With the UK on its third national lockdown, consumer trends have shifted, behaviours have ingrained and businesses are having to adapt. The push for emotionally intuitive interaction across industries has become stronger, with 69% of business leaders agree that humanising customer experience will become a key differentiator for brands in 2021 (Digital Trends Report 2021). Organisations today face a paradox: customers demand efficiency and speed, but they also want to be understood with empathy and a human touch. As we move into an increasingly digital world, technology will drive change. Members gathered on Zoom to discuss the challenges around humanising customer experience and how to leverage cloud, automation and AI to deliver efficient and emotionally intuitive customer experiences.

The journey to analytic maturity is long and complex. CIOs worldwide prioritise investment in data analytics and the ROI of robust data strategies is clear: a 30% year-on-year growth is enjoyed by organisations that make significant use of data to differentiate themselves in the market. And yet, organisations struggle with cultural and technological barriers when it comes to modernising data strategies and unlocking real-time analysis capability. IT, data and business intelligence professionals gathered on Zoom to discuss the steps to achieving analytic maturity and data excellence, and how to bring teams and organisations on the journey.

Adopting a modernised, decentralised approach to digital infrastructure proved to be a successful way of working in 2020 when agility and adaptability were key. In 2021, embedding these altered ways of working for long-term success is what business leaders need to do to continue their upward trajectory. Members convened for a virtual working lunch in partnership with Equinix to discuss how to build digital advantage for business agility.

Before the coronavirus pandemic struck, transport companies were each carving out a path to data maturity. Today, this journey has accelerated, with an unprecedented collapse in passenger numbers forcing a shift in strategy and speed of delivery. Data leaders across road, rail and air convened virtually to explore the findings of new research by Cognizant and MuleSoft, in partnership with Nimbus Ninety, that explores what is driving data strategy across the UK transport sector.

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.