American multinational IT company
POPULARITY
In today's Tech3 from Moneycontrol, we decode the gaps in Zepto's IPO filing and the key metrics investors are still looking for. We also look at why UPI growth is slowing despite rising transaction volumes, how Cognizant's removal from the Nasdaq-100 reflects the AI-driven shift in global tech markets, and why investors are betting on consumer AI startup Equal AI with a fresh $30 million funding round.
Srini Raju - the man behind Cognizant, TV9, iLabs, and Sri City - sits down for his first podcast ever.From a small town in AP to Silicon Valley and back to Hyderabad. From cashing out of Satyam to fighting a SEBI case. From building a world-class manufacturing city on the AP-TN border to now reimagining how India educates its youth.A must-watch for anyone who wants to understand what scale, vision, and real implementation actually look like.This episode covers:-How a civil engineer from Warangal accidentally became a tech entrepreneur-How Hyderabad was built, designed, and who really drove it-Building Cognizant from 60 people to a NASDAQ-listed giant - and walking away at the right time-The TV9 story - idealism, media pressure, and what really happened with Ravi Prakash-The Satyam scam, the SEBI battle, and fighting to clear his name-The Hyderabad he saw before anyone else - and how his 10 acres near Begumpet became InOrbit Mall-Sri City - building a world-class manufacturing hub from scratch on the AP-TN border-Sricity International University - his boldest bet to fix India's education and employment crisis
In today's Tech3 from Moneycontrol, the government moves closer to launching one of India's largest cybersecurity audits, Cognizant says AI has helped uncover a $200 million sales pipeline hidden in employee interactions, GPUs are emerging as a new asset class for financing AI infrastructure, Meta partners with Reliance to build an AI-enabled data centre in Jamnagar, and Zoho makes its first major hardware push with the launch of its India-designed server, Nathu La.
The federal government's human capital arm added several new industry partners to its Tech Force hiring effort Monday as the program begins to take root in agencies. The new batch of companies is Cisco, Scale AI, Wiz, Arista Networks, Armada, Cognition AI, Cognizant, Payward, and Moveworks, per a release from the Office of Personnel Management. They join a cohort of a couple dozen companies that are already part of the program's industry support, including OpenAI, Google Public Sector, xAI, and Palantir. “These partnerships bring world-class engineering expertise into public service and create a stronger pipeline between industry and government at a moment when modernizing federal technology has never been more important,” OPM Director Scott Kupor said in a written statement Monday. According to the release, the companies will provide training resources and programming, as well as their own employees who they'll nominate for temporary federal service. The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Monday-Friday afternoon. If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify and YouTube.
Send us Fan MailWelcome to the What's Up in Business Travel podcast for Week 23 of 2026. This weekly podcast is great for those who need to know what's happening in the world of business travel - in under 15 minutes.On this week's podcast, we cover the following stories:Business events sector worth $1.3TAir France, Airbus found guiltyIndia approves $1 billion fund to help airlinesInternational airfares hit a seven-week lowBCD Travel breach raises cybersecurity concernsEurope struggles with EES rolloutTravelport taps Cognizant and AnthropicPhilippine Airlines joins oneworldJuniper Group acquires DeemExpedia Group to acquire CarTrawlerMews partners with UberKayak for Business, Blockskye and FCM partnerTSA introduces Gold+ screening modelHilton debuts Undergraduate by HiltonAvianca adds a new top loyalty tierDelta Air Lines to debut AI ConciergeYou can subscribe to this podcast by searching 'BusinessTravel360' on your favorite podcast player or visiting BusinessTravel360.comThis podcast was created, edited and distributed by BusinessTravel360. Be sure to sign up for regular updates at BusinessTravel360.com - Enjoy!Support the show
Most AI systems follow a gradient, a mathematical slope that tells them exactly how to improve, step by step, toward a known goal. Neuroevolution doesn't follow any gradient. Instead, it runs hundreds or thousands of competing solutions simultaneously, spreads them across the space of possibilities as broadly as possible, and lets the best ones recombine, the same logic that drives biological evolution. The result, as Risto Miikkulainen explains to Craig Smith, is creativity: solutions that no human designer would have anticipated, that emerge routinely from the evolutionary process. Miikkulainen is a professor at UT Austin and VP of AI Research at Cognizant AI Labs, and he has been working on this field since the 1980s, which makes him both a historian of it and one of its most active frontiersmen. The conversation covers a remarkable range: a mystery model that outperformed every competitor in a recent stock trading competition with forensic footprints pointing to neuroevolutionary AI; Sakana AI's system that autonomously designed experiments, wrote a paper, and had it accepted at a major machine learning conference; and a pandemic decision system that trained overnight and made country-specific recommendations by morning, with Iceland actually following some of them, all the way to the prime minister. Subscribe to Eye on A.I. for weekly conversations with the people building and deploying the future of AI.
AI's next workforce challenge is not adoption; it is trust, governance and role redesign. Recent PwC research found that most U.S. executives expected AI agents to drastically transform existing roles, even as fewer than half of companies using agents had fundamentally rethought their operating models or redesigned processes around them. For enterprise technology leaders, the stakes are no longer just whether AI can speed up delivery, but whether companies can rebuild work itself around disciplined, secure and human-guided systems.So if AI can write code, build agents and accelerate delivery, what should tomorrow's engineers actually be trained to do?In the final episode of this two-part series on DisruptED, host Ron J. Stefanski speaks with Arun Varadarajan, CCO and co-founder of Ascendion, and Wesley Pullen, CTO, about retooling the workforce for an AI-native era. The conversation explores why Ascendion believes the next phase of software engineering is not simply about coding faster, but about democratizing engineering, rebuilding operating models, and shifting talent development from narrow skills to deeper competencies such as reasoning, design, problem-solving and outcome ownership.What you'll learn…Why AI changes the engineering job description. Varadarajan argues that as building software becomes easier, the more valuable work becomes deciding what to build, why it matters, who it serves and how it should be designed.Why enterprises need a new operating model, not just new tools. The discussion centers on Ascendion's view that AI transformation requires changes to processes, talent models and platforms, especially in regulated, security-sensitive enterprise environments.Why the future may reward deeper thinking. Stefanski frames AI-era engineering as a potential return to critical thinking and liberal arts-style reasoning, while Varadarajan and Pullen emphasize curiosity, structured problem-solving, reasoning and disciplined human judgment over technical fluency alone.Arun Varadarajan is the co-founder of Ascendion, where he helps lead the company's growth strategy and its AI-powered engineering platform work. Across more than 30 years in technology and business leadership, he has opened new markets, built high-performing organizations and led transformation work at companies including Cognizant, Oracle, Capgemini and startups. His career has focused on connecting emerging technologies with measurable client outcomes, from enterprise data modernization to AI-enabled engineering.Wesley Pullen is a senior technology executive and Ascendion's Global Field CTO, with more than 30 years of experience helping enterprises scale AI-driven software delivery, DevSecOps modernization and platform engineering. He has advised Fortune 1000 leaders on agentic AI, governance, product strategy and go-to-market execution, with prior leadership roles at CloudBees, Electric Cloud, CollabNet, Automic Software and BMC Software. His career highlights include scaling global teams, driving major revenue growth, shaping enterprise software delivery strategy and advising startups and industry boards on emerging technology adoption.
As AI moves from experimentation into daily enterprise workflows, companies are confronting a harder question than whether to adopt new tools: how to redesign work around them. The shift is already changing what employers need from technical talent, from task-based coding skills to systems thinking, judgment and the ability to guide AI-enabled platforms. According to the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2025, 59% of workers will need reskilling or upskilling by 2030. For software engineering teams, that means the future may not be about replacing people outright, but rethinking the roles people play as AI accelerates more of the development lifecycle.So what should companies, educators and workers do when AI does not simply automate tasks, but changes the very definition of technical talent?That's the question at the heart of the latest episode of DisruptED. In the first installment of this special two-part series, host Ron J. Stefanski and Arun Varadarajan, chief commercial officer and co-founder of Ascendion, talk about retooling the workforce for an AI-accelerated economy. Their conversation explores how AI is reshaping software engineering, why speed and predictable outcomes matter in enterprise technology, and why the future of talent may depend less on narrow skills and more on first-principles thinking, systems judgment and human oversight.Top insights from the talk…AI is changing the role of engineers. Varadarajan explains that Ascendion's platform can generate engineering artifacts such as design documents, roadmaps, requirements, epics and user stories, shifting engineers from creators of every artifact to reviewers, validators and systems thinkers.Software engineering needs a systems-level rethink. Drawing a parallel to lean manufacturing, Varadarajan argues that the software development lifecycle has been too disconnected, slow and unpredictable — and that AI can help create a more frictionless engineering process.The future of employability is about competencies, not just skills. Rather than declaring computer science “dead,” Varadarajan says workers and students should focus on aptitude, logical reasoning, programming concepts and first principles, because AI-enabled systems will ask different things of talent.Arun Varadarajan is the CCO and co-founder of Ascendion, where he helps clients build AI-native products and platforms through agentic AI, engineering discipline and an outcomes-first delivery model. He has more than 30 years of experience across technology, consulting and business transformation, with leadership roles at Cognizant, Oracle, Capgemini, Collabera and multiple startups. His career highlights include building Cognizant's $1.1 billion data practice, launching AI and data modernization offerings, opening new markets and leading high-performance teams focused on client impact.
