Enterprise Apps Unpacked

Informa TechTarget

What separates successful enterprise technology implementations from costly failures? Here on Enterprise Apps Unpacked, we’ll do a deep dive into strategies that actually deliver results. Every other Monday, veteran IT journalist David Essex interviews corporate leaders, industry experts and vendors—the people who are truly in the know—about important developments in ERP, HR and supply chain systems and the other applications that run the business. For business and IT leaders, these conversations cut through the chatter to help them make smart decisions about how they buy, deploy and use enterprise software.

  1. MAY 29

    SAP makes case for integrated “flywheel” of AI, data and applications

    SAP has faced numerous challenges in recent years, but three big ones stand out: moving its on-premises products to the cloud; convincing customers to adopt its current ERP platform, S/4HANA Cloud; and meeting the unprecedented demand for artificial intelligence by developing practical AI applications. SAP touted significant progress on all three fronts at its annual Sapphire conference, which was held on consecutive weeks this month, first in Orlando and then in Madrid. It repositioned S/4HANA Cloud ERP as a mix-and-match, AI-infused "business suite" – a throwback to the brand name of its previous ERP flagship. It augmented its primary data platform, Business Data Cloud, with prebuilt, composable applications that combine data products with AI and simulation features. And it embedded the Joule AI co-pilot in more business processes across the application suite, making it more autonomous and omnipresent as a user-friendly interface to ERP. The result, SAP claimed, is an integrated "flywheel" of AI, data and apps that feed off each other to accelerate digital transformation. While reaction was generally positive, it was leavened with the wait-and-see attitude that is typical after the ambitious promises and glitzy presentations of a software conference. SAP still has integration and data management work to do if the components of the business suite – especially cloud platforms like Ariba and Concur that it acquired – are to work seamlessly together.   In the podcast, three Informa TechTarget editors offer their analysis of Sapphire developments and observations from the Orlando and Madrid events: Jim O’Donnell, news director at SearchSAP; Brian McKenna, enterprise applications editor at London-based ComputerWeekly; and industry editor David Essex. Other topics discussed include: how far SAP has progressed in its AI, cloud and S/4HANA migration efforts     interviews with SAP executives and partners at the conference why integration with SAP’s digital adoption platform, WalkMe, could make Joule more autonomous and personalized Host: David Essex, Industry Editor, Informa TechTarget Subscribe via Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2TakQHezOu42MCKSQRigDv Subscribe via Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/erp-confab/id1669762576 Subscribe via YouTube Music: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5OdmBrO1LpmcDea2Zb-8mNQt0nLg-3SK

    27 min
  2. APR 30

    Developing products with spatial computing and virtual twins

    An emerging technology called spatial computing combines virtual reality and augmented reality to enable location-aware digital interaction with the real world. It has big potential, but practical applications have been slow to arrive. A new offering from Dassault Systèmes, a French maker of 3D design software, could begin to change that. Called 3DLive, the new app, expected in summer 2025, integrates the vendor's 3DEXPERIENCE product development and collaboration platform with the Apple Vision Pro mixed-reality AR/VR headset to create a "virtual" twin of a product -- an immersive, information-rich type of digital twin created in 3DEXPERIENCE -- that appears to exist in the user's physical space. The headset's cameras, sensors and tracking technology collect real-time data and allow the twin to interact with the physical world. Dassault Systèmes claims the result is a scientifically accurate virtual twin that companies can use to test a product's viability. For example, an engineer could use it to confirm -- in actual size -- that a new piece of industrial equipment will fit in the available space or estimate the effect of heating and cooling systems. Besides product development, the technology has other applications, including team collaboration, workforce training and knowledge sharing. In the podcast, Tom Acland, CEO of Dassault Systèmes' 3DEXCITE brand, explains how 3DLive works, shares some likely use cases and gives his take on where spatial computing could go in the future. Acland, based in London, has held the CEO role since 2020 and has a background as co-founder or manager at various startups, including COBI.Bike, which developed IoT mobility systems for bicycles and was later acquired by Bosch eBike Systems, where Acland served as product owner. Other topics discussed in the podcast include: how virtual twins differ from digital twins Dassault Systèmes' engineering partnership with Apple new capabilities enabled by virtual twins' interaction with their environment    Host: David Essex, Industry Editor, Informa TechTarget Subscribe via Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2TakQHezOu42MCKSQRigDv Subscribe via Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/erp-confab/id1669762576 Subscribe via YouTube Music: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5OdmBrO1LpmcDea2Zb-8mNQt0nLg-3SK

    41 min
  3. MAR 31

    Agentic AI from Salesforce and Oracle: The new leading edge of ERP?

