardly stopped 鈥� so this was the first real chance to do that, so we鈥檙e probably in a little bit of a different situation than other people.

鈥淧eople鈥檚 values, what they wanted, and the direction they鈥檙e headed probably became a lot clearer during lockdown period. Also, going into it, everyone was pretty frightened by the unknown, but for us in New Zealand, but to get through that and be out the other side, hopefully, is something that gives you a lot of confidence going forward.鈥�

Peter affirms that it has been a challenging time for everyone globally, but it has provided opportunities to support each other. 鈥淚t shows you that everyone in New Zealand has managed to take a step back, really evaluate what鈥檚 important, and put their best foot forward. That鈥檚 something that a lot of Kiwis who normally would have been overseas during this period are starting to love being at home a little bit more. There are a lot of people down in the South Island enjoying the snow and around the country doing things with domestic tourism.

鈥淥bviously, we can鈥檛 travel to where you are but from where we are but it鈥檚 great to see Kiwis supporting Kiwi business and helping other people that are struggling during this time. I think it鈥檚 definitely a time to look after your friends and family, and make sure that people who are struggling get helped out 鈥� definitely acknowledging that it鈥檚 a tough time and being able to support the people around you that need it is a pretty key thing to do.鈥�

Blair expressed the importance of having clear goals and directions in terms of what you want to achieve and get through challenging periods. 鈥淚 think you need to have something like that where you鈥檙e in business or whatever you want to achieve, you need to know where you鈥檙e heading. Then you鈥檝e got to have some good values in your team and who you are as people.

鈥淔rom there, you鈥檙e working towards your goals, you鈥檙e trying to learn and improve as a person in everything you do. You鈥檙e trying to find more efficient ways to tackle the problem. Through that, you鈥檝e got to push yourself and go outside your comfort zone and be prepared to fail a little bit. As long as you鈥檙e learning and improving the whole time, then you get there 鈥� that鈥檚 how we鈥檝e approached things.鈥�

To hear more from my conversation with these two sailing heros, .

If you鈥檙e a sailing fan and you鈥檇 like to see more of the specific analytics tool in action you can view the 49ers race .

This article originally published on

The post Smoother Sailing – How to Build Resilience and Teamwork appeared first on 麻豆原创 Australia & New Zealand News Center.

There鈥檚 no substitute for just getting on with the task at hand, whether training for the first leg of the Tour Du France or crossing the actual finish line. But getting on with it also requires preparation and planning, including the benefit of advice, insight, and experience. It is the same when plotting a digital transformation journey.

Like any multi-stage event, each of us will take our own route, change gears at our own pace, and make pit stops along the way based on our own specific circumstances and environments.

In the same way that there are multiple stages and routes to get each of us across our own finish line, the multi-stage journey to聽麻豆原创 S/4HANA聽is unique to each company.

This is why 麻豆原创 has been running a comprehensive聽, outlining the step-by-step map for transitioning to the modern digital platform of 麻豆原创 S/4HANA 聽at your own pace.

Leading authorities on making the move to 麻豆原创 S/4HANA came together to help ensure each transition is as straight-forward as possible, regardless of IT landscape or legacy overheads. This five-part series shows how to make the transition with less risk and at a higher speed, as well as the best ways to tackle common issues around data quality and data migration, carrying over custom code and business partner conversion 鈥� all within budget and timeline constraints.

The data transformation requirements that help get data clean 鈥� including data preparation, quality, and migration 鈥� before you go live with 麻豆原创 S/4HANA are explained in depth, as well as how to keep data clean in day-to-day activities and operations through master data management once live.

Protecting and moving customisation, integrating the landscape, and managing extensions and innovations in the cloud with low code development are all looked at. And the series shows how to modernise a data strategy and platform, factoring in the data lake, as well as reporting directly from within applications.

To grease the digital wheels of business automation, new ways of integrating enterprise data with disparate types of Big Data across different data stores are mapped out, while preserving data security, integrity, and consistency.

But 麻豆原创 knows there is no substitute for customer experience. So three customers 鈥� all at different stages of their own digital journey toward 麻豆原创 S/4 HANA 鈥� share their experiences, tips, and advice.

