The conversation was kicked off by guest speaker Steve Deakin, Head of Development and Operations at Lloyds of London, discussing his experiences of Cloud and the client perspective. Next followed Nick Robinson, Systems Engineering Manager at Palo Alto Networks, who provided a view of real world innovations and shared Cloud success stories that he has seen from his clients across EMEA.

Here is a high level summary and description of the quick wins that were discussed:

The Process:

• Learn -> Hack -> Iterate

Horizon Scanning & DevOps with an AGILE mind-set

• Microsites and Micro services that are already trialled, tested and robust from an architecture and security perspective - this enables one to rapidly deploy new products and services, websites etc. with security peace of mind.

• Serverless - just focus on writing codes and you can make changes in microseconds! It is easy to deploy, low cost, gives you more time to focus on UX and is more efficient for developers by ensuring you are keeping code backed up and in a secure environment.

• Grid Data Analyst - overcome floods and complexity of big data and unlock the power of analytics with the right data in the right place.

Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) represents an elegant convergence of network and security technologies as a single, end-to-end solution, perfectly suited to the modern distributed workforce and the increasingly dynamic nature of corporate networks. As a growing number of organisations are discovering, SASE has the potential to completely transform the way we design, deploy, manage, and scale corporate networks. Indeed, 60% of IT leaders are ready to fully embrace SASE by 2025*.

Despite the numerous interconnected elements now involved in effective digital transformation, the network remains the foundation of everything, ensuring any investment in new technologies delivers the best possible ROI, and that teams at all levels are empowered to deliver their very best, 24 / 7. As such, the digital transformation journey must always begin with a full network transformation.

Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) is rapidly establishing itself as the solution of choice for the next generation of enterprise networks, where optimal control, visibility, and scalability are essential. In the first quarter of 2024 alone, the SASE market experienced a 23% surge, as more and more organisations began taking advantage of its capabilities.

On the morning of 12^th September 2024, the UK Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, pinpointed three 'big shifts' that would be required to transform the NHS:

• From hospital to community care
• From analogue to digital
• From treating sickness to preventing it

In part one of this two part blog series, we looked at why "bricks-and-mortar" retailers are embracing Digital Transformation in order to compete with the new breed of online retail giants.

In part two, we look at the specific challenges Digital Transformation is throwing up for the high street, and how these challenges can be addressed.

Manuela is the founder of the CX consultancy CXellence and has been working with prominent organisations across private and public sectors to help them improve their customer experience focus and capabilities (www.cxellence.com).She is a multi-award winner and CCXP certified executive business leader with a strong track record of over 15 years of experience in leading and transforming the customer experience for the FTSE100 international organisations she has worked for during her corporate career in Financial Services and Retail.

From your perspective as a CX expert, what would you say are the main challenges retailers are facing in 2019?

My personal view is that many retailers have not taken seriously enough what is happening in the sector and the fundamental changes in consumers' expectations, which are defining the way they want to shop. Firstly, customers now expect the ultimate convenience, in terms of ease of access to what they need through online 1-click purchases, real time click & collect or seamless cross-channel interactions. Secondly, they want immediate gratification, where the prompt availability or delivery of products at the best prices is taken for granted - compounded by very low levels of tolerance for bad service or poor quality. Thirdly, they have developed a 'me' mentality, expecting a personalised and relevant service, tailor made to who they are and what they need. Finally, all this is augmented by the fact that the internet has given consumers power by democratising information, providing them with access to product choice, information and ratings, so if you fail to meet those expectations, they will shop elsewhere.

These trends have been either underestimated or misunderstood by many retailers, like the recently collapsed Maplin, Toys'R'Us and House of Fraser, who seem to have made three big strategic errors:

• Introducing technological solutions as an end in themselves, without starting from customer needs, e.g. creating online purchasing channels as a duplication of the offline ones;
• Ignoring the fundamental question of why customers should purchase from them rather than from Amazon - and therefore not capitalising on any value-adding differentiators;
• And linked to the above, failing to rethink the role physical stores should play in an omnichannel shopping experience.

Do you feel that bricks-and-mortar retailers are 'behind the curve' when it comes to the adoption of technology?

Probably yes, as they have been hiding behind the perceived strength of their high street presence. Many have developed online capabilities to replicate what customers can do in store, without truly rethinking how the two channels should be redesigned and seamlessly integrated to deliver a complementarily improved customer experience. Only offering online purchase and click & collect services is not enough to optimise this.

But also, many retailers are very slow in rethinking the role of the store within the omnichannel shopping experience. In a world where they can select and buy everything online, customers often go to stores to complete what they cannot do online (at least yet) to finalise their purchasing decision, like touching and feeling the products, assessing quality or fit, asking technical questions, planning or visualising the end result etc. However, most stores still offer only a crammed display of products lined up on dusty shelves, without enough expert staff or the type of experiential immersion or educational overlay customers expect.