Today’s headline news for Canadian IT solution providers: Zscaler launches Project AI-Guardian: Zscaler announced a new initiative on Tuesday called Project AI-Guardian, partnering with global systems integrators Cognizant, EY, HCL, Infosys, TCS, and Wipro to help enterprises secure AI deployments. The program leverages Zscaler’s AI Protect portfolio – covering AI asset discovery, access controls for AI services, and real-time guardrails for AI infrastructure – to address what the company describes as the security blind spots created by autonomous AI agents acting with delegated permissions. According to CEO Jay Chaudhry, the initiative is designed to “ensure that AI adoption does not come at the cost of security.” Jamf names Beth Tschida CEO: Jamf named Beth Tschida as chief executive officer, effective immediately, on May 20. Tschida moves from interim CEO and former CTO to the permanent role, becoming the first woman to lead the company in its more than 20-year history. The appointment comes roughly four months after Francisco Partners completed its $2.2 billion acquisition of Jamf in January 2026; Tschida’s tenure as CTO saw Jamf’s security ARR grow 40 percent year over year to represent more than 30 percent of total revenue. Aura + TD SYNNEX: Aura Business has partnered with TD SYNNEX to bring its identity-centric BYOD security solution to MSPs through distribution. Aura debuted the offering at MSP Summit 2026, with Omdia research finding that demand for BYOD security among MSP clients is surging. SOCRadar AI agents: SOCRadar launched an AI Agent Marketplace and Identity Intelligence platform designed to help security teams automate detection and response against identity-driven attacks, positioning the agents as additions to existing security stacks. Akamai acquires LayerX: Akamai Technologies announced a definitive agreement to acquire browser security vendor LayerX, extending its workforce security strategy with browser-level visibility and governance over AI usage. Cisco Canada marketing: Jennifer Rideout has rejoined Cisco as head of Canada marketing, noting on LinkedInthat she is about a week into the new role. Read Full Transcript Welcome to The Buzz from ChannelBuzz.ca, I’m Robert Dutt, today is Thursday, May 21, 2026, and here’s what’s happening in the channel today. On Tuesday, Zscaler announced Project AI-Guardian – a formalized initiative that brings together six major global systems integrators under a common framework for securing enterprise AI deployments. The partners are Cognizant, EY, HCL, Infosys, TCS, and Wipro, and together they’ll leverage Zscaler’s AI Protect portfolio to deliver what the company describes as a full 360-degree view of an organization’s AI footprint. The program is designed to address what Zscaler calls the “agentic world” problem – the reality that AI models don’t just respond to queries anymore. They act autonomously, connect to data and apps, trigger downstream actions with delegated permissions, and in doing so, create blind spots that traditional security tools simply aren’t built to see. According to Zscaler’s CEO Jay Chaudhry, “AI adoption does not come at the cost of security” – and the GSI partnerships are meant to scale that posture across the largest enterprises in the world. The GSI framing is enterprise-scale, but the underlying framework – discover your AI assets, control who accesses AI services, secure what AI builds and runs – is a blueprint that maps directly onto the conversations solution providers at every level are already having with their clients. As more organizations ask harder questions about what’s actually running on their networks, the partners who have this conversation early will have an edge. Jamf named Beth Tschida as its permanent chief executive officer yesterday, effective immediately. Tschida has served as interim CEO since March, and before that was the company’s chief technology officer. She becomes the first woman to lead Jamf in its more than 20-year history. The announcement lands about four months after Francisco Partners completed its $2.2 billion acquisition of Jamf in January, taking the company private. Strosahl, who shepherded that transition, has stepped away. Brian Decker of Francisco Partners cited Tschida’s “technical depth, operational discipline, and strategic vision” in a statement. The headline number from her CTO tenure: Jamf’s security ARR grew 40 percent year over year under her watch and now accounts for more than 30 percent of total company revenue. Her stated priorities going forward include autonomous device management, opening the platform for third-party AI tools, and building out an AI governance layer – all of which signal where the product is heading. The Francisco Partners angle is worth a second look. The PE firm also owns SonicWall, BeyondTrust, and Boomi – a portfolio of security and integration assets that, taken together, creates interesting possibilities for cross-platform plays. Channel partners who move Apple devices, or who sell into environments where Apple is a growing presence, should keep an eye on where this leadership takes the product roadmap. In Brief – Aura Business partners with TD SYNNEX to bring its identity-centric BYOD security solution to MSPs through distribution. SOCRadar launches an AI Agent Marketplace and Identity Intelligence platform targeting identity-driven cyberattacks. Akamai announces a definitive agreement to acquire LayerX, a browser-based AI usage control and workforce security vendor. Jennifer Rideout has rejoined Cisco as head of Canada marketing. Full details and links in the show notes or the blog post. Later today on In The Channel, Anthony Tanoury from Dell Technologies joins me to talk about how distribution has become the primary on-ramp for mid-market AI, and what that means as Dell’s Modern Partner Platform takes shape. It’s the last of three conversations I had at Dell Technologies World this week and a good one to end on. And if you haven’t caught Wednesday’s episode yet, Rob Emsley from Dell makes the case that the backup is the target – and why data protection needs to be reframed as a full cyber resilience practice. That’s how we’re seeing the headlines today. I’m Robert Dutt for ChannelBuzz.ca, thanks for listening. Have a great day.
The Watson Weekly for May 18, 2026. Amazon launched a 30-minute delivery to take on DoorDash. eBay shuts down GameStop's bid. OpenAI puts $14 billion behind an enterprise AI play. The Watson Weekly is sponsored by Avalara. For ecommerce brands, tax compliance gets more complicated with every new channel, state, product, and market. Avalara Agentic Tax and Compliance helps automate the work behind the scenes, so merchants can deliver a smoother customer experience — with accurate tax calculation at checkout, clearer visibility into tariffs and duties, and fewer surprises for customers when their order arrives.Avalara works with ecommerce platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and more, helping teams manage compliance faster and scale with more confidence. To learn more about Avalara's ecommerce compliance solutions, and explore resources built for growing ecommerce brands go to avalara.watsonweekly.com for more details.Amazon Now is live. Thirty-minute delivery for groceries and household essentials, starting in Atlanta, Dallas, Fort Worth, Philadelphia, and Seattle, with seven more cities queued up. Prime members pay $3.99 an order. Non-Prime pays $13.99. The strategy is direct. Smaller fulfillment centers in residential zones, aimed straight at DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Instacart.eBay's board said no to GameStop. Chairman Paul Pressler called the unsolicited bid "neither credible nor attractive." The rejection wasn't really about price. OpenAI launched the OpenAI Deployment Company, valued at $14 billion, with $4 billion freshly raised under TPG's lead. The investor list reads like a consulting roster: McKinsey, Bain, Capgemini. The mission is forward-deployed engineers embedded inside enterprises to rebuild workflows. We also break down the Watson Weekly's Shopify three-part June webinar series, The Big Green Bag of Promise, with operators from Stanley 1913, Reitmans, and Marine Layer talking honest numbers on enterprise migration. The webinars are not sponsored by Shopify but by Avalara, Domaine, and Pattern, Register here: https://streamyard.com/watch/ibqNx46Z88BfAnd the Investor Minute: Co-pilot Kit ($27M for an AGUI protocol), Cognizant's roughly $600M Australian acquisition, District's $14.7M seed for community marketplaces, Recharge buying Skio for $105M, and PayPal splitting into three new business units.
In today's Tech3 from Moneycontrol, Sarvam AI is close to raising a record $300 million round led by HCLTech, potentially making it India's largest pure-play AI startup funding deal. Startup IPO lock-ins worth over Rs 2.3 lakh crore enter unlock season, setting up a fresh wave of investor exits. Uber expands its India engineering footprint with large tech hubs in Bengaluru and Hyderabad. And Oracle revokes campus offers at IITs and NITs amid global restructuring, leaving students scrambling for new opportunities.
WBSRocks: Business Growth with ERP and Digital Transformation
Send us Fan MailRecent developments across the enterprise software landscape underscore a dual narrative of rapid AI-driven innovation alongside growing skepticism around how value is measured and delivered. Critiques such as the limited practical relevance of metrics like AWU from Salesforce highlight the disconnect that can emerge between vendor messaging and CIO priorities, even as the broader ecosystem accelerates toward agentic and automated capabilities. Companies like Incubeta and Intentsify are expanding data-driven and agentic offerings, while Klaviyo integrates with ChatGPT to embed conversational intelligence into marketing workflows. Enterprise application vendors are also advancing domain-specific innovation, with Unanet targeting GovCon growth automation, Aptean enhancing routing intelligence, and Oracle and Sage introducing AI-driven enhancements across financial services and ERP platforms such as Sage X3. Meanwhile, partnerships like Cognizant with Uniphore and acquisitions such as ActiveCampaign acquiring Feedback Intelligence reinforce a broader trend: enterprise systems are increasingly converging around AI-infused automation, but buyers must remain vigilant in distinguishing substantive capabilities from surface-level innovation narratives.In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry analysts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to analyze current enterprise software stories. We covered many grounds, including the direction and roadmaps of each enterprise software vendor. Finally, we analyzed future trends and how they might shape the enterprise software industry.Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usuYQZcFrRQQuestions for Panelists?
Smart Social Podcast: Learn how to shine online with Josh Ochs
Protect your family with our 1-minute free parent quiz https://www.smartsocial.com/newsletter Join our next weekly live parent events: https://smartsocial.com/events Episode Summary: Join host Josh Ochs on the SmartSocial.com Podcast as he talks with Dr. David Cintron, Superintendent of NYC Public Schools District 14 in Brooklyn (26 schools serving about 11,000 students), about the digital challenges showing up in real classrooms right now. Dr. Cintron shares what phone addiction, sleep loss, cyberbullying, and viral trends can look like on campus, and why students and families need to become critical consumers of the content and advice they see online. They also dig into responsible AI use in schools, including curriculum alignment, teacher-led assessment, privacy protections, clear ethical norms, and ongoing digital literacy so students can use AI tools without losing the human skills that matter most. Become a Smart Social VIP (Very Informed Parents) Member: https://SmartSocial.com/vip District Leaders: Schedule a free phone consultation to get ideas on how to protect your students in your community https://smartsocial.com/partner Download the free Smart Social app: https://www.smartsocial.com/appdownload Learn about the top 190+ popular teen apps: https://smartsocial.com/app-guide-parents-teachers/ View the top parental control software: https://smartsocial.com/parental-control-software/ The SmartSocial.com Podcast helps parents and educators to keep their kids safe on social media, so they can Shine Online™
Shopify posted its strongest quarter in four years and the stock fell 7%. Rick walks through why Wall Street wasn't impressed, what the LVMH signing actually means for the "Shopify is only for startups" narrative, and the credit-loss line item that's quietly getting bigger.Also this week:Amazon Q1: three numbers Wall Street missed, including a $150B grocery run rate and free cash flow down 95%The Watson Weekly is sponsored by Avalara—the agentic AI platform automating global tax and compliance for leading eCommerce brands. Go to avalaratax.watsonweekly.com for more details.Alphabet's Universal Commerce Protocol, now signed by Kingfisher, Target, and WayfairGameStop's $55.5B bid for eBay, with Ryan Cohen pitching it as "Chewy on steroids"Investor Minute: PayPal restructure, Recharge buys Skio for $105M, Cognizant grabs Astreya for $600M, Lipton takes a $245M CVC investment, District raises $14.7M seed
