The next time you’re Sunday-brunching at your local breakfast joint and perusing the menu for Avocado Toast, you’re not likely to be disappointed. Restaurants want to know the foods that you are craving to keep you happy and coming back. The sooner they can jump on trends, the better edge they’ll have over the place down the street. Trendy foods, dishes, and ingredients are not easy to predict, but Jack Li, the CEO of Datassential has a deep passion behind his work for doing just that. Main TakeawaysBig Players Jumping Onto Early Stage Trends: As Li points out, more companies and large corporations are reacting to early-stage food trends in the landscape. Things are so competitive that any advantage a restaurant or chain can have they'll take it. When competition is fierce, even the small details can become cut-throat. Business is about the bottom line, after all. Seeing Opportunity for Art and Science to Align: According to Li, he and two of his “early business partners,” had a clear sense that they could combine their passion for the artful aspect of food with science to increase efficiency. The lesson here is that often art and science are not in different camps altogether. Instead, art and science can be integrated together for each part to sharpen the other.Tracking Data to Predict the Flavors of the Future: Having data is one thing, but sifting through it for potential predictive insight is what it’s really all about. Datassential is taking a close look at its data to attempt to determine what food flavors and trends are tracking up and can really break through in the market. There’s gut instinct, of course, but insights drawn from data to forecast food trends can really help businesses make quality decisions. Using data to predict where a market is heading cuts across all industries.  IT Visionaries is brought to you by the Salesforce Platform - the #1 cloud platform for digital transformation of every experience. Build connected experiences, empower every employee, and deliver continuous innovation - with the customer at the center of everything you do. Learn more at salesforce.com/platform

The world is changing quickly, and the everyday corporate landscape is changing with it. Every company has to prove compliance with different governmental agencies, from everything from environmental reports down to payroll. That’s where Lisa Edwards the COO at Diligent, comes in, bringing her focus on using technology to improve the process for all payers. Every company has governmental rules and regulations they must follow and governmental rules to adhere to. Audits can be tedious and can take valuable time away from innovation and growth. Edwards brings incredible passion and expertise in using technology to improve the process. Main TakeawaysAdapting to global and evolving client needs: At a corporation like Diligent with branches all over the world, adapting to the different regulations of different regions, is complex and nuanced and is one of the strengths of Diligent’s work according to Edwards. The mindset of preparing for current client needs and preempting future desires continues to drive the company forward. Corporate governance to lead a wave of social change: Diligent creates a streamlined interface where departments can interact with transparency, and this has allowed for positive changes in the cooperate structure. They have created ways for companies to diversify their boardrooms which, it turns out, makes for increased profit margins as well as improved social capital. It is also preparing for a very near-future reality where a company’s environmental impact needs to be reported and monitored. Improved operations mean faster, more meaningful growth: Operations might seem like the least interesting part of a business, but a streamlined system is, according to Edwards, the key to freeing a business to fly as high as it can. Without worrying about regulatory snafus, a business can just focus on what it does best: providing the best goods and/or services to the consumer. IT Visionaries is brought to you by the Salesforce Platform - the #1 cloud platform for digital transformation of every experience. Build connected experiences, empower every employee, and deliver continuous innovation - with the customer at the center of everything you do. Learn more at salesforce.com/platform

In an industry that relies on being ahead of the curve, the ability to see the potential in new innovations is a necessity. Eric Anderson, Partner of Scale Venture Partners knows how to look ahead, and gives us an inside look at how a cutting-edge venture capital firm finds and funds new technology that benefits the everyday user. Main TakeawaysThe depth of the problem is more important than the solution: According to Anderson, it’s important to come in with the empathy needed to sort out the problem set of any particular company, because innovations are grown out of the solutions. It might be intuitive to think that quick fixes mean quick growth, but Anderson cautions against it. Digging in and finding the deeper problems is well worth it, because longer solutions often lead to more meaningful expansions. Young insiders might be the key to innovation: While anyone can have a great idea, Anderson points out that it might be the younger players in older, “sleepier” industries that wind up being disrupters. He points out how as a child of dental distributors he was quick to see the need for a new way to distribute raw materials and bring in a new solution. Software Vs. Content: While, historically, consumers have been more interested in buying content over software, Anderson says that the small sale might change that. We shouldn’t ignore the power of the one-dollar design app you can carry on your phone – it might change the way people value software. IT Visionaries is brought to you by the Salesforce Platform - the #1 cloud platform for digital transformation of every experience. Build connected experiences, empower every employee, and deliver continuous innovation - with the customer at the center of everything you do. Learn more at salesforce.com/platform

