Social Media, Mobility, Analytics, Cloud: Tech Show! Smactalk

These days the way we shop is changing more than ever before. We have smart speakers that we can talk to, “Alexa, order paper towels, oh and grab me a burger from Wendy’s as well.” And voilia, in comes your paper towels and Grub Hub delivers you lunch. Of course, this is just the power of shopping in the home. What is even more powerful is how these in-home experiences, mobile experiences and in the store experiences are all coming together. In the next few years, we will see technologies like IoT, Blockchain and Real Time Data and Analytics influence even more change in how we shop. Companies will know us better than ever before and they will be able to personalize to our needs. The outcomes will be so spot-on that consumers cannot even complain about the trade off of privacy because the convenience will be so invaluable. Brands will know what we want, when we want it, where we need it and more just by leveraging the data we input and provide every day just by going through our routines. Scary awesome we may

2017 was an interesting year in technology and digital marketing but will it lead to great innovations through digital transformation in 2018 or will 2018 be the year innovations flat line.  This episode is a must listen to show as you might be surprised by Daniel Newman and Brian Fanzo's predictions for 2018 and beyond.  Before you can talk about the future you must analyze the past and on this episode, Daniel and Brian spend much of the show discussing and in many cases debating the good, bad and ugly of 2017 that ultimately leads to some interesting predictions from both of them on what 2018 will hold.   From a debate about Apple, to the future of Facebook, to a debate on what trends will capture the enterprise technology space in 2018, this predictions and recap episode is guaranteed to be unlike any other you'll listen to this season. As always we are beyond thankful for another amazing year with the SMACtalk family and sponsors and have even bigger plans for 2018 and beyond.

Today the FCC voted along partisan lines to repeal regulatory provisions we had come to know as “Net Neutrality.” The purpose of Net Neutrality was to ensure an open internet where all users can enjoy the same quality of access.  We believe the FCC’s decision will put too much power into the hands of a few companies, and ultimately weaken the innovation ecosystem that relies on a free and open internet to grow and thrive. Most of the services we enjoy today, like Netflix, Facebook, Uber and Amazon, could have only flourished under the types of protections that net neutrality guaranteed. Without these protections, the next generation of disruptors and innovators may find themselves shut out by a good ole’ boys club of incumbent companies holding the keys to the internet’s fast lanes. I shudder to think of the impact that stifling the next wave of innovation and startup capital might have on the US economy, to say nothing of our hindered ability to compete globally for top digital talent. Not sure what Net Neut

  In just the past few years we have seen extraordinary change in the connected vehicle space. Companies like Tesla are launching new vehicles that don’t only provide thrills to drivers with their incredible speed and efficient electric motors, but they are also more connected than ever before with their ability to create usable data that can connect drivers and passengers more closely with their surroundings. In the next year, we will see a tidal wave of change come as the launch of 5G nears and this new technology finds its way into new vehicles. This technology will enable data streams to flow between vehicles, roads, buildings, cities and those tasked with making all of the aforementioned more safe and efficient.  There are also massive opportunities for vehicle data to be used beyond just smart cities and infrastructure, but also to reshape industries like auto insurance by making concepts such as usage based insurance possible to deliver a more personalized program and price. This is just one of many wa

We all are hearing about the impact that IoT and Analytics are having on the way we shop, however, by the time the consumer is seeing the impact of these groundbreaking technologies, they have already potentially had a major role in how the products and services were made and brought to market. This is because we have entered an era of the "Connected Supply Chain," and while many consumers don't fully grasp how this impacts their life, it does, in a big way. In this exciting episode of SMACtalk, co-hosts Daniel Newman and Brian Fanzo sat down with Roger Thomas who is the Principal Consultant for Connected Supply Chain at SAS Software. This conversation gives listeners an overview of the connected supply chain and helps business leaders get a handle on what leading companies are doing with their supply chain, how they are embracing technology to take their business to the next level and how companies can plan to embrace what is possible thanks to Analytics and IoT.  §  What are the latest IOT developments tha

