24 episodes

Welcome to "The New Automation Mindset: AI + Automation + Integration," a groundbreaking podcast series by Workato. On this show, we bring you real-world stories of business efficiency, agility, growth, and transformation from executive leaders in the industry.
In each episode, we dive deep into the minds of top-level executives who have successfully embraced automation to work faster, smarter, and more securely without compromising governance. From Fortune 500 companies to innovative startups, we explore the strategies, challenges, and triumphs of these forward-thinking leaders.
Hear firsthand accounts of how automation has revolutionized their organizations, enabling them to unlock new levels of productivity, drive innovation, and fuel business growth. Gain valuable insights on navigating AI, digital transformation, streamlining workflows, integrating systems, and optimizing processes to achieve seamless operations across your enterprise.
We believe that automation is not just a technology but a mindset.
Join us on "The New Automation Mindset" – a leadership blueprint to reshape your organization for success in the digital age.

The New Automation Mindset: AI + Automation + Integration Workato

    • Business
    • 5.0 • 1 Rating

Welcome to "The New Automation Mindset: AI + Automation + Integration," a groundbreaking podcast series by Workato. On this show, we bring you real-world stories of business efficiency, agility, growth, and transformation from executive leaders in the industry.
In each episode, we dive deep into the minds of top-level executives who have successfully embraced automation to work faster, smarter, and more securely without compromising governance. From Fortune 500 companies to innovative startups, we explore the strategies, challenges, and triumphs of these forward-thinking leaders.
Hear firsthand accounts of how automation has revolutionized their organizations, enabling them to unlock new levels of productivity, drive innovation, and fuel business growth. Gain valuable insights on navigating AI, digital transformation, streamlining workflows, integrating systems, and optimizing processes to achieve seamless operations across your enterprise.
We believe that automation is not just a technology but a mindset.
Join us on "The New Automation Mindset" – a leadership blueprint to reshape your organization for success in the digital age.

    Customer-Obsessed Technology Leadership

    Customer-Obsessed Technology Leadership

    Episode Summary
    In this episode, Markus Zirn and Kamlesh Talreja explore the technology parallels between Workato and Capital One, highlighting the strategic significance of cloud computing. They explore how harnessing cloud-native capabilities has fueled innovation, enriched customer experiences, and optimized data utilization well beyond the simple migration of traditional platforms. Drawing from his extensive experience, including 15 years at Amazon, Kamlesh reveals how it shaped his perspective on innovation in the cloud. They further dive into the transformative power of APIs, the role of AI and data in enhancing customer experiences, and the cultural and operational shifts necessary for companies to thrive in a cloud-dominated landscape. This discussion uncovers key strategies and insights on leveraging cloud technology to drive business innovation and operational efficiency.

    Timestamps
    *(00:00) Episode Start

    *(05:05) Kamlesh's 15-year journey at Amazon

    *(16:18) Capital One vs. Amazon: Similarities and differences

    *(20:10) Benefits of going cloud-native

    *(25:42) Is on-prem more secure than the cloud?

    *(30:50) Impact of Jeff Bezos' 'Build APIs or you will get fired' memo

    *(38:16) Capital One's strategies around data and AI

    *(41:45) Understanding Capital One's Auto Navigator

    *(46:10) How the cloud transformed culture at Capital One

    Episode Key Takeaways
    Make the shift to the cloud: Transitioning to the cloud offers more than just cost efficiency. It unlocks agility, fosters innovation, and elevates customer satisfaction. By harnessing cloud technologies, you can catalyze business transformation and cultivate a culture of scalable innovation.
    Adopt an API-first strategy: Follow industry leaders like Amazon. Embrace service-oriented architecture for swift and scalable development, laying down a robust digital infrastructure that empowers teams to innovate seamlessly and deliver transformative solutions.
    Enhance your customer experience with data and AI: Transform data into stories and AI insights into personalized experiences. Anticipate customer needs to create intuitive products and services, ensuring every interaction reflects your commitment to customer value and fosters loyalty.
    Foster a collaborative cross-functional culture: Break down silos and foster collaboration across departments. Model after successful examples like Capital One's cross-functional teams to spark innovation and align technology with business objectives. By cultivating a culture of collaboration, you can ensure transformative projects that prioritize customer-centric outcomes.
    Top Quote
    “The strong belief we have and what I've seen, cloud today is in fact way more secure than any on-prem infrastructure we might have. You have cloud services such as AWS and Azure and Google now powering many of the military and intelligence operations of many countries, including the US. So you can't have more security than those, many of those highly sensitive workloads. And, I know for a fact, AWS, it is applying that same way they build regional data centers for the military, the same way they build it for the intelligence services. That's the same way they're building any of the data centers.” – Kamlesh Talreja

