For the 107th and 108th episode of Burning Platform we host Brian Sommer of Techventive.
Brian and I had co-hosted the first few episodes in this series over two years ago. I invited him to present on 3 recurring themes he is hearing from customers and vendors. He discussed the War for Talent, ESG and AI. For my turn in the next episode I will provide a 25 year retrospective of cloud applications and massive untapped opportunities around globalization, verticalization and customer base migration.
1. War for Talent
Starts around 2.26 in video below
Brian talks about the toxic employer employee environment- lots of quiet firing, quiet quitting, silent sabotage, unwillingness to explore new talent sources etc.
I add from my research on ‘super workers’ we have focused too much on improving employee ‘experience’ and not on productivity and outcomes. I also add we keep neglecting the aging worker talent pool and how much noise there is around when and where employees are expected to work
2. ESG
Starts around 11.15
Brian has recently released a book on ESG and presents several themes from that
I have done a couple of major projects in the last year or so on the global energy market and EVs and present my perspectives on why I am concerned ESG will be another money pit ( I invoke this blog post “1 billion dollars per word’ from the Sarbanes-Oxley era twenty years ago) and a political hot potato
3. AI
Starts around 25.02
Brian presents a pov that application vendors are not showcasing exciting use cases. He also says firms like Accenture are making significantly more investments in AI and may relegate application vendors to commodity use cases
I summarize several nuggets from the many BP episodes on Gen and other AI I have recorded in the last few months
In the next episode I will present on 25 years of cloud applications from 3 perspectives - globalization, verticalization and customer base migration
You may not agree with what we say but I can guarantee you will hear perspectives you have not heard before. And we show several big holes a few vendors will step up and build massive revenue sources and market capitalization around
Educational and Entertaining!
Burning Platform 108: New Frontiers for Enterprise Applications – Part 2
For the 107th and 108th episode of Burning Platform we hosted Brian Sommer of Techventive.
In Episode 107 he presented on 3 recurring themes he is hearing from customers and vendors - War for Talent, ESG and AI. For my turn in this episode I provide a 25 year retrospective of cloud applications and describe massive untapped opportunities as we Re-globalize, as Industries morph dramatically and customer base migrations scream to be turbocharged
Re-Globalization
Starts around 1.52 in video below
I tackle lots of idle talk around de-globalization, de-dollarisation and de-industrialization of Germany. I discuss how MNCs are rapidly churning their country portfolios. How several vibrant new economies are the new “Tigers”. How static software vendor functionality and global presence increasingly shows them stuck in the “Old World”
Brian explains that global expansion is expensive in the traditional software sales model. The reality is hyperscalers continue to lead the way with massive global investments and a new class of software vendors is more adept at digital channels and will support the changing globe far more effectively
New Industry Landscapes
Starts around 16.50
I discuss how the pace of industries converging and morphing has increased given all the economic shocks of the last few years. Lots of vertical edge applications have become viable and now a new wave of AI use cases is coming which will leverage industry specific operational data.
Brian believes SIs are better positioned for verticals with their account control and large investment mindsets. He says most applications vendors love to enhance their platforms with new waves of technologies. They actually find developing new applications boring; He could well be right.
I believe a new wave of vertical application vendors will emerge. And customers will increasingly build v buy such applications. The reality is one way or another there are major market chunks waiting to be won or lost. Well-designed vertical applications have shown themselves to be very sticky with revenue streams stretching decades.
Customer Base Migrations
Starts around 30.50
I present the depressing graphic that customer bases have migrated at a very slow pace and we have ended up with a “reverse shark fin”
Brian explains that is fairly common tendency with laggards in most customer bell curves. I counter that many vendors have unusually large 50 to 80% of their customers on very old versions. Even the risks of not being in audit compliance or projecting a negative recruiting profile have not motivated them to migrate.
It’s time to leverage GenAI, RPA, accelerators, conversion factories and other automation to dramatically lower the time, cost and risk of such migrations
Every one of the three opportunities I present is massive. However, it will take a fair amount of focus and investment. Who will step up? The next few years should see a lot of churn and chaos. Or if you see the glass as half full, lots of new opportunities
December 05, 2023 in Burning Platform, Global and Vertical extensions, Globalization and Technology, Industry Commentary | Permalink | Comments (0)