What are some of the limitations you see in how retailers are currently using technology? (For example, adopting technology to reduce costs rather than empowering the customer experience, or only selling their products rather than added value.)

Many still don't even get the basics right, with clunky purchase, delivery or collection processes, which are the result of poor stock, data or service management. Who wants to wait for weeks for an item to be dispatched, then stay at home a whole day for the courier to show up? But also, the lack of clear customer-centric strategic focus means that they are not able to explore the opportunities presented by technology to revolutionise the shopping experience, both online and offline, to meet those expectations of convenience, immediacy and personalisation.

Can you give an example of a retailer who is using technology to its full potential to improve its customer experience and add value?

I do not think anybody is using technology to its full potential yet. However, some organisations have used it well in some areas. For example, Argos, who as an old-fashioned catalogue-based retailer was at risk of ending up in the list of recent casualties, has cleverly evolved its business model to transform the store into an extension of the online experience, to cater for some of the reasons I mentioned above - immediate collection, product inspection, easy returns, while maintaining wide choice at good prices. They also improved accessibility, by creating small collection points within partners' premises in high traffic areas like supermarkets and stations. Simple and functional, but effective.

How do you see the role of the physical store evolving in the future - and do you agree that physical stores will fail without incorporating the Omnichannel experience (AR, AI, ML)?

No, I don't think they will fail because of that, but they will not prosper neither. As I mentioned before, I believe that physical stores need to offer the immersive and relevant experiences customers expect. Whether it's Lush's explosion of the senses or Lego's engaging environment, or it's IKEA's physical or AR home recreations, the store is no longer only about selling products, but it also needs to sell experiences and facilitate the customer journey. Using that type of technology is not essential, but can definitely help with improving the customer experience.

How can retailers introduce AR, AI and Machine Learning in order to leverage data and improve the customer experience?

Using that technology in the right way within physical stores can add an extra level of interactivity, personalisation or audience engagement, e.g. through touchscreen display content, virtual reality experiences, immersive product demonstrations or AR stands. The key is to introduce these as solutions to clearly identified customer needs rather than as stand-alone gimmicks or marketing campaigns. These capabilities are equally important online to deliver rich, relevant and interactive content or transform conventional websites into immersive VR experiences.

Where do you see the industry going forward, both this year and beyond?

Unfortunately, I believe that there will be more casualties in the sector, as too many retailers are not rethinking strategically enough the complementary role of physical stores and technology to meet customers' expectations and improve their experience. They need to understand that stores and websites are no longer only about selling products.

I also believe that technology will be increasingly use­d to create rich, interactive and immersive experiences both online and offline. It will enable retailers to play on the senses and stimulate and engage customers in a much more immediate and personalised way. It will also enable them to teach and educate customers, and to communicate with them in more effective ways, translating complex information into insightful and easy to understand content. The added value and experiential benefits delivered by the right use of technology will enable these retailers to deliver rich and differentiated customer experiences, and therefore drive sustainable value growth.

After several years of serious global upheaval, it is clear that resilience, agility, and the ability to adapt to the unexpected are critical priorities for all organisations – regardless of size or sector. However, this accelerated pace of change has, in many cases, revealed the limitations of existing IT services. With an increasing emphasis on on-demand services and a highly fluid workforce, legacy services and their systems often struggle to support new propositions and customers' evolving needs, which will – in turn – make maintaining a competitive advantage difficult, if not near impossible.

We're all trying to do more with less, whether that's making our monthly shop go further and reducing our utilities consumption at home or doing more with our organisations' available budgets and resources in our professional lives. But while getting the most out of the resources we have available is certainly admirable and sensible, our most precious resource – one that we cannot replenish once it's been used – is all-too-frequently neglected: our time.

"When it comes to digital transformation, the personal touch is often what takes projects from 'good' to 'exceptional'. Plenty of companies can deliver technology, but it's the relationships that really drive innovation in long term."

Philip Button, Regional Business Manager – Enterprise

The Finance sector has always been one of the most dynamic, rapidly evolving industries, and this shows no signs of changing any time soon. But while shifts in the landscape may well open new opportunities, they will also come with new challenges, and it is the organisations who are ready and able to face these head-on who will continue to thrive in the years ahead.

With the flexible office model slowly but surely supplanting the traditional working environments in favour of dynamic co-working spaces for a number of years now, we have seen many organisations reconsider the way they think about commercial real estate.

The past year has challenged the UK's education sector in ways that would previously have been inconceivable, with children learning from home the majority of the time since March.