Enterprise hits and misses - HR tech is on the hot seat, spreadsheets never die, and hybrid events aren't hard

Lead story - No more hybrid event excuses - your next event can be hybrid, and it isn't hard

With large-scale events on deck, I decided to lower the vinegar ratio - and get practical about hybrid instead:

Event planners who figure this out can energize their communities - and deepen their opt-in audiences. Yes, that ties into lovely ROI things like lead gen and upselling.

Yes, full-scale hybrid events are hard, but you can start small.

I get the sense event planners just want to focus on the joy of "being back together again" after a couple years apart. I get that - and it is a joy. But that joy can be experienced while also extending the reach of your events, using hybrid tactics that work.

Hybrid event technology has come a long way. So has the know-how on what to avoid - such as hiding your streaming keynote behind a registration wall, where something will invariably go wrong. Oh well, you can always save your keynote messaging for next year.  VIP hybrid event tracks - combined with open streaming keynotes - offer a better way forward. For tips and details, check the piece.

HR event appetizer - with a big HR-related event week coming up, including Workday Rising, SuccessConnect, and HR Tech, Brian Sommer has an editorial hors d'oeuvre for you: The state of HR transformations today...and what's to come. My big question: are compliance-minded, overworked, stress ball squeezing HR leaders up for the ambitious transformations ahead? Or will the talent leak out of the org chart like a colander, while HR scrambles to organize a myopic return-to-office grind employees don't want? Looks like Brian wonders the same thing:

Between the change fatigue that has to be rampant in many HR organizations, I suspect big transformational projects could be really challenging for HR. It may be time for organizations to create an internal group that drives transformational efforts and allows existing organizational entities (like HR) to be able to focus on their constituents.

Diginomica picks - my top stories on diginomica this week

• Why finance teams should never give up spreadsheets, whatever vendors tell them - Phil takes a spreadsheet stand. My add: the spreadsheet argument must change - now that many (though not all) modern finance SaaS solutions include native spreadsheet integration. But it's still an argument that needs to be had; Phil poked a good bear.
• Using technology to help preserve Ukraine’s cultural heritage during the war - Cath filed an important story that should inspire us to do more, and talk less.

Vendor analysis, diginomica style. Here's my top choices from our vendor coverage:

• DocuSign shares soar as it beats Q2 estimates - search for new CEO underway - Derek: "It has been a difficult period for DocuSign as the company has lost more than 60% of its value in the past year. But it looks like things could be on the up."
• Strong Q2 for Coupa as demand for Business Spend Management remains high in dynamic economic conditions - add Coupa to the list of software vendors that are proving too essential to cut back. Stuart: "Whatever does end up happening, the need for disciplined Business Spend Management will remain the case. Bernshteyn pointed to a number of use case exemplars to back up his point."
• Zoho talks up ‘transnational localism’ as key to success - Chris on his Zoholics London sessions: "The keynote talked about a culture of experimentation, of owning the entire stack, and Zoho using it internally: a business built on its own product."
• Re-inventing Yext - a progress report shows slow signs of improvement - Stuart: "Chief Operating Officer Marc Ferrentino was more upbeat, insisting that “major progress” has been made on cleaning up the Yext brand and messaging."

Jon's grab bag -  the politics of data privacy heat up on both sides of the pond:  European Commission outlines vision for a more assertive EU that leads in tech and trade (Derek), and US bi-partisan data protection push meets resistance from Nancy Pelosi as Sephora becomes the first big scalp under Californian law (Derek again).

Neil continued his essential series on the redemption of metadata in  Data fabric or data mesh? Don't move ahead without an active metadata strategy. He also crunched problematic AI crime prevention numbers in "I can build this - but should I?" Welcome to the AI crime prediction debate.

Best of the enterprise web

My top seven

• Storage Vulnerabilities: The Neglected Cybersecurity Frontier - "On average, an enterprise storage device has around 15 security vulnerabilities, out of which three can be regarded as being at a high or critical risk rating that could present significant compromise if exploited." Yikes.
• Tableau Looks to Democratize Data Fabrics - With Tableau news pending at Dreamforce 2022 next week, Constellation's Doug Henschen evaluates the data fabrics push.
• We Are In Trouble. Raise the Red Flag. Be Proactive - Lora Cecere sees a bumpy ride for supply chain teams ahead - can we raise our collective game?
• UX and CRM - How to make them a match - Thomas Wieberneit probes a burning CRM question: "Why then, isn’t UX looked at so late, if at all, in the life cycle of a CRM system? Why don’t companies make it a core theme?"
• How to build geopolitical resilience amid a fragmenting global order - "Geopolitical resilience" strikes me as a tall order, with many factors beyond corporate control. But McKinsey raises an important topic nonetheless: "Leaders should challenge their organizations on six key dimensions of resilience: business model, reputation, organization, operations, technology, and finance."
• Goodbye humans: Call centers could save $80b switching to AI - The Register's obligatory linkbait headline doesn't line up with the subtler points in the piece itself. For now, the best use of AI in call centers appears to be empowering humans (e.g. scarce labor) to do their jobs better, not punting them.

• Why are deep learning technologists so overconfident? - Time to poke a few holes in deep learning assumptions: "Deep learning researchers have been predicting for a while that the technology will make various professions obsolete and that self-driving cars are imminent. We’re still waiting."

Whiffs

Meta continues to silence critics with its courageous inquiries (lol):

Speaking of courageous inquiries, CNBC really took investigative journalism head-on with this gutsy look at return to work (lolz):

If CNBC wants to have a serious debate about the upside of return-to-office, we can do that. But I'm pretty sure that ratcheting up office gossip is not on the list of why offices still matter. Besides, as my Twitter peeps were quick to point out, gossip is not exactly difficult via Zoom or Teams:

Finally, I'm more than a little worried about AI-generated-text muddying up the online discourse. On second thought, I'm not sure you can make LinkedIn more cringy than it already is:

So, bring on the robot-generated haikus and positive thinking bromides. Maybe they'll be right at home...

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.