• Tetra Pak聽outlined its successful data Transformation journey around mastering automation and data efficiencies, which is now the foundation for the next stage.
• 狈别蝉迟别听discussed how it is becoming an intelligent enterprise through real-time analytics and automated business processes.
• Vinci Energies聽showed how it has embraced data-driven innovations in 麻豆原创 S/4HANA, such as robotic process automation, next-generation analytics, and mobile business processes.

The response from customers who have watched the webinars and implemented the advice has been hugely positive. If you did not catch the full series the first time, you can聽.

In addition to how-to steps from 麻豆原创 experts, partners, and customers, you can also see just how easy it is to create intelligent, mobile-ready applications to better serve customers, modernise business processes, and compete more effectively.

When the world is busy transforming around you, it鈥檚 never too late to start but it鈥檚 always too late to wait. Have a great journey!

This article first appeared on the Global 麻豆原创 News Centre.

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In our , I was fortunate to speak with 麻豆原创 Vice-President and Global Innovation Evangelist, . We discussed the ever-shifting world in the light of COVID-19 and the technology solutions that are helping business adjust, adapt, and evolve.

Due to the rapidly developing situations across international governments and businesses, Timo acknowledged that change is not optional for most organisations right now. 鈥淎round the globe, people are being forced into more digital transformation in a tighter timeframe than they had ever imagined,鈥� he explained.

鈥淓verybody is facing the same issues: how to embrace the changes with as much confidence as possible. How can companies minimise the risks and maximise the opportunities, to stay resilient now and reinvent themselves in the future.”

鈥淲hat is important are the same things they鈥檝e always been 鈥� how do companies define and focus on their core competency, how can they drive deeper customer relationships, the advantage of new business models, how can they streamline operations, and ultimately emerge stronger than ever before?鈥�

Timo noted that the most critical element at times like this is transparency, which stems from good data. 鈥淭o make decisions we need to take the data we have available and turn it into reliable insights,鈥� he explained.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been talking about the data value equation, in general, 鈥榓mount times quality times usage equals value鈥�. The more data you have, the better the quality, and the more people get to access and use it, the more value you鈥檒l get. I think that鈥檚 a good basis for thinking about how organisations can move forward in this environment.鈥�

According to Timo, cloud-based data orchestration allows business to connect that data to create a holistic view of business networks without physically moving it. 鈥淭hese data pipelines connect to business applications, or a data warehouse, or your suppliers鈥� data, a data lake, or some spreadsheets someone鈥檚 pooled together, and you can bring that information together to get a single view.鈥�

At the heart of all this is the breakthrough technology of machine learning, Timo expressed. 鈥淧redictive analytics, advanced statistics, machine learning 鈥� these technologies have been around for decades, but really in the last few years they鈥檝e made a breakthrough in terms of the computing power available and the quality of the algorithms and the amount of data available.”

鈥淢achine learning technologies are more powerful when you鈥檝e got lots of data to build the models. It鈥檚 basically sophisticated pattern matching 鈥� it鈥檚 not magic or anything like human intelligence. It really is automating complex and repetitive decisions in new ways. This is a huge opportunity for any kind of data leverage. It means, firstly, that we can automate applications.鈥�

Timo noted that automation is not about eliminating roles rather freeing people from repetitive tasks and instead focus on core competencies. 鈥淧eople are the technology you should be maximising right now in your organisation,鈥� he added. 鈥淭here is nothing more intelligent than people, they鈥檙e the only ones that can understand what鈥檚 going on 鈥� the full context of the environment 鈥� and what needs to be fixed to move forward with solutions.鈥�

For times of uncertainty, Timo said, the keys to success are agility and flexibility. 鈥淭his is an era of constant change, so fast adaption and innovation has to become core competencies for all organisations. Technology is a huge advantage; the organisations that embrace the cloud are undoubtedly better off right now than the companies that still have to have people working on their on-premises data system.鈥�

According to Timo, the biggest area of benefit is taking the power of cloud and integrating it with business processes. 鈥淭he idea is that you can rapidly adapt and change your business processes without having to wait for new functionality in your core systems. Running your systems in the cloud, you just want to spin up a quick application where you can add new functionality on top of your core foundation quickly and easily.鈥�

Timo said, 鈥淔or example, you may need a lot of visibility in your supply chain, so you quickly create a mobile application that takes sensor data from your manufacturers, combines it with some core business master data, maybe some location data, and gives you visibility in the end-to-end supply chain.

