29th January, 2020
Internationally recognised entrepreneur and AI expert, Dr Catriona Wallace is preparing to wow attendees of MYOB INCITE with a nuanced take on integrated technologies and the future of work.
As MYOB’s annual roadshow kicks off on Friday in Brisbane, practice owners, managers and their teams look forward to a host of new product updates, brand news and industry insights to drive their success in 2020.
The free, half-day event not only offers CPD hours for the time spent in attendance, ticketholders will also receive an unprecedented glimpse under the hood of new product developments, as well as hearing from MYOB’s new chief executive, Greg Ellis, for the first time.
And joining Ellis with a keynote presentation at all Metro INCITE events is Dr Catriona Wallace, founder and executive director for ASX-list AI company Flamingo Ai and Adjunct Professor at the AGSM.
Dr Catriona Wallace’s keynote ‘The Value of Taking an Integrated Approach to Technology’ will cover:
Combining her passion for new technology with the realities of being a business owner, Wallace recently told The Pulse that she plans on giving a talk that offers learnings that will help attendees today as well as prepare them for the future.
Specifically, she wants to help people save money and resources when it comes to finding the right suite of software solutions for their business in order to best serve their customers.
“There are a few ways a client company can think about building out the tech stack in their business: one is to attempt to find multiple vendors and products that they then integrate in order to create their own best-of-breed solution,” said Wallace.
And while many people consider it preferable to find multiple best-of-breed applications from multiple vendors to build their tech stack, Wallace counsels that it’s the integrated approach that usually represents the best value for money.
READ: MYOB tech extensions at INCITE 2020
“It is my experience that organisations struggle when they have to work with multiple vendors, trying to get them to work together and having high integration costs and complications.
“It’s much simpler when a tech provider already has an integrated solution – I believe it offers a lower total cost of ownership to clients and is simply, much easier to do.”
Beyond that, people should also consider where and how a solutions provider develops their products.
“The other thing to think of when it comes to tech companies that have an integrated solution is that they often have acquired companies and solutions that are regarded as best in their field.
“I’d have a stronger level of interest in a brand that’s made some acquisitions on top of their own development initiatives.”
Given her experience with artificial intelligence and machine learning, Wallace is excited to build on the present state of common tech solutions for businesses with a more futuristic lens.
“I’ll speak about the core tech functionalities of a standard business today, such as martech and fintech, and I’ll also push a bit forward into what we know is coming – emerging tech.
“These are the things you need to start looking at and learning about, including other tech like virtual assistants, automated analytics, blockchain, cyber security and Internet of things for example.”
READ: Why you can’t miss your Metro INCITE this year
In particular, Wallace will present her insights on the emerging trend of machine-augmented employee roles, which she said is already happening at the enterprise level.
“I’ll be introducing the concept of not just having software as a utility, but in the way it augments the human experience, for both employees and customers.”
The idea has been outlined in previous editions of MYOB’s Radar Report, but in this case, Wallace is bringing a new term to the table: HAMA.
“That’s human-assisted-machine-assisted roles, where an employee works with a digital labour agent, virtual assistant or subject matter expert AI brain.”
It’s not much of a stretch of the imagination to think how a tax agent might be assisted by an AI that can access a database of taxation legislation and make recommendations specific to their client’s situation.
Another example exists in MYOB Advisor, which existing Partners can already use to quickly derive financial insights from their client’s data and make recommendations to help keep their business on track.
“We need to introduce these concepts now because it’s the financial services businesses that are facing the most automation in the near future.
“Look for ways technology can amplify existing systems and augment human workers which is essentially integration of humans and their tech. An integrated platform may make this a far easier and more elegant solution.”