IT Visionaries

Can you imagine a future where contacting customer service does not elicit a groan or sigh of despair? This is the future that CEO Rowan Trollope is creating at Five9. Their cloud-based platform integrates modern AI and machine learning to efficiently intake customer problems and match them to effective customer solutions. Saving the business world almost a quarter of a trillion dollars annually in customer service costs is the goal and hiring for intellectual curiosity is part of the solution. Tune in to learn:What is Five9 and what does it do? (6:45)How we all benefit from fully integrated and automated customer service solutions. (8:55)How can the learnings of one industry serve all others by using AI? (17:11)How is machine learning empowering the democratization of technology through no-code solutions like Five9?  (22:35)How do we hire for the problems of the future? (31:23)How radically and how quickly can the customer service aspect of all businesses be transformed? (38:59)IT Visionaries is brought to you by  Salesforce Platform. If you love the thought leadership on this podcast, Salesforce has even more meaty IT thoughts to chew on. Take your company to the next level with in-depth research and trends right in your inbox. Subscribe to a newsletter tailored to your role at Salesforce.com/newsletter.Mission.org is a media studio producing content for world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org. ---Produced by the team at Mission.org and brought to you by Brightspot.

What creates growth in a company — a flashy or a practical approach? Shailesh Kumar, SVP and Head of Technology at ClickUp, contends that a practical mindset helps companies scale. He also chats about how to organize teams, help them run efficiently, and set up a system so that different teams can learn from each other. Also, Shailesh shares a little about his passion for woodworking.Tune in to learn:What interested Shailesh in ClickUp? (03:47)How does Shailesh advise companies to consider scaling? (07:54)How does ClickUp deal with security, including with 3rd-party apps? (17:17)How does Shailesh attract and retain talent?  (22:45)Mentions:“Top Data Security Trends for 2022”IT Visionaries is brought to you by  Salesforce Platform. If you love the thought leadership on this podcast, Salesforce has even more meaty IT thoughts to chew on. Take your company to the next level with in-depth research and trends right in your inbox. Subscribe to a newsletter tailored to your role at Salesforce.com/newsletter.Mission.org is a media studio producing content for world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org. ---Produced by the team at Mission.org and brought to you by Brightspot.

When the world catches up to a business model that’s already been working well, then a company can really take off. Hemant Elhence, the President of Excellarate, describes how a cooperative, distributed software development model rooted in the company’s origins has positioned Excellerate to thrive in the cloud environment. Furthermore, he explains how society has now caught up with the concept of remote work. Hemant also chats about a few books that have really meant a great deal to him.Tune in to learn:Why do customers go to Excellarate for help building software? (02:26)Why has Excellarate seen growth providing DevOps to customers? (06:31)What’s the history of the business? (11:59)What’s it like working with regulated businesses that could be targets for attacks?  (23:46)What does Hemant see as the future of software development? (27:43)IT Visionaries is brought to you by The Salesforce Platform. If you love the thought leadership on this podcast, Salesforce has even more meaty IT thoughts to chew on. Take your company to the next level with in-depth research and trends right in your inbox. Subscribe to a newsletter tailored to your role at Salesforce.com/newsletter.Mission.org is a media studio producing content for world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org. ---Produced by the team at Mission.org and brought to you by Brightspot.

As we train computers to complete repetitive tasks for us automatically, we need to be keenly aware of the biases we may be subconsciously programming. So, what questions should we be asking as consumers and employees in a world augmented by computer assistance? The Principle Architect of Ethical AI Practice at Salesforce, Kathy Baxter, and journalist Jacob Ward give guidance on creating a responsible AI ecosystem that prioritizes safety, privacy, and equality. This episode was published first by Blazing Trails, our sister podcast over at Salesforce, hosted by Michael Rivo.Tune in to learn:How is AI changing the way that we think? (3:41)How are companies changing the way they think about the ethics of AI? (8:06)Whose responsibility is it to regulate the ethics of AI? (11:25)What is the current regulatory landscape for AI? (16:07)How should employees think about correcting bias in AI? (19:07)How can you build AI ethical awareness into your organization? (27:03)How are we using AI to help the environment? (35:15)Mentions:The Loop: How Technology Is Creating a World Without Choices and How to Fight BackSalesforce AI Ethics ModelBenioff Ocean InitiativeOECD AI PrinciplesIT Visionaries is brought to you by Salesforce Platform. If you love the thought leadership on this podcast, Salesforce has even more meaty IT thoughts to chew on. Take your company to the next level with in-depth research and trends right in your inbox. Subscribe to a newsletter tailored to your role at Salesforce.com/newsletter.Mission.org is a media studio producing content for world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org. ---Produced by the team at Mission.org and brought to you by Brightspot.

The ocean is massive and powerful, and harnessing its energy has been difficult. Inna Braverman and her business partner, both with outsider perspectives, have worked to develop an elegant tech solution that can harness the continuous power of the moving seas. Their company, Eco Wave Power Ltd., is bringing their low-profile "floaters" that gather ocean energy to ports around the world, including in Gibraltar and Los Angeles. Also, hear Inna's personal story about how surviving the Chernobyl disaster has motivated her to make a positive impact.Tune in to learn:How is Eco Wave Power harnessing ocean energy? (00:45)How does Eco Wave Power’s tech ultimately create electricity? (06:13)How did the original idea develop to use already existing structures on shore?  (13:58)Does the tech require a lot of maintenance to be sustained? (20:14)Is there private interest for this solution? (25:40)IT Visionaries is brought to you by  Salesforce Platform. If you love the thought leadership on this podcast, Salesforce has even more meaty IT thoughts to chew on. Take your company to the next level with in-depth research and trends right in your inbox. Subscribe to a newsletter tailored to your role at Salesforce.com/newsletter.Mission.org is a media studio producing content for world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org. ---Produced by the team at Mission.org and brought to you by Brightspot.

