CIOs rethink the 18-month IT plan, post-COVID

Darrell Fernandes and his technology team meet twice yearly to review the 18-month roadmap that drives them toward the company’s north star — the vision of where it wants to be five years out. But Fernandes, who is head of product technology for TIAA, a financial services firm, had some detours recently, as he and…

NLP poised to revolutionize the enterprise

Recent improvements in natural language processing (NLP) are bolstering mainstream technologies with speech and text capabilities, whether that’s reading emails aloud in a natural-sounding voice or Excel enabling you to type in questions about your spreadsheet data and get answers in the form of auto-generated charts and PivotTables. As NLP becomes more accurate and more…

Top 15 tools for predictive analytics

Somewhere along the way computers transformed from filing cabinets for data into crystal balls that foretell the future by examining that data to predict what might happen in a few seconds, a few days, maybe even a few years. Many of the tools for accomplishing this feat fall under the term “predictive analytics.” The term…

Building board diversity

Bringing greater diversity to the boardroom is a trending topic in governance circles everywhere these days. Fueled by rising awareness of racial and gender inequalities, activist investors and a dozen states enacting new laws requiring boards to diversify, there is also a profound business shift underway. Boards are expanding their narrow focus on shareholder value…

Freddie Mac banks on modern delivery

Freddie Mac’s new CIO, Frank Nazzaro, knew he had to take a different approach to software development. The company and its customers were demanding digital solutions to increase efficiency and provide more advanced, customer-centric products. In a drive to increase velocity and break down internal silos, Nazzaro enlisted his team and business partners from across…

Secrets of successful business-IT co-creation

In mid-March, as social distancing became widespread in the U.S., the IT team at LogMeIn noticed some changes. LogMeIn provides remote access for people working away from the office as well as the video conferencing software GoToMeeting, so it wasn’t surprising that activity was on the rise. But the very sharp increase presented some challenges.…

SAP offers new marketplace for filling staff vacancies

Economic downturns typically make it easier for enterprises to fill open positions, as more workers are chasing fewer jobs. That’s especially the case with contingent labor — freelancers, contractors, consultants and other workers in the gig economy — as they are typically easier to find and hire than full-time employees, whether for picking and packing…