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From Experience to Transformation: How Businesses Help Customers Become Who They Want to Be | DisrupTV Ep. 430

From Experience to Transformation: How Businesses Help Customers Become Who They Want to Be | DisrupTV Ep. 430

R "Ray" Wang
Principal Analyst and Founder
Constellation Research

R “Ray” Wang is the CEO of Silicon Valley-based Constellation Research Inc. He co-hosts DisrupTV, a weekly enterprise tech and leadership webcast that averages 50,000 views per episode and blogs at www.raywang.org. His ground-breaking best-selling book on digital transformation, Disrupting Digital Business, was published by Harvard Business Review Press in 2015. Ray's new book about Digital Giants and the future of business, titled, Everybody Wants to Rule The World was released in July 2021. Wang is well-quoted and frequently interviewed by media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, CNBC, Yahoo Finance, Cheddar, and Bloomberg. Short Bio R “Ray” Wang (pronounced WAHNG) is the Founder, Chairman, and Principal Analyst of Silicon Valley-based Constellation Research Inc. He…...

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Elle DeRosa
Director of Marketing, Communications & Operations
Constellation Research

Elle is the Director of Marketing at Constellation Research and producer of the weekly enterprise tech show, DisrupTV. She leads marketing and communications efforts across all avenues while also managing an array of programs including the SuperNova Awards, Business Transformation 150, AX100, AI150, S50 and ShortLists. She has previous experience in public relations and has a strong passion for the marketing world. Contact Elle at [email protected] ...

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The Future of CX: AI, IRL, and the Transformation Economy | DisrupTV Ep. 430

DisrupTV Episode 430 marked a major milestone—10 years on air and more than 1,500 interviews. To celebrate, hosts R "Ray" Wang and Vala Afshar explored a bigger question about where business value is heading next.

For decades, companies have focused on delivering better products, services, and more recently, memorable customer experiences. But according to author and strategist Joe Pine, the next shift goes even further.

The future belongs to businesses that help customers become who they want to become.

Enter the Transformation Economy

Joe Pine, co-author of The Experience Economy, joined the show to discuss his latest thinking: the rise of the Transformation Economy.

In previous economic eras, value progressed from commodities to goods, to services, and eventually to experiences—memorable interactions that engage customers emotionally.

But transformations are different.

Instead of selling a moment or interaction, companies help customers achieve a lasting outcome.

  • Experiences create memories

  • Transformations create change

In this model, the true “product” is not the service or experience itself—it’s the improved version of the customer on the other side.

Experiences become the raw material used to guide people from where they are today to where they aspire to be.

Why Transformations Matter Now

Several forces are accelerating this shift.

First, people are searching for meaning.
The pandemic reminded many of us that time and connection matter deeply. Experiences returned quickly once restrictions lifted—but many people now want more than entertainment. They want progress, purpose, and personal growth.

Second, self-improvement has gone mainstream.
Coaching, fitness programs, financial planning, mental wellness platforms, and professional development services are all booming. Customers are increasingly willing to invest in offerings that help them become healthier, wealthier, wiser, or more purposeful.

Third, time itself has become the new economic lens.

Joe Pine frames economic value through three stages:

  • Goods & services: time well saved

  • Experiences: time well spent

  • Transformations: time well invested

Transformations generate a compounding return because the payoff is the person the customer becomes over time.

The Role of AI in Guiding Transformation

AI will play an important role in enabling the transformation economy—but as a tool, not the guide.

Used well, AI can help organizations:

  • Personalize experiences at scale

  • Recommend the “next best step” in a transformation journey

  • Deliver continuous nudges, coaching prompts, and insights between human interactions

This is already happening across industries like education, financial services, and leadership coaching, where AI supports ongoing development while human mentors provide empathy, context, and guidance.

The key distinction: technology can assist transformation, but people ultimately transform themselves.

CX Still Starts with Simplicity

In the second half of the episode, CRM experts Paul Greenberg and Brent Leary grounded the conversation in practical customer experience lessons.

Their point was simple but powerful:

Before businesses attempt to transform customers, they must first make things easy.

Convenience still matters. Customers often just want a fast, frictionless interaction—whether that’s dropping off a package, resolving a support issue, or completing a purchase.

Great experiences don't always mean delight or spectacle. Often, they simply mean respecting a customer’s time and helping them make progress.

Key Takeaways

  • The next economic shift is toward transformation. Businesses will increasingly be judged by how they help customers achieve meaningful outcomes.