Podcast Series: Don't Panic It's Just DataGuest: Mark Duffy, Senior Director, Artificial Intelligence & Analytics at Cognizant and Mark Blake, FSI Industry Practice Lead, Stibo SystemsHost: Scott Taylor, The Data Whisperer and Principal Consultant, MetaMeta ConsultingArtificial intelligence (AI) is prevalent in the insurance industry now, but many firms are not seeing the results they expected. The issue isn't with the AI models; it's pertinent to the data.In the recent episode of the Don't Panic It's Just Data podcast, host Scott Taylor, The Data Whisperer and Principal Consultant at MetaMeta Consulting, is joined by Mark Duffy, Senior Director, Artificial Intelligence & Analytics at Cognizant and Mark Blake, FSI Industry Practice Lead at Stibo Systems. The data industry experts address a key misunderstanding about enterprise AI – that companies can innovate their way out of poor data quality. “Some people think AI is a quick fix for data governance,” said host Scott Taylor. “If I need better data, I just use AI.” Experts warn that this belief is what's holding insurers back. How Frankenstein Data is Impacting AI?Despite significant investments in AI, cloud, and analytics, many insurers remain stuck in pilot mode. According to Mark Blake of Stibo Systems, the problem is the infrastructure. “AI itself isn't the challenge,” he said. “It's the ability to scale it, and that comes back to fixing the data.”In reality, most insurance enterprises face fragmented, siloed data across systems. Customer, policy, claims, and product data often don't align. This results in what Taylor calls “Frankenstein data,” where inconsistent records lead to unreliable outputs.For AI to function effectively at scale, insurers need trusted, governed, and unified data. That's where data governance and master data management (MDM) come in.“For us to truly gain benefits from AI, the end user really has to trust the data,” stated Mark Duffy of Cognizant. “That trust comes from having the right data foundation in place.”Also Watch: Can Your MDM Strategy Survive the Shift to Real-Time AI Decision-Making?How Master Data Management (MDM) Unlocks Scalable AI?One of the key drivers of AI success in insurance is multi-domain master data management, a system that connects core business data across the enterprise. “You always have to have a starting point,” Blake explained. “Then you expand horizontally across the enterprise.”The “horizontal data layer” enables insurers to unify key entities like customers, products, and partners—often referred to as the “nouns of the business.” When these are standardised, AI models can work consistently and accurately.The business impact is substantial, including more accurate underwriting decisions, reduced claims leakage, improved customer experience and retention and better cross-sell and upsell opportunities. Duffy shared a real-world example in which enhancing data management directly sped up AI adoption. “It gave them trust in the data,” he said. “They could run models faster and gain more value because they weren't constantly fixing issues.”Instead of spending 80 per cent of their time cleaning data, teams could finally focus on using it.Why AI Is Coercing a Data Strategy ResetFor years, data governance struggled to gain executives' support, but now AI has shifted that.“There's been a refocus,” Blake said. “They're looking at data in a way they maybe haven't done historically.”Today, AI is a priority for boards, driving alignment among CIOs, CDOs, and IT enterprise leaders. “Every C-suite executive wants to do more AI,” Duffy said. “But they've realised they can't do that without the data foundation.”Still, some enterprises believe AI can fix poor data quality. Experts warn that this is a mistake. “You can use AI to support data quality,” Duffy said. “But you're not going to use AI to build an MDM solution.”What's the Solution to Frankenstein DataAs insurers develop their AI strategies for the next 12 to 24 months, one key ideology was spotlighted – success depends less on speed and more on structure. “Go back to the root cause,” Blake said to Taylor. “Fix that, and then you can move forward with confidence.”In other words, AI highlights the need for strong data foundations; it doesn't eradicate them. For insurers serious about AI transformation, that's no longer optional—it's where they must begin.Also Watch: From Chaos to Launch: Your Product is Ready, Your Data Isn'tKey TakeawaysAI in insurance fails without strong data governance and quality foundations.Master Data Management (MDM) is critical for scaling AI across insurance enterprises.Fragmented “siloed data” is the biggest barrier to AI adoption in insurance.Trusted, unified customer and policy data improves AI accuracy and business outcomes.AI cannot fix bad data—insurers must modernise data management first.Chapters00:00 Introduction to AI Readiness in Insurance03:08 The Importance of Data Foundations06:02 Challenges of Fragmented Data09:06 Modernising Data Foundations for AI11:56 Real-World Use Cases in Insurance15:03 The Role of Master Data Management17:56 Aligning Business and Data Strategies21:06 Final Thoughts on AI and Data GovernanceFor more information, please visit em360tech.com and stibosystems.com.To learn more about AI in the MDM space and how they're progressing enterprise analytics intelligently, follow:Stibo Systems LinkedIn: @StiboSystemsStibo Systems X: @StiboSystemsStibo Systems YouTube: @StiboSystemsGlobalEM360Tech YouTube: @enterprisemanagement360EM360Tech LinkedIn: @EM360TechEM360Tech X: @EM360Tech#MasterDataManagement #DataGovernance #AIinInsurance #EnterpriseTech #BigData #DataStrategy #AIReadiness #InsuranceTechnology #cioinsights #StiboSystems #frankensteindatamaster data management, MDM, data governance, AI strategy, insurance, enterprise technology, big data, chief data officer, CDO, CIO, data quality, data unification, Stibo Systems, Scott Taylor, Mark Duffy, Mark Blake
Laura Burkhauser, CEO of Descript, explains how the company is navigating the tension between powerful AI tools and creator backlash against “slop.” She shares how Descript chooses which models to use, why reliability and multimodal understanding matter, and how the team balances frontier models with in-house task-specific systems. The conversation also covers Underlord, agentic video editing, API design for coding agents, and what AI means for the future of creative work. LINKS: Laura Burkhauser LinkedIn Profile Descript Editing Platform Descript Studio Sound Help Descript API Documentation Claude AI Assistant Model Context Protocol Specification fal AI Platform Flux Kontext Pro Model Google Veo Video Generation OpenAI Sora Video Model Kling AI Video Generation Midjourney Image Generation Anthropic AI Company Google Gemini AI OpenAI Company Website Waymark Commercial Platform Benedict Evans Website Suno AI Music Sponsors: Sequence: Sequence handles the full revenue workflow for complex pricing, from quoting and metering to invoicing, revenue recognition, and collections. Book a public demo at https://sequencehq.com and use code Cognizant in the source field to save 20% off year one Claude: Claude by Anthropic is an AI collaborator that understands your workflow and helps you tackle research, writing, coding, and organization with deep context. Get started with Claude and explore Claude Pro at https://claude.ai/tcr AvePoint: AvePoint is building the control layer for AI agents so you can securely govern, audit, and recover every action at scale. Design trusted agentic outcomes from day one at https://avpt.co/tcr CHAPTERS: (00:00) About the Episode (03:56) What is slop (12:24) Creator AI tensions (Part 1) (20:24) Sponsors: Sequence | Claude (23:23) Creator AI tensions (Part 2) (23:23) Selecting generative models (34:46) Underlord video understanding (Part 1) (34:53) Sponsor: AvePoint (36:00) Underlord video understanding (Part 2) (41:55) Proprietary data advantage (50:44) Generalized agent harness (57:31) API and bundling (01:05:04) Automation and jobs (01:10:26) Pricing AI work (01:14:20) Art beyond slop (01:19:04) Episode Outro (01:23:02) Outro PRODUCED BY: https://aipodcast.ing
A key trustee vote on the reappointment of Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh to the Tata Education and Development Trust reveals differences within Tata Trusts, Cognizant is weighing a fresh round of layoffs that could affect 12,000-15,000 employees globally, Amazon has decided to scale up its Amazon Now business to take on rivals such as Blinkit and Zepto and govt will reasses its growth projection for FY27 as direct tax collection suffers amid Strait of Hormuz disruption.Also inside: Behind Vijay's stunning electoral performance - a carefully curated political image that began two decades ago.All this and more in the day's edition of Moneycontrol Editor's Picks.
WBSRocks: Business Growth with ERP and Digital Transformation
Send us Fan MailRecent announcements across the enterprise software ecosystem highlight a clear pivot toward agentic AI, ecosystem orchestration, and embedded intelligence within core business platforms. Salesforce is advancing this shift with MuleSoft Agent Fabric, enabling automated agent discovery, while ServiceNow is doubling down through expanded partnerships with OpenAI and Anthropic to operationalize AI agents in mission-critical workflows. Strategic collaborations such as Cognizant partnering with Typeface and Uniphore further reinforce the growing importance of composable AI ecosystems. Meanwhile, application-layer innovation is accelerating, with Simpro Group expanding its AI-first platform via acquisition, Klaviyo integrating with ChatGPT, and Unanet and Aptean introducing automation and routing capabilities tailored to vertical use cases. At the same time, data and demand-generation players like Intentsify and Incubeta are embedding agentic capabilities into their offerings, collectively signaling a broader transformation: enterprise platforms are rapidly evolving into interconnected, AI-native environments where intelligent agents, data, and workflows operate as a unified system rather than siloed functions.In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry analysts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to analyze current enterprise software stories. We covered many grounds, including the direction and roadmaps of each enterprise software vendor. Finally, we analyzed future trends and how they might shape the enterprise software industry.Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_TyTBrq0ccQuestions for Panelists?
In this episode of Tech 3 by Moneycontrol, we break down how Amazon is accelerating its quick commerce push with Amazon Now as rivals like Blinkit and Zepto race ahead. We also dive into River EV's expanded $100 million funding plans, shifting investor lineup, and what it means for India's competitive EV two-wheeler market. And finally, a major shake-up in IT services — Cognizant could cut up to 15,000 jobs as AI and automation reshape hiring, signalling a deeper structural shift across the sector. Plus, a quick note on how Groww and PhonePe are gaining ground in the SIP market.
Kyle Corbitt, founder of OpenPipe, breaks down reinforcement learning and custom fine-tuning for modern AI models. He explains how RL differs from supervised fine-tuning, why GRPO and LLM-as-judge post-training matter, and how these techniques can improve performance, latency, and cost on open source models. The conversation also covers reward hacking, evaluation design, LoRA adapters, and how Chinese labs are using distillation to fast-follow frontier models. Sponsors: Sequence: Sequence handles the full revenue workflow for complex pricing, from quoting and metering to invoicing, revenue recognition, and collections. Book a public demo at https://sequencehq.com and use code Cognizant in the source field to save 20% off year one AvePoint: AvePoint is building the control layer for AI agents so you can securely govern, audit, and recover every action at scale. Design trusted agentic outcomes from day one at https://avpt.co/tcr VCX: VCX, by Fundrise, is the public ticker for private tech, giving everyday investors access to high-growth private companies in AI, space, defense tech, and more. Learn how to invest at https://getvcx.com Claude: Claude by Anthropic is an AI collaborator that understands your workflow and helps you tackle research, writing, coding, and organization with deep context. Get started with Claude and explore Claude Pro at https://claude.ai/tcr
In today's Tech3 from Moneycontrol, Cognizant reports steady growth but flags a cost reset with restructuring plans. Karnataka flags AI's potential impact on jobs while pushing ahead with infrastructure and an AI City plan. NPCI explores giving smaller UPI apps early access to features to reduce market concentration. Heatwaves drive new safety measures for delivery workers across platforms. And Sahi raises $33 million as broking startups continue to attract investor interest.
Episode Info Craig Weber is a thought leader and management consultant with extensive insurance specialization, having worked for a major carrier and then leading an analyst firm. At Cognizant, he leads a team responsible for the firm's insurance strategy and bringing its portfolio of insurance offerings to the market. Episode Overview: AI is at a critical inflection point, poised to profoundly transform the insurance industry. While carriers are at varying stages of adoption, a key challenge is scaling AI from pilots to production. Key Areas of Focus: Data Utilization: AI needs proprietary data to unlock its full potential, necessitating robust data protection strategies. Distribution Enhancement: AI can automate agent administrative tasks, boosting productivity and addressing talent shortages, rather than solely displacing agents. Customer Experience: AI can streamline services, but must be balanced with human empathy, especially for complex issues. Customer comfort with AI is growing, influenced by their insurance knowledge. Future Strategy: A proactive "AI builder strategy" is crucial. Insurers should focus on developing skills and adapting to the rapid, self-reinforcing evolution of AI. AI represents a fundamental shift, not just an efficiency play. Proactive investment and adaptation are essential to navigate this "innovation arms race" and remake the insurance landscape. The conversation concluded by stressing the importance of a collaborative, monitored approach to AI implementation, ensuring it serves to enhance both efficiency and the human element in the insurance claims process. This episode is brought to you by The Future of Insurance book series (future-of-insurance.com) from Bryan Falchuk. Follow the podcast at future-of-insurance.com/podcast for more details and other episodes. Music courtesy of Hyperbeat Music, available to stream or download on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music and more.