“Organic Facebook is now the office water cooler. Nothing more.” This episode started out discussing this claim co-host Daniel Newman made about the trends he’s been seeing lately on Facebook. As Daniel and co-host Brian Fanzo began to discuss the changing landscape of Facebook and all social media channels for that manner the discussion took an interesting turn invoking a wide range of emotions and comments from the live video audience that you can read about below.  This episode might be a bit of a change of pace from the traditional SMACtalk discussions but the underlying foundation of this discussion can be translated across every aspect of your business today! More of Daniel’s Statement here:  It has truly returned to its roots of being purely a place to BS and talk about politics, family, sports and news, but comparatively to the time that many people spend on it, it has almost no business value. Here is an easy way to tell. If you share something on FB that is closely connected to your work, what kind

In this episode of SMACtalk, captured live at Intel Shift, host Daniel Newman sat down with Amir Khosrowshahi. Amir, who quietly revealed that he is cousin to the new Uber CEO, is also quite impressive in his own right as he made a significant Silicon Valley exit when his former company, Nervana was purchased by Intel. Amir is now the CTO of the AI Products group at Intel and he shared with SMACtalk a number of tremendous insights on AI. First, he painted the picture of how AI will be utilized in more commercial applications. He backed that up with giving CTO and tech leaders inside the enterprise a roadmap for deploying AI and perhaps just as important, Mapping AI strategy to be able to compete in the future as AI continues to proliferate. Lastly, Khosrowshahi touched on how Intel is differentiating its AI strategy from the competition. Check out this exciting discussion and get your “Geek” on with SMACtalk. Amir Khosrowshahi, VP & CTO, Artificial Intelligence Products Group, Intel Amir Khosrowshahi is V

Who in the world would eat bugs? On Purpose? If you ask our SMACtalk Host Daniel Newman, the answer would be no one, but if you talk to “Foresight Extraordinaire,” MIT Ph.D. Mitch Joachim, he says there is a problem that we are trying to solve and from a sustainability standpoint eating bugs may have its place. Before you jump or grab your silverware, the context is far more enticing than just bug eating, but the real direction of the conversation is how can thinking outside of what is normal provoke us to solve new problems. In this fascinating episode of SMACtalk, Newman gets Joachim to share the whole “Bug” story and much more about how to keep your business from being disrupted. Don’t miss it, download now! Mitchell Joachim, Co-Founder, Terreform ONE Mitchell Joachim is a leader in ecological design, architecture and urbanism. He is a founding Co-President of Terreform ONE in 2006. He earned a Ph.D. at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MAUD Harvard University, M.Arch. Columbia University. Mitchell is

Intel Shift changes directions on this high impact conversation with 3 top thought leaders on analytics and AI. In this show Dez Blanchfield, Intel’s Bob Rogers and Montefiore MD Michelle Gong soundoff on AI and Analytics. Starting off with a discussion around the advances that have taken place in analytics over the past 5-10 years followed up with some insights from Bob Rogers, a Harvard phD on the differences between advanced analytics and AI. The conversation then turned to Dr. Michelle Gong who shared some fascinating ways the hospital is utilizing advanced analytics to improve patient care. One example included using data identifiers to better predict when patients would require the assistance of a clinician. The episode concludes with some best of breed advice from the panel on how to apply analytics and AI into your business today. Tune in to hear these great insights and more. Dez Blanchfield, Chief Data Scientist, Gara Guru As an Industry Analyst, Business & Technology Consultant, covering Digita

In this live podcast captured at Intel SHIFT, SMACtalk Co-Host Daniel Newman sat down with Intel Executive Robert Crooke, who leads Intel’s Non-Volatile Memory Group. Crooke, who is driving some game-changing technology, explains the importance of a platform approach when developing a memory strategy; this being driven by the interdependence of the two. When processing power increases, the storage and memory is impacted. Crooke also shares the key areas of investment for Intel including their 3D NAND and Optane technology. Optane will become a workhorse for the big data age as it enables enhanced storage and better access to real-time memory. As a bonus, Robert Crooke shares with our host about how Intel’s inventions find their way into many products and software suites enabling the proliferation of new technology to be maximized. Check out this great conversation and capture great insights on the future of memory and its impact on business transformation. Robert B. Crooke, SVP & GM, Non-Volatile Memory S