Setting up a network at home can devolve into a stream of choice words while pulling out your hair. A sudden, global shift to remote and hybrid work can lead to the same frustration for a number of reasons that may or may not include setting up a router. Morgan Teachworth, the VP of Engineering & Supply Chain at Cisco Meraki, suggests that his company was ideally positioned to support a hybrid workflow.Main TakeawaysSupporting Hybrid Workflows: It’s obvious that the working world has shifted to many more fully remote or hybrid models. Morgan shares how Cisco Meraki was in a good place to help people from home set up networks easily with what he describes as “plug and play” options. With so much of the workforce under strain, any products that quickly make working from home easier and more secure are valuable to employees and their companies. Straddling Engineering and Supply Chain: Being the VP of Engineering & Supply Chain is a pretty unique job title for Morgan. It affords him the opportunity to connect both worlds together. Fundamentally, it makes sense that any person who builds hardware ought to also be considering the supply chain. Though it may not always be easy, doing so will strengthen products.    Needing Engineers With Good People Skills: Teachworth describes how Cisco Meraki engineers embed with outside manufacturers to work as a team to produce products. He makes the point that it is important that these engineers are able to work well with these contractors. Even more importantly, he chats about how these relational skills can be developed when assisted by communicative management. This mentality can certainly be helpful across industries. On one hand, leaders need to find employees that have good relationship skills. On the other hand, these skills can also be leveled-up through clear conversations and training.Innovations in intelligence: In terms of future innovations, Morgan points out two primary areas concerning intelligence. The first is intelligence at the edge in terms of devices and gaining more insight into the physical world. The other intelligence aspect is gaining a greater understanding of what’s happening beyond one’s network into other areas of the world, and what he calls the “pipes,” since so much of what’s occurring is interrelated. Each of these types of intelligence could provide actionable insight to initiate changes.Democratizing Access: Many people still do not have network access or the ability to use the internet. This is true in the United States and around the world. Morgan contends that working toward democratization is essential. Making easy to use products can be helpful but they must be broadly shared. Morgan explains that leaning into the edge must be a part of the solution to democratize access for the entire world. IT Visionaries is brought to you by the Salesforce Platform - the #1 cloud platform for digital transformation of every experience. Build connected experiences, empower every employee, and deliver continuous innovation - with the customer at the center of everything you do. Learn more at salesforce.com/platform

Trucking in this country is a big deal. It’s a massive industry ripe for disruption because of its scale and the fact that there is plenty of room for technological advancement. According to Jairam Ranganathan, the SVP of Product at KeepTruckin, fleet management is also an area where a company can make a huge, positive impact.Main TakeawaysRipe for Disruption and Opportunity: Clearly, the commercial fleet industry is massive. Due to its size and also its fragmentation, innovations do take time. On the other hand, there is an incredible need for innovation and the potential to make a real impact in the fleet management space.Saving Lives and Increasing Quality of Life: According to Ranganathan, the exciting aspect of making a difference in fleet management comes down to helping people. He describes the satisfaction that is derived from saving lives on the road and from helping truck drivers have a better work experience. There’s a lesson here that can cut across all industries — helping others is a high value and is very motivating too.A.I. Cameras: A.I. cameras are one such innovation that Ranganathan is working on at KeepTruckin that can increase safety and save lives. Ranganathan shares how A.I. cameras can provide life-saving information in real time. Where sometimes it may be difficult to easily quantify the benefit of A.I., here is a crystal clear example of how A.I. can be used to better human life.Fleet Management Integration: Ranganathan suggests that the fleet management world was fairly atomized when KeepTruckin came on the scene. He explains that KeepTruckin made a decision when entering the market to focus on integrated products. KeepTruckin creates hardware and software products as well as diverse applications. To make a dent in a market among specialized companies, creating a more integrated product line makes sense to offer more utility and ease for customers.IT Visionaries is brought to you by the Salesforce Platform - the #1 cloud platform for digital transformation of every experience. Build connected experiences, empower every employee, and deliver continuous innovation - with the customer at the center of everything you do. Learn more at salesforce.com/platform