Yega Kumarappan explores how sales enablement has evolved from simple content distribution into an AI-driven discipline focused on helping sellers close deals. He explains how Paperflite has grown into an agentic platform that supports sales teams across the entire deal lifecycle, spanning prospect intelligence, content intelligence, conversation intelligence, deal intelligence, and AI-powered coaching. These capabilities help sellers access the right information at the right time, track buyer engagement, and predict deal outcomes with greater confidence. The conversation also highlights a broader shift in the market: ownership of sales enablement is moving from marketing to sales as AI makes its impact on revenue more measurable. Yega emphasizes that while content creation has become easier, distribution and ROI measurement are now the biggest challenges. Finally, he reflects on the growing importance of “knowledge sovereignty”—the need for organisations to capture and leverage their unique expertise—arguing that this will be critical for standing out in a world of increasingly generic AI tools. About Paperflite Paperflite is a content experience and intelligence platform designed to help businesses maximise the impact of their content and drive stronger audience engagement. It enables teams to easily discover the most relevant content across the organisation, share it seamlessly across multiple channels, and track how audiences interact with it. With a strong focus on user experience, Paperflite delivers a visually engaging way for prospects, customers, and partners to consume content. Its built-in analytics engine provides deep insights into buyer behaviour, helping teams understand what resonates and take the right actions to improve conversations and conversions. About Yega Kumarappan Yega Kumarappan is the co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Paperflite. Former Head of Technology Prototyping at Cognizant, Yega spent over a decade building and prototyping innovative solutions for global enterprises before founding Paperflite in 2016. Known for his futurist perspective, Yega focuses on shaping how modern sales and marketing teams use content, data, and AI to drive better customer engagement and outcomes. Time Stamps 00:00 - Introduction to Yega Kumarappan and His Career Journey 02:42 - Why Paper Flight Exists 11:23 - Who Buys Enablement 13:14 - Distribution and ROI 16:04 - Inbound Marketing Strategy 19:15 - Knowledge Sovereignty in AI 22:30 - Marketing Advice and Mindset 27:23 - Where to Learn More Quotes “Sales enablement has moved from distributing content to actively helping sellers close deals.” Yega Kumarappan, Co-founder & Chief Product Officer, Paperflite “The real value is delivering the right knowledge at the exact moment it's needed.” Yega Kumarappan, Co-founder & Chief Product Officer, Paperflite “Creating great content is no longer the hardest problem—distribution is.” Yega Kumarappan, Co-founder & Chief Product Officer, Paperflite “Whoever masters distribution wins.” Yega Kumarappan, Co-founder & Chief Product Officer, Paperflite “It's not just about content anymore—it's about proving its impact on revenue.” Yega Kumarappan, Co-founder & Chief Product Officer, Paperflite Follow Yega: Yega Kumarappan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yegakumarappan/ Paperflite website: https://www.paperflite.com/ Paperflite on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/paperflite Follow Mike: Mike Maynard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikemaynard/ Napier website: https://www.napierb2b.com/ Napier LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/napier-partnership-limited/ If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to our podcast for more discussions about the latest in Marketing B2B Tech and connect with us on social media to stay updated on upcoming episodes. We'd also appreciate it if you could leave us a review on your favourite podcast platform. Want more? Check out Napier's other podcast - The Marketing Automation Moment: https://podcasts.apple.com/ua/podcast/the-marketing-automation-moment-podcast/id1659211547
A study gave 16 experienced developers the best AI coding tools available.They predicted they'd be 24% faster. They felt 20% faster. They were actually 19% slower — and still didn't believe it when told.That gap between belief and reality is now being deployed at enterprise scale.TCS, Infosys, Wipro, and Cognizant have committed to over 50,000 AI coding licences each. Bugs per developer are up 50%. Code is reaching production without any human review.And the senior engineers who could catch the mistakes are buried too deep in the flood to look up.Is India's IT sector selling a productivity story it hasn't actually earned yet?Tune in. *With inputs from Mrunmayee Kulkarni. Read her piece here: Engineers gag as Amazon, TCS, and Cognizant ram ‘mandatory AI' into everyday workRead the NYT article: The Big Bang: A.I. Has Created a Code OverloadRead Luciano Nooijen's blog post: Why I stopped using AI code editorsDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India's first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.
Cognizant Chief AI Officer Babak Hodjat - Head of the firm's AI lab in San Francisco, tackles the realities of scaling agentic AI across the enterprise, with HFS Executive Research Leader David Cushman. Key points discussed include:Where multi-agent systems break first - and what that means for the state of progress in agentic AI.How an agent OS - a standardized layer for governance, orchestration, observability, data trust, and workforce integration, helps enterprises handle the complexity ceiling they will inevitably hit when scaling the use of agentic AI. And what's the impact of the newly emerged OpenClaw and its promise of end-to-end workflows? Read the associated Market Impact Report “Design your agent OS to win the AI future” here: https://www.hfsresearch.com/research/design-your-agent-os-to-win-the-ai-future/
Comment on the Show by Sending Mark a Text Message.What happens when a high-performing executive becomes a whistleblower in a corporate culture riddled with discrimination and retaliation? Join Mark Carey as he uncovers the shocking legal battle of Jean-Claude Franchitti versus Cognizant Technology Solutions, a case that highlights the dark underbelly of corporate America. Franchitti, a leader managing a $20 million portfolio, found himself abruptly terminated after bravely questioning unethical practices that included systemic racial bias and a fraudulent H-1B visa scheme. This episode of the Employee Survival Guide® dives deep into the complexities of employment law, retaliation claims, and the toxic dynamics of a hostile work environment. As we navigate through the courtroom drama set in New York, you'll hear how Franchitti's courageous whistleblowing led to a staggering jury award of $8. 4 million, a powerful reminder of the consequences of corporate misconduct. The episode meticulously analyzes court documents, revealing the intricacies of discrimination law and the challenges employees face when standing up against retaliation. With a focus on employee rights and advocacy, we discuss the importance of understanding your workplace rights and the legal protections available to you. Franchitti's story is not just about one man's fight; it's a call to action for all employees to recognize the signs of discrimination—whether it be race, gender, or age—and to stand firm in the face of retaliation. Learn about the strategies you can employ to navigate employment disputes, negotiate severance packages, and protect yourself in a corporate landscape that often prioritizes profit over people. This episode empowers listeners with vital insights into employment law issues, from severance negotiation techniques to understanding employment contracts. We explore how to deal with workplace bullies, hostile work environments, and the often murky waters of corporate restructuring. Whether you're facing a career crisis or simply want to be better informed about your rights, this episode offers invaluable guidance on surviving and thriving in today's complex work culture. Don't let fear silence you. Tune in to hear how Franchitti's journey can inspire your own path toward employee empowerment and resilience. Together, we can challenge the status quo and advocate for a fairer, more just workplace for everyone. If you enjoyed this episode of the Employee Survival Guide please like us on Facebook, X and LinkedIn. We would really appreciate if you could leave a review of this podcast on your favorite podcast player such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Leaving a review will help other employees find the Employee Survival Guide. For more information, please contact our employment attorneys at Carey & Associates, P.C. at 203-255-4150, www.capclaw.com.Disclaimer: For educational use only, not intended to be legal advice.
Capitol Reef National Park in Utah is one of the Mighty Five, as the state likes to say in its tourism promotions, and while it's somewhat off the beaten path, visitors are finding it. In 2024, visitation to the park was a record 1.4 million, a number that likely increased in 2025 and will continue to increase for the foreseeable future. Cognizant of the rising tide of visitation, the National Park Service staff at Capitol Reef has been working on a visitor use management plan intended to better manage growing visitation. Our guest today is Sue Fritzke, a former superintendent of the park and a member of the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks.
Raised in the high Himalayas, educated across 22 homes in multiple countries, and fluent in five languages , Simmi Singh was never going to follow a conventional path. She started out wanting to be a UN translator. A mentor stopped her and said: you have a voice of your own. That single conversation redirected her toward management consulting at Booz Allen and Ernst and Young, then entrepreneurship, then scaling the health vertical at Cognizant from a $10M fledgling unit into one of the company's most significant growth stories, then 15 years as a partner and global practice leader at Egon Zehnder placing boards and entire management teams for some of the most transformational companies in the world, then a secondment as Senior Advisor on Health Innovation to the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, and most recently joining Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts as Chief People Officer and Executive Vice President. In this episode of Inspiring Women, host Laurie McGraw sits down with Simmi Singh to trace the through line of a brilliantly discontinuous career and pull out the lessons that only come from decades of doing it at the highest levels. They discuss: Growing up in the Himalayas surrounded by brilliant women with broken dreams, and how that shaped her hunger for agency at a time when no recipe existed for women like her Being one of 12 women in a college of 3,000 men and becoming the first female valedictorian in the institution's 100 year history What she learned scaling Cognizant's health vertical by giving away power before she had any, and why that was the most strategic move she made How she decoded great leadership by surrounding herself with human textbooks, including mentors under 30, even at 62 Why she believes women need sponsors far more than mentors, and what it actually means to be worthy of one The mistake she sees leaders making in healthcare AI right now, and the more audacious problems she believes women should be solving Simmi Singh is proof that intellectual homelessness, the restless feeling of living on the bridges between worlds, is not a liability. It is the rarest kind of preparation.
