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You don’t need to be BIG or even structured data in order to leverage analysis packages that can glean useful insights that can help you understand your business better, augment  your ‘gut’ or simply make better decisions.  Eddie Hughes, Director of Data Analytics for the SAS Institute talks about the relevance of analytics packages in companies of varying sizes, particularly midsize companies.  He discusses how midsize companies can dip their toe in the water with self-serve analytics and use larger and more sophisticated analysis packages as their needs evolve.  He discusses structured and unstructured data, the use of self-serve analytics and how analytics packages can be used even when using MSExcel.  He describes the example of Twiddy, a property management company, that used analytics to get insights into the thousand plus contractors and optimized their performance while reducing costs.  Eddie also discusses the talent requirements for implementing a data analytics program at midsize companies.  If you, as a CEO, CIO, CXO or business leader, are pondering whether analytics packages make sense for your company, you will benefit from listening to this podcast.  You can download a free whitepaper on SELF-SERVE ANALYTICS at www.sas.com/midmarketradio. 

The cloud is ‘all the rage’ in the business world.  Vendors believe that ‘all the pieces are in place’ to be able to move many things – from storage to apps – to the cloud.  On the other hand, there seems to be little that hackers cannot get into – security in the cloud is a big issue.   Traditional models of owning hardware, purchasing software licenses and paying annual maintenance fees are based on the ‘fixed cost model’ and costs and fees go only one way - UP.  In the midmarket, where CIOs are asked to ‘do more with less’, there is a growing trend towards ‘variable cost models’ or ‘pay as you go’ and the cloud looks very attractive.   But, cloud-based applications often require you to adapt your business processes to the ‘standard’ and your internal customers complain loudly.  And, with new platforms comes the need to upgrade or replace legacy hardware and software.  There is no simple answer unless you are the vendor of these systems.  So, “TO CLOUD OR NOT TO CLOUD, THAT IS THE QUESTION”.  Michael Grosse is the CIO of a $250M family-owned company dealing with just this question. Listen to what triggered Mike's need to ponder this question, the big drivers he considered, the decisions he made and advice he has for fellow IT leaders faced with the same situation.  Mike is a life-long learner and many-trick pony with deep experience in IT who sits in the shadow of Churchill Downs. 

As an IT business leader, do you understand your business and have the business acumen (an understanding of how  company makes money, and what actions could improve the effectiveness of a business function to positively effect revenues or profitability)?  Gone are the days when the CIO was THE technology person in the company and technological competence was paramount AND SUFFICIENT to ensure CIO success.  Things have changed, and changing rapidly. The CIO is one of many technology people in the company, functional leaders and even individual employees fancy themselves as technically savvy and self-provision whatever they need.  The CIO’s ‘seat at the CEO’s table’ is no longer guaranteed.  The CIO needs to have a business impact to be taken seriously by the business leaders and to understand what business problems technology can solve and how to do it.  Do technology leaders in the midmarket have the business acumen that those in large companies are said to have?

If you are a CIO or a CIO-in-training, you do not want to miss this interview with Niel, a seasoned technology guru who was and early adopter of big data and analytics.  Listen to Niel's views on the evolving role of the CIO and practical ways of looking at what should be done in-house vs. outsourced, and what needs more capital vs. less.  He is currently implementing the SAP ERP system at his $700M company without customization.  Listen to his views on learning from his team, peers and experts rather than being holed up in his office.  He has written two books and hundreds of articles, received many accolades and runs the CIO Bootcamp.

Listen to the national head of sales for Yelp on how they compete with giants Google, Bing and Yahoo using customer-generated local content; learn how they segment the market into small, medium and national companies and sell to each of them differently; and, how they use partner offerings to constantly enhance the value to their customers.  Can you too adapt your offerings to target and create sticky customers?  Yelp is a midmarket company – compared to Google and Bing – and sells to small and medium and large national companies.

Every business has a brand, whether you explicitly acknowledge it or not.  Every brand appreciates (or depreciates) with with every action you take - positively or negatively.  Listen to this lively discussion with Julie Cole, co-founder of Mabel's Labels on how enhancing the company's brand helped the business and fetched them a higher sale price when they sold the business.  Strap on your seat belts and let's go for a chat across the northern border to Toronto with Canadian Supermom Julie Cole.

How many companies do you know that start out wanting to make ‘people-friendly products’ in a mature segment like toothpaste and mouthwash? How does a company enter, carve out a niche and create such a buzz (without a marketing agency) that it is now in major stores including WalMart, Target and Walgreens?   We are going to be speaking with Craig Dubitsky, who founded Hello. He was a founding member of METHOD products (liquid soap, etc.), the spherical lip balm maker EOS Products Craig was named by AdAge as one of the 50 Most Creative People of 2014; eatbigfish named hello as one of the Challenger Brands to Watch two years running.  

There is a serious vocational skill shortage in midmarket companies.  Whether you are a manufacturing company or a services company with vocational technicians, there’s a shortage.  The shortage is a making of our society and the lack of attention from bureaucrats and politicians.  Companies with jobs requiring vocational skills have more jobs openings than qualified candidates to fill them.  If your company is seeking employees with vocational skills, learn about different ways you might attract employees.  The new face of manufacturing and vocational skills is clean and high-tech.  What insights can you glean from Scott and Neil?

Listen to Aaron Houghton, founder of iContact on how to scale a company while located in a smaller market.  Aaron and his co-founder brought in professionals who enabled them to scale the company and eventually sell it for $169million.  Also, listen to Aaron discuss his latest company that enables small and midsize companies to pool their customers and market a range of services to them – expand scale and scope to compete with the big companies.