During this first-ever sit down with Joe McKendrick, live from the MariaDB user conference, Jon talks with Joe about his recent articles on the impact of DevOps, agile, and digital transformation on IT - and the obstacles in the path. The guys talk about Joe's recent ZDNet articles and why over-hyped technologies like AI and machine learning fall short without a concerted change effort. Jon keeps his potshots about ZDNet's autoplay videos to a minimum as the guys move into a discussion of the new IT professional, and the rare combination of skills that the best IT pros need today. Note: original podcast file edit by Den Howlett.

In Jon's first ever podcast from NRF's retail "Big Show," Jon sits down with Joachim Klein of ThreeKit, where the two overcome NRF sounds to break down the key trends of the show, before the podcast is finally vanquished by a vacuum cleaner. The guys discuss the next-gen tech at the show, including robotics, facial recognition, and virtual fashion assistants, before digging into the problem of personalization and the opportunities retailers have if they can conquer their data problems. Klein then shares ThreeKit's go-to-market plan, and why these seasoned retail executives have banded together and put skin in the game. Their goal: bring augmented reality, visual commerce, and 3D product configuration into the same platform. End note: apologies for the background noise, the quietest place we could find at NRF was not terribly quiet, even with lavalier mics. SOUND UPDATE: my colleague Den Howlett has edited out as much background noise as possible in this new mix.

"Up to 2/3 of all enterprise software projects fail to deliver their expected value. Will your project be one of them?" That's the basis for Jon's first-ever podcast with analyst and ProQ founder Josh Greenbaum. On some hidden bean bag chairs in the basement of SAP TechEd, the guys discuss the multiple ways that enterprise projects can fail or underperform, and why early interventions can change outcomes. Greenbaum explains why ProQ's approach, by providing a way of measuring teamwork and project health, can have impact. The guys also talk about other efforts to disrupt and improve the consulting industry, including Raven Intel. Note: while this was taped at SAP TechEd, SAP is not the topical focus on this podcast. Check Jon's recent TechEd wraps for your SAP analysis fix. Bonus: the guys are interrupted at the 22:00 mark by disruptive window tape measurers.

In the third and final podcast in this special series from SAP TechEd Barcelona 2018, Den Howlett of diginomica talks to cloud expert and diginomica contributor Dick Hirsch review the takeaways from Barcelona, and assess the progress SAP has made with cloud models. The guys discuss how well SAP fleshed out the "intelligent enterprise." SAP's challenges with developer engagement in a more open/cloud model is also covered. Also check for Den's analysis of SAP TechEd Barcelona on diginomica.com. You'll find Jon's prior TechEd Vegas reviews and use cases there as well.

In the second podcast in this special three part series from SAP TechEd Barcelona 2018, Den Howlett of diginomica talks to SAP's Craig Cmehil about important developments in the SAP ecosystem - and the changes made to the Mentor program. Cmehil talks about the challenges the SAP Mentor will face and his goal of fostering engagement with SAP executives. The guys also hit on the community space at TechEd and the hands-on opportunities intended to push the growth of new skills. Also check for Den's analysis of SAP TechEd Barcelona on diginomica.com. You'll find Jon's prior TechEd Vegas reviews and use cases there as well.

In the first podcast in this special three part series from SAP TechEd Barcelona 2018, Den Howlett of diginomica talks to SAP's DJ Adams about about how the ABAP community can access and learn new ways to innovate on the SAP Cloud Platform. The guys hit on SAP tutorials and UI development - with Fiori, and beyond into headless development. They discuss SAP's evolution to a more open platform - and the work still to be done. Also check for Den's analysis of SAP TechEd Barcelona on diginomica.com. You'll find Jon's prior TechEd Vegas reviews and use cases there as well.

In an SAP TechEd special, Jon Reed is joined by SAP Mentor Graham Robinson in the lost Vegas corridors to hash out what they learned behind the scenes - and how that stacks up with SAP's news announcements. Graham, who is an independent consultant and expert SAP developer, has plenty to say about SAP's ABAP PaaS announcement, and how ABAP on the SAP Cloud Platform impacts developers and customers. The guys also hash out the "serverless ERP" annnouncement, and how ERP functions as a service could play into running the SAP Cloud Platform at scale. The highs and the lows of the show are covered, including the keynote, and a surprise challenge to Jon by SAP CTO Björn Goerke in response to his diginomica show review. The guys reflect on SAP's change in community leadership - and the future of TechEd as SAP attempts to turn community into an edge again, after some down years.

What if HR customers had a way of assessing the quality of the partners servicing their implementations? Would less projects run into budget and scope problems - or outright failure. Well, now they do, thanks to the upstarts at Raven Intel. During "HR tech week" in Las Vegas, at SuccessConnect 2018, Jon sat down with Bonnie Tinder and Michele of Raven Intel on the day of their official launch to dig into the motivations behind their mission - and business model. To coincide with their launch, Raven Intel released a study of 100 initial SAP customers and their experiences with consulting partners and HR vendors. Jon asks Bonnie and Michelle about the lessons they took from their study, and how troubled HR tech projects can become better HR tech projects. Bonnie and Michele explain why their approach is different than the big vendor peer review sites that are picking up steam. Jon also asks about the challenges they may face as they get customers to evaluate major consulting partners that aren't used to being publicly evaluated. Sidenote: Bonnie and Michele are childhood friends who have always wanted to work together - now they get their chance. Bonnie speaks first on the podcast.

In their first online talk in several years, Jon Reed of www.diginomica.com is reunited with one of his old school guests for a fresh talk on the problem of hiring data science skills - and what to do about it. Vijayasankar details the types of data science skills that a data science team needs, and where the hiring gaps are. There's plenty of advice for individuals on how to fill those gaps. The guys also hit on the problem of algorithmic bias, and issues of diversity in data science. Note: this is the audio-only version of this chat. You can catch the video version on Jon's youtube: youtube.com/jonathanwreed.