March 19, 2026: Jensen Huang had one of the biggest weeks in tech at Nvidia's GTC — but his sharpest line wasn't about chips. When asked why companies are laying off workers, he said simply: because they're out of imagination. We unpack what that means, plus his surprise take on compensation from the All-In podcast. Then Cognizant drops a bombshell update to its 2023 workforce study: 93% of jobs impacted by AI, $4.5 trillion in labor shifting to machines, six years ahead of schedule. Their own words: "We underestimated the technology." But two CEOs are pushing back on the doom narrative — Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick says humans will be "super fine" until AGI arrives, and Tech Mahindra CEO Mohit Joshi argues the demand for human labor isn't going anywhere, and has the data to back it up. We close with JPMorgan Chase's 2026 tech trends report and the concept quietly reshaping what leaders actually do: context engineering. Watch the full episode on YouTube ---------- Start your day with the world's top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: https://greatleadership.substack.com/ Stop patching problems and start designing an intentional workplace. The 8 Laws of Employee Experience gives you the how. Order your copy: 8EXlaws.com
Description Stop experimenting with AI and start driving ROI. Subscribe to our Newsletter:https://theultimatepartner.com/ebook-subscribe/ Check Out UPX:https://theultimatepartner.com/experience/ In this keynote from the Ultimate Partners Winter Retreat, Nina Harding breaks down the massive shift happening in the AI landscape as customers move away from experimental pilots and demand concrete ROI and business outcomes. She emphasizes that the era of selling products and time-and-materials approaches is over, replaced by outcome-based, verticalized selling where vendors and partners share accountability. Through real-world examples in healthcare and retail, Harding outlines how partners can leverage Copilot Studio, Agent 365, and Microsoft’s incentive programs to build specific superpowers, differentiate themselves, and ultimately lead the AI mission alongside Microsoft. Key Takeaways Customers are no longer interested in AI experimentation and now expect immediate, concrete return on investment. Selling products is dead; the modern approach requires a consultative, signal-based strategy focused entirely on business outcomes. The traditional time-and-materials billing model is disappearing as clients demand shared accountability for project success. Rapid proliferation of AI agents has made security and governance top priorities for enterprise customers. Success in the Microsoft ecosystem now requires partners to highly verticalize their value propositions by industry. Defining and clearly articulating your unique “superpower” or niche is essential to stand out to the Microsoft field sales organization. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJJ4Zcf4tZc&t=1920s If you're ready to lead through change, elevate your business, and achieve extraordinary outcomes through the power of partnership—this is your community. At Ultimate Partner® we want leaders like you to join us in the Ultimate Partner Experience – where transformation begins. Key Tags Nina Harding, Microsoft AI, artificial intelligence ROI, AI agents, Agent 365, Copilot Studio, outcome-based selling, verticalization, healthcare AI, retail AI, Cognizant, Davos 2026, AI governance, AI security, technology transformation, Ultimate Partner Live, enterprise AI adoption, digital transformation, system integrators, AI pilots Transcript [00:00:00] Nina Harding: More importantly, we want to serve more and more people faster, and AI is coming in and having a very practical approach in healthcare alone. [00:00:14] Vince Menzione: We just finished Ultimate Partners Winter Retreat here in beautiful Boca to a sold out [00:00:19] Vince Menzione: crowd. Come join me now for a compelling discussion on the impacts of the tectonic shifts we’re all seeing. [00:00:27] Vince Menzione: I feel incredibly fortunate, uh, to have this, this, this friend Nina who came into the studio here for the first time, actually earlier, well last year, geez, earlier this year. [00:00:38] Vince Menzione: It was last year, right after my accident I think. And, uh, we gotta spend some time together. And she was so good to, uh, make her time available and her team’s time available to come down here to be with us today. Ne I’m so thrilled to have you. I am going to turn over the stage to you. Uh, you’ve got some incredible learnings. [00:00:57] Vince Menzione: I know you’ve been on the AI tour with Microsoft. Yeah. And you’ve got some great learnings you’re gonna share about what’s happening. Absolutely. So it’s so great to have you. [00:01:05] Vince Menzione: It’s nice to see you. [00:01:06] Nina Harding: Nice to see you. [00:01:07] Nina Harding: Thank you. Well, thanks everyone. It’s great to see so many familiar faces and then some new faces as well. [00:01:15] Nina Harding: Um, because we’re in a little bit more of an intimate environment, I thought I would approach this a little bit differently. Give you some better insights into what we’re actually hearing at Microsoft with our customers, some of the things that are actually moving the needle that we’re seeing some of our partners do. [00:01:34] Nina Harding: So really to share some of the best practices out there, and hopefully you’ll leave with some more insight or tips and tricks, um, is really what I would love to do because our job. Collectively is really this transformation and to take a advantage of it out there in the market right now. [00:01:57] Nina Harding: Let’s see [00:01:57] Nina Harding: here. [00:01:59] Nina Harding: I can move slides. Well, this one isn’t moving. Any slides? [00:02:07] Nina Harding: No. Okay, great. So, um, some of you might. Uh, know that I’m a Floridian now, right? So I just live right up, up the way in Palm Beach. Um, so not too far, but I still wouldn’t miss this opportunity to be with all of you. Um, there is an energy that I think that we’re all feeling right now, and, uh, it’s, it’s palpable. [00:02:32] Nina Harding: We’re finding right now that our customers are really going from this landscape of experimenting with ai. Really to looking at the outcomes and having expectations around the momentum that they’re seeing. Right. That’s a big shift, right? We, and things are going pretty quickly, so I look at things almost quarterly now on what is that core message and what are, what is the difference in the tone from our customers of what they’re expecting? [00:03:06] Nina Harding: What we’re gonna talk a little bit about today is how all of you, our partners, are such a critical part of that journey. Actually, sometimes the most important part. You’re on the front lines with the customers. You’re the ones having those conversations. You’re the ones that are in there arm to arm with their teams, listening to what they’re experiencing, their challenges that they’re facing, and they’re really wanting now to go from this world of, Hey, we have lots of different pilots. [00:03:41] Nina Harding: Right? A lot of us know that right into, oh my gosh, it’s not about pilots anymore. They really want that ROI story. They want those outcomes and it’s looking very different for all of us. The way that we sell, the way that we go into our engagements, the way that we even price things, the way that we, meaning Microsoft partner and customer are locking arms is fundamentally very different. [00:04:15] Nina Harding: We have to go in collectively. We have to also be responsible for the outcomes and deliver on those. ROI is that headline that we’re all after. Right. It is the most important part of the puzzle right now because there isn’t a single boardroom that isn’t talking about AI and you guys are all experiencing it. [00:04:39] Nina Harding: It’s easier than ever to go in and have the conversation. The hardest part is how do we quickly get to an ROI study, so you or ROI case so that we can continue to build on that. And when you’re looking at this every. Customer is providing signals out there to help you grow that penetration into the account. [00:05:04] Nina Harding: And I’m gonna share some of the signals that I think that are really meaningful. But that’s the most important thing is we’re no longer, and I know you guys all know this, we’re no longer selling product at all anymore. We’re selling those outcomes. And I can tell you at Microsoft, we’re spending a tremendous amount of time retraining all of our sales reps. [00:05:25] Nina Harding: Really to be focused on how do you listen and do that consultative signal based sale. How do you actually go in and start selling, not selling, but I mean it is selling, but listening to the journey that they want to go through. What are the challenges that they’re facing and what’s the transformation that we’re able to kind of go and be a part of together with our partners? [00:05:54] Nina Harding: Notice it’s not about product. Product is just the tools in your tool chest to create those outcomes. So that’s gonna be really important as we go through this journey. [00:06:09] Nina Harding: Uh, so I saw the, the title of the session, uh, mentioned Davos and Davos was an interesting time. Uh, Microsoft has a very, actually, a very big presence at Davos and, uh, we had over 300 customer meetings there, uh, where we were meeting with some of the top companies around the globe. And it was very much affirmed that. [00:06:34] Nina Harding: Uh, the, the concept of AI we’re past, like curiosity stage, right? We’re way past that and we’re even past that. The art of the possible discussion, right? Uh, what the, the customers are almost at the point is, is come in and tell me, tell me what to do. Show me how to do it. It’s a very different position than, Hey, we’re presenting you with all these different possibilities. [00:07:08] Nina Harding: They’re They’re tired. They’re tired of all the possibilities. They wanna get to the brass tacks of how are you gonna change my customer service department? How are you gonna make it easier for my hr? How am I going to derive growth? What are some of the other things that you guys are experiencing out there? [00:07:23] Nina Harding: Like what are some of those other ROI drivers that people are asking, where am I gonna find the money? What for? For doing the project or out of the project? Other people? I Okay. To do the project. Okay. Resourcing. Okay. So what we’re seeing here is that, uh, the conversation is very much now focused on, okay, I need sec, I need security. [00:07:50] Nina Harding: That has been louder than ever before. So, Vince, the one thing I would say about that slide where you had those five different pillars, I’d put security on the bottom. Understanding your data, your data platform on the bottom, those are consistent across all those pillars. And then you can kind of hit at them. [00:08:10] Nina Harding: But, uh, there’s a lot of energy, there’s a lot of excitement, but it’s rooted in what are you materially going to do to change my business, and is your skin in the game to help me do it and I’ll pay you for that outcome? The concept of this time and materials approach gone. Gone. Even at Microsoft, we’re adjusting to the fact that the customers aren’t like, oh. [00:08:35] Nina Harding: Just hand it over to a system integrator and they’ll deliver on it. They’re like, oh no, we want you accountable too. You’re accountable for the outcomes as well, which is, oh gosh, okay. How do we do that in a partnery model that makes sense where we’re not tripping over each other, but we’re going in stronger together. [00:08:54] Nina Harding: We have one message together and we’re really focused on driving that. They’re also really concerned around the governance of all these agents, right? I see a lot of heads shaking on this. I mean, there’s a lot of proliferation right now. There’s a lot of excitement. I mean, I don’t know in your companies, but people are building agents faster and quicker, uh, than ever before, and some of them are really, really cool and they’re making huge point savings of times. [00:09:22] Nina Harding: Everything from. You know, some of you guys have probably heard me talk about everything from, uh, working on performance reviews to what are all of the incentives that we have for partners and making that easy to understand to, uh, to helping me understand patterns in our financials and what partners are really performing and growing. [00:09:45] Nina Harding: All of these agents are just popping up everywhere, but that creates a real governance issue and a real security issue for a lot of companies as well. So you take all of this and you hear this momentum and I think, uh, that together we’re really well poised. I think Microsoft is in a unique position together with you. [00:10:07] Nina Harding: On this frame, we have Agent 365, which helps you manage all these different agents, right? So that’s an exciting. How many of you’re familiar with agents? 365. Great. And I promise I’m not a product person. I’m not gonna do a lot of pitches, so don’t worry about that, um, at all. But, uh, we also have copilot studio and foundry, and so we have this whole, uh, set of capability, but that capability only comes to life if we’re able to connect with the customer, build the outcome, and making sure that the CEOs see all of us as their partners on that strategy and journey. [00:10:47] Nina Harding: So what does that look like? So I talked a little bit about signals, and signals, is that ability to listen to the, to the customers, what’s really, really me, uh, meaningful and frontier firms are doing this on a consistent basis all the time. Listening to the specific needs use cases, et cetera. So we at Microsoft have been trying to not only share all these different use cases that we have exposure to, but in addition. [00:11:17] Nina Harding: We turned on functionality, and I’ll talk about that in a little bit so that we can also share amongst each other as a community and understand those use cases. Uh, what’s really important is that, um, we’re moving from this world of all these like little one-off projects to a strategy and a platform that everyone wants to move to, but it’s all also getting powered by agents. [00:11:42] Nina Harding: That’s, that’s where we are today. So. [00:11:49] Nina Harding: Having a little trouble. I’m not gonna go through this too. Everyone’s familiar with this in, in here, the Frontier overview. If you’re not, let me know. Um, but basically one of the things that we find is really helpful is, is just sharing where we have seen proof behind having the conversation around the AI journey. [00:12:12] Nina Harding: Around the, the customer journey as you’re going out there. Um, there are really four different areas that we’ve talked about, and I’m not going to drain this ’cause there’s lots and you can, you can, uh, go onto the internet. You can see me talking about all these different areas. I don’t wanna spend too much time here, but these are four of the different. [00:12:33] Nina Harding: I would say categories where when you’re looking at different ways that you can make a material difference with the, the, the customer that we find the most momentum. So around enriching employee experiences, changing the way we, uh, engage with customers. Uh, changing processes as well. And then, uh, the outcomes, like really transforming the way we go about business. [00:12:59] Nina Harding: And we wanna do something about bringing it in to the flow of the work, everyday work. How many of you are finding that you’re actually using agents in your day-to-day workflow? Isn’t that cool? And then as you continue to use it, it becomes easier and easier and easier. And. I know from my team, I’m starting to look at what is the e everyday usage versus the monthly usage, right? [00:13:26] Nina Harding: It’s the every day. It’s become almost, uh, your second hand. And what’s important, uh, on this is that we’re giving, uh, listening to all these signals giving, um, the consistency, um, of the, the engagement with. With the clients, we’re able to all share the same stories and be able to scale at a much faster pace. [00:13:54] Nina Harding: So what does that look like? Here we go. Um, one of the things that we talk about at Microsoft, and the reason why I have this up here is that we’ve moved the conversation away from product into these customer outcomes, which really becomes about. Industry discussion. You have to speak their voice. You have to understand their business problems. [00:14:21] Nina Harding: You have to listen for what is materially different. So I’m actually sharing this, which you don’t normally see in a lot of presentations out to Microsoft about the structure of the organization, the takeaway. This is a sales organization in enterprise. The takeaway that I want you to have from that is look at the verticalization. [00:14:43] Nina Harding: We’ve done. It’s no longer by territory. The ball has moved, the conversation has moved entirely. So what does that say to all of you as well? Your value proposition as you’re working with our field has to be verticalized. The way you