New Florence. New Renaissance.

20 from 20: No industry untouched

This is the 19th post in a series of 20 highlights from the Acrobatics during the crisis, Analyst Cam, Burning Platform  and other series I ran last year.

2020 turned most industries upside down. I posted earlier about conversations in four industries here and another four here 

Here's another dozen. 

Jason Blessing, President and CEO of Model N, describes the intensity when 24 out of 25 of his largest customers like Stryker and Gilead have worked on some life-saving COVID-19 related products or services. The longer interview is here 

At 2.52 is Mark Galloway, Chief Commercial Officer at GrandPad which offers a simple and secure tablet computer that digitally connects a senior to their family and friends. Mark describes the speed at which they rolled out the device to nursing homes and elderly care facilities. The average user is 82 years old and technology which most readers of this blog use on a daily basis is a big challenge for these seniors. The longer interview is here 

At 5.54 Phiroz Darukhanavala, who goes as "Daru" is the ex-CTO of BP and points out the oil and gas industry has faced other "shocks" before, usually on the supply side. The sector in the past has bounced back and has been more efficient each time. The longer interview where he discusses industry changes is here 

At 9.48 is Bill Berutti, CEO of Plex talks about the auto industry. He and CTO Jerry Foster cover global manufacturing trends and the effect of COVID lockdowns in the longer interview here. 

At 12.99 is M.R. Rangaswami of Sand Hill Group. He talks about sustainability efforts at the members in the Corporate Eco Forum he runs. He also points how the definition has extended beyond renewables and climate issues to also cover diversity and inclusion. The longer interview including coverage of other communities he runs is here 

At 16.00 is Associate Dean Bill Moncrief at the Neeley School of Business at TCU. He describes the complexities of moving from campus to on-line education in under 2 weeks and the challenges of teaching in hybrid mode - some students in-class and some on-line. I am on the school's advisory board and the longer presentation to the board is here 

At 19:33 is Bob Ferrari of Supply Chain Matters. He describes how supply chains - PPE, global, food etc - came under a lot of pressure but responded amazingly. In the longer interview here, he talks about adjustments most industries are making to their supply chains. 

The sports world had never seen this much disruption since WWII. Yet, it bravely kept us entertained with its bubbles, empty stadiums and shortened seasons, At 22.06, you get a glimpse at the maneuvering from Max Mueller, CEO and Christian Nilson, COO of Daimani, a unique marketplace for VIP experiences in sports, rock concerts and other events. The full interview is here 

At 25.52 Vittorio Viarengo of VMware shares how he brought to life COO Sanjay Poonen's desire to record a rendition of "This little light of mine" using a group of musically talented employees around the world. These are amateurs and the result is amazing - you can see how Taylor Swift and others in the music world managed to do even more with their virtual productions. The longer session with Vittorio is here 

At 31.21 is Rod Johnson, President of Infor. He points out how the TV and entertainment industry has an opportunity to help refine tech and other events in a virtual format.  The longer conversation is here.

Apple, in reverse, promises to reshape physical events and the TV and movie industries with its iPhone 12. At 32.56 is an excerpt of the stunning imagery recorded from the back of a truck and from a drone. The longer coverage of the launch of that device is here.

Sector after sector saw massive changes. Yes, Toto we are not in Kansas anymore. 

 

20 from 20: More for "Vinnie Vertical"

Another post in a series of 20 highlights from the Acrobatics during the crisis, Analyst Cam, Burning Platform and other series I launched last year.

I have been called "Vinnie Vertical" because I am constantly asking vendors about industry specific capabilities. In 2020, countless businesses asked them the same question as vertical edge applications from telemedicine to distance learning to eCommerce/automated fulfillment allowed many companies to survive or even thrive. I posted last week about changes in 4 industries.  Here are four more.

Bob Stutz of SAP kicks it off with commentary on grocery stores and related eCommerce. What used to be a routine, boring shopping experience has become a lifeline for people. He points out how much volume has moved to eCommerce - "every day has been like Black Friday" (SAP's commerce engine handles 561 GMV - Gross Merchandise Volume - that's larger than at Amazon and other online retailers). We talk plenty of other CRM in the fuller session here. 

At 2.41 it is Marty Groover, Partner, C5MI. C5 in the company name comes from his background in the Navy. He also spent years at Caterpillar and is now a big advocate for Industrie 4.0 - digital factories and the industrial Internet of Things. The fuller interview is here 

At 5.35, it is David Watson, an Executive in Residence at Health2047, the innovation and venture arm of the American Medical Association. He describes the explosion in telemedicine after being "in experimental mode" for two decades. During this crisis, the UC San Francisco health system saw 50% of outpatient visits move to telemedicine. It was 2% prior to that. The fuller interview on other big changes in US healthcare are here 

At 7.30 it is Sarvesh Mahesh of Tavant. He talks about seismic changes in real estate as the market moves to virtual home tours, and the mortgage process becomes increasingly digitized. The full session is here

 

20 from 20: Not your Dad's verticals

This is the fifth post in a series of 20 highlights from the Acrobatics during the crisis, Analyst Cam, Burning Platform and other series I launched last year.

I have been called "Vinnie Vertical" because I am constantly asking vendors about industry capabilities. Well, in 2020 countless businesses asked them the same questions as vertical edge applications from telemedicine to distance learning to eCommerce/automated fulfillment allowed many companies to survive or even thrive as consumers did everything from home, as the SBA issued 5 million emergency PPP loans to small businesses and so many industries got disrupted during the pandemic. And these projects needed to be done quickly, not over multiple years and done with a light SI footprint.

I have been impressed with the growing number of industries Salesforce and its Force partners have targeted with point solutions. In the excerpt below, Neeracha Taychakhoonavudh, EVP, Industries talks about how they helped community banks, in particular with PPP loan processing and several manufacturers as they pivoted to making PPE, sanitizers and other COVID-19 related products. In the longer interview here, she covers many more sectors. 

At 3.22, Ed Abbo, President and CTO of C3.ai describes their work at asset intensive companies like oil and gas, utilities and manufacturers. They apply ML and other digital tech to specific pain points - hundreds of bite size but highback areas without the pain and cost of replacing existing applications. Longer session here. 

Even in the more traditional ERP space we are seeing differentiating wrinkles

At 6.19, Mike Ettling, CEO of Unit4 talks about his people v product centric ERP processes with examples from higher education and nonprofits. The longer interview is here. 

At 8.11, Mark Brewer of IFS does not talk as much about core ERP but more of his field service, asset management, maintenance and support for outcome based pricing at their customers. More of the presentation here and a demo here 

More verticals to come in a later episode.

McKinsey's State of AI Survey

Overall, half of respondents say their organizations have adopted AI in at least one function.   And while AI adoption was about equal across regions last year, this year’s respondents working for companies with headquarters in Latin American countries and in other developing countries are much less likely than those elsewhere to report that their companies have embedded AI into a process or product in at least one function or business unit. By industry, respondents in the high-tech and telecom sectors    are again the most likely to report AI adoption, with the automotive and assembly sector falling just behind them (down from sharing the lead last year).

The business functions in which organizations adopt AI remain largely unchanged from the 2019 survey, with service operations, product or service development, and marketing and sales again taking the top spots.

McKinsey

 

ML and Auto Insurance Claims

The algorithms are trained in image classification, and they identify damage and hand off the claims to companies like Mitchell International, based in San Diego, that price out parts and calculate labor costs. The best algorithms already provide estimates in a few seconds that are as accurate as those produced by experienced human estimators. The pandemic has made A.I.-powered estimating even more attractive because the technology reduces or even eliminates the need for face-to-face interaction between drivers and insurance adjusters.

One of the leaders in this “insuretech” market is Tractable, a company based in London that was founded in 2014 by the entrepreneur Adrien Cohen and two computer vision experts, Alex Dalyac and Razvan Ranca. Since then, Tractable has received more than $50 million in venture capital funding and grown to over 100 employees in London, New York and Tokyo. Major insurers in Europe and Asia have used Tractable’s A.I. to settle more than $1 billion in claims.

NY Times

 

The repurposing of malls

Maybe this will become the next use case for empty mall space?

Bloomberg describes what Apple is doing

The Cupertino, California-based technology giant has typically shipped devices like iPhones, Macs, iPads, and accessories from warehouses located across a customer’s region or directly from China. Now items that are in stock can be shipped directly to consumers from a network of almost 300 retail stores spread across the U.S. and Canada, according to people familiar with the matter.

The shift in delivery operations ensures that stores that remain shuttered or limited due to Covid-19 restrictions can still operate in a way that assists Apple in selling devices. The company also has discussed converting select stores into online support or sales call centers in the event that locations need to be closed again due to the pandemic. Some back rooms at stores have already started serving as small call centers.

Here's a Deloitte Canada pov on the future of malls

A Costco model for luxury fashion?

E-commerce site Italic caters to the latter set—and those who never before could afford either. It began in 2018 with $13 million in venture funding as yet another millennial-­targeting, direct-to-consumer disrupter. The site offers unbranded ­women’s and men’s clothes, shoes, bags, and home decor produced by the same factories that Burberry, Fendi, Stella McCartney, and other bona fide luxury brands use. And all sold at cost.

Bloomberg

Digital home-buying

Miami-based Lennar Corp. said yesterday that it’s now allowing people to purchase a home completely remotely with the option for “a personal and private tour” prior to closing.

These measures include the implementation of a virtual new home orientation process by which homebuyers can walk and review their completed home from anywhere via FaceTime. Lennar’s title company has also upped the number of digital closings and created an express drive-thru for customers to get documents notarized from their vehicles.

Forbes

Here is an interesting keynote on other digital trends in residential real estate

Microsoft FarmBeats

"Many of the grower’s decisions are based on guesswork today. By capturing large amounts of data from the farm and then using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to translate that data into insights, Microsoft is building technology that replaces the guesswork.

To enable data-driven agriculture, a seamless data collection system is needed. Our FarmBeats platform enables seamless data collection from a wide variety of sources, including sensors, satellites, drones, and weather stations. It then leverages machine learning, so partner ag tech companies can turn that data into actionable intelligence for farmers.

Because farms also don’t have great connectivity, Microsoft is investing in technologies such as TV white space, as well as the Azure IoT Edge for collecting data, which can then be ingested in FarmBeats."

Successful Farming

 

Everything you wanted to know about SPACs but were afraid to ask

Business Week about Special Purpose Acquisition Companies, also called Blank Check Companies

"SPACs raise money through an initial public offering that sells shares and warrants in a bundled unit usually at $10. SPACs usually have 24 months to identify and complete an acquisition. If investors of the SPAC dislike a planned purchase, they get to sell their shares but keep the warrants. That gives them the possibility of an upside even in transactions they opt out of, if a merger goes better than they expected. That combination is seen as making SPACs a safe bet especially during turbulent markets. Once the business combination is completed, the acquisition target becomes a public company."

another perspective from Yahoo Finance