WEBVTT

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we are
here at AWS re:Invent and one focal point

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is the overlay between enterprise resource
planning and generative AI.

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We have an expert guest
with us, Kirk Francis.

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He is Managing Director

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at BCG Platinion, and also Global Leader
Enterprise Solutions.

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Kirk, it's great to see you. It's
good to see you Deirdre.

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First and foremost,
what is enterprise resource planning?

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So if I was explaining it
to my grandmother, I would say

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ERP is a package software solution
that enables

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back office functions for large global
enterprises, things like finance, H.R.

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Supply chain.

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How is Gen AI influencing
ERP vendors right now?

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So what's interesting is that ERP
vendors are very much in catch up mode.

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GenAI is an incredible wave of momentum
taking over all kinds

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of different industries.

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And the ERP vendors are very much trying
to get on this train and catch up.

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They are putting a lot of effort
into embedding GenAI

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into very specific business functions,
typical, manual, processes that exist,

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they are looking to automate
with GenAI, but it is very much

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a path towards momentum
that is not there yet.

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Okay. So a path
that's not quite there yet.

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So this underlines one of the challenges
that business leaders have, which is how

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to navigate in this increasingly complex
and fast moving space.

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That's a great question.

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So traditionally, ERP
was very much focused on best of suite,

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meaning everything went into the ERP
package these days.

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The trend is very much best of breed,

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meaning there's an ecosystem of products
around the ERP platform.

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GenAI provides plenty of opportunities

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for these digital upstarts to be able
to jump into some of those gaps.

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And while the ERP vendors are catching up,
they are now introducing highly valuable

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solutions that integrate very quickly
and easily with these ERP platforms.

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What's realistic, Kirk, for business leaders

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to expect from the GenAI overlay?

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So what leaders should expect is

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what I would suggest to leaders
is that they don't really lean in on

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proof of concept proof of technology
for the sake of testing it out.

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I think they should really take a value
based lens to thinking carefully about

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what do they want to do
and what do they plan to get out of it.

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Because right now
there's plenty of different opportunities,

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but they really need to have
that target state in mind.

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Kirk, before I let you go, number one
surprise this year,

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what is it?

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The number one

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surprise for me this year is, frankly
the pace at which

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some of the ERP vendors
are jumping on this GenAI bandwagon

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and the surprise is that
it is not as fast as I would have expected

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when the ERP vendors really lean in
in a meaningful way.

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It's incredible
the pace at which they can get to

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and really start
to drive change in their products.

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But right now what I'm seeing is
it's taking a little longer than typical.

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So it's a path that will continue to
increase in speed, but it's not there yet.

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A little hesitant for the moment.

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Kirk Francis,
thank you very much. Thank you.