Enterprise hits and misses - Google pushes back return-to-office as Omicron looms, hybrid events return, and AWS re:Invents (kinda)
- Summary:
- This week - AWS re:Invent gets a critical review as the keynotes shuffle. As Omicron raises new pandemic questions, Google pushes back return-to-office. Will hybrid events gain steam? Your whiffs get meta, and crypto gets mutable.
Lead story - The future of events is hybrid, but how do we get there?
With the Omicron variant as (yet another) wake-up call, spring event planners are in scramble-or-pray mode. That's where hybrid events could come in. But how do we pull it off?
Yes, the learning curve on hybrid is steep, but it's a mistake to assume we don't have a playbook at all. One individual I turn to is Paul Richards of HuddlecamHD, studio cam wizard and hybrid/virtual event pioneer. He's next up in my virtual events series: The future of events is hybrid, but how do we get there? Tips and visuals with Paul Richards of HuddleCamHD.
Richards didn't become so production-savvy overnight. He built his expertise over time, and so you can you (and I). He did it via a grassroots team of StreamGeeks, a group of video production experts who "refuse to settle for mediocrity" with livestreamed events.
Yeah, that's a problem:
I haven't heard anyone say they attended an "amazing" enterprise event this entire year - and we're eleven months in. Richards believes it's about learning, but learning that's fun.
During our video, Richards counted down his top hybrid tips, including:
- Get up and out of your comfort zone.
- Plan your climax and build from there - the climax is the ultimate value you hope to deliver.
- Extend the value of your entire event, by creating a dedicated networking group to extend the value.
- Hire entertainment if your specialty is education. Hire an educator if your specialty is entertainment.
- Charge for access (we get into how you can potentially charge for an interactive, "VIP" style track. It's a very compelling format few event planners have bothered to try.
There's more tips where that came from, and a good debate on how to entertain B2B audiences - and if we even need to. Bottom line: event planners need to let go of the past (including past attendance numbers).
It's time to accept it: we're never coming back - not to how we were. For events, that could still be a good thing. But only if we push for better; only if we figure out that balance between those who want to be on the ground, and those who are virtual.
Diginomica picks - my top stories on diginomica this week
- International Day of Persons with Disabilities - how the tech sector can do a better job of recruiting disabled talent - part two of an important series from Cath (part one here). Last week, I went off on limited thinking about return-to-office. Cath's series notes a big reason for my stance: remote work is more inclusive. "The pandemic levelled the playing field for anyone with access to a faster internet connection and the ability to interact with others. It helped as people don’t need to leave home and so don’t need special accommodations." Why do return-to-office advocates gloss over this?
- Everything riding on Cyber Monday as online sales on Black Friday deliver mixed results - Stuart assesses the first wave of holiday shopping results: "The data from Adobe and Salesforce reflect a retail market in flux, not clear yet of the pandemic - and thanks to Omicron for its timing! - but not having to deal with a consumer base under total house arrest."
- As cookies crumble, it’s outcomes that matter for a personal digital experience, not technology! - Barb returns to our post-cookies marketing future: "We are long past brochureware websites, but we still haven’t figured out how to make website experiences that put the customer first and adapt as customers change."
- Business, meet 5G - a relationship that will be slow, complex, but essential - Martin issues the 5G wake-up call: "The big market for 5G is still largely untouched, not least because the build-out of the new network infrastructure required is nowhere near complete."
Vendor analysis, diginomica style. Thanksgiving might be over, but enterprise drama (and shows) are not.
AWS re:Invent - Kurt published his critical review of AWS re:Invent, which began with an underwhelming AWS-for-dummies day one keynote: re:Invent 2021 - AWS emphasizes service packaging and usability over raw infrastructure "As the event wore on, I wondered if I missed the memo announcing that re:Invent had been re-invented from a forum for cloud experts into a C-level tutorial and schmooze fest."
Salesforce did its best to deprive Stuart of a decent night's sleep grab some headlines away, and it worked:Lonely no more - Salesforce names Bret Taylor as co-CEO alongside Marc Benioff. Zuora also got in on the action: Salesforce's multi-year renewal provides Zuora with a big Subscription Economy proof point.
