Bas Burger, President – BT in the Americas
I recently attended the Deutsche Bank Technology Conference, gathering over 200 leading companies to discuss innovative technologies and the role in business transformation – including cloud applications, e-Commerce, online marketplaces and the next generation of security. A key theme from the event was that regardless of the marketplace, technology is decidedly serving the role of disruptor. While technology may be the universal constant, each company at the Deutsche Bank Technology Conference had a different view on technology’s role in this new world order.
I left the event with a few important takeaways.
MANY CLOUDS, ONE SOLUTION: Customers don’t just want one cloud. Customers need and rely on many clouds to make their day-to-day operations seamless and deliver impact to their bottom line. Unfortunately, utilizing many cloud technologies poses a significant management issue as organizations try to unify many disparate systems. Understanding this conundrum is one of the many reasons BT developed its Cloud of Clouds solution enabling organizations to streamline multiple different clouds with BT’s cloud services integrator. But our Cloud of Clouds solution is about much more than integration and connectivity – it’s a platform to enable digital business.
Discussions of platforms are becoming more prominent. Uber is a platform, connecting suppliers who are the people driving cars to the consumers, with Uber as the middle man. Similarly, Cloud of Clouds is a platform – our customers are enterprises and our “drivers” are the cloud service providers as we provide the necessary middle man capability.
MAKING THE TIME FOR DIGITAL STRATEGY: Some companies still do not have a digital strategy in place –roughly 40% of companies do not have one due to time constraints, according to our Digital CIO Report. But as we enter the fourth industrial revolution, one of the greatest risks for any organization is getting left behind. It’s important for organizations in any industry to achieve their Digital Possible, and we’re determined to help our customers stay ahead of the curve.
SECURITY AND REGULATION MATTER: Compliance and risk awareness are becoming more important as drivers of security, especially when dealing with data on a global scale. The new GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation act) in Europe is only one example, but also regulations for operating in specific regions or industries should play a key part in what’s driving a digital security strategy.
The Deutsche Bank Technology Conference was an incredibly interesting event and brought together business leaders in one of the most dynamic industries. It was an honor to represent BT and to share the main stage with Microsoft and Docusign, interacting with all the c-suite executives, investors and analysts in attendance.
