RETHINK ENTERPRISE TECHNOLOGY – Transformation Beyond the Digital Frontier – 2020

Stephen Jay Gould in his book ‘Punctuated Equilibrium’, pointed out his study of fossils over multiple evolutionary eras suggesting that species change did not advance gradually, instead massively and disruptively. Gould further noted that after mass extinctions during those evolutionary eras, a tiny minority of species survived and rapidly filled ecosystem gaps as a result of ‘speciation’. Perhaps, there is a corollary to the business disruption cycles in Gould’s framework.

It appears, currently the large-scale organizations are facing existential evolutionary change in the form of Digital Disruption. Since 2000, half of the Fortune 500 has been displaced and half of today’s Fortune 500 will not exist as independent organizations beyond next decade. The average age of an S&P 500 has shrunk by a factor of five in the past 60 years. On the other hand, ‘Digitally Woke’ top 100 organizations have claimed 84% of the total publicly traded profits in 2015. What are their enduring competitive advantages – perhaps, ‘digital transformation’ and evolution beyond the digital frontier?

CTO Forum hosts Fortune 500 Senior Technology Leaders to deep dive and explore ‘digital transformation’ that has provided extraordinary success for early adopters. This year we cover the foundational building blocks of the modern IT Enterprise and map out journey to Software-Centrality that separates iconic ‘Digital’ firms from the rest: Cloud beyond elasticity & predictive ops; Higher-Quality, Higher-Value Software Delivery; Digital Labor & Workforce Automation; Legacy Modernization & Managing SaaS Sprawl; Cyber Security & Business Continuity; and Scaling A.I. to generate competitive advantages.

More importantly, this year we are organizing deep dive workshops for each segment to facilitate interactive dialogue and shared learning while observing Chatham House Rule. Emerging Technologies demand new ways of thinking about the enterprise, information systems, work, and the new role of IT and Engineering organizations and their executive leadership. Rethink Enterprise Technology explores opportunities in the core areas, preparing organizations for digital transformation and frontiers beyond digital, a 2025-projected $100 trillion annual economy.

ADDRESSING CHALLENGES, HOW TO:

• Eliminate legacy in all core areas of IT and communication systems
• Strategize data center consolidation, migration and Cloud adoption
• Replace antiquated development environments, technology and tools
• Address legacy applications, data cleansing, and cyber security
• Generate more value from data access and analytics
• Tackle governance, logistics, workforce, and IT Modernization

KEY LEARNING AND TAKEAWAYS:

• Mastering new rules at the intersection of IT, business, and innovation
• Identifying technologies to transform IT and modernize the enterprise
• Evaluating business value of the disruptive technologies for enterprise adoption
• Distinguishing innovative technology from ‘new marketing of same old technologies’
• Differentiating incremental changes from complete transformation of IT
• Transforming business using social media, mobile internet and cloud computing

BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION OPPORTUNITIES:

• Revitalization of corporate information and communication systems
• Deployment of IT to better support research, innovation and business growth
• Transformation of business processes through strategic adoption of IT
• Modernization of engineering organization, capable of delivering breakthrough products with faster time to market with predictability and deliberation
• Rejuvenation of engineering teams as a result of a better functioning organization

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:

• CIOs, IT CTOs, VPs of Development, VP of Software, and VPs of IT (all areas)
• CTOs, VPs of Engineering, VPs Products, and Director R&D Labs
• CISOs, CFOs, COOs, and Chief Architects & Strategy Officers