Developing enterprise apps quickly is essential for business success, and securing data during the development process is imperative too. Jedidiah Yueh, the Founder and CEO of Delphix, suggests that though not as many people are talking about securing data in the app development process, they should be. Even more so, he argues they must secure this data or face huge consequences. Main TakeawaysSomething People Need to Talk About: Talking about data security is all the rage. But according to Yueh, securing development data is not discussed as much. Yueh contends that this lack of attention creates security vulnerabilities that bad actors can exploit. He believes that automated platforms built on zero trust principles can mitigate such risks.Out With the Old in With the New: The old way of testing apps in development involved a group of people all helping to gather production data and then copy that to the development territory. Of course, with so many hands in the process, the data was not very secure. Now, a platform, like Delphix, can make that process automatic; therefore, more secure. Setting Loftier IT Goals: Yueh argues that IT leaders are not setting high enough goals in terms of developing products quickly enough. In a conversation about his book, “Disrupt or Die,” he explains that the rate of acceleration is much faster than the typical business cycle so leaders must adapt the pace of their goals accordingly.IT Visionaries is brought to you by the Salesforce Platform - the #1 cloud platform for digital transformation of every experience. Build connected experiences, empower every employee, and deliver continuous innovation - with the customer at the center of everything you do. Learn more at salesforce.com/platform

Developing physical products quickly is what it’s all about in a fast-paced world. What slows down the development speed and drives up cost are the materials and the time it takes to see if a concept works. Using digital simulations, alongside predictive analytics, increases speed while lowering costs. Prith Banerjee, the Chief Technology Officer at Ansys, makes the point that the precise capabilities of simulations today are providing the power to create new products from the micro to the macro.Main TakeawaysThe Appeal of Digital Simulations: The old process of developing a product would involve lots of different versions and materials. With the use of a digital simulation, in other words, a digital twin, all these trial and error versions can play out in the digital arena. Doing so increases development speed and reduces cost.Academia and Industry: Academia, at its best, projects forward into the future new possibilities that are later implemented across industries. Therefore, forward-thinking industries ought to have a motivation to connect to academia to offer resources so that academic institutions can strive for innovations. Ansys is partnering with a number of academic institutions to make its simulation software available for free.    Exciting Simulations Now and in the Future: Banerjee mentions current digital simulation use cases ranging from the oil industry to electrification of cars to heating and cooling huge buildings. Furthermore, he shares excitement in the healthcare area because, right now, there is an ability to simulate a heart that is having a problem functioning to see if a pacemaker will solve the issue. With this level of precision, one can imagine all manner of encouraging applications for simulations both now and in the future of healthcare and in many other areas IT Visionaries is brought to you by the Salesforce Platform - the #1 cloud platform for digital transformation of every experience. Build connected experiences, empower every employee, and deliver continuous innovation - with the customer at the center of everything you do. Learn more at salesforce.com/platform

