Technology Revolution: The Future of Now

Today's buzz: Giving. Your company is continually pressured to help locals less fortunate via cash, clothing, food, toys donations. Giving is good, right? What if you expand that generosity worldwide to effect social change by supporting nonprofits and NGOs through localized, company-sponsored giving and volunteer campaigns? The experts speak. Akhtar Badshah, Microsoft: "Passion is overrated! Mobilizing and powering social change requires far more than the passion of an individual and the simplistic notion of a technology solution." Chris Worman, TechSoup: "Thanks to... social media, we are witnessing the rapid decentralization and democratization of authority. Reconciling this shift to less formal, yet powerful citizen-driven models, with traditional civil society, keeps me up at night." Nish Pangali, SAP: "Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good." (Minor Myers Jr.) Join us for their insights on Tech Donations: Transforming NGOs & NPOs – Part 1

Today's buzz: Sports. Whether you play sports or just watch, you may already be seeing the impact of an exciting new 'player' on the court, the field, the track, the pool, the television. Its name is technology and it's enhancing how players play, coaches coach, equipment runs, teams collaborate, fans enjoy, and lots more. The experts speak. Michael Gliedman, NBA: "A man of my mind can do anything" (Steely Dan, Don't Take Me Alive, 1976). Marcus Baur, Sailing Team Germany: "We ain't seen nothing yet" (Andrew McAfee, TEDxBoston, 2012). Jen Cohen Crompton, Something Creative: "If the stadium simply becomes a stage, the game will have lost a vital element. I believe this is the next great issue—how to make games important to people when they can sit in their living room?" (Marc Ganis, SportsCorp). Steve Peck, SAP: "Life is like a dogsled race. If you ain't the lead dog, the scenery never changes." (Lewis Grizzard, writer/humorist). Join us for Sports Go High-Tech: Score!

Today's buzz: Banking fraud. They're smart, they're creative, and they're determined to make your money their money. They succeed using a recipe of new technology and old-fashioned chutzpah. Our challenge: harness the same technology to detect emerging fraud patterns and stop cyber-criminal organizations from digging deeper into our collective pockets. How are we doing so far? The experts speak. Prakash Santhana, Deloitte: "Do you have any idea who your customer is?" Nuno Sebastiao, Feedzai: "When banking systems cannot distinguish customers from criminals, the bad guys win. To outsmart bad guys, we have to fight fire with fire." Carl Snyder, SAP: "As fraudsters become more and more sophisticated, especially in the online and cards space, leveraging predictive analytics and immediate fraud detection must become the gold standard in the battle against fraud for banks and credit card companies." Join us for more insights on Banking Fraud: Can Technology Outsmart the Bad Guys? – Part 2

Today's buzz: Insurance. The insurance industry is on a paper-to-digital journey that will affect every aspect of its business – especially the customer experience. Really? We can only hope they'll finally get it right. The experts speak. Kathy Ann Hutson, IBM: "The consumer's connected life, where everything is intelligently connected, opens up the possibility for refreshed thinking in the insurance industry." Deb Smallwood, Strategy Meets Action: "Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower." (Steve Jobs) Nathan Golia, Insurance & Technology: "There you can compare insurance plans, side-by-side, the same way you'd shop for a plane ticket on Kayak or a TV on Amazon. (U.S. President Obama, talking about the healthcare.gov website) Pat Saporito, SAP: 'Beware of geeks bearing gifts,' a pun on 'Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.' Big Data is everywhere, but the real issue is getting big value from Big Data. Join us for The Digital Insurer: Customer Centricity Trends – Part 2.

Today's buzz: Predictive. IBM's Watson beat Mensa on Jeopardy. Target knows your family. Match.com picks mates. How are they so smart? The experts speak. John Elder, Elder Research: "Humans and machines have very different strengths and weaknesses. The best decisions come from combining their two types of wisdom. Greta Roberts, Talent Analytics: "When a predictive approach is added to the hiring process, cost-benefit models sometimes show it is more powerful to screen out potential bottom-performing hires." Eric Siegel, "Predictive Analytics": "Everyone's heard that correlation does not entail causality. But without establishing any causality, how can we trust a predictive model?" Henner Schliebs, SAP: "Are CFOs the better CEOs? Advanced finance analytics drive the strategic role of finance heads with holistic intelligence about financial, operational and company performance. Master your margins – become a king." The New CFO Agenda: Tying Predictive to Financial Performance–Part 2.

