conXion: Personal connections, technology innovations

“Innovation is fostered by information gathered from new connections.” Margaret J. Wheatley

This was the underlying message at Software AG’s conXion 2021, where individual stories were revealed to shed light on how being truly connected leads to innovation.

Chris Dancy

Our moderator – consultant, author and truly connected person Chris Dancy – kicked off the day with a very personal story about how he turned his data into wisdom – and how you can apply the same theory to business.

About 13 years ago, Dancy was connected to a “lot of systems” – he had gained 100 pounds, was drinking cases of diet soda and smoking too much each day. His mood was bleak, and he knew he had to make some changes to his life. But how?

He looked at the business he knew best – technology – and decided to use it to learn as much about himself as possible by using data. He made his personal data visible and built an application to see everything he did on his laptop, phone, and other places. “I made my whole life searchable, making the invisible visible.”

This way Dancy could see where he was making mistakes and he could change his behavior. He said: “We don’t want devices to tell us WHO we are want them to tell us HOW we are.”

Data worked for Dancy. And for you, at work and across your enterprise, data has an even bigger role to play.

Sanjay Brahmawar 

Software AG’s CEO Sanjay Brahmawar used his passion for cycling to describe how technology has made his life better: “Tech plays a huge role in cycling.”

 

For example, his latest bike is seven pounds lighter than his first one, so he can manage much longer rides. His shoes are so good that he feels his “feet are fused to the pedals” so no energy is wasted. Digital monitors display fully integrated vital signs from heart to respiration, and every trip’s data is posted to Strava for sharing: “Connected cycling means a whole new level of performance.”

What does this have to do with your and your business goals? “Everything, because I’m sure all of you are passionate about your business and you work very hard to make it as good as it can be.”

Today that means the digital transformation of your business. Brahmawar explained that our customers believe it is a “do or die” proposition and the clock is ticking.

“But to get there, you’ve got to make it across the river from one bank where your business is today to the other bank, a digitally transformed business.”

For that success you need rich and meaningful partnerships. But who can you trust to get you across the river? You can trust Software AG; we believe we have the best technology and experience to get you over that river. Our focus is on your business goals. This is why Software AG is the trusted partner for 50% of Fortune 500 businesses.

Click here to see more.

Customer focus

Bank of Mandiri, the largest bank in Indonesia, and smart city Digital Dubai joined CPO Stefan Sigg and CRO Scott Little to talk about their journeys of data to value – unlocking the X factor that lies inside their data and information. 

Digital Dubai is a groundbreaking project about building a future without paper. This year, the government of Dubai will go completely paper-free. It is also working on a complete remake of how it interacts with citizens.

H.E. Wesam Lootah, CEO for Smart Dubai Government Establishment, Digital Dubai, explained that, in the past, citizens were required to visit a kiosk and validate their IDs to access government services. Soon they will use biometrics and will no longer have to visit a kiosk – they will get all the services via a mobile app – from visitors’ IDs to banking and telcoms -through 180 service providers. webMethods provides the backbone and the ability to integrate into one single platform.

Daniel Setiawan Subianto, SVP (Group Head) of IT Application Development, Bank of Mandiri, said the bank is diversifying, adding retail and micro-banking to its wholesale business and opening offices in new countries. “We’ve transformed our business internally and infinitely to serve the customers better with digital solutions,” he said. It uses webMethods API technology and suite of products to open up to customers and third-party partners such as fintech providers.

Geoffrey Moore 

CTO Bernd Gross interviewed the acclaimed author of “Crossing the Chasm,” Geoffrey Moore, who offered some advice on how your company can become truly connected and move the needle toward change.

Moore stated that you need to ensure the purpose of your company is to serve your customer, not to serve yourself. He said: “The operating model is what changes your business, but you can’t change that overnight.” To do this, he said you must be continually responding to customer needs.

To see more click here.

Hybrid working

 

You could say that CHRO Elke Frank predicted the future of work, when she wrote a book in 2015 called, “Out of Office.”

Dancy asked her if she knew the future was coming, that a pandemic would lead to different working environments, behaviors, and even hours. Frank allowed that even she had not imagined that so much would become digital so quickly. And she outlined just how to make so-called hybrid working work.

1.    The right IT infrastructure

2.    The right culture of leadership and collaboration

3.    The office space itself and who should work there.

“It’s all about fostering collaboration and the meetup culture,” said Frank.

You can hear more about Frank’s thoughts on hybrid working by clicking here.

Conclusion

Dancy closed the day by summing up how we moved from data to information to knowledge and, ultimately, wisdom: “Wisdom is a culmination of all that data that gets turned into those visible solutions and information.”

With that data and wisdom, you can become truly connected, which means truly purpose driven. This goes beyond business and commerce; the truly connected enterprise can positively shape humanity and help transform our future for a smarter tomorrow.

And that’s so important because in a truly connected world, people and technology are working together to take care of all of us.

You can watch the whole conXion conference here.

And be sure to take the survey below to see just how connected you really are.