A company’s position about digital transformation could be out with the old and in with the new. But, generally, if a product or service has existed for a long time, that’s because it has held its value. In a legacy business with good values and a deep tradition, digitization of services is more about improving respected systems as well as innovating with a forward-looking mindset. Stacey Goodman, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Prudential Financial, describes her strategy for transforming the digital experience at Prudential.Main TakeawaysTransforming a Legacy Company: It’s a big lift to digitally transform a legacy company such as Prudential, which has existed for 145 years. But a company with good values and an established track record of delivering for customers has a great foundation on which to build upon. In other words, challenges are opportunities. One challenge that Prudential constantly faces is scale combined with the complexity of its life insurance and annuities products. Furthermore, a company with so much history also has a high volume of products that must be managed.Marriage Between Customer and CIO Priorities: Most customers want more access at the touch of their fingertips. Prudential customers want to be able to see their assets whenever they want; particularly, during times of economic uncertainty. Customers desire the freedom to explore and make their own choices yet advisement help when needed. As CIO, Goodman’s goals are in support of what customers desire. For instance, she cares about making sure customers can easily get their password, or that robotic advice is readily available when customers want help.Culture and Dynamic Work Attracts Talent: Goodman has a unique mindset regarding attracting and retaining talent at Prudential. Fundamentally, she sees the company having a good culture and providing interesting work. She makes the point that sometimes startup culture and work does not always meet the hype and that working at Prudential can provide employees a comfortable environment. An established company with well-defined structures in place can support its workers. She sees Prudential as the sort of place where employees want to be.IT Visionaries is brought to you by the Salesforce Platform - the #1 cloud platform for digital transformation of every experience. Build connected experiences, empower every employee, and deliver continuous innovation - with the customer at the center of everything you do. Learn more at salesforce.com/platform

The data science field is expanding because so many businesses and other institutions require skilled workers who can manage data as well as provide insights. Companies and students are clamoring for more academic programs. There is great need, but academic institutions are still transitioning to meet the demand. Dr. David Bader, Distinguished Professor and Director of the Institute for Data Science at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, explains how his school is leading the charge to create opportunities for more students to study data scienceMain TakeawaysConnecting Data and Graphs: A current area of focus concerning data science for Bader and his institution is taking huge amounts of data and associating it with corresponding graphs. This process helps provide context to the data so insights can be gleaned.Arriving at Insights With Less Data: One difficulty with gaining insights is that typically it takes a lot of data points to make sense of a significant occurrence. Often, in the real world, insights need to be determined faster and with less data. Consider the archetype of the malevolent lone wolf who may have not had done the behavior previously. The answer is two-fold in order to stop a lone wolf type of situation. One, create more context to whatever data is obtainable. Second, consider data that may not be the exact same behavior but is still relevant.Academia Is Rising to the Challenge: All manner of institutions now have massive amounts of data and need people to manage it and provide insights. Academia may be somewhat slow to change but there is a push from companies and from students for more data science programs. These sorts of programs are growing throughout higher education but there is much more room for expansion.IT Visionaries is brought to you by the Salesforce Platform - the #1 cloud platform for digital transformation of every experience. Build connected experiences, empower every employee, and deliver continuous innovation - with the customer at the center of everything you do. Learn more at salesforce.com/platform

Every company wants to grow their market. But in order to expand into another region, one corner of the market has to be secured first. Only from this position of utility and stability can a business secure other territories. Todd Olson, the CEO of Pendo, explains his strategy.Main TakeawaysCreating a New Product Market: Many companies disrupt a current market. It’s another category altogether to create a new product market. Although it’s a great problem to have with a ton of upside, one area of focus must be on educating prospective buyers. Of course, having an effective product that’s easy to implement is the best pitch. Pendo was able to provide its software product to businesses easily and without involving developers. This helped give Pendo a foot in the door to prove what it could do.Strategizing for Future Growth: Pendo’s plans for growth are educative. One side of the approach is to continue to sell current products to new markets; both nationally and internationally. The other side is to develop new products that will further benefit existing customers. Furthermore, it’s intriguing how Pendo’s product has moved from SaaS B2B clients to other arenas as those individuals who’ve used the product have moved into different industries and brought Pendo with them.Representing Raleigh: Finding and retaining top talent is a concern for many businesses today. Pendo has an interesting angle because it is located in Raleigh, North Carolina. In Raleigh, there’s natural beauty, a low cost of living, and also access to the talent coming out of many of the colleges and universities in the region. Although Pendo is based in Raleigh, it has offices in New York and San Francisco to utilize the talent in those areas as well.IT Visionaries is brought to you by the Salesforce Platform - the #1 cloud platform for digital transformation of every experience. Build connected experiences, empower every employee, and deliver continuous innovation - with the customer at the center of everything you do. Learn more at salesforce.com/platform