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The buzz: “Ecosystems are dynamic and co-evolving communities of diverse actors who create and capture new value through increasingly sophisticated models of both collaboration and competition…to achieve something together that lies beyond the effective scope and capabilities of any individual actor.” (Business ecosystems come of age – Deloitte) Amid the challenges of 2020, the high-tech industry proved it can sustain and even grow in the most demanding of times. From such adversity came innovation. As offices closed, businesses had to adopt agile new processes, remote working and re-engineered customer experiences. As we look to 2021, digital adoption will continue to accelerate. We ask SAP’s Tina Bronsch, Charles Bennett and Paul Logue about the key driving forces behind this phenomenon, from rapid adoption of a cloud computing platform to agile business innovation, and the partner ecosystems that will enable it all to happen.

The buzz: “New digital business models are the principal reason why just over half of the names of companies on the Fortune 500 have disappeared since the year 2000.” (weforum.org) Deloitte’s Tech Trends 2020 Prepping for Disruptive Innovation states, “The next stage of digital evolution will transform businesses in unpredictable ways, with leading companies realizing that every aspect of their organization that is disrupted by technology represents an opportunity to gain or lose trust.” The impact of Covid-19 is forcing companies of all sizes to adapt and innovate even faster in these challenging economic, social and environmental conditions. The key to success? An innovation program that aligns business strategy, employees, technology platforms and ecosystems with customer needs. We ask Alex Brayshaw, Axel Deniz-Johannis and Aleix Valls to share their experiences and their outlook for 2021 on Disruptive Innovation In A New World Era.

The buzz: To keep channel sales growing, many vendors will need to rethink the way they work with and offer incentives to their partners…resellers, distributors, and independent software vendors and next-generation partners like cloud service providers and telcos. This is no small undertaking…” bcg.com How can vendors with an indirect business model achieve customer success? Easy. Deliver a frictionless and consistent experience across all touchpoints with their customers and ecosystem. But the route to bountiful relationships is strewn with potential detours that business leaders must know how to navigate. How is customer success deemed ‘done right’ in today’s dynamically changing business environment? We’ll ask global business experts who work in the cloud economy – Robert Geppert at Sybit GmbH, and Hans Uebe and Anthony Pante at SAP – to share their insights on how to build the ultimate experience for partners, employees and customers on Customer Success Is Vendor Success.

The buzz X 3: Ken Blanchard: “None of us is as smart as all of us.” Michael Jordan: “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.” Phil Jackson: “The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.” While the year 2020 has forced many business leaders to figure out how to manage economic downturns for companies large and small, it’s time for them to gear-up for “bounce back growth” in 2021. How do you bring together and harness the skills of your teams, integrate new talent and galvanize your entire company toward shared goals and a new era horizon in 2021? Start by looking at how shared resources, collaboration and the support of partnership ecosystems are critical to your planning. We’ll ask Edwyn van Rooyen at T-Cup, and Jorgen Lindegaard and Thomas Pickel at SAP to share their experiences building top performing teams that drive customer success. Join us for Building Winning Teams for 2021: A Return to Growth.

The buzz: “It’s no secret that selling to other businesses is tricky. You simply won’t succeed if you don’t take B2B selling for what it is: a high-stakes selling game that requires an entirely unique approach from direct-to-consumer selling…develop a sales process that works for your business, prospects, and overall goals.” blog.hubspot.com Companies around the world spend billions yearly on sales and digital marketing activity aimed at generating new sales lead opportunities. But much of this budget is wasted if the sales organisation has a poor deal closing performance. CSO Insights’s Annual Sales Enablement Study found the win rate for forecast deals was just 46.4%. How do-performing B2B companies achieve up to an 80% deal close ratio? What do they know? We’ll ask Michael May at s-peers AG, and Simone Oesch and Frederik Uekermann at SAP to share their experiences, best practices, processes and skills training needed for sales enablement in this critical area of business.

The buzz: “Hotmail is easily one of the best examples of early growth hacking in action. By simply including the text PS: I love you. Get your free email at Hotmail along with a link to their homepage on all emails sent using the Hotmail system, this brand was able to generate 12 million users in just one year.” livechat.com Coined in 2010, Growth Hacking evolved as tech start-ups innovated new ways to drive massive growth in a short time on small budgets. In parallel, digital marketing tools and analytics drove the rise of the digital CMO, with large companies adopting growth hacking practices with the same aims. Central to success is teamwork among marketers, developers, product managers and sales with a shared goal. Today, Marco Argaez at SAP and Jindrich Becvar at Success Solutions will discuss how organizations can bring these elements together, and the technology platforms and skills you need in 2020 and beyond. Join us for The Power of Partnerships: Growth Hacking.

The buzz: “Our research on the economics of alignment shows that when an organization's sales, marketing and product functions are aligned, that organization achieves 19% faster revenue growth and 15% higher profitability. Economic pressures to align are intense and manifesting a new operational mindset called revenue operations.” www.siriusdecisions.com Customer experience and buyer behavior in B2B markets have changed dramatically through the digital revolution, where marketing is no longer a one-way communication. Now every task is a Sales and Marketing collaboration, where teams need to rely on each other to understand the customer experience. From leveraging CX platforms and technology-based insights to planning and operations, our panel of experts – Sandra Zoratti of The CMO Council, Sebastian Fick of e2y, and Shirin Fuchs at SAP – will share their experiences to bring these functions together. Join us for The Power of Partnerships: Sales & marketing Alignment.

The buzz: “There’s no question COVID-19 has upended the working world and prompted a number of changes: Work-from-home is the new normal…Employee engagement and connection are key…Workers who feel like they get attention and appreciation from their employers are much more likely to feel engaged and productive at work” (Amy Leschke-Kahle, Marcus Buckingham Company). As we enter a new era of home working where employee well-being is at the forefront, how well is your organization’s reward strategy positioned for this ‘new normal’ world? Business leaders must evolve their programs to reflect the major shifts in how people work and how business gets done. Not there yet? It’s time to explore those changes and the key role of technology platforms to develop and implement them across your organization. We’ll ask Oliver Maurath at metafinanz, Morten Babakhani at Brandmonks and Florian Dreifus at SAP SuccessFactors for insights on The Power of Partnerships in Talent Retention in The New Normal.

The buzz: What can your company do to get the most out of new technology and deliver value to customers faster? Curate ecosystems: join forces with other companies, align capabilities, share resources to create new and innovative products and services, and boost speed to market. According to 68% of corporate business leaders who responded to EY’s 2020 Tech Horizon: Leadership Perspectives on Technology and Transformation survey, ecosystems and partnerships are the only way to succeed in today’s market. Even if everyone on your sales team has large deals in their sales forecast, consistently winning may remain elusive in this cloud computing era without partnerships. And 72% of the 500 corporations and 70 startups EY surveyed have won a significant customer contract through an innovation partnership. Neil Cox of TPL Digital, Alexander Kintzi and Frank Strack at SAP share their expertise and experiences on The Power of Partnerships in B2B Sales: Searching for and Winning Bigger Deals.

The buzz: “Traditional service companies know that customer loyalty has a powerful impact on the bottom line. But what about service firms in the new economy, where customers can defect at the click of a mouse? Bain & Co.…first demonstrated the value of customer retention in the Harvard Business Review in 1990… Even a 5 percent increase in customer retention can lead to an increase in profits of between 25 and 95 percent (hbswk.hbs.edu).” Yes, the handwriting is on the wall for today’s cloud computing service providers who merely celebrate the “hit” upon reeling in a new customer, then “run” to snare the next customer. Why? They need to pay attention to their customers’ experiences and satisfaction if they want to realize the benefits of customer retention. Our panelists – Dr. Nikolaus Krasser, CEO and co-founder of Pentos AG, John Scola at SAP channel business, and Linus Tabellion at the DRÄXLMAIER Group – will share their insights on “Cloud Service Adoption: Hit-and-Run Never Works”.

The Buzz: “It seems like the war for talent is never-ending” (Jacob Morgan). As we emerge from the current global crisis, attracting, hiring and engaging top talent is still a key concern for leading-edge companies. One tech talent acquisition company found 75% of companies in 2019 had problems finding candidates, with only 21% of workers worldwide actively seeking a job. The McKinsey Global Institute projected 38–40 million fewer workers by 2020 with college / postgraduate degrees or 13% of what employers will need. These drivers led SAP to develop “Fresh Faces”, a unique program supporting partners in the challenge of the talent gap and its impact on growth. Dietmar Kilian at PDAGroup, and Petra-Maria Heeb and Juergen Kleinsteuber at SAP will discuss the business context of this global talent acquisition theme. Join us for What’s Keeping CEOs Awake at Night: Hiring and Retaining Talent.

The buzz: “The rise in prominence of [such] ecosystems has given popularity to the idea that having a value-adding network of partners and collaborative organizations can be an important competitive advantage. (T.A. Nguyen). Collaboration is a strategic imperative as industries become increasingly digital, with partnership emerging as a new core competency for leading businesses across industries. Partnering pushes platforms and products into new markets, enabling companies to leapfrog traditional expansion barriers scale by leveraging each partner’s core competencies. Top-performing Partner Ecosystem experts Malcolm Hamilton, Rumyana Trencheva and Hynek Semecký at SAP will share key ingredients and best practice support needed for successful partnerships, the core portfolio of support services critical to drive partner success and the major benefits partners and vendors derive from the Partner Ecosystem. Join us for The Partnership Ecosystem: Collaboration as a Strategic Imperative.

The buzz: “Never call an accountant a credit to his profession; a good accountant is a debit to his profession” (Charles Lyell). Corporate accountants are managing a perfect storm of financial regulations with the upcoming IFRS 15, IFRS 9, and IFRS 16. Any one is difficult at best; all three can be overwhelming. Today we’ll focus on IFRS16/ASC 842. Leasing is an important and widely used financing solution. IFRS16 mandates lessees to \ recognize operational leases on the balance sheet. Your company has a small window to ensure compliance by January 1, 2019 with a two-year comparative period. Get ready. The experts speak. Imran Mia, Nakisa: “Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’” (Audrey Hepburn). Richard Cebula, PwC: “The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking” (Albert Einstein). Pete Graham, SAP: “Say it isn’t so” (Bon Jovi). Join us for Your Balance Sheet 01/01/19: $3T Worth of Leases.

The buzz: “Rule of thumb for UX: More options than problems” (Scott Belsky). Many companies lack the UI design skills to create enterprise-strength applications that boost employees efficiency and delight customers, stakeholders and vendors. Why does it matter? Easy-to-use, appealing UX and personalized apps can drive your business agility, optimize processes and speed digital transformation. Get ready for the UI design building blocks you need to convert big data scenarios into value-add user experiences. The experts speak. Paul Modderman, Mindset Consulting: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel” (Maya Angelou). Dirk Neumann, Brisken: “Be the change that you wish to see in the world” (Gandhi). Thorsten Leiduck, SAP: “The architect should strive continually to simplify…comfort and utility may go hand in hand with beauty” (F.L. Wright). Join us for AppDev: UI Excellence and Your Digital Transformation.

The buzz: “The fusion of physical and virtual worlds into a cyber-physical system will have a disruptive impact on every element of manufacturing” (http://www.bbc.com). The digital evolution continues to change how people connect, share, collaborate and compete. And digitally connected networks of suppliers, OEMs, procurement companies and businesses are now enabling machines to do the same. At the heart of the new Enterprise Asset Management paradigm is the ability to exchange data across end-to-end digital networks between business entities and assets. How close are we to giving smart machines the information they – and we – can trust? The experts speak. Peter Aynsley-Hartwell, Utopia: “There is a better way to do it – find it” (Thomas Edison). Dean Fitt, SAP: “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life” (Steve Jobs). Join us for The Next Big Thing in Plant Operations: Intelligent Machines and Networks.

The buzz: “Never call an accountant a credit to his profession; a good accountant is a debit to his profession” (Charles Lyell). Corporate accountants are managing a perfect storm of financial regulations with the upcoming IFRS 15, IFRS 9, and IFRS 16. Any one is difficult at best; all three can be overwhelming. Today we’ll focus on IFRS16/ASC 842. Leasing is an important and widely used financing solution. IFRS16 mandates lessees to \ recognize operational leases on the balance sheet. Your company has a small window to ensure compliance by January 1, 2019 with a two-year comparative period. Get ready. The experts speak. Imran Mia, Nakisa: “Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’” (Audrey Hepburn). Richard Cebula, PwC: “The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking” (Albert Einstein). Pete Graham, SAP: “Say it isn’t so” (Bon Jovi). Join us for Your Balance Sheet 01/01/19: $3T Worth of Leases.

The buzz: “No company, small or large, can win over the long run without energized employees who believe in the mission and understand how to achieve it (Jack Welch). As your company plans for digital transformation to compete in our digitized world, you may be focusing on businesses processes but forgetting about the true core of what differentiates your business. What? Your employees! With physical and digital workplace boundaries increasingly blurred, you need new approaches to integrating workforce empowerment into your broader plans, so your teams can help you grow and thrive in the global marketplace. The experts speak. Hans-Petter Mellerud, Zalaris: “An individual without information can't take responsibility. An individual with information can't help but take responsibility” (Jan Carlzon). Roger Quinlan, SAP: “If you want to change the world, find someone to help you paddle” (Admiral William H. McRaven). Join us for Your Digital Workforce: Rethinking How to Empower Employees.

The buzz: “Today’s computers and network security mechanisms are like the city walls, moats and drawbridges of feudal times…to deter and block disturbances from interfering with goings-on inside.” (Synopsis.com). Your company’s software is everywhere – in-house, online, in the cloud, on mobile devices – giving employees information for fast, solid decisions and execution. But wherever they are – in the office or on a jet – are your highly accessible applications highly secure? The experts speak. Scott Johnson, HPE Fortify: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them” (Einstein). Damien Suggs, Saltworks Security: “You wanna know how I did it? This is how I did it Anton: I never saved anything for the swim back” (Vincent Freeman in Gattaca). Andreas Gloege, SAP: “Security is like adding brakes to cars. The purpose of brakes is not to stop you: it’s to enable you to go fast” (Einstein). Join us for Your Application Security: The Perimeter Has Moved!

The buzz: “Brick and mortar retailers…stuck in what they used to do…isn't much technology being used” (Kenny Yeo, CNBC). Many brick-and-mortar retailers are caught in an application-centric environment where data is created by applications residing on centralized platforms. How can physical store operators escape this data prison to reach a level playing field that closes the gap between online and offline capabilities? The answer: Digital transformation for a distributed network with free-flowing data and tools like IoT, AI, cognitive computing and machine learning to help retailers innovate. The experts speak. Sergei Gorloff, PetroSoft: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change” (Prof. Leon C. Megginson). Camilla Dahlen, SAP: “Strength lies in differences, not in similarities.” (Stephen Covey) Join us for Retail Digital Transformation: Freedom of Choice for Stores and Shoppers.

The buzz: “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together” (African proverb). Every organization has brilliant and ambitious workers, including the world of IT. The modern IT leader’s goal? Set the vision and roadmap for success with your internal / external customers, then work backwards to create an IT organization, team, and support model to ensure it all comes together. The secret to revolutionizing relationships within your IT team to meet customers’ needs: have meaningful conversations with the understanding that words are contextual. The experts speak. Kevin Diaz, Freudenberg IT: “If you’re not going all the way, why bother to go at all?” (Joe Namath). Roger Quinlan, SAP: “There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don't care who gets the credit” (President Ronald Reagan). Join us for Navigating Complex IT Teams: Smoothing the Way for Customer Success.