Ramnath Anantharam

#NRFAPAC is a wrap. This was my first experience of NRF and it was an educational and an overwhelming experience for me. Here is what I learnt (based on what I saw on the show floor and my conversations with Retailers and Partners): 1.    The sheer number of technology providers for the retailers are growing at an enormous pace. Their business also seems to be growing means that  Retailers are adopting technology at an ever-increasing pace.  2.    I saw a lot of interesting innovations targeted for in-store efficiency and improving customer experience.  3.    Adoption of AR / VR tech seems to be still in the early phase but seems to have found some footing among high end, high ticket value retail.  4.    The number of vendors providing solutions for self-checkout indicates to me that deployment of this tech is growing fast. 5.    AI use cases that I saw were all revolving around writing product descriptions (and thereafter creating social media content), customer service or digital shopping assistants and employee engagement (knowledge dissemination).  6.    Interestingly, I did not see any interesting use of AI / ML on the supply chain, operations, procurement or finance functions.  7.    The presence of e-commerce platforms was still front and center indicating to me that this is still a priority area for many retailers.  8.    Promotions management still seems to be an area of focus, as is loyalty management. I am surprised that not many Retailers have cracked a good loyalty program 9.    Almost all my conversations with Retailers indicated that most of them are seeing a downturn in their business in the past 3-6 months. All of them were still struggling with having a good data governance model that could put them in a position to leverage the advancements in ML and AI.  10.  Performance marketing is still front and center and we are starting to see some good success stories emerging. This is still not as common as I thought it would be in organisations. SAP Amazon Web Services (AWS) Achim Schneider Bharani Krishnan Joerg Koesters Deepak Krishna Patsy Wong Klaus Boeckle Mukesh Kumar H. Hakaru Morikawa Erica Low Sophia Pereira Silvana Tagand Will Wilson Katy Doran Peter Bray Grace Yio Steve Nijjar Whye Loong Wong Kaylie Wong Clinton Mottram Neetha John Peter Moore Sotis Dramalis Jaehyeon Bae Rahul Padgaonkar Yasmin Awad Mandavi Singh Ranjan Sharma Karthik Kuppusamy Madhav Nishtala Shobhana Lele Binod Negi Tanuj Vijay Rajiv Ranjan Singh Vineeta Bathija Anil Dogra Ben Nottle Eileen Chua Sebastian Chia

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There's no doubt that GenAI is on the agenda for many organizations, as found in our recent global survey, but what does it mean to successfully deploy and benefit from such new tech? I shared some perspectives with iTNews Asia recently on how real-time data vastly improves the accuracy and reliability of AI models - in turn, improving customer experiences and business productivity. For Confluent, there’s no doubt that with data streaming, GenAI is a boon for businesses, for current and long-term growth. Great to hear from other the thought leaders Leslie Joseph, Jeffrey Chai 谢志扬, Andrea Baronchelli, Dan Bognar and Vinay Rai on how GenAI and new technologies can be used ethically and at scale across APAC. Thanks Kumar Gandharv for bringing us together! #GenAI

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According to recent studies, almost 90% of manufacturers across Asia-Pacific are making digital transformation a priority. Furthermore, nearly 70% are anticipating significant growth from AI implementations by 2029 — up from 46% this year. This is encouraging, not only from a productivity, sustainability and innovation standpoint, but also in terms of the tremendous opportunity for Lenovo to collaborate with these organizations and help them realize their goals. https://lnkd.in/g-Guwwsf

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**Great news for our CIO Clients in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam!** We are inviting CIOs and tech leaders like yourself to an exclusive roundtable session on 12th June, 2024 to explore how to build a high-performing IT organization that continuously improves business results through technology led by Forrester VP, Senior Research Director Fred Giron. During this exclusive event, attendees will have a unique opportunity to:    1. Assess the current alignment between your business strategy, IT investments, and IT capabilities. 2. Hear firsthand from experienced CIOs on how they successfully tailor their IT strategies and operating models to meet the specific needs of their organizations. 3. Discover a suitable approach to position IT as a powerful engine that propels business resilience and fuels growth. 4. Connect and collaborate with your fellow tech leaders over a delightful networking lunch. Here is the link to the RSVP - https://lnkd.in/gSAEMPV3 and grab your seats as soon as possible :) #forrester #forresterinvietnam #cio #techroundtable #executive #technology #technologystrategy #HPIT #research #researchreport #advisory #consulting #guidanceandsupport

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“Previously software purchases were for process efficiency, today it’s for revenue maximization.” - Madanjit Singh, GAICD, MSID tells us in the latest episode of Asia Growth Forecast. If there is one person who has been at the forefront of the evolution of tech and tech sales in Asia, it’s @Madanjit Singh! Madanjit has spent decades leading sales and revenue teams at well known brands like SAP Concur, Anchanto, and now Scaled Agile, Inc.. We covered a whole host of topics including: ✅ Buyer journeys have become increasingly complex and non-linear. What does this mean for B2B sales? ✅ The top 3 metrics every business cares about and why this matters for your account planning ✅ How to de-risk the failure of an IT project for prospects and win more deals ✅ Rule of 21 in SaaS and how to nail your “land and expand” strategy ✅ Practical tips that can drive sales-marketing alignment. Tune into the episode and get invaluable tips from one of the true B2B sales experts in the region! Link to the full episode in the comments below👇

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Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo has revealed that there has been a significant increase in violations of personal data regulations this year compared to last year. He said the Personal Data Protection (PDP) commissioner's office reported a rise from 27 to 38 notifications of #databreach this year, marking a 41 per cent increase. He said last year, the office received a total of 779 complaints regarding misuse and breaches of personal data. In contrast, he added, the first half of this year alone saw 288 complaints lodged. #dataleaked #cybersecurity #consumersecurity

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AI spending across Asia Pacific is booming, and it’s set to reach a whopping US$90.7 billion in the next 2 years. Along with cyber security, AI is the number one conversation I am having with business leaders. Leaders are embracing the revolution, but they also talk about the challenges they face with lack of data harmonisation. We all know that at the heart of AI lies data – vast quantities of it. High-quality datasets, underpinned by strong data management practices, are the fuel that powers AI. My advice to these leaders is to view their data as a strategic asset. Prioritise its protection throughout its lifecycle. Know what data you have end-to-end; how it is being handled, where it is stored and who has access to it. AI databases often contain sensitive data – making them prime targets for attack by malicious actors using advanced AI tools. It won’t surprise you that business leaders are heeding this advice and directing investments into automated data management – ensuring a strong, secure and reliable data source. This is the foundation for robust data-driven decision making. Please read more in my article on e27 -> https://lnkd.in/g6Ca5v58 #AI #innovation Veritas Technologies LLC

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Our annual report on how digital leaders are evolving is out! Explore the state of digital transformation in the Asia Pacific region with insights from the 2024 Connectivity Report. See how IT leaders are adopting AI, workflow automation, and APIs to increase revenue, operational efficiency, and innovation. #DigitalTransformation #APAC #ITLeaders #AI #Innovation MuleSoft Salesforce Siddharth Rastogi Sujith Abraham Gavin Barfield David Heyman Pallas Gao Vikram Kulkarni Attapol Thomprasert

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Looking for a partner to support the roll out of #growwithSAP? delaware Singapore and SAP's #cloudERP hypercharged with #businessAI provide the tools and expertise needed for businesses to thrive, innovate and scale sustainably. Whether you are streamlining operations or expanding globally, #growwithSAP is your compass on the path to success! Pei Lin Yeo Zhi Wei Goh James Wong Casey Kwan Jitu Agrawal

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Big thanks to Jen. Yong ✔️ and SYNDES Technologies for being such a valuable partner! 🌟 See how they transformed operations with Hexnode in this success story. 🚀 #PartnerSuccess #hexnode

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