It was a SAPpy kind of week as well, centered on Derek's on-the-ground forays at the UKISUG annual user group meetup:
- UKISUG Connect 2021 - SAP RISE needs use cases, clarity and a refined purpose - Derek
- Laing O’Rourke upgrades to SAP S/4HANA and has sights set on cloud - Derek
- Inside the Catena-X automotive industry consortium - the biggest story SAP isn't talking about (yet) - Jon
A few more vendor picks, without the quotables:
- Box Q3 earnings and why it pays to solve hard problems over the long run - Phil
- Low-code tools give Autodesk sales and service staff a business advantage - Mark (Salesforce use case)
- USF Health goes cloud ERP to boost its disaster recovery and IT support options - Mark (Unit4)
Jon's grab bag - Neil examines the role of AI in the defense sector in What is the role of AI in pandemic response? The National Security Commission on AI provides a framework. Derek does the same in the UK, re: algorithmic guidelines (UK government publishes standard and guidance for AI algorithmic transparency). Finally, Clearview AI plays the "misunderstood" card, but will it hold up? Stuart updates the (mis)adventures in UK follows Australia in clamping down on US facial recognition firm Clearview AI with £17 million data privacy fine.
Best of the enterprise web
My top seven
- Google Scraps Return to Office Plans Amid Spread of Omicron - By the time this all shakes out, will there still be an office to come back to? Google hopes so, though "Google encourages staff to come in to 'regain muscle memory' was subject to a hearty round of Reddit ridicule.
- Why is the Supply Chain Broken? A question we didn't think we'd be asking at this point, but nonetheless it is pressing. Eric Kimberling of Third Stage gives it a crack: "Visibility is very important. It sounds simple and basic, but a lot of organizations don’t have the insight into their full supply chain operations."
- Omnichannel integration in nonfood retail - Claiming that all verticals must focus on customer experience is naive, but i like the refinement McKinsey makes here: "This dynamic is especially true for categories that are highly fragmented or in which advice to customers plays a large role in sales—such as furniture, do-it-yourself (DIY), apparel, pet care, and even more concentrated categories such as consumer electronics."
- Can humans and AI work side by side? A guide to what comes next - Ultimately, an optimistic view, but one which acknowledges the dangers of human (job) displacement.
- Twitter Has a New CEO; What About a New Business Model? – Ben Thompson's in his I-told-you-so wheelhouse here, with a thorough deconstruction of Twitter's problems, and a rightful acknowledgement of the role of activist investors in Dorsey's ouster, err, departure.
- Jack Dorsey Got Bored of Twitter Too - The Atlantic with another scorcher, tying this back into our meta-tastic futures, and crypto cravings.
- Really stupid “smart contract” bug let hackers steal $31 million in digital coin - More on this one in a sec...
Whiffs
We had some doozies this week:
clicked on this article on AI - not sure but *think* I see the article lurking in the background somewhere.... I'm rooting for the article as it battles its way up through the ad tech. pic.twitter.com/5OsUgGTMCf
— Jon Reed (@jonerp) December 5, 2021
Something tells me the metaverse is going to keep the whiffs column well-stocked in the new year:
Real estate has gone meta https://t.co/SBcPeoCVU7
"You can now be a landlord in the metaverse."
-> success in the real world is becoming legacy...
ever get the feeling you were missing out on something but couldn't put a finger on it? I need to tokenize this meta...
— Jon Reed (@jonerp) December 5, 2021
Oh, and about that crypto theft:
Really stupid “smart contract” bug let hackers steal $31 million in digital coin https://t.co/yMi1cqXmrC
-> does this mean a ban on the word "immutability" for a three month period, perhaps?
— Jon Reed (@jonerp) December 4, 2021
Heard from Google lately about your TOS?
"We’re making some changes to our Terms of Service."
(Google, Microsoft, etc)
Translation:
-> We have identified more areas of legal liability or missing revenue opportunities via your data. These changes may inconvenience, but we count on your dependence on our services
— Jon Reed (@jonerp) November 29, 2021
Oh, and as the holidays roll in, so do the un-predictions: Keep an eye on the diginomica home page, we're going live soon... This is the opposite of a whiff, but since we're almost at holiday times, might at well leave you on a spiffy note:
ok well that's a stunning view into the creative process right there.... https://t.co/L0OM8CqYux
— Jon Reed (@jonerp) November 30, 2021
See you next time...
If you find an #ensw piece that qualifies for hits and misses - in a good or bad way - let me know in the comments as Clive (almost) always does. Most Enterprise hits and misses articles are selected from my curated @jonerpnewsfeed.