AI, RPA, and the realities of change - UiPath Forward review with Alyx MacQueen

At the end of a vigorous session with Unit4's leadership team, Jon Reed and Brian Sommer camped out in an unused conference room to break down what they learned. While successfully dodging interruptions from the hotel staff, Brian and Jon hash out Unit4's "self-driving" cloud ERP approach, the service industries they are targeting, and why this vendor brings the right cloud ERP issues to a head. The talk shifts to Unit4's potentially problematic end-of-maintenance deadline, and why they are handling this differently than we might expect. The pros and cons of Unit4's approach to AI are also covered - and Unit4 gets kudos for one of the few analyst days without any NDA material of note, which makes it easy to share an open podcast discussion with all.

In this 15 minute companion podcast, Jon Reed asks Esteban Kolksy about the highlights of his "Beyond Gen AI" panel - and why active inference AI shook up the AI conversation this week. Active inference AI still has a lot to prove, but because it is *not* from the deep learning area of AI, its promise lies in moving beyond probabilistic AI (correlations) into a causal form of AI with a world model. In turn, the contrast highlights the shortcomings of LLMs, and gives Kolsky an AI to consider that he hasn't skewered on LinkedIn. For more on active interference AI, check out the work of Denise Holt, who appeared on the panel and keynoted at CCE. Also check out the work of Dr. Karl Friston of active inference AI vendor Verses. One Holt blog post: https://deniseholt.us/active-inference-ai-the-future-of-enterprise-operations-and-industry-innovation/

For part one of this on-site podcast from Constellation Connected Enterprise 2024, we have the triumphant return of Jon's sparring partner and occasional enterprise muse Esteban Kolsky, who has launched a new customer intelligence venture with Alan Berkson. Why? And how has this re-inspired Kolsky? We get into the context of the stale and/or noisy approach to enterprise advisory, and how Kolsky found a way out of his LinkedIn AI vinegar posts, without backing down from his AI criticism. Note: the AI part of this conversation, including how active inference AI shook up CCE 2024, is in the shorter companion podcast. Note: if you believe in unscripted, unsponsored unfiltered enterprise convos like these, consider a rating or share, it matters.

On the final media/analyst day of UiPath Forward, Jon sat down with diginomica's own Alyx Macqueen, who makes their podcast series debut. Macqueen has been tracking UiPath closely, but given the AI agents fanfare and CEO Daniel Dines proclaiming an "act two" for the company, much has changed. What does this mean for customers, and what did we learn on the show floor? Macqueen shares their take, and we compare notes on our interviews and what we found pressing into the change from RPA to agentic AI - and where customers are coming from. We also explain why UiPath's keynotes were a cut above what we've heard this event season. Note: we had a bit of background noise to contend with here, some of that has been edited in post production.

Analyst Josh Greenbaum has been doing deep dives into the SAP Spend portfolio for years. Now it's time to assess the progress, via SAP Spend Connect 2024. After two days on the ground in Vegas, Josh and Jon grab a surprise quiet location and tape this rundown, looking at issues such as: can SAP Promote finally bring smaller suppliers needed network visibility? What were the highs and lows of the show, and what did we learn from customers and show floor demos? How does Josh view the growth of SAP Business Network - and what does SAP need to do from here? Can SAP Business Network provide a welcome and different way into SAP innovation than GROW and RISE? Let's hash it out...

Many events have passed since our post-Sapphire clean core review. Time to hash out AI, clean core and more - in the context of ASUG's fall events, and fresh research data. Analyst Josh Greenbaum, ASUG CEO Geoff Scott and your host Jon Reed rejoin for another unscripted review of event lessons learned - from SAP shows and beyond. Along with Geoff's new ASUG data, Jon shares his top event gripes and learnings; Josh shares his clean core/BTP findings. Then we look ahead to what we want to learn from ASUG Tech Connect, and why Enterprise Architects are central to the changes afoot. Show notes: 1 - 31:00 - fall event reviews, ASUG research findings, clean core, and AI hype vs customer reality 31:00 - SAP TechEd news review 51:00 - ASUG Tech Connect preview, why Enterprise Architects matter, and community as a learning framework Jon recommends listeners look at SAP's Knowledge Graph pursuits, a notable TechEd topic not covered in this podcast.

We're halfway through the fall event season, and it's time for Brian Sommer and Jon Reed to reveal the overrated, underrated, and most overhyped topics of the season to date. As always, bring your savviest/snarkiest commentary and we'll work that right into the live mix. We'll also share our most important article reads of the month.... Note: if you want to catch the slides, you can see the full video replay on YouTube at https://youtube.com/live/XQg2YcSDwB8.

In the final hours of Workday Rising 2024, Jon sat down with analyst Pete Tiliakos for an unscripted show review. Tiliakos has a focus on HCM, payroll and the future of work, so the podcast leaned towards those themes - and, of course, the unavoidable reckoning with AI-related news as well. Topics include: why payroll modernization matters, Workday's Extend strategy and whether that pattern will repeat with AI, why AI in HR is a potent issue, and what we learned on the show floor - and in conversation with Workday execs. Jon also discusses his Rising post on "should you rip out your ERP/HCM for AI."

After Jon Reed and Brian Sommer taped their Oracle CloudWorld and SuiteWorld review, they stuck around for a ten minute podcast on the dark side of HR tech, a preview of Brian Sommer's upcoming HR tech presentations.

Is it possible to manage two combined show reviews for Oracle CloudWorld and NetSuite SuiteWorld - without any help from AI agents or digital avatars. On the final evening of the final day, Jon Reed and podcast partner in tarmac crime Brian Sommer give it their best. With a tasty dinner awaiting them, Jon and Brian consulted their notes - and very different conference schedules - to give you a combined view of the hot issues and themes. There was a lot more show than we could handle in 30 minutes, but this should get you started. Note: after this we taped a short ten minute companion podcast on the dark side of HR tech.