engage has to be verticalized. What you say, um, what the, the outcomes that you think differentiates yourself. [00:15:12] Nina Harding: Verticalized. So there isn’t the approach of like doing this like mask gorilla campaign across, for example, the Americas. And I’m just using this as an example on, um, the small and medium business side as well. Um, the, they’re a little bit more territory based still, but um, at least at the enterprise, everything has to be about customer value. [00:15:38] Nina Harding: Customer value. So, um, what this also suggests to me is the way we’re working and where we’ve seen a lot of success is when all of you are starting to tailor your messages and differentiate yourselves by customer success stories. Use cases where you’ve had premise, uh, penetration as a software partner, but you have to tie it back to the industry again. [00:16:05] Nina Harding: It’s just different. And so if I’m very transparent that that’s become, has gone from a nice to have to critical as the field is looking at, who are those go-to partners? It’s the go-to partners that speak retail. It’s the go-to partners that speak oil and gas and I don’t know, I, I, I see some nodding of heads. [00:16:27] Nina Harding: Some people know this, some people don’t. But I can see the shift tremendously over the last six months. So, um, hopefully that’s helpful in, in, in kind of sharing just how we’re walking the walk and talking the talk. So as I go back to industry, um, I thought what would be helpful is to take a few examples so you have a chance to see. [00:16:52] Nina Harding: In life, what are, what are we actually seeing at Microsoft? And if you guys are seeing something else, I would love to hear that too. But these, this is an example in healthcare and when we’re looking at, uh, a particular industry, we’re looking at what are some of the pain points? What are the top trends? [00:17:11] Nina Harding: What are some of the challenges folks are, are facing? And then what are the use cases that are really making traction here? This is a different way of taking that frontier vision and doing that click down by industry. And so what we’re also doing is we’re looking at who are partners that can help us in healthcare that can help answer some of these key challenges. [00:17:35] Nina Harding: Who are the ones that have the ability to have those material conversations in that trust? In healthcare, for example, there’s a ton of pressure. I mean. We all are consumers of healthcare. Hopefully we, all of us, have been lucky enough to have healthcare, um, in the, in this, uh, forum, but there’s a lot of clinician burnout, rising costs, right? [00:18:01] Nina Harding: The, the expense for, uh, medicines and so forth. But more importantly, we want to serve more and more people faster, and AI is coming in and having a very practical approach. Healthcare alone. So many of you, I talk about, um, the fact that at one point I was paralyzed, right? So I was paralyzed from T two down and, um, I go in every six months for an MRI, uh, to check, to check if everything’s still functioning. [00:18:32] Nina Harding: And the nervous system is going well. My doctor has had to manually look at that. Now he’s using AI to look at. History and the progression since 2008. That’s game changing. And on top of that, he is looking at me and having a conversation and looking in my eyes and observing me instead and using Dragon to have it feel epic to really think about how that’s changed my personal experience with the healthcare system and changed how a physician can show up. [00:19:09] Nina Harding: So there are many, many, um, many use cases around like patient access and, uh, innovation that we’re trying to do, surgeries, uh, being able to do clinical, clinical trials, but AI is everywhere and that’s what’s really important is that we’re figuring out for all of you what your software solution. Services offering, or even if you’re selling that, you have that value, value proposition down at that level. [00:19:43] Nina Harding: So let’s take a look at retail, for example. We have a short little video. Are we gonna be able to run that video? This is where we’re seeing a lot of shrinking. Margins, people wanting more, uh, intimacy with their customer. Here we go. [00:21:09] Nina Harding: Are we good? Well, that was a quite, uh, quite a nice, uh, uh, digital response to the end of the video. But what you’re seeing is people are using it in all different facets as we go into an example. I always love to do, use examples of partners that are hitting the mark ’cause we can all learn from ’em and myself included. [00:21:30] Nina Harding: We’re partners that are really successful. I chose to use Cognizant. Cognizant was actually our partner Si of the year, um, at the Americas level. And one of the things, and I won’t drain it on, um, the right hand side of this, uh, the slide, but they really are helping the customer’s move in a framework approach by industry, uh, to an AI landscape. [00:21:58] Nina Harding: Uh, they, they have secured an end-to-end solution and they’re focused on real business outcomes, and they have been growing at over 30% year over year. Huge. That’s great. Right? That’s what we all want for our businesses. And so what you’re seeing here is. They have a narrative around the frontier firms and they pull that through when they’re engaged in the clients and with our field. [00:22:27] Nina Harding: And then they’re using the incentives that we have. And don’t worry, I have a slide on some of the incentives we have, um, to actually make sure that they’re using those effectively in the pre-sales motion, but most importantly on the adoption and the change management after they’ve actually, uh, built out the solutions. [00:22:45] Nina Harding: And that’s really, really, really key here. So here’s an example of, um, of Cognizant at Coldwater Creek and Soft Surroundings. They had two different platforms and they brought it all together and then they brought Dynamics in as well. And what they have actually been able to do is improve a lot of the inventory management, the visualization, um, of all the inventory around. [00:23:14] Nina Harding: Around all of their stores and their warehouses, and they’ve been able to streamline the fulfillment and improved, uh, reduced back orders. What you’re seeing is those are all concrete examples of the outcomes that they were trying to drive for at the beginning, and those were all. Key pain points. And so they go in, cognizant will go in and understand with what are the material things that you are, that’s keeping you up at night, that is creating that drainage, uh, in your accounts or if you could transform, what does that look like? [00:23:52] Nina Harding: And so there, they spend the whole conversation together with Microsoft focused on doing that. And then we do the outcome based proposal. Very different, right? It creates for a much stronger vendor relationship, and the customer feels like they really have in the essence of the word partners, helping them to be successful. [00:24:15] Nina Harding: Right. [00:24:20] Nina Harding: Here we go. So I promised you some of the incentives, and I know you might just take a, a quick peek at some of these. These are, these are, um, some of the incentives that. Microsoft has put forward to help our partners on this journey. Uh, this is a slide that we’ve created from the America’s perspective to try and simplify it. [00:24:42] Nina Harding: Now there’s a lot behind it, right? But to try and help simplify, um, where are the incentives available? And I think this is one of the first times you’re actually saying what’s available for the sis. Versus for the software partners. And then we’re gonna hear more today about what’s also available for the channel partners as well. [00:25:03] Nina Harding: Um, it’s really thinking about what is your behavior as a partner? How are you showing up? How are, uh, you making a contribution to that customer? And then how can Microsoft best support you in that journey? So there’s all sorts of, uh, all sorts of incentives here, and it’s really, uh, designed to be flexible to what you need. [00:25:24] Nina Harding: But for the, I, I think it’s very focused on the value proposition as well that you bring to the table. So, um, I encourage you to take a look at this, make sure that you have this in your diary or your flipping of, of how are we maximizing, um, deals. And we can certainly go through a lot more of this. And we have webinars and so forth that will take you through all of that. [00:25:52] Nina Harding: Alright, so. I’ve talked a lot about this outcome-based selling, and that’s, it’s literally how Microsoft is starting to move forward on how do we go about engaging with the customers and with our partners. You’re gonna see, because our customers are asking more Microsoft involved and for us to go jointly into the opportunities. [00:26:16] Nina Harding: Not that we necessarily, we’re not building out a larger consulting force or anything like that, but. We want to make sure that the customer ask that Microsoft is engaged in working with our partners, is honored, um, and that we’re, we’re part of that, and that we’re also sharing our, our experiences and learning from all of you at the same time on who has the best, uh, approach, Beth best, best methodologies and best practices to light up our customers together. [00:26:51] Nina Harding: But the ROI doesn’t really show up just in dollars alone. We all know this, right? Um, it could be in, uh. Satisfaction it could be in care. So as you’re starting to look at this new evolution of how we’re really landing the value proposition of ai, we have to think outside of the box that it’s not just monetary and it’s not, I think you said savings or securing funds and so forth, but it’s really of how do I leapfrog into the modern world? [00:27:22] Nina Harding: How do I change that entire experience and think outside of the box? And, uh, make sure that the conversation is not just about how do we optimize certain practices, but how do we have this more executive level strategy conversation on the future of how we’re gonna engage with our clients, uh, their clients in a much more, um, I think transformative and personal [00:27:51] Nina Harding: way as we go forward. [00:27:54] Nina Harding: So we know that if the outcomes are the, what we’re looking to go drive, the next question is really how do we go do that? And that is gonna be through the agents on here. You’ll see just from from out in the market, what we see will light up the market. We think that, or I can’t even say we, IIDC says 81% of leaders are expecting agents. [00:28:24] Nina Harding: Full utilization in the next 12 to 18 months. And to be honest, I think this quote is probably even two months old. So we’re already, we’re probably down to like, you know, eight, eight to 12 months. And what I’m seeing that proliferation happening, it’s crazy. So understanding that value proposition, um, whether you’re from a software company or a services company or even some of our resellers, what’s that niche? [00:28:52] Nina Harding: What’s that industry or sub-industry? What is that? Horizontal. I go after customer service within, uh, the manufacturing vertical. Right. And then are you building out agents or do you have capability? And that’s what we’re doing internally at Microsoft as well, is to help make that really visible to the field so that you’re differentiated. [00:29:15] Nina Harding: Differentiation is gonna be really key right now because there’s so many people that say, oh, I do migration services, or I can help with data, or I can do security. But it’s the specificity around the industry and what you are truly known for within that space. So one of the things that we look to do is, is looking at all of the different areas where we see agents popping up. [00:29:44] Nina Harding: And this is a helpful slide. Sometimes I think, um, it starts to highlight, um, where we’re seeing some traction in financial services. Or in healthcare manufacturing. And then when I talk about the horizontals or the personas, you start to see some of the um, really repeatable, high return on investment type of things. [00:30:08] Nina Harding: Is this resonating with some of you guys? Yeah. I’m seeing a hit, a lot of head nods. This, if you’re on the services side, right? We’re in an intimate setting. This is where I encourage you to try and build an agent, right? Package that agent, put it on marketplace, make that available, and then make that known to our field sales organization. [00:30:27] Nina Harding: ’cause they are looking for quick wins along those lines. [00:30:31] Nina Harding: So on that, um, [00:30:36] Nina Harding: uh, one of the things that we’re along the journey for is the skilling. This is moving at such a fast pace, right? Um, so you’re looking at. Um, anthropic is really a big topic right now, right? Gemini, you’re looking at cloud, you’re, um, or Claude. [00:30:55] Nina Harding: Um, you’re looking at all of these different, uh, scenarios and one of the things at Microsoft is we really wanna be open to all of these different technologies because our customers are open. So we want to be part of taking you on that journey. And one of the things that we invest in white. [00:31:12] Nina Harding: Significantly is all of the training. Um, and I wanna encourage you guys to take advantage of it. Training is not a one-time thing. It is, it is a constant muscle that you must exercise. So as I come to my conclusion, I have a couple three key things, right? One is really understanding what your superpower is, right? [00:31:33] Nina Harding: The partners that I’m finding are really aligned well with the field are really winning. Those stories are the ones that have. Know and can articulate their superpowers. What am I known for? What are the use cases I can either build to or have agents against? And where have I done this consistently? And packaged really, really concretely, right? [00:31:55] Nina Harding: Um, this, this proliferate of like, I can do everything. Unfortunately, you get lost a little bit in the noise, right? So clear positioning, proof point’s, so critical right now, and reinforcing that credibility with the clients that have adopted. The second thing is that you’ve heard a little bit about this hopefully. [00:32:16] Nina Harding: How many of you have heard of the part partner success story? Okay, this is really, really key. We launched about maybe a month ago, and we already have over a hundred, uh, stories from partners, and the field is loving it. What it is is it brands the stories with your brand if you submit them. So what? Talk about credibility, um, with the field and with our marketers to have your name and that recognition picked up. [00:32:45] Nina Harding: It’s really, really fantastic. So I encourage you to do that. For those of you taking quick snaps, I did put a code on here, so if you wanna go straight to it, uh, you can take it. Um, and go explore with it. What’s nice about it is it’s AI based, so it will help you write these stories very, very quickly. [00:33:04] Nina Harding: There’s no reason why your sales reps can’t be writing these stories, and then yes, [00:33:11] Nina Harding: uh, yeah, you can do no meaning like from enterprise. No. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. You can do it on any, on any, there is a different level of fidelity of if you have the customer’s permission. Right. Um, to pu to publish it or not. And that’s some functionality we’re working on. If there’s enough traction of, of this is to help you guys. [00:33:32] Nina Harding: Secure that with Microsoft. Yeah. Um, but yeah, it can be any customer there. But I encourage you to take a look at that. And I know I’m two minutes over here, so I’m just gonna leave you with this. Um, at the end of the day, as I, as I wrap up here, I just wanna make sure that what, where we’re going and we’re going together, that it’s simple and actionable between us and it’s easy for our field to understand. [00:34:00] Nina Harding: Where you play the value proposition you play so that we’re going into deals even more effectively together. Right? So you heard industry, sub-industry, persona level or horizontal. Put that in if, um. Figuring out what your superpower is, making sure that you’re trained, that there’s evidence around the success, and capturing that in ways, uh, that are critical to not only your business, but giving us the visibility of that success. [00:34:31] Nina Harding: Like scream from the rack rafters. Use these tools to make sure that we know just how transformational you’ve been in some of the customers and where you’re uniquely winning. So, so important. So keep investing in the skilling. You can see my kind of like five power plays, right? And the last one always being that superpowers. [00:34:56] Nina Harding: So with that, um, if we do all of these things consistently, you won’t just be keeping up with ai. I think we will all be leading on that AI mission. So thank you very much. I appreciate it. [00:35:14] Vince Menzione: Don’t forget, ultimate Partner Live is coming soon, May 11th through the 13th in beautiful Bellevue, Washington. I hope to see you there.
