Whenever I find myself with a particularly long back-to-back travel schedule, I’m reminded how important it is for us to pull out the nuggets of information that are often overlooked in our industry. It is easy to look up the press releases and marketing announcement from each event, but not so easy for everyday buyers to see the behind-the-scenes insights we gather as analysts. So I’ve taken a few minutes to capture some interesting nuggets, along with the most relevant updates, from each of my trips this year.
- Mercer’s Talent Business: The Importance of Leadership
- SilkRoad’s HR and Talent Suite: Treat Your Employees Like You Want Them to Treat Customers
- Cornerstone OnDemand Talent Management Suite: Growth and Teamwork Go Hand in Hand
Although each individual event I’ve attended had its own unique flavor – a few themes came out loud and clear:
Solution providers are focused on:
- Consumer-driven technology. Everyone has their eye on how consumer based technology is driving change in enterprise and corporate tools. End users expect it and Businesses need it.
- Next-generation work environment. Everyone is talking about the future of work – what it looks like, how it is done, and who is doing it. They all reference it – but few are prepared.
- Data-driven world. We are entering a world where data gathered from a multitude of sensors and systems will help us make faster, and hopefully better, decisions both professionally and personally.
- Truly mobile learning. Learning and Development is the center of the world when it comes to true talent management, but it is most relevant when you can place it in the work environment, at the point of need.
The end-users are focused on this:
- Tools and data integration. They need and want people to help them simplify and integrate their data. They don’t necessarily want a single platform, but they want an easy path to data analysis.
- Resources shortages. Almost every customer I spoke with discussed the need for more help and guidance from their solution providers. They have limited resources and time to leverage the systems to their fullest extent.
Reducing the confusion. Unless they are lucky enough to have the full-time job of simply researching technology and service providers, most end-users spend less than a quarter of their time researching and understanding the solution provider market for their industry. They are looking for good advice.
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