June’s live Cloud Wars Expo event featured dozens of industry leaders allowing the Acceleration Economy team access to the inner workings of the greatest growth market the world has ever known.
In this News Desk interview, Acceleration Economy VP and Principal Analyst Aaron Back welcomes Mike Webster, Oracle SVP and General Manager of Retail. The pair discuss industry challenges, securing data, and allowing co-creators room to be different through Oracle’s retail-specific tools.
Highlights
00:01 — Aaron introduces Oracle Retail SVP Mike Webster, who offers 3+ decades of perspective within the dynamic retail industry.
02:21 — How do cloud vendors meet the growing expectations of their customers? The pandemic exposed several points of friction along the retail value chain. Webster lists key industry challenges, including meeting consumer expectations, constraints in the supply chain, growing burdens around ESG reporting and compliance, and winning over diverse talent.
03:30 — Oracle wants to help customers build a “blueprint for agility” and create space for innovation.
04:01 — Aaron addresses the challenge and responsibility of sustainability initiatives. Sustainability should be seen as an opportunity for growth and margin improvement; customers are willing to pay more for products aligned with their values.
05:34 — Oracle provides ESG performance attributes upfront, driving change “from the front.”
07:20 — Security in retail withstood an estimated 10 trillion threats in 2021 due to the sheer number of endpoints to secure. Oracle has certified all of its applications for retail through SOC 2 compliance.
08:55 — Co-innovation with Oracle customers helped evolve the retail solutions the company now provides. Retail-specific tools allow an atmosphere of co-creation while allowing individual customers to lean on what makes them unique in the marketplace.
10:51 — Aaron wraps the discussion on the co-creation landscape.
Access more than 40 hours of cloud education content featuring 100-plus speakers at Cloud Wars Expo On-Demand. All content is free to Acceleration Economy subscribers with an on-demand pass.