Traditional finance models are hitting a wall. This episode highlights a panel at Davos that gets straight to the engine room of the enterprise. Jatin Dalal, Chief Financial Officer, Cognizant; Mike Rost, Chief Strategy Officer, Workiva; Jonathan Zanger, Chief Technology Officer, Check Point; and Jennifer Steinmann, Global Sustainability Business Leader, Deloitte gathered to talk about: The ROI heresy: Why waiting for a fixed ROI is like using an obsolete map for a moving target The 3x productivity jump: Why a 300% increase is the new starting point for AI Security risks: Understanding white font attacks and AI doppelgangers in HR systems Strategic insights: How predictive analytics and earth observation are changing risk valuation Timestamps: 00:00—Multiplying traditional productivity by three 02:15—The Davos panel: AI promise and peril 04:10—Why ROI is an irrelevant measure for AI 05:40—Security alerts: The white font attack 07:15—The $3.8 trillion insight at stake 08:20—The Monday morning mandate "Whatever you thought about traditional productivity multiplied by three at minimum, and that should be a starting point, not the end point." —Jatin Dalal, CFO of Cognizant Find past conversations at workiva.com/podcast/the-pre-read
Patrick and Rob review a good week at the Cognizant, look ahead to Puerto Rico and take us inside the gates for the legendary Seminole Pro-Member. Sponsored by Goldenwest Credit Union.
House and Nathan break down what went wrong with Shane Lowry down the stretch and give credit to Nicolas Echavarria for his Cognizant win. Then, they close the show with a preview of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.(0:00) Welcome to Fairway Rollin'!(1:10) Intrigued by the psychological aspect of Shane Lowry's collapse(10:45) This isn't the first time Lowry has failed to close a tournament(22:30) Credit to Nicolas Echavarria for picking up the win(28:40) Arnold Palmer Invitational preview The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit www.rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and helplines available.Hosts: Joe House and Nathan HubbardProducers: Tucker Tashjian and Mike Wargon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Welcome back to the Sorry to Interrupt podcast! Tom and Sean are back for another edition of PGA Weekly on the pod as the guys start by recapping Nico Echavarria's win at the Cognizant Classic along with Shane Lowry's epic meltdown. Next, they mention a couple of notable names on the leaderboard before debuting their segment of “buy or sell” predicting which top 15 players in the OWGR rankings the guys have most confidence in tk secure a win this season. Lastly, they make their picks for the Arnold Palmer Invitational this weekend and discuss adjustments the tour could make late in the season. Everyone enjoy the pod and remember to rate, review, and subscribe!
Soly, Neil and Tron react to Nico Echavarria's win at the Cognizant and the unfortunate late collapse by Shane Lowry. We look at the up and down history of the event and then enjoy a medium dive on Lowry's career to this point and how it compares to others of his generation. We also check the leaderboards at the Cognizant and the DP World Tour, react to Eamon Lynch's article on Brian Rolapp and rumored plans for the future PGA Tour scheduling model, Timestamps 00:00 - Intro & Cognizant Recap 28:15 - Lowry career deep-ish dive 43:00 - down the leaderboard, other tournaments 1:05:30 - Eamon Lynch column on Rolapp and schedule 1:21:00 - news and notes Join us in our support of the Evans Scholars Foundation: https://nolayingup.com/esf Support our Sponsors: Titleist SoFi Gruns If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining The Nest: No Laying Up's community of avid golfers. Nest members help us maintain our light commercial interruptions (3 minutes of ads per 90 minutes of content) and receive access to exclusive content, discounts in the pro shop, and an annual member gift. It's a $90 annual membership, and you can sign up or learn more at nolayingup.com/join Subscribe to the No Laying Up Newsletter here: https://newsletter.nolayingup.com/ Subscribe to the No Laying Up Podcast channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@NoLayingUpPodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Andy and Brendan! went LIVE on YouTube for a Victory Monday morning recording following a Ballfrogs win over Jupiter Links late Sunday night. Andy is buzzing now that the Frogs have locked up the number one seed in the TGL playoffs despite the best efforts of "Tom Sim" and Max Homa. This turned out to be a loaded weekend of pro golf with national opens across the globe and a Cognizant Classic that absolutely delivered. Shane Lowry found the water twice in "The Bear Trap," blowing a four-shot lead on the final three holes at PGA National. The Salty Boy, Nico Echavarria, came up with a birdie on the 17th to take the lead and eventually secure his third PGA Tour win. Andy and Brendan discuss Lowry's collapse and debate whether he'll find himself in another position to win on the PGA Tour any time soon. Lowry, who hasn't won a solo event in the U.S. since 2015, had a win probability of over 96% standing on the 16th tee before being the first player to hit it in the water on Sunday. Brendan gives him props for speaking to the media immediately after his round and sharing that he wanted to win in front of his daughter for the first time. Following an epic finish - and despite a poor setup at PGA National - Andy runs through the Tour's schedule and puts the Cognizant in a tier above many Signature Events and all three playoff venues this year. PJ shares an update on the yearlong "Brooks Koepka vs. Mules" contest after Koepka's first top ten finish of the season. Is the money deficit already too big for the Mules to make up? Andy and Brendan then run through results from the rest of the week, hitting on the South African Open, New Zealand Open, and the Argentina Open, where winners and top finishers earned a spot at Royal Birkdale later this year. In news, the USGA had a massive Saturday news dump in which they awarded the 2045(!!!) U.S. Open to Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. Who knows if this podcast will exist in 19 years, but these two midwesterners are excited for the national championship to return to America's heartland. Things wrap up with some TGL chatter recapping the first overtime match of 2026 and plenty of Jason Kelce exposure on the Worldwide Leader in Sports. Use promo code SGS30 to shop the Draddy Sport Spring collection: https://bdraddy.com/collections/draddy-sport-spring-26-collection Visit your local Golf Galaxy and download the Golf Galaxy mobile app to upgrade your game!
Smylie and Charlie recap a wild Sunday at PGA National where the Bear Trap once again decided the Cognizant Classic. After Shane Lowry appeared in total control — birdieing 9, eagling 10, and building a three-shot lead — everything unraveled at the 16th tee. The guys break down the wind setup, hole locations, and the pivotal swings that flipped the tournament in minutes. They dive into Nico's composure, his no-bogey weekend, and what this win says about his resilience after a rocky rookie season. Plus: Shane Lowry's growing 54-hole storyline, Brooks Koepka's encouraging signs with the putter, Max Homa's progress, the state of PGA National on the schedule, Bay Hill projections, and behind-the-scenes stories from a full week in South Florida.Additionally, Gil Hanse joins the show! Seminole Golf Club is often regarded as one of Donald Ross's greatest works, but due to environmental factors and architectural modifications, the course was in need of some restorative work to ensure its future.Gil joins to discuss his two-year process in Juno Beach, rediscovering Ross's original green shapes, and why he's thoroughly enjoyed working alongside Seminole Superintendent Nelson Caron.Follow us on socials @thesmylieshow ⛳️ & don't forget to like, comment, & subscribe for more golf insight ✅CHAPTERS:0:00 – On-Site at PGA National1:30 – Shane Lowry4:15 – The 16th Tee Shot: What Happened?8:10 – Nico's 17th Hole Birdie & Clutch Moment12:30 – Lowry's Closing Struggles & 54-Hole Trend16:00 – Nico's Resilience & Rookie Season Perspective20:00 – Brooks Koepka: Putter Adjustment & Players Outlook23:40 – Max Homa's Progress Report26:30 – Thursday Chaos: Gerard, David Ford & Bear Trap Carnage29:00 – Should PGA National Play Harder?32:00 – Schedule Debate: Where Does This Event Fit?35:00 – Bay Hill Projections (Next 10 / Swing 5 Discussion)37:00 – USGA Venue Announcements (Future Opens & Walker Cups)39:00 – South Florida Week Recap (Old Palm & Practice Stories)43:20 – Justin Thomas Episode Tease46:00 – Jacob Bridgeman Conversation Preview47:00 — Gil Hanse joins TSS: Restoring Seminole01:06:40 — Final Thoughts #pgatour #golfpodcast #smylieshow #smyliekaufman #golfhighlights #golfrecap #golfpodcast #cognizant #shanelowry #nicoechavarria #seminole #gilhanse
Happy National Old Stuff Day!Ladies and gentlemen, football is officially back after only being gone for about two weeks with the NFL Combine finishing up! Episode 374 we have plenty of sports headlines to talk about. NFL Report cards are back, football highlight videos are AI, and is March the best month. PLUS so much more with some fun debates.As for golf, The PGA took place this weekend at PGA National in Florida where Nico Echavarria mounts a massive comeback to win for the 3rd time, thanks to a catastrophic Lowry meltdown! The G.U.Y.S were MIA this weekend for DraftKings DFS, because we have not yet transitioned our brains out of football/olympics mode! We will still throw out some Hang The Banners, Shambles Meter, and talk Other Relevant Sports News. We've got it all, let's laugh!Look alive folks!Follow us on:HOF Bets: https://hof-bets.app.link/millygoats (Promo Code: MILLYGOATS)Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/MillyGoatsInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/TheMillyGoatsYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@TheMillyGoatsTwitch - https://www.twitch.tv/TheMillyGoatsPodcastTikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@TheMillyGoatsApple Pod - https://rb.gy/0meu1Spotify Pod - https://t.ly/ZUfObWeb - https://themillygoats.godaddysites.com/
Graybo is solo this week while Goo parties in South Beach.Visit Graybo's Sports Cards Website: Graybos.coFollow Graybo's on Instagram & TikTok: @Graybos_CardsEmail the Show: info@graybos.co Copyright of Graybo's Sports Cards LLC 2026.
