CIO CIO

Lembeck’s response: “There’s always the possibility of ‘shadow IT.’ But if we’re doing our jobs building trust and keeping the conversation going, we can still shape outcomes even in a decentralized model,” he says. “And because architecture and technology decisions are federated to the teams, the people doing the work own the how instead of waiting for a central group to dictate it. That ownership is where the magic happens.” He credits his boss, Land O’Lakes CTO Teddy Bekele, with shaping this approach: “Teddy’s taught me so much about the power of working horizontally. By talking to enough people across the business, you get a pulse on what’s working, what’s broken, and where to focus your energy.” As for capability-building, Land O’Lakes has taken a page from Spotify. Lembeck established “guilds” for data engineers and data scientists, functional communities that share best practices across business units and help raise the bar on delivery quality. “They don’t just share what worked,” he says. “They share the scars too.” source

The convergence of IT and operational technology (OT) can improve security, optimize processes, and reduce costs. This is how large companies do it. source

When problems begin before kickoff Most troubled programs don’t suddenly derail mid-implementation; they were headed off-course from the beginning. This is due to a lot of factors including that there was no cohesive vision or decision-making framework established, stakeholders weren’t aligned on scope, and key business process challenges weren’t documented. That’s why ERP Phase 0 planning isn’t a luxury, it’s a strategic imperative. In one case, a client jumped straight into RFPs without defining their program scope. SI proposals came back wildly inconsistent. As a result, the client had no clear baseline, scope assumptions varied drastically, and the selection process dragged on for months. Eventually, the client had to defer cost transparency until after a prolonged discover phase, missing out on the leverage of a competitive process. What phase 0 is and isn’t Phase 0 isn’t a redundant planning cycle or paperwork exercise. It’s the stage where you establish a shared transformation vision and goals, define measurable KPIs for business and IT alignment, build your governance and decision-making framework, outline key objectives, and document implementation scope in a way that can anchor your RFP process. source

An agent, derived from the Latin word agere or agens, implies something capable of producing an effect when authorized by another. In software, agents commonly refer to programs acting on behalf of a user or another computer program. The concept derives from a model of concurrent computation in the 1970s. With the advent of artificial intelligence, agents also exhibit additional properties such as basic reasoning, autonomy and collaboration.  The emergence of software-based automation over the past few decades has occurred alongside advancements in robotics and artificial intelligence. Enterprises have progressively adopted new waves of automation paradigms – from simple scripts and bots to robotic process automation (RPA) and cloud-based automation platforms.   Today, agentic AI — software agents that exhibit autonomy, adaptiveness and reasoning — represents the frontier. Yet real-world adoption remains uneven, as we will discuss later. While certain enterprises pilot small-scale “AI assistant” prototypes, others are grappling with how to orchestrate multiple agents across diverse and complex business processes. The recent emergence of agentic protocol frameworks like model context protocol (MCP) from Anthropic and agent to agent (A2A) from Google are trying to address interoperability and integration functionality, which adds another layer to the AI stack.  source

New AI protocols are emerging to ease model connections and agent management, giving CIOs the roadmap to easier, standardized AI deployments while avoiding vendor lock-in. source

At its annual conference, SAP unveiled an AI operating system for SAP business AI, and a range of new AI agents including an omnipresent Joule copilot. source

Beyond the technical component, remember that when you transition into an AI-native company, you are not stacking AI on top of your existing tech stack but weaving it into your entire technical architecture. Doing so requires human influence. Therefore, before you initiate AI adoption at your organization, clearly define your team’s roles and responsibilities. Make sure you assign someone to lead the technical implementation efforts, as well as someone to lead the human enablement of adopting the new workflow.  4. Refine and iterate While artificial intelligence automates many tasks, and the future of the technology is one where AI works alongside humans to drive productivity, you cannot treat AI as a set-it-and-forget-it solution. Before you “turn on” AI for your business, determine a set of benchmarks you will use to measure its impact. These metrics could include cost savings, response rates for customer inquiries and/or time savings. Use these metrics to ensure the AI is providing the ROI you expected. Then, refine and iterate based on the results.  Embrace the AI-native future  Transitioning to an AI-native organization represents a fundamental shift in your everyday processes. As with the adoption of any new technology, the change will feel unnatural at first, and there will be challenges along the way, but if you stay focused and determined, the result will be well worth the effort.  source

At the center of the strategy After two decades with the Magic, Riola recalls the team’s core values ​​like a mantra: teamwork, community, delivering legendary service, and in particular focus now, innovation. “We seek to create a frictionless fan experience through technology, making it as simple and smart as possible,” he says. “For the past 15 years, we’ve analyzed data and explored areas like AI to grow our fan base beyond the city of Orlando, and improve our overall business operations.” There have also been initiatives to foster real-time engagement so fans can appear in the arena and feel like they’re competing in a contest or influencing the live experience. New technologies are constantly emerging, and Riola is vigilant about exploring opportunities as part of the NBA ecosystem. The core of the Magic’s offering in particular is based on supporting live events, where fans have to come to the arena. However, there are many other ways in which tech can interact and engage with fans. “We’ve looked at different leadership perspectives,” he says. So whether it’s through virtual reality or augmented reality, there’s a concentration on resources, efforts, and investment in various digital, AI, and biometric techniques to modernize or adapt the fan experience.  Simply put, hyper-personalization is approached from a dual perspective. They’re first committed to providing tools to create flexible offerings fans are looking for. “It’s about designing your membership experience to your liking, personalizing, and creating what you look for each game day,” he says. Then there’s the commitment to offering content Orlando Magic fans demand in a way that’s meaningful. source