    • 52 min
    Driving Transformation with Data at Amtrak

    Driving Transformation with Data at Amtrak

    Episode Summary
    In this episode, Markus Zirn and Judith Apshago explore the dynamic realm of IT leadership and the impact of technology on organizational transformation. Judith takes us on a journey through her illustrious career spanning industries from rail to biotech. Delving into the heart of process innovation, she reveals Amtrak's cutting-edge advancements in predictive maintenance, aimed at revolutionizing operational efficiency and elevating customer experience. She also unveils her unique approach to IT leadership, where business-IT collaboration, agility, and strategic integration of data and AI take center stage. From her groundbreaking work at U.S. Silica to her current role at Amtrak, Judith shares invaluable insights on leveraging technology for transformative impact across many industries.

    Timestamps
    *(00:00) Episode Start

    *(03:15) Judith's career at Amtrak

    *(10:15) Judith's process innovation at U.S. Silica

    *(17:10) Advice on business process redesign (BPR)

    *(21:10) Role of IT in solution design and business partnership

    *(26:55) Identifying cross-industry experience for process improvement

    *(32:22) Challenges and opportunities in AI-driven process improvements 

    *(36:06) How to lead organizational transformation 

    *(39:45) Judith's advice for IT professionals
    Episode Key Takeaways
    Start Small and Iterate: When implementing new technologies or processes, begin with a manageable scope. Test the waters, gather feedback, and refine your strategies accordingly to ensure they address pertinent business challenges effectively.
    Leverage Data and AI: AI can help you extract valuable insights from your data, enhancing decision-making and operational effectiveness. Reimagine processes with innovative, data-driven approaches to drive fundamentally better solutions.
    Align IT with business goals: Ensure seamless alignment between tech initiatives and overarching business goals. Get IT and business teams in sync, collaborating closely to make sure every tech move delivers real business value.
    Foster curiosity and innovation: Cultivate a workplace culture that champions continuous learning and inventive problem-solving. Empower your team to explore emerging technologies and brainstorm solutions to address business challenges effectively, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.Top Quote
    “The people who are most valuable to me in the organization are the dot connectors who can see things in different places and say, ‘if that works over here, maybe we can leverage it over there.’ Back to that example I gave about the data that we're collecting from the trains and the tracks – we're doing that for a specific purpose to improve our maintenance processes, but that data is also valuable in other places in the business. So how can I connect dots and see where else might this information be valuable and what other information might be valuable to this process? So again, dot-connecting is a kind of key skill in this area.

    • 44 min
    Automation is Change Management

    Automation is Change Management

    Episode Summary
    In this episode, Markus Zirn and Michael Balarezo explore the transformative realm of automation and AI. Leveraging his experience leading Media.Monk’s Automation and AI strategy, Michael offers a wealth of invaluable insights on navigating digital transformation. They discuss the synergy of AI and automation, highlighted by Media.Monks’ revolutionary software, Monks.Flow. Michael also emphasizes the importance of fostering an automation-first culture and making AI tools accessible across the workforce. Whether you're a tech enthusiast or industry professional, Michael's expertise offers practical advice for leveraging automation and AI to drive organizational transformation.