SleepyJ and Dave Essler give out golf picks.
Gup goes through his thoughts for this weeks Cognizant Classic. He Brings you all his picks, bets, fades, sleepers & Gut Feel Plays for the week! Your #1 spot for Daily Fantasy Sports and betting content! Join Now - https://gupscorner.com/memberships Google – https://goo.gl/JgkDZL Spotify – https://goo.gl/afhcFh Stitcher – https://goo.gl/KnQwUc TuneIn – http://tun.in/piScm PodBean – https://goo.gl/F1EvXv Deezer – https://www.deezer.com/show/507322 Amazon – https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4f8... YouTube – https://goo.gl/j6nirG
Eric Cohen is joined by SportsLine experts Sia Nejad, Patrick McDonald and Jason Sobel to dish out their best bets for the 2026 Cognizant Classic. (0:00) Intro + a big Early Wedge listener victory! (5:10) Storylines (13:30) First Round Leaders (18:55) Tournament Matchups (26:30) Finishing Positions (34:30) Outrights (42:05) Longshots & Parlays (50:00) One and Done
Will Doctor gives the sharpest picks and preview for the action at PGA National. Will Doctor sets the stage for the Cognizant Classic at PGA National by dissecting the odds board and targeting value in a wide open field. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
On this Wednesday show, Gary dives into the big conversation around the Cognizant Classic and why the field has shifted over the years, plus what PGA National needs to keep its edge and identity as the Florida swing begins.Gary also unveils the first 2026 edition of “Club 5,” our weekly heat check on the players trending right now, featuring names like Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, and Chris Gotterup.Then it's two great conversations. 2-Time PGA TOUR winner and Golf Analyst, Matt Every, joins with thoughts on what makes Florida golf different, how players adjust to Bermuda, and what this stretch of the schedule demands. PGA TOUR Winner, Golf Analyst, and host of ‘The Smylie Show', Smylie Kaufman joins to talkabout Ludvig Åberg and Jordan Spieth returning to form, a look ahead to THE PLAYERS Championship, what that week truly feels like for players, and what's missed most about the tournament's former May setup.We wrap with Dogs of the Week and our picks for the Cognizant Classic. 5 Clubs airs on Golf Channel and SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio (Channel 92).0:00 Opening Thoughts 2:45 Opinion on Cognizant Classic 9:50 Club 5 Power Rankings13:56 Matt Every 28:00 Smylie Kauffman 42:55 Dogs and Picks of the WeekFOLLOW 5 Clubs: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/5clubsgolf/X: https://x.com/5ClubsGolf Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/5ClubsGolf/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@5clubsgolf
Scottie Scheffler Panic Button | Cognizant Classic Preview | Loofah Code | Best Sean Connery RolesIn this episode, Cal and Dan dive into the exciting world of Florida golf, discussing betting strategies, player performances, and the unique culture of golf communities. They explore the humorous concept of the 'loofah code' as a playful way to signal availability in these communities. The conversation also touches on favorite movies and actors, particularly focusing on the iconic roles of Sean Connery and Daniel Craig. As they wrap up, they share their predictions for upcoming golf tournaments and reflect on their favorite films, making for an engaging and entertaining episode.Apparel for the show provided by turtleson. Be sure to check them out online for the new season lineup at https://turtleson.com/ Thanks to Fantasy National Golf Club for providing the stat engine for the show. They can be found at https://www.fantasynational.com The Neat Glass. Be sure to check out The Neat Glass online at theneatglass.com or on Instagram @theneatglass for an improved experience and use discount code: bb10 to receive your Birdies & Bourbon discount. Thank you for taking the time listen to the Birdies & Bourbon Show for all things PGA Tour, golf, gear, bourbon and mixology. Dan & Cal aim to bring you entertaining and informative episodes weekly. Please help spread the word on the podcast and tell a friend about the show. You can also help by leaving an 5-Star iTunes review. We love to hear the feedback and support! Cheers. Follow on Twitter & Instagram (@birdies_bourbon)
Seth Woolcock and Bo McBrayer recap The Genesis Invitational before exploring the top betting strategies for The Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches We dive into the betting odds, analyze the favorites and long shots, and reveal our top betting card selections to help you maximize your winnings as the 2026 PGA season rolls on! Timestamps: (May be off due to ads) Intro - 0:00:00 Recap of Genesis Invitational - 0:01:39 Cognizant Classic & PGA National Breakdown - 0:04:39 Betting Pros App Promo - 0:09:24 Favorite Odds - 0:09:54 Midrange Odds - 0:16:34 Longshot Odds - 0:20:42 Hard Rock Bet Promo - 0:22:16 Hard Rock Bets of the Week: Bo - Max Homa @ 48:1 | Seth - Nicolai Hojjgaard Top 30 (-132) - 0:23:38 Bo and Seth's Full Betting Cards - 0:25:13 One and Done Competition - Current Standings Bo>Pat - 0:26:57 One and Done Picks: Bo - Shane Lowry | Pat - Ryan Gerard - 0:27:32 Outro - 0:28:06 Helpful Links: Hard Rock Bet - All lines provided by Hard Rock Bet. Sign up for Hard Rock Bet and make a $5 bet and you'll get $150 in bonus bets if you win. Head over to Hard Rock Bet, sign up and make your first deposit today. Payable in bonus bet(s). Not a cash offer. Offered by the Seminole Tribe of Florida in FL. Offered by Seminole Hard Rock Digital, LLC, in all other states. Must be 21+ and physically present in AZ, CO, FL, IL, IN, MI, NJ, OH, TN or VA to play. Terms and conditions apply. Concerned about gambling? In FL, call 1-833-PLAYWISE. In IN, if you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-9-WITH-IT. GAMBLING PROBLEM? CALL 1-800-GAMBLER (AZ, CO, IL, MI, NJ, OH, TN, VA). BettingPros App - Make winning bets with advice and picks from top sports betting experts. The BettingPros app puts consensus and expert-driven sports betting advice at your fingertips to help you pinpoint the best odds and make winning bets. Download it today on the App Store or Google Play. BettingPros Discord - Looking to up your game in sports betting? Join our exclusive sports betting Discord community at bettingpros.com/chat! Not only can you connect with expert handicappers who provide free picks for NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, player props, live betting, and more, but now you can also participate in our weekly community picks. Cast your vote, see how your picks stack up against the experts, and track your success! BettingPros Pick Tracker – Want to track all of your wagers in one place? Check out the BettingPros Pick Tracker. It syncs up with your sportsbooks to tally which picks hit, and which miss AND gives you a live look at what the public is doing so you can use real-time tracking to determine which plays to make, and which to fade: bettingpros.com/pick-trackingSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Episode 383 - Steve Bamford @Bamfordgolf and Paul Williams @GolfBetting discuss their selections for this week's Cognizant Classic on the PGA Tour and Investec South African Open on the DP World Tour. We talk 2026 Golf Betting System Majors Competition sponsored by bet365 - entry details and comp rules are here. Listeners should visit Golf Betting System for the best golf betting tipsters coverage. Read our new best golf betting sites guide. Intro: 00:30; thadhunt25 from United States Listener Review: 02:07; Last Week - Bridgeman and Jarvis land first Main Tour victories: 03:08; Cognizant Classic: 10:30; Investec South African Open: 47:43. Steve's cognizant classic tips Paul's south african open tips We have a new set of Golf Betting System bookmaker guides, highlighting current 2026 sports accounts. boylesports bet 10 get 30 betfred promo code betvictor promo code ladbrokes bonus code ladbrokes sign up offer coral bonus code coral welcome offer bet365 promo code bet 365 bonus code unibet promo code betmgm sign up offer uk betmgm bonus code All offers are for new customers, 18+ Check out our new most golf each way places page Steve Bamford provides pga tour betting tips across the whole of 2026 Let us talk you through the bet365 each way extra + coral golf X: Steve Bamford @Bamfordgolf; Barry O'Hanrahan @AGoodTalkGolf; Paul Williams @GolfBetting Most Viewed Pages https://www.golfbettingsystem.co.uk/betfred-promo-code/ https://www.golfbettingsystem.co.uk/bet365-sign-up-offer/ https://www.golfbettingsystem.co.uk/bet365-bonus-code-2023/ https://www.golfbettingsystem.co.uk/coral-promo-code/ https://www.golfbettingsystem.co.uk/boylesports-promo-code/ https://www.golfbettingsystem.co.uk/ladbrokes-sign-up-offer/ https://www.golfbettingsystem.co.uk/ladbrokes-promo-code/ https://www.golfbettingsystem.co.uk/coral-sign-up-offer/ https://www.golfbettingsystem.co.uk/betvictor-promo-code/ This podcast is for listeners of 18 and above. Please be Gambleaware, you can visit GambleAware.org for more information and of course please bet responsibly.
Fantasy Golf Insider's Jeff Bergerson and Zachary Turcotte preview the 2026 Cognizant Classic. Premium content, tools, strategy, and analysis for FGI members: http://www.fantasygolfinsider.com Football Insider Edge: https://www.footballinsideredge.com/ FGI Podcast on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/fantasy-golf-insider/id1055153112?mt=2 FGI Podcast on Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/fantasy-golf-insider
Golf fans everywhere got to see one of the greatest examples of "Golden Age" architecture at Riviera Country Club this week. Jacob Bridgeman used exceptional ball-striking and putting to get his first PGA Tour victory after knocking on the door several times in the last year. We will talk about what to make of Scottie Scheffler's issues on Thursdays this year and is there hope for Jordan Spieth after a good finish, or is it just a mirage. All that and Tim talks Tiger Woods future career in politics, on this week's edition of the Break80 Podcast. Subscribe to the Break80 Podcast on Spotify, Apple and YouTube for weekly golf content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices