deal architect

Burning Platform: The demise of the mainframe has been greatly exaggerated

In the 79th episode of Burning Platform, we host Hari Candadai, SVP of Service Innovation and Thought Leadership at Origina. They are a third-party software maintenance company focused exclusively on providing IBM Support. As he says “Over the last decade Origina has perfected the third-party software maintenance model for IBM Passport Advantage customers around MQ,  Cognos, DB2, Informix, FileNet and  other products down the list.”

We discuss why we have for decades discussed the death of the mainframe and how it continues to survive and thrive especially in airlines, banks and other high transaction volume environments. IBM continues to breathe life with the latest z Series architecture and is reporting numbers which are delighting Wall Street.

However, that is no reason to put up with the high cost and shrinking talent in that world. We cover why third-party maintenance is attractive around IBM products – the lack of skills at customers and even at IBM (and how Origina has built its talent pool), the high cost for relatively stable environments (and how Origina can shave half off), and the need for interoperability with all the systems that keep on mushrooming around the backbone applications on the mainframe.

He goes into plenty of detail and spends some time describing their long journey with the utility. Southern California Edison.

McKinsey recently wrote “For many companies—and many industries—the COVID-19 pandemic set off a period of head-spinning change. They realized they were capable of moving faster than they ever thought possible. They went digital in a matter of days, not years. They offered new services almost overnight.

If companies sustain this newfound speed and agility, it’s conceivable that more innovation will happen in the next ten years than in any previous decade in modern history.”

That innovation will need money and staffing commitments. Another reason to consider a firm like Origina. Nicely covered by Hari in about 20 minutes  

 

Burning Platform: The enterprise suite does not always win - Zoho One is a standout

In the 78th episode of Burning Platform, we host Raju Vegesna, Chief Evangelist at Zoho, a repeat guest in this series

Zoho One – also branded as “the Operating System for Business” - is a suite of 50 and growing applications across sales, marketing, finance, hr, legal, collaboration and other functional areas – see the full list here (btw it does not list the 50+ mobile apps which are also included)

We discuss a major milestone in the evolution of Zoho One – its fifth anniversary.

In those 5 years, it has been adopted by over 50.000 customers. Notably, it has also penetrated markets like UAE, Nigeria, Kenya, Mexico and others that few enterprise vendors ever cover.

The glib statement in the enterprise applications market is “the suite always wins”. Yes, it is compelling to have an integrated solution with a common UX, single version of truth across the enterprise. The reality is first-gen ERP, CRM and other suites were inconsistent in their functionality by module, often cobbled together via acquisitions, attracted lots of Sis who were comfortable in HQ functions but not in operational areas the suite promised to cover, resulted in massive overruns. My view is that experience has made enterprise buyers much more cautious and back to buying at a much more modular level. With that backdrop, Zoho One has done very well.

Raju discusses many things Zoho has done right – “a dollar a day” pricing; organic, self-discovery of applications so users expand their use of the suite at their own pace, rather than being oversold what ends up becoming shelfware; and a focus on customers without much of a legacy application portfolio to migrate.

He also discusses what’s next in the evolution of this success story.

Crisply (and modestly) done in 16 minutes.    

Gartner and Oracle: Why I am missing their major events this week

Analyst Cam: Salesforce Verticals – Automotive

As we have moved to virtual briefings, I have increasingly been excerpting short video segments (with permission) as part of my Analyst Cam series.

This time it is Achyut Jajoo · SVP and GM, Manufacturing and Automotive presenting on their new Automotive Cloud.

The world of mobility – cars, trucks, bikes and so many other forms of transport - is going through massive changes. It is moving from a hardware, engineering focused past to a software defined future. The acronym CASE – for Connected, Autonomous, Shared and Electrified – summarizes the changing industry with new business models including vehicle features on a subscription basis, direct to consumer channels and the growing need for first-party data, new service delivery mindsets, and transformed supply chains with software, sensor, satellite support and battery charging and many other ecosystems.

Achyut does a nice job covering these trends, the variety of new providers and experiences in the sector and the niches which Salesforce plans to focus on. More details in their announcement here.

Very nicely done in 25 minutes. I have invited him back to come present with a couple of customers as the launch continues.

 

Analyst Cam: Salesforce Industry Clouds at Dreamforce

As we have moved to virtual briefings, I have increasingly been excerpting short video segments (with permission) as part of my Analyst Cam series.

This time it is Jujhar Singh, Executive Vice President & General Manager, Salesforce Industries, a repeat guest. He had planned to give our audience a sneak preview of their growing Industry Clouds prior to Dreamforce. His schedule changed and we had to postpone. I saw him twice at Dreamforce but as expected he was swamped. I had to evacuate for Hurricane Ian last week. So when we finally connected, he was very generous with his time.

Given the length of the recording, we broke it into 6 segments that emphasize a variety of different industries. So, here we go with some of my brief comments on each.

Industries Introduction & Dreamforce Industries News (~5 mins)

Jujhar talks about the vitality of their Industry Clouds business. It is now one of the top 3 pillars of growth for Salesforce. It is a sticky business. Industry attrition rates are 2% lower than those in their lowest horizontal clouds.

Holistic Health Powered by Genie (~10 mins)

One of the biggest announcements at Dreamforce was Genie which is aimed to harmonize, in real-time, all your data into a single view of the customer across any cloud. Jujhar applies the lens from a patient perspective and provides other updates around their healthcare and life sciences offering, including support for Advanced Therapy Management. It is a nice update to the overview Amit Khanna, SVP and GM had presented in July here.

Automotive Cloud – new offering (~4 mins)

Jujhar provides a preview of a new Industry Cloud which will become generally available on October 17.  It takes Salesforce into the emerging world of electric vehicles, direct to consumer (D2C) selling and new business models that are dramatically transforming the auto industry. I will run a longer interview with Achyut Jajoo, SVP and GM, Manufacturing and Automotive on this offering later this week.

Net Zero Marketplace – new offering (~7 mins)

Jujhar provides an overview of another offering announced at Dreamforce – this one aimed to accelerate customer sustainability initiatives. Built on Salesforce Commerce Cloud, the Net Zero Marketplace enables “ecopreneurs” to browse and purchase carbon credit projects from various sellers. Salesforce has enlisted third party reviewers to provide transparent reviews and risk
assessments on the available projects. Ari Alexander, GM of that cloud business had provided a longer perspective here.

Service Excellence Across Industries – examples from Insurance and Healthcare (~2 mins)

Salesforce is building industry-specific service consoles and Jujhar provides examples from healthcare and auto insurance.

Composable Case Management - for Public Sector, Nonprofit and Education (~4 mins)

Jujhar presents a new approach to customer service for public sector domains like child welfare, nonprofits focused on mental health and staff health and wellbeing in education. He describes the composable case management solution: “You are not dealing with tickets; you are dealing with people in complex scenarios. Families may be involved, even communities. Instead of one provider, you may need a network of providers. It is about a different orientation – not about closing out a ticket, but about outcomes. The caseworker can follow the process all the way from intake to outcomes.”

I would recommend you watch all 6 segments. In total, they only add up to half an hour. The range of industries and the wide landscape Jujhar covers in each is truly impressive.