鈥淯sing cloud platforms makes it easier to adopt agile development. Using things like Design Thinking, you can quickly create programs and tests and iterate, so you can learn as you go, based on the feedback of users.鈥�

You can join Timo with other industry experts for a virtual event for businesses looking to build resilience and reinvent during this turbulent time.

鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to be as helpful, optimistic and forward thinking as possible, Timo explained. 鈥淲e鈥檙e absolutely going to be talking about technology and how it鈥檒l be helping them to the extent that鈥檚 possible. We鈥檒l be investigating how the technologies can help people do their jobs better. And then we鈥檙e trying to be helpful, look forward to the future.鈥�

To learn more about how this unlock the power of Business Technology Platform and data-driven insights 鈥� check out this , visit the , or today. Listen to the .

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From paying bills online to accessing Netflix, every action we make digitally creates data that shapes an incredibly accurate portrait of who we are, what we do, and everything that drives us as people. On an enterprise level, we rely on data constantly to connect with one another, to predict trends and movements, allowing us to leverage those findings to continually improve on our back-end systems and processes.

With so much data to manage and leverage daily, organisations need a system that connects and analyses data in a way that generates real insights while facilitating cross-business collaboration and building an intelligent enterprise.

Single Platform, Dynamic Solution
By unifying all systems and processes on a connected platform, businesses can continually improve their processes in an infinite loop of Optimisation and Innovation 鈥� at 麻豆原创, we call it (BTP).

BTP is comprised of four pillars: , , , and Combining these four elements, businesses create an ever-growing network of data and systems that helps refine operational processes, uncover efficiencies, and monitor every facet of the organisation.

The ability to accurately monitor and predict business processes can not only improve the way companies operate but safeguard them from unforeseeable crises. In , I noted how 厂础笔鈥檚 missions is to help organisations make sense of the immense data it produces and offer a dynamic solution that evolves with the business. Now more than ever are employee experience, process data, and intelligent technologies are critical.

As a result of COVID-19, we have seen a significant shift in the ways we work and interact with one another, which consequently is generating new data and reshaping business systems around the world. With a massive increase in people working remotely, business data and robust systems are vital to building resilience during times of uncertainty.

Building and retaining trust in the digital world will cause us to rethink and alter our behaviours and expectations as we can鈥檛 just 鈥渟hake on it鈥� anymore. We will need to remain connected, aligned, and in constant yet socially distanced communication. Agile results will become so much more relevant and part of everyday life.

Industry Insights Go Virtual
When there is a global state of fear and confusion, it can be challenging to find reliable resources for knowledge and information. Furthermore, conferences and public gatherings have been canceled for the foreseeable future 鈥� with many industry events shifting towards digital platforms, webinars, and online presentations.

麻豆原创 Business Technology Experience was a for businesses looking to thrive rather than simply survive during these difficult times. 麻豆原创 Vice-President and Global Innovation Evangelist, Timo Elliott explained about the future of digital business and data analytics. He explored the important technology trends, challenges, and opportunities facing business and how to build resilience today.

Learn from key industry leaders, renowned analysts, and technology experts like broadcast technology journalist Johanna Botta who expressed their views and experiences of the latest business technology trends and customer experiences.

Chief Designer for 麻豆原创’s Innovation Center Networks & Chief Innovation Office, Martin Wezowski demonstrated how businesses can improve their digital transformation and improve agility to prepare for the future. As one of the most innovative minds in Germany 鈥� if not the world 鈥� he is passionate about crafting future outlooks, strategies, and products to help businesses become more intelligent, efficient, and innovative.

To learn more about how this event can help your business unlock the power of Business Technology Platform and data-driven insights 鈥� .

