Today’s manufacturing industry is awash with huge amounts of data that could offer significant insight into operations and strategy. However, many enterprises face challenges with data quality, accessibility, literacy and insight within their organisations. Research produced by Cognizant and MuleSoft in partnership with Nimbus Ninety highlighted some of the key areas for improvement for manufacturers, as well as outlining the steps needed to achieve data maturity. Manufacturing leaders gathered online to hear the headline insights that came out of the research, and to discuss the path forward to data maturity.

Getting more value out of data was considered the number one digital initiative for businesses in the short term, according to Nimbus Ninety’s 2021 Digital Trends Report. Yet, a recent Deloitte survey discovered that 63% of business leaders say that their companies are not yet “analytics-driven”. So, how can organisations cross the gap from aspiration to action?

In 2021, 83% of teams reported that they’re under pressure to accelerate the pace of delivery thanks to DevOps. Establishing a centralised DevOps programme and following proven strategies for evolving traditional packaged application quality processes allows for faster, safer enterprise application releases. But the journey to DevOps maturity is not an easy one: it requires a culture change for organisations, incremental implementation, and a fearlessness in the face of failure.

Consumers are more discerning and demanding, so organisations must find ways to engage and serve clients while improving both the customer and employee experiences. The pandemic has illustrated that these organisations that have not leveraged the capabilities of AI risk being left in the dust by the digital transformation disruptors. According to Nimbus Ninety’s 2021 Digital Trends Report, the number one challenge for organisations when it comes to serving customers effectively is an inability to deliver a consistent experience across all channels.

The pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation strategies of many a strategically languid organisation. This wake-up call from digital inertia has set leaders on the path of a decentralised approach to IT infrastructure, utilising networks, cloud and data to build a digital advantage.

Digital transformation is necessary for businesses to grow, to increase revenue and to reduce costs. However, when it comes to enterprise applications, there are additional challenges around customisations, updates and upgrades that IT teams must keep up with in addition to maintaining business-as-usual. Cost, speed, quality and risk are at the top of the agenda for safe and efficient releases of enterprise application updates, integrations and customisations. So, how can businesses minimise the risk of enterprise application integrations? Tricentis sat down with DevOps experts to discuss the importance of de-risking enterprise application integrations by using end-to-end test automation tools.

In Nimbus Ninety’s Digital Trends Report, improving customer experience was the top driver of digital initiatives in the next 6 months. However, businesses face a multitude of complications. The challenge of minimising the costs and man-hours spent on tedious data-input processes is exasperated by the need to maximise ROI on digitising processes. Nonetheless, in 2021, digitising and automating processes topped the list of initiatives considered most effective to enhance the customer experience. So how can sales order automation revolutionise process efficiency, and in turn, supercharge customer experience? Conexiom sat down with CX, operations and digital transformation leaders to discuss how sales order automation can help organisations develop a competitive advantage by providing exceptional customer service.

In Nimbus Ninety’s Digital Trends Report 2021, joining up customer data was ranked by half of the respondents (51%) as one of the biggest business obstacles as customer interaction becomes increasingly virtual. This is a data problem that more often than not isolates the customer from the marketing planning process. So how can organisations utilise data to supercharge emotional engagement and boost lifetime value? Organisations are not only struggling to accurately understand their customers but often accusations are made that the process of acquiring data insights is creepy. So how do organisations create end-to-end customer engagement that fulfils both the organisation’s and customer’s needs? Customer experience and personalisation professionals from across retail & FMCG joined this Nimbus Ninety discussion, delivered in partnership with Cheetah Digital, to explore the path to personalisation.

For many, connecting to enterprise applications remotely has become part of everyday working life. The ability to “just connect” to any app, from any device, anywhere, and at any time, is the foundation of great user experience. In partnership with leading cloud security company, Zscaler, members explored the impact of ubiquitous connectivity on security, and how security strategy must evolve to enhance the user experience.

When COVID-19 hit, many organisations had to accelerate digital transformation overnight and security strategies were placed under the spotlight. Now with privileged access management giving malicious hackers more opportunity to exploit organisational vulnerabilities, businesses are repeatedly putting themselves at the risk of having exposed assets, costly damage and a difficult path to recovery. In a new era of cloud-first and movements to Azure Active Directory, 90% of organisations worldwide have concerns about storing access credentials in the cloud. In addition, many organisations struggle with complexity of environments, leaving gaps that are vulnerable to attack. Members gathered on Zoom to discuss how to utilise zero trust frameworks and how to streamline access processes to drive business continuity and operational agility.