A Software Insider's Point of ViewMonday's Musings

Big Tech and Market Reset Bring Optimism To Markets While many in the market are still psyching others into a recession, the fears are subsiding and the NASDAQ appears to be where the optimists are. Five factors have led to the mini rebound in this market of lowered expectations as watchers await the fed rate decision.:

Davos Is The Place For Ideas and Elite Networking The World Economic Forum (WEF) will hold its annual meeting January 16th to January 20th in Davos, Switzerland. Over 2500 delegates from 1000 companies and thousands of additional attendees gather to discuss international trade, business practices, government, politics, economics, and society. While the official meeting is a series of highly PR reviewed and crafted statements, the real conversations happen in the serendipitous environments around the conference. The networking throughout the town at hotels, on the Promenade, and at unofficial Davos events or known as UnDavos are where entrepreneurs, investors, and influencers convene to create the next big idea.

Microsoft Faces Its Biggest Challenge Despite Its "Social" Standing Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella’s and Vice Chair and President Brad Smith face their toughest challenge. There was always that belief that so long Microsoft acted like a“good citizen” on social issues they would be immune to anti-trust. That myth has been burst. The FTC has filed a lawsuit and a judge must decide if the case is strong enough to block the $69B deal. The FTC fears Microsoft will not provide titles for other platforms. Other headwinds include 16 countries that will have to approve the mega deal. China will probably block the deal to protect TenCent's position. Tencent also owns 5% of Activision.

The Davos Set Convene For A Broad Set Of Progressive Policies and Positions Over 2,000 official and 4,500 unofficial attendees will descend on the alpine village of Davos for the World Economic Forum's annual meeting. After a two-year hiatus of the annual event, these "elite" leaders from business, academia, politics, and cultural celebrities will convene to discuss key globalist topics such as:

Speed Provides Exponential Advantage Speed has always been a critical success factor in winning wars on the battlefield. You need to move troops faster, reach targets more quickly, and strike with speed and precision. However, what is often not talked about is how the speed with which decisions are made plays a role in claiming victory.

Market Forces And Modernization Drive Digital Transformation Initiatives In ERP Enterprises must navigate the constant demand for change and the growing pressures for transformation. Existing ERP systems designed for the last century meet post-pandemic requirements built on agility and decentralization. A perfect storm emerges for ERP modernization. Consequently, digital transformation and modernization of existing ERPs provide leaders with opportunities to:

THE AGE OF BIG TECH REGULATIONS HAS ARRIVED

Governments across the world seek to rein in the digital giants for political, economic, and societal rationale. While most digital giants have not flaunted the law, the public perception of their enormous size, massive scale, and unfair compe

Think and Act Like A Digital Giant No matter how big your company, you’ll need to convince your shareholders or private investors to keep financing your long-term strategy for market dominance, even when the short-term gets rough.

Long-term loyalty is gone. Your customers will trade loyalty for convenience, value, or status. Consider Domino's. Even though they managed an A+ digital transformation in the 2010s, the company now faces a new existential threat. The enemy is no longer Pizza Hut; it's the new wave of food delivery companies like Uber Eats and DoorDash moving into its sector.

Digital Leaders and Their Efforts Take a Front Seat in the Post-Pandemic Era When the pandemic impacted businesses a year ago, most brands and enterprises scrambled to accelerate digital transformation efforts. These “digital” efforts ranged from rekindling digital channel projects to doubling down on digital channels to even accelerating subscription business models.

Mainframes Still Going Strong After 70 Years Mainframes entered the market in the early 1950's when IBM and the seven dwarfs (Burroughs, Unisys, NCR, Control Data, Honeywell, GE, and RCA) created the computing age and competed for critical applications, sophisticated modeling, and large-scale transactions and workloads among the largest of organizations.