  In this episode of Intel Shift on SMACtalk, Daniel Newman speaks with Scott Hawkins, Executive Director of Marketing at Lenovo. In this show, captured live at Intel Shift, Newman and Hawkins dive into the biggest trends in IT Transformation and how companies can become more knowledgeable of these trends in order to improve business outcomes. Other topics covered throughout the conversation include a discussion around the challenges of IT Transformation and some specific ways companies can overcome those challenges. Also highlighted is Hybrid Cloud, The Culture of Transformation, Importance of Agility and even a sprinkle of AI. What is for sure is that there is much to be learned from the experience of Lenovo and their ongoing partnership with Intel. Tune in and download this high energy episode of Intel Shift on SMACtalk. Scott Hawkins, Executive Director, Worldwide Marketing, Lenovo Data Center Group As Executive Director of Worldwide Marketing for Lenovo’s Data Center Group, Scott is responsible for strat

In this episode of Intel Shift on SMACtalk, Daniel Newman speaks with Armughan Ahmad, Dell’s Senior VP of Hybrid Cloud and Ready Solutions. In this fast paced conversation Newman and Ahmad discuss Dell’s recent IoT announcements at their IQT day in New York City. Ahmad shared how Dell is making a massive investment in their IoT Group and what this will mean for customers and consumers as this investment is rolled out over the next three years. Additionally, this conversation sheds a light on the rapid expansion of Dell Technologies and points listeners in the right direction of better understanding the impact of the rapidly growing Edge Computing and how it will tie into current Cloud Strategies. For this and so much more, download and listen to this don’t miss podcast from Intel Shift. Armughan Ahmad - Senior Vice President and General Manager, Hybrid Cloud & Ready Solutions Armughan Ahmad serves as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Hybrid Cloud & Ready Solutions at Dell EMC, where he lead

In this episode of SMACtalk Live at Intel Shift, SMACtalk host Daniel Newman interviews Intel Executive Lisa Spelman. In this first live recording from Intel Shift in New York City, the upbeat discussion covers a wide variety of topics from futureproofing your business to IT workload planning to the shifting of IT budgets. Spelman sheds light for the SMACtalk community on how to plan for technological change in your organization. If you are thinking about how to plan for IT project and Business Transformation success, tune into this don’t miss Episode of SMACtalk Live. Lisa Spelman, VP & GM, Intel® Xeon® Products and Data Center Marketing, Intel Lisa A. Spelman oversees all outbound marketing activities for Intel's Data Center Group, including product launches, social media and go-to-market activities with equipment manufacturers and software vendors, technologies and solutions and performance marketing. Her team is also responsible for Intel’s data center channel business. Spelman joined DCG in 2014 afte

In this exciting podcast featuring Intel’s GM of Industry Sales, Shannon Poulin, SMACtalk Co-Host takes the host seat to discuss the rapid change that technology is forcing business to endure. The discussion starts off talking briefly about the upcoming Intel Shift event in New York City and then gets into a behind the scenes look at what Poulin is hearing from working with many of the Fortune 2000 companies across a variety of industries. One of the highlights of the conversation was when Poulin shared how the change we are seeing today is actually the slowest it will ever be from this point forward. Tune into this great conversation and get a view from Intel, one of the world’s leading high-tech companies on digital transformation and the future of business. About Shannon Poulin: Shannon Poulin VP in the Sales and Marketing Group and GM of the Industry Sales Group Shannon Poulin oversees the mission of Intel's Industry Sales Group (ISG) to work with the world's largest organizations in key industry, governm

In this episode of SMACtalk hosts Brian Fanzo and Daniel Newman speak with SAS Industry Leader Marcia Walker about Smart Factories.  With IoT and Analytics, manufacturing and the smart factory in particular have a massive opportunity to maximize productivity and minimize downtime.  Walker shares how boundless new possibilities exist on the shop floor and gives our listeners a run down of how things like predictive maintenance, service automation and augmented reality can be applied to smart factory to deliver improved business outcomes.  Tune in to this exciting episode of SMACtalk to learn about not just where Smart Factories are headed, but the opportunities that exist today. We promise you will come away inspired and entertained as to where this exciting industry is heading.    Disclaimer: This episode was sponsored in part by SAS. For more on Connected Factory, check out our in depth coverage here.    What is SMACtalk?  S.M.A.C.talk the podcast launched in 2014 and over those 3 years hosts Daniel Newman