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In this modern era of continuous technological improvement and instant gratification, keeping up with customer demands is proving increasingly challenging for everyday businesses. Customers now expect easy ordering, faster delivery times and a personalised level of service. Evidently, in the last few months, we have seen the closure of large retailers in Australia who have failed to meet customer needs and expectations.

is becoming more important as customers are not just looking to buy the products alone but rather the experience around them. The perfectly illustrates this point, while the mode of transportation is the same, what airlines primarily compete on is customer experience. Emirates, one of the highest ranked airlines clearly understands the value of customer experience.

As well as being the first to install TV screens on every seat on every aircraft, they offer a number of small customer perks that really add up. They offer great flexilibilty, with online flight check-ins opening 2 days in advance and convenience, as customers travelling across all classes can check in their luggage from anywhere in Dubai.

So, how can we bring an exceptional customer experience to our brand and products?
To answer this, we need to first better understand what our customers want and why they want them. There are two main approaches to better understand your consumer needs. One is to look at the myriad of Operational data (O-data) the businesses have collected.

This operational data may include past transactions, customer demographics, purchasing behaviour, and many more. Many organisations are now analysing and leveraging customer data to make informed business decisions. Many have also gone a step further by setting up a data division headed by a whose role is evolving.

The other approach is to directly ask customers for feedback whether it be through customer surveys, interviews, focus groups, etc. The collected data, also known as the Experience data (X-data), helps businesses to understand customer sentiment and values. By combining the O and X data, it provides powerful knowledge to the businesses to understand what their customers really want and why they want it.

Many businesses are becoming aware of the and so they have started their eXperience Management (XM) journey. For example, through Qantas鈥檚 Voice of Customer (VoC) program, it has introduced new innovative products such as wifi on board, project sunrise, world鈥檚 first waste free flight, etc.

Qantas has just brought all disparate platforms and processes across its business units in a single Qualtrics platform. Moreover, Qantas brought together their experience and operational data to help them better understand how its customers interact with the check-in systems and to personalise the experience offered. There are more examples on how XM enables businesses to innovate.

Now that we have both O+X data, how can we realise its benefits?
The key here is to understand what鈥檚 possible with this data and how to effectively process and turn raw data into actionable insights that support business processes. Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are that allow you to mass crunch large datasets in a short period of time.

Below are common use cases across various industries, where companies have been able to leverage their O+X data to gain a competitive advantage.

Text Analytics
It is quite common nowadays for organisations to employ machine learning techniques to analyse qualitative data such as customer surveys, product feedback, and social media. This Experience data enables organisations to discover core customer values and needs. The feedback is even more effective when we analyse them against demographics data.

For example, if a shoe company knows that a demographic group places a high emphasis on comfort. Then they would focus more on the quality of the materials rather than creating stylish outward appearance for such group. A better understanding on your target market can directly translate into tangible financial rewards like increase in sales and revenue. Additionally, it can improve intangible aspects of an organisation such as reputation and customer satisfaction.

Predicting and Understanding Customer Behaviour
Operational data from customer transactions enable organisations to understand buying patterns of their customers. By applying intelligence technologies on top of O+X data, organisations can predict the future buying behaviour of their customers like which new products will appeal to particular demographics. Early and accurate prediction allows organisations to be at the forefront of trends and take advantage of them.

Personalisation
Personalising customer experience includes offering products and services tailored to customer preferences. Many online platforms such as Amazon, Netflix and Marriott International employ machine learning to offer personalised recommendations based on customer past buying patterns. Furthermore, we also see personalisation embedded in every aspect of the customer journey.

For example, a chatbot that does not only answer customer queries but has an intelligence to combine Operational and Experience data to provide a unique customer experience. It combines and stores your past information, such as past product complaints and purchases, brand preferences, product enquires and which staff served you. Equipped with this information, it can tailor its responses to resolve your current issue quicker and more hassle-free.

Augmenting Shopping Experience
Artificial Intelligence is now becoming ubiquitous in a retail environment to improve customer satisfaction. A number of retailers have started looking into implementing Smart Mirrors in their stores. A smart Mirror uses computer vision, touch and recommendation technologies to augment customer buying experience, for example, the option of trying on clothes digitally.

The mirror can automatically detect customer sentiment on the digital clothes they try and collect this Experience data. If combined with Operational data such as customer past transactions, the smart mirror can recommend products that customers are likely to purchase, thus, creating a seamless, easy shopping experience.

Get more insights on how

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