    Timestamps
    *(00:00) Episode Start

    *(03:52) Michael's thoughts on AI and automation

    *(08:11) Media.Monks' Monks.Flow software

    *(11:37) Michael's journey at Media.Monks

    *(22:00) Automation culture at Media.Monks

    *(29:16) Empowering people in automation

    *(34:59) Experiences with AI integration in automation

    *(39:59) AI as a tool for inspiration

    *(45:12) Michael's advice on automation and AI

    Episode Key Takeaways
    Maximize the power of automation with AI: Look for ways to bring AI into your automation projects. AI can help make smarter decisions and supercharge your automation processes to work even better alongside humans.
    Foster an automation-first culture: Make automation a part of your organization's DNA. Encourage everyone to get on board with automation, ensuring that its benefits and know-how are available to all.
    Democratize access to technology: Ensure that everyone in your team has access to AI and automation tools and training. By giving everyone a chance to engage with these technologies, you're opening the door to new ideas and innovations.
    Prioritize your budget for automation and AI: Get the money conversation going early. Make sure there's a dedicated budget for automation and AI projects by working closely with your financial decision-makers. With clear financial planning, you can speed up the adoption and growth of automation and AI in your organization.
    Top Quote
    "I've always said automation is change management. And there's this push and this pull in the automation journey. As you continue to scale out automation in your practice, you have to really identify what works and what doesn't work, for your business. But it's a team effort. If you don't have other folks around you supporting that and also beating the same drum, it makes it very difficult to kind of adopt that sort of mentality, that mindset, that culture." – Michael Balarezo

    • 49 min
    Data-Driven Operations: Composition, Orchestration, and Account-Based Marketing

    Data-Driven Operations: Composition, Orchestration, and Account-Based Marketing

    Episode Summary
    In this episode, Markus Zirn and Hillary Carpio delve into the dynamic world of Account Based Marketing (ABM). Leveraging her extensive experience, Hillary provides a peek into the strategies propelling Snowflake's market dominance. Drawing insights from her book 'Busting Silos', she illuminates the transformative power of automation, orchestration, and a profound understanding of human behaviors in modern marketing. Exploring Snowflake's unique ABM approach, they unravel the creation of their internal ABM platform and delve into the pivotal role of data and AI in shaping the future marketing landscape. Hillary shares her passionate advocacy for customer-centric methodologies, alongside invaluable advice for aspiring ABM leaders, unlocking the full potential of ABM in their endeavors.

    Timestamps
    *(03:13) Episode Start

    *(05:38) Exploring Account-Based Marketing (ABM) and Hillary's book “Busting Silos”

    *(09:37) Crafting a custom ABM tech stack

    *(17:05) Snowflake's approach to ABM

    *(20:37) Composable enterprise and data-driven orchestration solutions

    *(24:10) Approach to activation flows and cross-departmental collaboration

    *(26:33) Future of ABM with AI

    *(26:26) Hillary's journey at Snowflake

    *(30:22) Advice on building your own ABM tech stack

    *(30:26) Evolution of scoring models and Snowflake's approach

    *(33:50) Hillary's wishlist for future tech advancements

    Episode Key Takeaways
    Solve genuine problems: Transform existing processes by identifying authentic pain points. Dive deep to understand the intricacies, ensuring your solutions yield impactful outcomes.
    Always put your customer first: Keep your customers front and center. Navigate through complexities while ensuring your solutions meet their practical needs, not just technical requirements.
    The future of marketing lies in technology: Embrace the technological revolution in marketing. Explore the power of generative AI and other emerging technologies to streamline processes and personalize interactions, propelling your strategies into the future of innovation.
    Flexibility is Key: Adapt and thrive in the ever-changing digital realm. Stay agile, iterate on your strategies, and embrace new data inputs to continuously improve and scale your efforts for success.Top Quotes“You can create a great orchestrated product. But if sales isn't on board, if SDRs aren't on board, if the creative team isn't on board… Everybody has to be on board to believe in this vision that you're executing, you can't just execute against something that nobody wants to be a part of. So at the end of the day, it has to be business-focused. It has to be outcome-focused. And the tool or the platform just becomes a mechanism to help you get to that goal faster.” – Hillary Carpio

    • 39 min
    From Complexity to Clarity in Order to Cash Mastery

    From Complexity to Clarity in Order to Cash Mastery

    Episode Summary
    In this episode, Markus Zirn, Jason Pikoos, and Stephen Attanasio explore the complex world of order to cash (O2C), covering everything from lead generation to cash collection. They emphasize early data capture, reliable data sources, and process flexibility for optimal efficiency. From process mapping to incremental development, they offer guidance to keep your processes resilient and adaptable. Additionally, they discuss the potential impact of generative AI on O2C and the importance of designing processes to evolve with business needs.
    Timestamps
    *(00:00) Episode Start