Today's buzz: The city. Your city is a complex vital entity with the power to impact your local quality of life as well as national and global economies. How is your city running? Is innovation part of its DNA, spirit, budget and capabilities? The experts speak. Sean Patrick O'Brien, SAP: "What defines a best run city, how can you measure this, what do you benchmark against, and is this the same way citizens, businesses and officials make such a judgment?" Meghan Cook, Center for Technology in Government, Univ. at Albany, NY: "The mesh is an emerging business model based on a network enabled sharing – on access rather than ownership ... where consumers have more choices, more tools, more information, and more peer-to-peer power to guide the choices" (Lisa Gansky, author of The Mesh: Why the Future of Business is Sharing). Cindy King, City of Edmonton: "Make sure what you do is a product of your own conclusion (Jim Rohn). Join us for Best-Run Cities: Urban Matters – Part 2.

Today's buzz: Bribery and corruption are alive and well. The global economy continues to bring great opportunities and great risks. Wherever you do business, do you have measures in place to detect and thwart clever bribery and corruption fraud schemes, especially those cooked-up by trusted staff or consultants? Perhaps technology can help. The experts speak. Thomas Fox, attorney, independent consultant: "GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in China will be a complete game-changer in bribery and corruption enforcement across the globe." Vincent Walden, Ernst & Young: "'Parkinson's Law: Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.' Why: Think about the 'new' types of work we will do, given the game-changing performance enhancements of Big Data." Melissa Lea, SAP: "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe" (Albert Einstein). Join us for Compliance: Focus on Anti-Bribery/Anti-Corruption – Part 2.

Today's buzz: Corporate responsibility (CR). How's yours? William Newman, Newport Consulting: "Disney's decision to pull out of Bangladesh based on the government's slow response to the building collapse illustrates CR isn't just for branding anymore. Lives are at stake." John Edelman, Edelman PR: "Sustainability has moved from license-to-operate to license-to-lead...companies public or private, big or small, should start activating around these issues."" Mark Delisi, CSC: "Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved." (Helen Keller) Richard Crespin, CEI: "What was good for our country was good for General Motors, and vice versa. (Charlie Wilson, GM president) Nicolette van Exel, SAP: "Focus only on the things your organization is good at, aligned to one or two social problems, so you can make real social and business impact." Join us for CR: Nice or Must Have? Part 2.

Today's buzz: Sports. Whether you play sports or just watch, you may already be seeing the impact of an exciting new 'player' on the court, the field, the track, the pool, the television. Its name is technology and it's enhancing how players play, coaches coach, equipment runs, teams collaborate, fans enjoy, and lots more. The experts speak. Michael Gliedman, NBA: "A man of my mind can do anything" (Steely Dan, Don't Take Me Alive, 1976). Marcus Baur, Sailing Team Germany: "We ain't seen nothing yet" (Andrew McAfee, TEDxBoston, 2012). Jen Cohen Crompton, Something Creative: "If the stadium simply becomes a stage, the game will have lost a vital element. I believe this is the next great issue—how to make games important to people when they can sit in their living room?" (Marc Ganis, SportsCorp). Steve Peck, SAP: "Life is like a dogsled race. If you ain't the lead dog, the scenery never changes." (Lewis Grizzard, writer/humorist). Join us for Sports Go High-Tech: Score!

Today's buzz: Caregivers. In April, we discussed how technology is being developed to help 65 million U.S. caregivers, and others around the world, who provide weekly care to the ill, disabled and aged. Now, half a year later, we'll examine the realities of this technology – benefits, limitations, negatives, challenges – and a wish list for the future. The experts speak. Jayne Dixon Weber, National Fragile X Foundation: "Technology can help you when you get a diagnosis. It can help you get information, find doctors, find other people in your situation…and it can help you feel overwhelmed." Louise W. Gane, MS, M.I.N.D. Institute: "Dare to reach out your hand into the darkness to pull another hand into the light." (Norman B. Rice, former Mayor of Seattle, WA) Faheem Ahmed, SAP: "The 'health' industry is much larger than the 'healthcare provider' industry. Sometimes people don't recognize themselves as caregiver." Join us for Caregiving Goes High-Tech: Benefits, Challenges, Wish List.