Retailers have had an undeniably difficult year in 2020. Facing multiple lockdowns and a fast-tracked digital transformation, it is one of the sectors hardest hit by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Looking ahead to 2021, there are certainly challenges that remain, but also a great deal of opportunities. Members convened for a virtual breakfast in partnership with Equinix to discuss what 2021 will look like for the retail industry, as well as how to exploit data and drive infrastructure innovation.

Automation has been on businesses’ digital transformation agenda for a considerable amount of time. Now, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses must accelerate their digital transformation, specifically in regards to optimising costs and efficiency - but the question is, how does this work in practice? Members convened virtually, for an event in partnership with Conexiom, to understand the role that automation plays in building long-term business resilience.

As organisations prioritise agility and speed, enterprise applications and off-the-shelf productions have become increasingly popular as options to build up enterprise architecture. In addition to fuelling business processes, these key structures also serve as the backbone to innovation. In a world where 59% of organisations deploy a new software build daily, employing enterprise applications can harness new capabilities for agility but they also bring particular challenges around complexity. Nimbus Ninety members gathered online to discuss the major pitfalls when it comes to testing enterprise applications, based on research done in partnership with Tricentis that revealed key findings in this space.

If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that remote working is here to stay - whether or not businesses are prepared. Hybrid working seems to be the future of our work reality. With this being solidified over the last few months of the pandemic, there are necessary steps businesses must take in order to ensure that home-working is just as secure and seamless as working within an office. Members convened virtually for an event in partnership with Zscaler, to discuss the challenges of adapting culturally and technically to this new world.

Today’s modern enterprise relies heavily on solid infrastructure and is crucial in supporting innovative practices within an organisation. However, before organisations can even get to innovation they need to overcome the complexity of their infrastructure. How do businesses ensure that their data management systems, whether on-prem, cloud or hybrid, have the capabilities to drive successful innovation? Nimbus Ninety members gathered online to discuss the issues presented by complexities in the modern data management environment, and how these demand organisations to constantly evolve.

Trust is a vital component of any data strategy. When users trust the data, it can be used accurately and efficiently to provide invaluable BI. However, when users have doubts about the data, it can be detrimental to the insight extraction process because of the lack of consistency and clarity across the organisation. Nimbus Ninety members gathered online to discuss how to build trust, user engagement and adoption and encourage cultural change using an analytics platform to foster greater collaboration.

Innovation is the lifeblood of organisations: it is where new opportunities lie and allows the organisation to rejuvenate itself and respond to change. However with greater pressure on IT teams to deliver and reduce cost, the steps to achieve innovation are littered with challenges. Nimbus Ninety members gathered online to discuss how to optimise and reduce costs while responding rapidly to changing business priorities as a result of COVID-19.

It’s no secret that organisations that are data-driven outperform the rest in terms of growth, efficiency and innovation. The question is how they do it. As data-driven companies begin to dominate the market, the challenge is to understand how they get the most out of their data and apply it to the most critical of their business challenges. Nimbus Ninety members gathered online with DataStax, an open source, cloud-native database provider, to discuss the different technologies that are driving recovery and growth, as well as to explore what the path is to becoming a data-driven enterprise.

Building a digital business that harnesses the massive potential of data, requires a new approach to infrastructure. Yet, adopting the right cloud strategy and delivering data innovation is highly complex. IT leaders convened for virtual breakfast in partnership with Equinix, to share experiences and discuss how to unleash infrastructure innovation.

Since the beginning of May, 62% of businesses in the UK have reported a decrease in turnover outside of the normal range.1 As the global pandemic impacts businesses agnostic of size or age, affected organisations must find new strategies to keep businesses running. One major challenge is maintaining short-term response alongside mid-term strategies for the future. As the world goes virtual, infrastructure needs to be optimised, remote working delivered and data volumes supported. Nimbus Ninety members gathered for a virtual breakfast to discuss the challenges of repositioning for a new future and the imperatives for short-term response.