Innovation is the lifeblood of organisations: it is where new opportunities lie and allows the organisation to rejuvenate itself and respond to change. However with greater pressure on IT teams to deliver and reduce cost, the steps to achieve innovation are littered with challenges. Nimbus Ninety members gathered online to discuss how to optimise and reduce costs while responding rapidly to changing business priorities as a result of COVID-19.

It’s no secret that organisations that are data-driven outperform the rest in terms of growth, efficiency and innovation. The question is how they do it. As data-driven companies begin to dominate the market, the challenge is to understand how they get the most out of their data and apply it to the most critical of their business challenges. Nimbus Ninety members gathered online with DataStax, an open source, cloud-native database provider, to discuss the different technologies that are driving recovery and growth, as well as to explore what the path is to becoming a data-driven enterprise.

Building a digital business that harnesses the massive potential of data, requires a new approach to infrastructure. Yet, adopting the right cloud strategy and delivering data innovation is highly complex. IT leaders convened for virtual breakfast in partnership with Equinix, to share experiences and discuss how to unleash infrastructure innovation.

Since the beginning of May, 62% of businesses in the UK have reported a decrease in turnover outside of the normal range.1 As the global pandemic impacts businesses agnostic of size or age, affected organisations must find new strategies to keep businesses running. One major challenge is maintaining short-term response alongside mid-term strategies for the future. As the world goes virtual, infrastructure needs to be optimised, remote working delivered and data volumes supported. Nimbus Ninety members gathered for a virtual breakfast to discuss the challenges of repositioning for a new future and the imperatives for short-term response.

When society is shifting, how do you identify short-term consumer trends versus the lasting impacts? That’s the key question facing insight and product innovation teams navigating these turbulent times. Nimbus Ninety members leading CPG teams convened virtually, to explore how social data can yield answers.

The gradual reshaping of office life has been underway for some time, but the shift to remote work witnessed globally in the past few months has unleashed a fundamental rethink of what the office is for. Members convened for a fascinating virtual breakfast in partnership with Zscaler, to discuss how to adapt culturally and technically to this new world.

“In the next ten months, we will see change that was previously going to take ten years to happen.” So I read in an article a couple of weeks ago, sent to me by a friend and colleague. For the last year, I have been in a role where I am constantly working to create what it means to be a disruptive leader of innovation. Suddenly, the world has changed in weeks. No longer am I creating the catalyst for change, but trying to keep up with the change that is happening around us so that we can plan for the future: a future called “the new normal”.

Automation has always been with us. 200 years ago, on average half of the labour force in Europe was working the land.1 Today, this number is about 5%. Looking for the opportunities to automate has carried us into modernity - and it is nothing to fear.

How best to respond to rapidly shifting priorities is a theme occupying all our minds at this time of worldwide disruption to social and economic realities. In the midst of a global pandemic, digital capabilities are proving fundamental. Maximum agility is required to cope with the current landscape, and this has implications for IT strategy and the infrastructure that underpins it.

The digital landscape has evolved massively, thanks to progress in cloud, automation and artificial intelligence. With rapid growth in data and intense market competition driving business leaders to rethink digital strategy, innovation is crucial to remaining competitive. As automation and AI technology progresses, businesses have the potential to truly transform their processes and lay the foundations for growth. This is particularly true in today’s uncertain climate brought on by COVID-19 and the economic downturn. Nimbus Ninety members gathered virtually to discuss how to realise a new wave of operational efficiency and what it means for business productivity.