IDG Contributor Network: 5 technical capabilities required in modern enterprise data strategies

Creating a data strategy a decade ago was relatively easy compared to today. Back then, database experts debated the capabilities and performance of relational databases from Oracle, Microsoft and IBM, or whether to use open source databases like MySQL and PostgresSQL. A minority of enterprises explored NoSQL databases including document stores, key-value databases and columnar…

6 strategies for avoiding cloud vendor lock-in

In an ideal business world, enterprises would forge strategic partnerships with their cloud services providers that lead to prosperity for all involved. It doesn’t always work out that way, however. Things change over time, and in many cases the relationship between the customer and its cloud provider does not evolve to account for that change.…

FedEx Cloud Dojo accelerates digital transformation

One of the nagging challenges IT leaders face is cultivating enough talent to adopt and implement cloud services, so they often resort to poaching from other companies or scouring universities for engineers schooled in modern computing skills. But that piecemeal approach can take precious years that companies can’t spare. FedEx is trying a different tack:…

IDG Contributor Network: The 5 ways strategic partnerships fuel uncommon growth

Today, the shift toward partner-driven growth can be seen almost everywhere, with businesses of all sizes, and across all verticals. Enterprises are actively assessing suppliers’ ability to become partners, certifying those that qualify and then — together — experiencing massive gains. If your business has been on the fence about building your own partnership program,…

How to predict who will quit — and whom to poach

Predictive analytics is already well-known for helping organizations better analyze customer interactions, predict systems failures and forecast emerging market trends. But turn the lens inward, and analytics can also help managers improve employee retention, hiring, leadership development and engagement. When it comes to choosing candidates to hire, making promotion decisions, and ascertaining which employees may…

IDG Contributor Network: Strategic partnership: A magic bullet for enterprise innovation

Consumer demand is becoming increasingly more complex, and businesses must scale while remaining nimble. But companies can’t “be everything” to their customers. In an effort to cover customer needs, enterprises employ creative innovation strategies, new product development, imaginative digital marketing and even costly qualitative acquisitions. As the need to provide a greater array of services…

IDG Contributor Network: Big business: You, too, can growth hack

Silicon Valley worships the growth-hacking mindset, yet large companies typically stop growing when they’ve hit an inflection point, and these drop offs are inevitable. Growth hacking helps with igniting that growth, rethinking situations, approaching problems with creativity, and liberating companies of stale ideas and methods. But because change is expensive and risky, growth hacking is…

9 key takeaways from SAP TechEd Las Vegas

CTO Juergen Mueller outlined a series of improvements to the company’s software platform at SAP TechEd Las Vegas, the first of three big customer conferences the company will hold in as many months. At the heart of many of these improvements is SAP’s Business Technology Platform, previously known as Digital Platform, a collection of data…