If you’re in a service industry, should you honor every client’s dream equally? According to Miles Ward, the CTO of SADA, that’s absolutely the correct business mindset. Miles also talks about the benefits companies are finding in the cloud and how it’s valuable to be an engineer who communicates well too. He even shares a little about his passion for playing a musical instrument called the electric sousaphone.Tune in to learn:What’s the history of SADA? (04:14)What does Miles see customers wanting to do in the cloud? (11:28)What innovations are exciting to Miles? (19:18)Does SADA build applications for themselves? (23:37)  Mentions:“What Twitter and friends prove about multi-cloud” (Check out “Miles-low’s Hierarchy of Tech Needs”)IT Visionaries is brought to you by The Salesforce Platform. If you love the thought leadership on this podcast, Salesforce has even more meaty IT thoughts to chew on. Take your company to the next level with in-depth research and trends right in your inbox. Subscribe to a newsletter tailored to your role at Salesforce.com/newsletter.Mission.org is a media studio producing content for world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org. ---Produced by the team at Mission.org and brought to you by Brightspot.

Is being successful tied to being perpetually inquisitive? Vittorio Cretella, the CIO of Procter & Gamble, discusses how maintaining a posture of curiosity has been a constant throughout his career. Also, he chats about Procter & Gamble’s digital transformation at an international scale and that AI is now being used across the company. Listen in to learn a little about Vittorio’s passion for motorcycles too.Tune in to learn:How is digital transformation manifesting at Procter & Gamble? (03:47)How does P&G manage to operate in so many countries? (10:29) Is AI used across the entire company? (15:09)How might the consumer experience get better in the future? (17:39)What’s the balance for innovating quickly yet maintaining trust? (21:22)What is Vittorio most excited about in his role as CIO at P&G? (27:22)What sort of peers can Vittorio commiserate with and learn from? (30:04) IT Visionaries is brought to you by The Salesforce Platform. If you love the thought leadership on this podcast, Salesforce has even more meaty IT thoughts to chew on. Take your company to the next level with in-depth research and trends right in your inbox. Subscribe to a newsletter tailored to your role at Salesforce.com/newsletter.Mission.org is a media studio producing content for world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org. ---Produced by the team at Mission.org and brought to you by Brightspot.

How do you protect banks and their customers from bad actors now that banks are no longer just brick and mortar? Due to technological advances, banking services are increasingly digital and on mobile devices. Saul Van Beurden, the Head of Technology at Wells Fargo, chats about strategies to deal with cyber threats including educating customers and methods of devaluing data. He also talks about how Wells Fargo is improving NLP to better communicate with customers and why the future of banking at Wells Fargo will one day be entirely in the cloud. Tune in to learn: Why does a technology-based industry still need brick-and-mortar buildings? (5:31)How is Wells Fargo improving NLP to better communicate with customers? (11:25)The importance of thinking for yourself when it comes to security (14:39)Why Data Devaluation can mitigate loss in a cyber attack (20:32)IT Visionaries is powered by Salesforce Platform. If this episode makes you want to go deeper into the data security world, check out Salesforce.com/datasecurity and download the IT Guide to Data Security and Governance to learn how to protect your customer data with Salesforce Security Portfolio.Mission.org is a media studio producing content for world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org. ---Produced by the team at Mission.org and brought to you by Brightspot.

We’ve all heard about “cyberattacks” – it seems there is a new article or clickbait headline about them every day. But what can we do to stop them? Better yet – can we predict them before they even happen? David Monnier of Team Cymru is here this week on IT Visionaries to talk about cybersecurity, the importance of a “no-touch audit”, and how – when it comes to global cybersecurity – the best offense is always an active defense. Tunes in to learn: Why you should care about global cybersecurity (5:43)How perspective can change the way we approach cyberattacks (8:22)How reconnaissance can turn the tables (12:20)Why a “no-touch audit” can be essential (22:50)What the next phase of cybersecurity will look like, according to experts (34:33)Top Data Security Trends for 2022: ReportIT Visionaries is powered by Salesforce Platform. If this episode makes you want to go deeper into the data security world, check out Salesforce.com/datasecurity and download the IT Guide to Data Security and Governance to learn how to protect your customer data with Salesforce Security Portfolio.Mission.org is a media studio producing content for world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org ---Produced by the team at Mission.org and brought to you by Brightspot.

Can noticing repetitive aspects in systems help you to solve problems? John Gray, the CTO and CPO of InterVision Systems, suggests seeing “problem patterns” in business and technology can help to deliver solutions. He also explains that serving clients often involves synthesizing different tools rather than building totally tailor-made solutions. John also talks about his hobby flying remote control airplanes.  Tune in to learn:What’s InterVision’s framework for assessing technology? (07:55)What makes a recovery system a great one? (11:15)What’s scary to John from a security standpoint? (15:34)How did John get interested in technology? (20:05)What’s the value in seeing patterns? (26:32)IT Visionaries is brought to you by Salesforce Platform. If you love the thought leadership on this podcast, Salesforce has even more meaty IT thoughts to chew on. Take your company to the next level with in-depth research and trends right in your inbox. Subscribe to a newsletter tailored to your role at Salesforce.com/newsletter. Mission.org is a media studio producing content for world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org. ---Produced by the team at Mission.org and brought to you by Brightspot.