What does it really take to become a data-driven organization? In this episode of Let's Talk Data, host Corrie Birkeness is joined by data strategy expert Shelly McQuigg and SAP Product Marketing Director Kara Reed for a practical discussion on building a successful data strategy that delivers measurable business value. Together, they explore why effective data strategies must begin with business outcomes—not technology—and how trusted, governed data is the foundation for analytics and AI success.

Shelly and Kara share lessons from decades of experience leading enterprise data initiatives, including standardizing global KPIs, establishing executive sponsorship, and creating governance models that balance control with business agility. They explain why data professionals need both technical expertise and business knowledge to influence organizational change and drive adoption.

The conversation also examines how modern data architectures, including data fabric, enable organizations to create a single definition of the truth without physically centralizing data. Finally, the discussion turns to AI, highlighting why data quality, governance, and trusted information have become more critical than ever before. Whether you're a data leader, architect, analyst, or executive, this episode provides actionable guidance for creating a scalable data strategy that supports business growth, operational efficiency, and trusted AI initiatives.

Key Topics of Discussion:

• Building a business-first data strategy focused on corporate KPIs, measurable outcomes, and business value.

• The importance of data governance in creating trusted, standardized, and high-quality enterprise data.

• The evolving role of data professionals as business partners, strategists, and organizational influencers.

• Modern data architecture and data fabric, enabling a single definition of the truth across distributed systems.

• Preparing data for AI, emphasizing why governance, quality, and trusted data are essential for successful AI adoption.

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Additional Resources:

To learn more about SAP Data and AI solutions, please check out SAP Business Data Cloud at https://www.sap.com/products/data-cloud.html

To engage further, please join our Data Professionals Community on https://community.sap.com/t5/data-professionals/gh-p/data-professionals

In this episode of Let’s Talk Data, host Daniel Dukes of SAP America is joined by Lisa Horwich, founder of Pallas Research and a leading B2B tech qualitative researcher who interviews CISOs, data architects, and security professionals to surface actionable insights for technology companies.

Lisa and Daniel explore how AI is fundamentally reshaping the cybersecurity landscape- from AI-powered phishing and expanded attack surfaces to risks like prompt injection, jailbreaking, and data poisoning. They also tackle the persistent challenge of shadow data and data sprawl, where sensitive information lives outside sanctioned IT infrastructure, making it nearly impossible to classify and protect.

The conversation covers the spectrum of security tools available to organizations, from point solutions to holistic Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) platforms, and closes with key best practices: zero trust, least privileged access, multi-factor authentication, and using AI defensively to combat the very threats it enables.

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Additional Resources:

To find out more about Lisa and security research, visit Pallas Research

To connect with others on the topic, check out the Data Professionals community

SAP Trust Center: Data Protection & Privacy: SAP’s dedicated trust center resource covering data protection policies, privacy safeguards, and the security protocols SAP employs across its cloud ecosystem — directly relevant to the episode’s discussion of data visibility, shadow data, and keeping sensitive organizational data secure.

In this special episode of Let's Talk Cloud ERP, host Jennifer Frank McGrory welcomes IBM Consulting leaders Bill Pietrowski, Devraj Bardhan, and Jim Griffin to the podcast to discuss the latest developments in IBM's enterprise-wide cloud ERP transformation and the business value achieved since their last conversation.

The team shares how IBM has generated more than $4.5 billion in savings through a transformation strategy centered on process simplification, operational efficiency, and SAP modernization. Listeners will hear how IBM continues to advance its clean-core approach across finance, procurement, supply chain, and other critical business functions while creating a more agile and connected enterprise.

A significant portion of the discussion focuses on Human Capital Management and the role of SAP SuccessFactors within IBM's broader business transformation. The guests explore how integrating HR with SAP S/4HANA has improved workforce planning, governance, employee experiences, and manager self-service while reducing HR operating costs and accelerating response times across the organization.

The conversation also highlights IBM's AI-first strategy and how intelligent automation is being applied across HR, procurement, finance, and employee services. With more than 155 AI use cases deployed, IBM shares lessons learned around prioritization, change management, governance, and scaling AI responsibly to drive measurable business outcomes.

Whether you're leading a cloud ERP initiative, modernizing HR operations, or evaluating enterprise AI strategies, this episode provides valuable insights from one of the world's largest transformation programs.

Key Topics of Discussion:

• IBM's Cloud ERP Transformation Journey How IBM has generated more than $4.5 billion in value through process simplification, SAP modernization, clean-core principles, and enterprise-wide operational transformation.

• The Strategic Role of SAP SuccessFactors in Business Transformation Why IBM views Human Capital Management as a critical component of its ERP strategy and how integrating SAP SuccessFactors with SAP S/4HANA improves workforce planning, governance, and employee experiences.

• The "Eliminate, Simplify, Automate" Framework The framework IBM uses to evaluate business processes, reduce complexity, eliminate non-value-added activities, and prepare operations for automation and AI.

• Scaling AI Across the Enterprise Lessons from deploying more than 155 AI use cases across HR, procurement, finance, and supply chain, including how IBM prioritizes opportunities and measures business impact.

• Governance, Change Management, and the Future of Work How IBM balances innovation with governance, security, and data privacy while helping employees and managers adapt to new AI-powered workflows and digital ways of working.

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Connect With Devraj Bardhan

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Connect With Jim Griffin

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Connect With Jennifer Frank McGrory

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Don’t stop here – discover more:

Experience SAP Like Never Before: Cloud ERP Simulation Challenge:

https://events.sap.com/noam-cloud-erp-sim-vew/en_us/home.html