    *(03:46) Introduction to order to cash

    *(11:29) Exploring end processes from opportunity to renewal

    *(15:05) Automating RMA processes for faster customer solutions

    *(16:29) Advice for automating order to cash processes

    *(24:18) Understanding maturity levels in order to cash

    *(30:24) Strategies for exception handling

    *(35:13) Role of Generative AI in exception handling

    *(37:32) Optimizing data architecture in order to cash process

    *(42:33) Agility through automated order generation

    *(47:47) Jason and Stephen's advice

    Episode Key Takeaways
    Document and map your order to cash processes: Begin by thoroughly documenting your current O2C workflows and creating clear process maps. This proactive step helps identify inefficiencies and areas suitable for automation, laying the groundwork for effective implementation.
    Design your order to cash process backward: Craft your process by starting with the end goal and working backward to ensure vital data capture and smooth information flow.
    Implement automation incrementally: Start automation projects with small, achievable tasks to demonstrate immediate benefits and build momentum. Incremental automation allows for quick wins and enables adaptation to changing business needs and evolving processes.
    Top Quotes
    “You really want to crawl before you walk, and then you run. And that really is critically important. Starting with the basics, building a strong foundation for which you can further build upon. You can't get to the more bespoke and complex process automations and integrations until you really have that strong basis to build from. Not just from a technical perspective, but also from an organization perspective. You need to show the value first in integrations and automations. You need to show what you can do.” - Stephen Attanasio

    “Order to cash is going to evolve. So don't bother trying to guess every possible outcome and automate every possible outcome that may or may not exist. Oftentimes the best thing to do is create some degree of flexibility, so don't hard code everything into the system. But also make sure you have technology that is flexible and easy to adapt. It's a reason why we've always enjoyed [Workato], because it is a very easy product to evolve.” - Jason Pikoos

    • 51 min
    AI’s Role in the Future of Financial Services

    AI’s Role in the Future of Financial Services

    Episode Summary
    In this episode, Markus Zirn and Bill Genovese explore the financial services industry through the lens of automation. Drawing from Bill's extensive industry experience, they discuss the challenges and opportunities inherent in adopting new technologies within a complex and heavily regulated environment. They delve into the transformative potential of technology, emphasizing the crucial need to adapt strategies in response to shifting consumer demands and evolving industry trends. Bill's invaluable insights shed light on how automation is not only reshaping the financial services sector but also driving innovation to new heights.

    Timestamps
    *(00:00) Episode Start

    *(03:20) Bill's insights on financial services

    *(09:30) Process thinking in financial services

    *(13:29) Role of open APIs in customer experience 

    *(17:15) Navigating friction between legacy technology and open APIs

    *(21:54) Optimizing open APIs through integration 

    *(25:16) Most beneficial process enhancements with digital technology 

    *(31:39) Early tech adopters and trends in finance

    *(36:19) Simplifying technology for organizational growth

    Episode Key Takeaways
    Culture trumps strategy: Foster a corporate culture that prioritizes adaptability and innovation over sticking strictly to traditional strategies. This shift enables companies to effectively navigate industry disruptions and swiftly respond to evolving challenges.
    Adopt API monetization strategies: Align your API strategy with business objectives. Assess whether opening APIs enhances user base or generates revenue. Ensure regulatory compliance and adoption potential align with market expectations.
    The need for a mobile-first strategy: Prioritizing mobile and internet-first service development will help you stay relevant. This meets the rising demand for mobile access and seamless user experiences in a competitive market.
    Navigate legacy system challenges with partnerships: To overcome the friction between legacy systems and the need for open APIs, collaborate with technology partners. Look for solutions like code refactoring or API runbook conversions to bridge the gap between outdated mainframes and modern API requirements, facilitating smoother integration.
    Top Quote
    “There's a famous quote by Peter Drucker centered around culture. That quote is ‘Culture eats strategy for breakfast.’ So I've kind of spun that on its heels a bit in the sense that if your industry strategy does not address culture, then all you're eating is breakfast. You're leaving out lunch and dinner as well. So that's very important in terms of mindset, automation, integration, and digital transformation. Especially in a heavily regulated industry such as financial services.”

    • 44 min

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