  • Experiences are a stepping stone, not the destination. Memorable moments should guide customers toward lasting change.

  • Time well invested is the new value metric. Customers want offerings that create progress, not just entertainment.

  • AI can personalize transformation journeys. But human empathy, mentorship, and purpose remain essential.

  • Convenience still comes first. Before transformation, companies must eliminate friction and respect customer time.

Final Thoughts

The transformation economy challenges companies to rethink their purpose.

Instead of simply delivering products, services, or even experiences, organizations must ask a deeper question:

How are we helping our customers grow?

Businesses that succeed in the next decade will design offerings around the outcomes people truly want—better health, stronger careers, deeper knowledge, greater purpose, and ultimately a better version of themselves.

Profit then becomes something different: not the goal, but the signal that the company is successfully helping people flourish.

Related Episodes

If you found Episode 430 valuable, here are a few others that align in theme or extend similar conversations:

Future of Work Tech Optimization New C-Suite AI Chief Executive Officer Chief Technology Officer Chief AI Officer Chief Experience Officer

From “activation energy” and agent orchestration to donkeycorns and relationship capital, DisrupTV 425 explains what actually separates AI hype from real business impact.

On DisrupTV <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/J5CupyHoVng?si=GHB_W8FIfV0UhJBW" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Are We at Peak Anthropic?

Are We at Peak Anthropic?

Larry Dignan
Editor in Chief of Constellation Insights
Constellation Research

Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of Constellation Insights at Constellation Research, where he leads editorial coverage focused on enterprise technology, digital transformation, and emerging trends shaping the future of business. He oversees research-driven news, analysis, interviews, and event coverage designed to help technology buyers and vendors navigate complex markets with clarity and context. ...

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Anthropic has been portrayed as a SaaS assassin. Anthropic launches connectors and plugins to various enterprise apps, and SaaS stocks tank. Anthropic doubles down on Claude Code and Cowork, and suddenly, we're all expected to generate ERP, HCM, and ERP systems on the fly. Anthropic rolls out security code checks, and cybersecurity stocks stumble. Anthropic talks about modernizing COBOL, and IBM shares collapse.

By next week, Anthropic will be making us dinner, collapsing restaurant shares, brewing beer on the fly, and building houses with robots that run Claude as their brain.

Simply put, we're nearing peak Anthropic hype if we're not there already. What's lost in all of these storylines is the nuance. After all, nuance isn't as much fun. Here's a nuanced view of Anthropic because multiple things are true about the LLM giant at once.

Future of Work Tech Optimization SaasPocalypse SaaS LLMs
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Negotiations, Meetings, and Focus in the Age of AI | DisrupTV Ep. 429

Negotiations, Meetings, and Focus in the Age of AI | DisrupTV Ep. 429

R "Ray" Wang
Principal Analyst and Founder
Constellation Research

R “Ray” Wang is the CEO of Silicon Valley-based Constellation Research Inc. He co-hosts DisrupTV, a weekly enterprise tech and leadership webcast that averages 50,000 views per episode and blogs at www.raywang.org. His ground-breaking best-selling book on digital transformation, Disrupting Digital Business, was published by Harvard Business Review Press in 2015. Ray's new book about Digital Giants and the future of business, titled, Everybody Wants to Rule The World was released in July 2021. Wang is well-quoted and frequently interviewed by media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, CNBC, Yahoo Finance, Cheddar, and Bloomberg. Short Bio R “Ray” Wang (pronounced WAHNG) is the Founder, Chairman, and Principal Analyst of Silicon Valley-based Constellation Research Inc. He…...

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Elle DeRosa
Director of Marketing, Communications & Operations
Constellation Research

Elle is the Director of Marketing at Constellation Research and producer of the weekly enterprise tech show, DisrupTV. She leads marketing and communications efforts across all avenues while also managing an array of programs including the SuperNova Awards, Business Transformation 150, AX100, AI150, S50 and ShortLists. She has previous experience in public relations and has a strong passion for the marketing world. Contact Elle at [email protected] ...

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DisrupTV: Negotiations, Meetings, and Focus in the Age of AI

On a recent episode of DisrupTV, co-hosts R "Ray" Wang and Vala Afshar sat down with three experts to unpack some of the most expensive challenges in modern business:

  • Negotiating in B2B environments where buyers are now armed with AI
  • Fixing meeting cultures that quietly drain productivity
  • Using ruthless focus to build the next generation of unicorns

Across pricing strategy, organizational behavior, and startup execution, one theme stood out: clarity of value and focus wins.