Today on SMACTalk Brian and Daniel discuss the iPhone 8 and iPhone X launch that took place a few weeks back. The question of the day, is Apple iterating, innovating or just plain imitating.    Tech thought leader Shelly Palmer, wrote this past week...   Imitation is not innovation. The iPhone X (pronounced iPhone ten) is basically a Samsung Galaxy Note 8 (which is basically a Samsung Galaxy S8 with a pen and an additional camera) which is basically a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 (which is its own story). And the Note 7 came out a year ago. Not only is Apple unapologetic about its blatant imitation of Samsung. The company took the artistic liberty of claiming that the iPhone X’s features were “amazing,” “incredible,” and “new.”   https://www.shellypalmer.com/2017/09/iphone-x-imitation-not-innovation/   Both Brian and Dan agree that Apple has built its legacy on simple to use, beautifully designed devices, but the question of whether or not this is still their differentiator has come into play.    Is Apple stil

As digital transformation and innovation drastically shake up the technology and culture needs of today’s businesses, the question must be asked.  What does the CMO role of the future look like? Brian Fanzo and Daniel Newman discuss this and more on this episode of SMACtalk.   S.M.A.C.talk the podcast launched in 2014 and over those 3 years hosts Daniel Newman and Brian Fanzo have covered topics that included Big Data, Digital Transformation, Social Selling, Data Center Migration, Millennial Marketing, Digital Marketing, live streaming video, customer experience and everything else impacting today's technology world. SMACtalk became much more than just a podcast as every episode is live streamed via Facebook Live and Periscope while also going live to technology events such as Mobile World Congress, IBM developer conference, CES, SXSW, HP Discovery, SAP Sapphire and other technology events.  Past sponsors of the podcast include IBM, SAP, SAP Store, Avnet, Adobe and currently Cisco.   Hosted by Brian Fanzo @iS

Niche vs Generalist, the debate that seems to pop-up yearly inspired Daniel and Brian to take a very personal and transparent look at their own careers as millennials and although they both are generalists they found success in unique focused pivots. Brian posted to facebook (see link below) a comment about having a niche being a smart play that exploded with 200+ comments and it inspired multiple videos and blogs by friends and fellow thought leaders so tackling this topic on SMACtalk was a no brainer.   Sit back and enjoy as Daniel and Brian hold nothing back sharing in detail their successes as well as lessons learned both as employees of brands and entrepreneurs.   Daniel shares his most successful pivot, going all in on digital transformation with his book Building Dragons and making it the staple of his speaking and online content. Brian explains the motivation for his Facebook post and why most companies that reached out to hire Brian in 2017 wanted a generalist or evangelist but the company culture

On this episode of SMACtalk hosts Brian Fanzo and Daniel Newman talk everything Amazon from retail competition to technology advantage to debating if Amazon is too big to fail.   This past week Amazon made two more big moves in retail by signing agreements with Nike and Sears to be able to sell their products online. For Amazon, the illusiveness of certain name brands has been one of their few achilles heels. People have long known that buying name brands from Amazon and their partners was often risky as everything from clothes to diapers were all potentially “knock-offs” given Amazon didn’t have direct brand relationships. This week the first domino fell as Nike reached an agreement to allow the sale of Nike products on Amazon. This will likely lead to more brands succumbing to the pressure and setting up similar sales agreements with Amazon. Given the way people shop and buy on Amazon, this wasn’t an if, but a when, and it appears the when is now. Every episode is recorded LIVE on Facebook Live: Facebook.co

In this week’s episode of SMACtalk, hosts Brian Fanzo and Daniel Newman had the opportunity to speak with Pega CEO, Alan Trefler. Known for his “Pull no punches” approach to business, Alan makes for the perfect “SMAC” guest because he’s going to take questions head on and leave the audience wanting more. At Pegaworld, we found out that Mr. Trefler isn’t only the CEO at Pega, he is also a chess master who can engage in 20 simultaneous chess matches while enjoying a beer and having a chat with his customer and partner community. Impressive Alan! In this show, we talked about a topic that Alan is uniquely passionate about, and that is the challenges of enterprise software. Knowing today’s importance on having tools that drive businesses forward, the Pega CEO believes that companies cannot risk investing and implementing software that is more hype than substance. We agree with this, but needed to make sure that this provocation from Alan wasn’t hype itself. This is where the interview came into play. During this