    For two glorious years, generative AI held sway as the AI darling among ERP vendors. But impressive as Gen AI might be, it's mostly limited to generating content and not really capable of the process management and decision making needed to reach the holy grail of AI: Fully autonomous artificial intelligence. That level of technological innovation is the promise of so-called agentic AI: smart "agents," such as AI-driven chatbots and robotic process automation (RPA), that can perform tasks autonomously, make decisions and learn from experience. In recent months agentic AI has become the new vanguard of AI innovation in business applications. Major vendors, among them Salesforce, Oracle and SAP, have eagerly rolled out agentic AI to their customers. In the podcast, Brian McKenna, enterprise applications editor at Informa TechTarget's London-based ComputerWeekly, reports on the latest AI trends and shares his takeaways from conferences he attended this month: the Salesforce TDX 2025 developer conference in San Francisco, followed by Oracle and NetSuite conferences in London. McKenna covers business applications, information management and cybersecurity topics for ComputerWeekly. He holds a degree in History and English from the University of Glasgow and a doctorate from the University of Oxford. Other topics discussed in the podcast include: the strong similarities between the agentic AI approaches of Salesforce and Oracle NetSuite's more cautious approach to agentic AI how these AI offerings compare to those of SAP, the ERP market leader Host: David Essex, Industry Editor, Informa TechTarget Subscribe via Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2TakQHezOu42MCKSQRigDv Subscribe via Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/erp-confab/id1669762576 Subscribe via YouTube Music: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5OdmBrO1LpmcDea2Zb-8mNQt0nLg-3SK

    36 min
  4. FEB 27

    Blackline CIO on the Customer Zero approach to AI

    It's been said that the main job of a chief information officer is "keeping the lights on" – making sure an organization's IT systems are up to date, reliable and running smoothly. But CIOs of software vendors sometimes play an additional role as early users of products under development. The approach is often called Customer Zero, "drinking your own champagne" or "eating your own dog food," and advocates say it can improve innovation and quality control in products and services and boost customer satisfaction. In the podcast, Sumit Johar, CIO of Blackline, a Los Angeles-based maker of cloud-based accounting and finance software, shares his experiences with the Customer Zero method. He also discusses the role of machine learning and generative AI in Blackline's internal IT automation and digital transformation efforts, the insights that were gained and how they affect product development. Johar was previously CIO of Automation Anywhere, a provider of AI-based robotic process automation, and mobile security vendor MobileIron, now part of Ivanti. Other topics discussed in the podcast include: the business processes where AI has the biggest impact why AI poses a threat to compliance and security but also offers solutions whether increased use of AI will cause significant job loss how employees can prepare themselves to stay ahead of the AI curve Host: David Essex, Industry Editor, Informa TechTarget Subscribe via Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2TakQHezOu42MCKSQRigDv Subscribe via Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/erp-confab/id1669762576 Subscribe via YouTube Music: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5OdmBrO1LpmcDea2Zb-8mNQt0nLg-3SK

    28 min

Ratings & Reviews

3.5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

What separates successful enterprise technology implementations from costly failures? Here on Enterprise Apps Unpacked, we’ll do a deep dive into strategies that actually deliver results. Every other Monday, veteran IT journalist David Essex interviews corporate leaders, industry experts and vendors—the people who are truly in the know—about important developments in ERP, HR and supply chain systems and the other applications that run the business. For business and IT leaders, these conversations cut through the chatter to help them make smart decisions about how they buy, deploy and use enterprise software.