Negotiation Is No Longer About Price—It’s About Outcomes

Brian Doyle, CEO of Holden Advisors, explained why B2B negotiations are becoming harder. Procurement teams now:

  • Negotiate daily
  • Use AI-driven benchmarks and playbooks
  • Often have years more experience than frontline sales reps

The result? Sales teams frequently default to discounting.

Doyle recommends shifting from price-based concessions to structured “give-gets”—trading scope or service levels instead of margin. This reframes negotiations around business value and reveals what buyers actually care about.

His advice in an AI-saturated market:
Stop selling features. Start quantifying outcomes tied to:

  • Revenue growth
  • Cost reduction
  • Risk mitigation

Organizations that anchor pricing to measurable impact consistently close faster and protect margin.

Your Meeting Culture Might Be Sabotaging Performance

Dr. Rebecca Hinds (Work Innovation Lab at Asana) made a provocative comparison: many modern meetings mirror tactics from the WWII Simple Sabotage Field Manual—slow decisions, overuse of channels, and endless discussion.

Poorly run meetings now cost organizations an estimated $1.4 trillion annually in wasted productivity.

Her solution? Treat meetings like a product:

  • Eliminate recurring “meeting debt” through calendar resets
  • Use async tools for status updates
  • Reserve meetings for work that requires real-time collaboration

She recommends applying the 4D + CEO test before scheduling:

4D Purpose: Decide, Debate, Discuss, Develop
CEO Content: Complex, Emotional, or One-way-door decisions

If it doesn’t pass both tests—it shouldn’t be a meeting.

Focus Is the Hidden Engine Behind Unicorns

Venture capitalist Dr. Igor Ryabenkiy has backed more than 10 unicorns—and says focus is the most reliable predictor of startup success.

Startups operate with limited:

  • Time
  • Capital
  • Talent

Trying to serve everyone or chase every feature request dilutes execution. The best companies begin with:

  • A clearly defined customer
  • A narrow problem
  • A simple, compelling value proposition

Ryabenkiy emphasizes the discipline of saying “no”—to distracting feature requests, misaligned deals, or vague positioning.

As he puts it:
Universal products often end up selling to no one.

Key Takeaways

  • AI-enabled buyers are forcing sales teams to shift from feature-based to outcome-based negotiations.
  • Meeting overload is often a behavioral problem—not a tooling issue—and can be reduced through intentional design.
  • Startups that maintain a narrow focus outperform those chasing broad markets or feature creep.
  • Quantifying value, protecting time, and clarifying strategy are essential in an attention-scarce economy.

Final Thoughts

Whether negotiating enterprise deals, running internal collaboration, or building the next AI-native startup, the lesson is the same: intentional focus drives performance.

In a world where AI lowers the cost of information but raises the premium on attention, leaders who:

  • Prove measurable value
  • Design time and meetings with purpose
  • Stay disciplined about what not to pursue

will move faster—and further—than those reacting to every request or distraction.

This episode is ultimately a call to refactor how we sell, collaborate, and build in the AI era—starting with where we focus next.

Related Episodes

If you found Episode 429 valuable, here are a few others that align in theme or extend similar conversations:

 

Future of Work Tech Optimization New C-Suite AI Chief Executive Officer Chief Technology Officer Chief AI Officer Chief Experience Officer

From “activation energy” and agent orchestration to donkeycorns and relationship capital, DisrupTV 425 explains what actually separates AI hype from real business impact.

On DisrupTV <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/J5CupyHoVng?si=GHB_W8FIfV0UhJBW" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Zoho’s Enterprise Play, Peak Anthropic? & 2026 ShortLists

Zoho’s Enterprise Play, Peak Anthropic? & 2026 ShortLists

Liz Miller
Vice President & Principal Analyst
Constellation Research

About Liz Miller: Liz Miller is Vice President and Principal Analyst at Constellation, focused on the org-wide team sport known as customer experience. While covering CX as an enterprise strategy, Miller spends time zeroing in on the functional demands of Marketing and Service and the evolving role of the Chief Marketing Officer, the rise of the Chief Experience Officer, the evolution of customer engagement, and the rising requirement for a new security posture that accounts for the threat to brand trust in this age of AI. With over 30 years of marketing experience, Miller offers strategic guidance on the leadership, business transformation, and technology requirements to deliver on today’s CX strategies. She has worked with global marketing organizations to transform everything from…...

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Holger Mueller
Vice President and Principal Analyst
Constellation Research

Holger Mueller is VP and Principal Analyst for Constellation Research for the fundamental enablers of the&nbsp;cloud, IaaS, PaaS and next generation Applications, with forays up the tech stack into BigData and Analytics, HR Tech, and sometimes SaaS. Holger provides strategy and counsel to key clients, including Chief Information Officers, Chief Technology Officers, Chief Product Officers, Chief HR Officers, investment analysts, venture capitalists, sell-side firms, and technology buyers.&nbsp; Coverage Areas: Future of Work Tech Optimization &amp; Innovation&nbsp; Background: Before joining Constellation Research, Mueller was VP of Products for NorthgateArinso, a KKR company. There, he led the transformation of products to the cloud and laid the foundation for new Business Process as a…...

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Larry Dignan
Editor in Chief of Constellation Insights
Constellation Research

Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of Constellation Insights at Constellation Research, where he leads editorial coverage focused on enterprise technology, digital transformation, and emerging trends shaping the future of business. He oversees research-driven news, analysis, interviews, and event coverage designed to help technology buyers and vendors navigate complex markets with clarity and context. ...

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Hannah Mason
Marketing Director
Constellation Research

Hannah Mason is a marketing director at Constellation Research. She oversees brand positioning, creative direction, and content development across digital platforms, events, and campaigns. Her work spans branding and design—including graphics, sales collateral, and event presentations—along with website content management, newsletters, and Constellation Insights. Mason also manages surveys and produces Constellation’s video collateral, including ConstellationTV. Her role ensures that the Constellation brand is communicated with clarity, creativity, and consistency across all channels. Contact Hannah at [email protected]. ...

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In ConstellationTV episode 124, CR analyst co-hosts Holger Mueller and Liz Miller deliver a dynamic mix of humor, insightful analysis, and actionable takeaways for anyone navigating the complex world of enterprise technology and SaaS markets. Whether you're an enterprise executive assessing software solutions, an IT strategist exploring AI frameworks, or simply curious about SaaS trends, this episode provides valuable perspectives.

Zoho Day 2026: A Spotlight on Platform Evolution and Leadership Transitions

The episode begins by covering enterprise technology news. The first major deep dive centers on Zoho Day 2026, held in Austin, Texas—an analyst meeting showcasing Zoho’s impressive rise from serving small businesses to expanding globally into mid-market and enterprise spaces. Zoho’s ambition continues to strengthen, with notable moves into ERP systems, starting with a rollout in India and plans for global expansion anticipated around Q3.

Both Holger and Liz praise Zoho for its remarkable focus on simplicity and customer-centric solutions:

  • Liz: “Zoho is simple. It gives our business the exact power that it needs, but it doesn't give us so much that it becomes cost-prohibitive.”
  • Holger adds: “They shared with us what is coming new in their behind-the-scenes architecture...and advancements in low-code/no-code showed promise.”

Evolving Leadership for Future Growth

Zoho’s leadership structure has seen significant shifts, with Sridhar Vembu, previously the CEO, transitioning to Chief Scientist to focus on innovations such as quantum computing. His brother, Mani Vembu, has stepped into the CEO role, tasked with modernizing the core platform and addressing technical debt. According to Holger, “There needs to be a replatforming and elimination of technical debt...This could be Mani's monumental contribution to Indian SaaS history.”

Liz felt strongly about the future potential of the leadership: “Mark my words, Mani is going to do great things." She also emphasized Rana Vembu’s (Sridhar’s sister) integral and often behind-the-scenes contributions to product excellence, stating, "Rana is a force to be reckoned with."

Salesforce’s Acquisition Frenzy: Insights into AI and Data Evolution

Holger gives a detailed analysis of Salesforce’s recent, aggressive acquisition strategy, spanning conversational insights tools, AI frameworks, and platforms that enhance enterprise data capabilities. Salesforce has been rapidly acquiring companies—such as Informatica, Simulate, Qualified, Spindle AI, and Evergreen—to strengthen its AI-related arsenal and better manage the growing challenges of unstructured data.

Liz highlights the scale and magnitude of unstructured data as a pressing issue for AI implementation: “If the average enterprise collects 10 terabytes of data and that's growing at 68% year over year, and 70% of that data is unstructured, we are going to have to figure out what we're going to do with all of that.”

This underscores the opportunity for AI frameworks to transform businesses, as Salesforce leverages its platforms (such as Slack integrations) to deliver actionable insights. As Holger notes, “Slack is becoming one of the overall pieces where pipeline-relevant information is captured.”

Acceleration vs. Velocity: How Salesforce Leads Organizational Transformation

Holger and Liz debate the terminology surrounding organizational progress, calling out differences among speed, velocity, and acceleration.

  • Holger: “It’s acceleration—moving faster and getting growth momentum.”
  • Liz emphasizes velocity’s role in enterprise adaptation: “Velocity matters, but Salesforce’s example of enterprise acceleration shows movement in the right direction.”

Speculation on Anthropic's Influence: Peak Hype or Sustained Impact?

In the next segment, Larry Dignan ponders whether the tech market is experiencing “Peak Anthropic”. Anthropic’s actions, ranging from code modernization to partnerships, are shaking up SaaS stocks, but Larry warns that they mirror hype cycles seen in past eras when companies like Microsoft entered new markets.

Anthropic is both a competitor and a partner for SaaS solutions, leaving the markets in flux.

Larry states: “I don't know if we're at a peak, but the fear around SaaS stocks and the hype around Anthropic—man, the volume’s turned up.”

Constellation Research Shortlists: A Strategic Decision-Making Asset

The episode concludes with an overview of Constellation Research’s newly released 2026 ShortLists. ShortLists are curated rankings of enterprise tech solutions for capabilities such as autonomous IT platforms, generative AI tools, and sovereign cloud infrastructure. These lists, free and openly accessible, aim to simplify the selection process for enterprise buyers and shorten their implementation timeline: “From nine months to two or three,” explains Holger.

Highlights of Shortlist Categories:

  • AI Factories and Agentic Platforms: Liz notes a growing push for platforms that facilitate AI workloads and agentic ecosystems.
  • Generative AI for Content Creation: Larry and Liz's expertise drives a shortlist specializing in AI applications for copywriting and digital content.
  • Sovereign Cloud: Holger emphasizes the importance of sovereignty: “How do you ensure workloads stay within a continent? Does that only mean citizens and passport holders touch the data?”

The shortlists are built entirely on user-driven criteria, focusing on feedback from their executive network: “This is really about the end user... It’s what enterprise buyers directly tell us is important,” Liz explains. Vendors are encouraged to reach out with feedback if they feel shortlisted solutions missed important contenders.

Conclusion

This episode blends in-depth analysis and actionable advice for decision-makers exploring AI tools, SaaS platforms, and tech investments. From understanding Zoho’s rapid evolution and Salesforce’s acquisitions to leveraging Constellation’s shortlists for enterprise selection, the insights shared are tailored for navigating modern technology challenges.

For those eager to dive deeper into the data, trends, and solutions discussed, the full episode provides even more valuable context and lighthearted banter to make complex topics accessible. Stay tuned for future episodes from Holger, Liz, and Larry as they continue driving conversations in enterprise tech!

Data to Decisions Future of Work Next-Generation Customer Experience New C-Suite AI Agentic AI Generative AI
Off ConstellationTV

How Zoho Is Rewriting Enterprise Software: ZohoDay 2026 Analyst Roundtable

How Zoho Is Rewriting Enterprise Software: ZohoDay 2026 Analyst Roundtable

Liz Miller
Vice President & Principal Analyst
Constellation Research

About Liz Miller: Liz Miller is Vice President and Principal Analyst at Constellation, focused on the org-wide team sport known as customer experience. While covering CX as an enterprise strategy, Miller spends time zeroing in on the functional demands of Marketing and Service and the evolving role of the Chief Marketing Officer, the rise of the Chief Experience Officer, the evolution of customer engagement, and the rising requirement for a new security posture that accounts for the threat to brand trust in this age of AI. With over 30 years of marketing experience, Miller offers strategic guidance on the leadership, business transformation, and technology requirements to deliver on today’s CX strategies. She has worked with global marketing organizations to transform everything from…...

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Martin Schneider
Vice President and Principal Analyst
Constellation Research

Martin Schneider has had a unique career that has spanned both analyst and marketing practitioner roles, focused on high technology and related industries. The unifying factor has always been both a keen analysis of go-to-market trends, while also having achieved success as a marketing leader. Schneider started his career as a journalist covering B2B technologies, and quickly transitioned into a leading analyst covering application software for the 451 Group in NYC, where he specialized in CRM, marketing automation, and business intelligence/analytics technologies. After analyzing various go-to-market strategies of dozens of technology vendors, Schneider made the move to the vendor side, where he led successful go-to-market teams for several startups and established tech providers,…...

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Larry Dignan
Editor in Chief of Constellation Insights
Constellation Research

Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of Constellation Insights at Constellation Research, where he leads editorial coverage focused on enterprise technology, digital transformation, and emerging trends shaping the future of business. He oversees research-driven news, analysis, interviews, and event coverage designed to help technology buyers and vendors navigate complex markets with clarity and context. ...

Read more
Holger Mueller
Vice President and Principal Analyst
Constellation Research

Holger Mueller is VP and Principal Analyst for Constellation Research for the fundamental enablers of the&nbsp;cloud, IaaS, PaaS and next generation Applications, with forays up the tech stack into BigData and Analytics, HR Tech, and sometimes SaaS. Holger provides strategy and counsel to key clients, including Chief Information Officers, Chief Technology Officers, Chief Product Officers, Chief HR Officers, investment analysts, venture capitalists, sell-side firms, and technology buyers.&nbsp; Coverage Areas: Future of Work Tech Optimization &amp; Innovation&nbsp; Background: Before joining Constellation Research, Mueller was VP of Products for NorthgateArinso, a KKR company. There, he led the transformation of products to the cloud and laid the foundation for new Business Process as a…...

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Michael Ni
Vice President and Principal Analyst
Constellation Research

Michael Ni is Vice President and Principal Analyst at Constellation Research, covering the evolving Data-to-Decisions landscape—where CDOs, CIOs, and CPOs must modernize data infrastructure, integrate AI into decision-making, and scale automation to improve business outcomes. Ni’s research examines how enterprises operationalize AI, automate decision-making, and integrate data management and analytics into core business processes. He focuses on the challenges of scaling AI-driven decision systems, aligning data strategy with business goals, and the growing role of data and decisioning “products” in enterprise ecosystems. With 25+ years as a product and GTM executive across enterprise software, AI platforms, and analytics-driven technologies, Ni brings a practitioner’s perspective to…...

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Esteban Kolsky
Chief Distiller, Board Advisor
Constellation Research

Esteban Kolsky spent the first part of his professional career working on the customer service front line and in management roles, culminating in early implementations of first-generation CRM tools. In 2000, he became a research analyst at Gartner, focused on CRM, customer service, customer experience management, enterprise feedback management, and voice of the customer, among topics that later became the basis for the current field of CX. During his tenure at Gartner, Kolsky assisted vendors and Global 2000 organizations with their customer strategies. He left Gartner to focus his career on strategic advisory services and influenced all the major software vendors, as well as many smaller vendors, in the CX industry and advised executive leadership teams across industries and countries…...

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Chirag Mehta
Vice President and Principal Analyst
Constellation Research

Chirag Mehta is Vice President and Principal Analyst focusing on cybersecurity, next-gen application development, and product-led growth. With over 25 years of experience, he has built, shipped, marketed, and sold successful enterprise SaaS products and solutions across startups, mid-size, and large companies. As a product leader overseeing engineering, product management, and design, he has consistently driven revenue growth and product innovation. He also held key leadership roles in product marketing, corporate strategy, ecosystem partnerships, and business development, leveraging his expertise to make a significant impact on various aspects of product success. His holistic research approach on cybersecurity is grounded in the reality that as sophisticated AI-led attacks become…...

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R "Ray" Wang
Principal Analyst and Founder
Constellation Research

R “Ray” Wang is the CEO of Silicon Valley-based Constellation Research Inc. He co-hosts DisrupTV, a weekly enterprise tech and leadership webcast that averages 50,000 views per episode and blogs at www.raywang.org. His ground-breaking best-selling book on digital transformation, Disrupting Digital Business, was published by Harvard Business Review Press in 2015. Ray's new book about Digital Giants and the future of business, titled, Everybody Wants to Rule The World was released in July 2021. Wang is well-quoted and frequently interviewed by media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, CNBC, Yahoo Finance, Cheddar, and Bloomberg. Short Bio R “Ray” Wang (pronounced WAHNG) is the Founder, Chairman, and Principal Analyst of Silicon Valley-based Constellation Research Inc. He…...

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Live from ZohoDay 2026, Constellation analysts hosted a lively roundtable about Zoho’s strategies, customer impact, and the software industry’s future. This conversation covered themes such as Zoho’s unification strategy, the resurgence of ERP, the launch of AppOS, and transformative customer stories. Here’s a look at the highlights.

Zoho’s Innovation and Unification Strategy

Esteban Kolsky commended Zoho’s consistent innovation and ability to deliver on promises made to customers over the past decade. He highlighted how Zoho's solution-focused approach has shifted away from the traditional focus on individual applications, adding, “Zoho introduces a way to get off the enterprise software hamster wheel.”

The analysts emphasized how Zoho’s unified approach is transforming the software landscape. Holger Mueller described Zoho’s technological accomplishment as “widest and deepest vertical horizontal integration,” while Martin Schneider highlighted the company’s ability to bring apps, data, and analytics together seamlessly. He remarked, “Having analytics on top of that, unlocking strategic value with AI. So really all about unification and simplicity to unlock strategic value.”

Mike Ni expressed admiration for Zoho’s vertical and horizontal innovation, which integrates from applications and AI down to hardware and data centers. He explained, “This is about unification…going not just from applications down to data and AI, but they’re going to the hardware. They’re going to the data center.”

AppOS emerged as a significant milestone for Zoho, blending flexibility and innovation. Liz Miller called AppOS a “big moment” and praised its ability to enable users to build applications that deliver tangible outcomes. Chirag Mehta cautioned against abstraction, stating “the proof is in the pudding” when it comes to real-world use cases and scalability.

ERP Resurgence and Market Disruption

Larry Dignan succinctly declared, “ERP’s back, kids.” This resonated with R "Ray" Wang, who elaborated on the importance of ERP in streamlining operations, managing money, and mitigating risks. “What they’re doing right now is resetting the cost structure around the world,” Wang said. He highlighted Zoho’s ability to disrupt the software market by offering cost-efficient ERP solutions built for scalability.

The analysts unanimously agreed that Zoho’s focus is on reducing software costs without compromising strategic value. Liz Miller noted Zoho’s unique ethos, describing it as an organization that purposefully avoids chasing margins at the expense of innovation: “They don’t want to make more money. They’re happy.”

Surprises from ZohoDay

CR analysts also discussed a few unexpected announcements that revealed Zoho’s ability to disrupt norms. Chirag Mehta emphasized that SaaS is alive and thriving, and highlighted the unveiling of new hardware alongside Zoho’s efforts to address technical maturity. “Platform renovation and innovation are super important. They’re addressing their technical debt well,” Holger Mueller added.

Esteban Kolsky pointed out Zoho’s shift away from focusing on app count: “They don’t care about applications anymore. They just care about solutions.” This fundamental change signals Zoho’s move towards holistic outcome-driven strategies.

Memorable Customer Stories

Zoho’s impact on businesses was brought to life through compelling customer success stories shared by the panelists.

  • Ecolab: Larry Dignan recounted the story of Ecolab, a division that retained Zoho software even after a major acquisition. Despite initial doubts, Ecolab scaled the solution successfully over 12 years. Dignan explained, “Software in most acquisitions would have been tossed.”
  • AcmeBrick: Martin Schneider highlighted AcmeBrick as a classic Zoho success story: “A typical Zoho customer that is resource constrained was able to achieve exponential productivity gains and sell that internally easily.”
  • Newcross Healthcare: Mike Ni shared the story of how Newcross Healthcare achieved a staggering 93% reduction in app costs. He emphasized the organization’s ability to simplify processes, reduce manpower requirements, and eliminate inefficiencies. Liz Miller summarized this type of customer transformation succinctly: “Paid for the next piece of transformation with the savings from the first.”

  • Swiggy: Ni also discussed how Swiggy can transform its data pipeline, reducing operational inefficiencies and enabling proactive decision-making. He described this as simplification at scale: “They brought down the data pipeline execution from 50 people to 15.”

Predictions for Zoho’s Future

The panelists shared bold predictions for how Zoho will evolve over the next few years:

  • R "Ray Wang" envisioned Zoho disrupting the entire software industry due to its focus on cost efficiency and unified platforms.
  • Martin Schneider foresaw Zoho insulating itself with vertical solutions powered by small language models, positioning it to thrive as AI subsidies diminish.
  • Larry Dignan predicted that Zoho would move upstream through integrator partnerships that expand its reach.
  • Holger Mueller emphasized Zoho’s continued investment in AI tools and predicted significant developments from their studios and data platforms.
  • Esteban Kolsky humorously proposed that Zoho's next move would be announcing, “Now that we fixed the enterprise software market, what’s next?”

Liz Miller summed it all up with this reflection: “Watch for Zoho to prove everyone wrong. They always put people before profit, fostering a culture of innovation capable of disrupting and reshaping the software market.”

Final Thoughts

ZohoDay 2026 provided a window into the future of enterprise software, showcasing Zoho’s ability to innovate, unify, and drive transformational outcomes for customers across industries. From redefining ERP to launching powerful platforms like AppOS and Zoho, Zoho is proving that a customer-first approach combined with bold technological strides can revolutionize how software is built, used, and scaled.

Constellation analysts acknowledge and applaud Zoho’s achievements over the past 30 years. Zoho continues to pave the way for a more cost-efficient, unified, and innovative technology landscape.

Future of Work Tech Optimization Innovation & Product-led Growth Marketing Transformation Next-Generation Customer Experience AI
Off ConstellationTV

From Forced Upgrades to Agentic AI: Rethinking ERP, Innovation, and Leadership | DisrupTV Ep. 428

From Forced Upgrades to Agentic AI: Rethinking ERP, Innovation, and Leadership | DisrupTV Ep. 428

R "Ray" Wang
Principal Analyst and Founder
Constellation Research

R “Ray” Wang is the CEO of Silicon Valley-based Constellation Research Inc. He co-hosts DisrupTV, a weekly enterprise tech and leadership webcast that averages 50,000 views per episode and blogs at www.raywang.org. His ground-breaking best-selling book on digital transformation, Disrupting Digital Business, was published by Harvard Business Review Press in 2015. Ray's new book about Digital Giants and the future of business, titled, Everybody Wants to Rule The World was released in July 2021. Wang is well-quoted and frequently interviewed by media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, CNBC, Yahoo Finance, Cheddar, and Bloomberg. Short Bio R “Ray” Wang (pronounced WAHNG) is the Founder, Chairman, and Principal Analyst of Silicon Valley-based Constellation Research Inc. He…...

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Elle DeRosa
Director of Marketing, Communications & Operations
Constellation Research

Elle is the Director of Marketing at Constellation Research and producer of the weekly enterprise tech show, DisrupTV. She leads marketing and communications efforts across all avenues while also managing an array of programs including the SuperNova Awards, Business Transformation 150, AX100, AI150, S50 and ShortLists. She has previous experience in public relations and has a strong passion for the marketing world. Contact Elle at [email protected] ...

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Beating the Odds in an AI Era: Leadership, Probability Hacking, and the Power of Kindness

On the latest episode of DisrupTV, co-hosts Vala Afshar and R "Ray" Wang sat down with:

  • Seth Ravin, CEO of Rimini Street

  • Elizabeth Weingarten, author of How to Fall in Love with Questions

  • James Taylor, author of SuperCreativity

Together, they explored how agentic AI is changing enterprise software strategy, leadership behavior, and even how organizations approach creativity.

ERP Isn’t Going Away—But the Old Model Is

For decades, enterprises were locked into vendor-driven ERP roadmaps—forced upgrades, rigid timelines, and rising maintenance costs that didn’t always align with business outcomes.

Today, that model is breaking down.

ERP environments are increasingly becoming modular and composable, allowing CIOs and CFOs to mix best-of-breed capabilities across finance, CRM, supply chain, and operations. Instead of ripping out core systems, many organizations are layering agentic AI on top of legacy ERP to:

  • Adapt workflows to regulatory or market changes in real time

  • Reduce costly custom code changes

  • Improve agility without destabilizing core infrastructure

In short: modernization no longer has to mean migration.

Agentic AI Is Becoming a Structural Necessity

AI isn’t just a productivity boost—it’s becoming essential infrastructure.

With labor costs rising and global talent shortages accelerating due to aging populations and declining birth rates, enterprises must find ways to maintain performance without scaling headcount. Agentic AI can help organizations:

  • Reduce labor required per unit of output

  • Maintain service levels and compliance

  • Preserve margins under increasing competitive pressure

For CIOs already juggling multiple vendor AI roadmaps, the challenge isn’t adopting AI—it’s deciding which initiatives actually support enterprise strategy versus supplier agendas.

Leadership in the AI Era Requires Better Questions

While infrastructure matters, leadership mindset may matter more.

Elizabeth Weingarten emphasized that in an AI-rich environment—where answers are abundant—the real competitive advantage lies in asking better questions. Leaders who default to speed over reflection risk shallow thinking, confirmation bias, and diminished critical reasoning.

Developing a “questions practice” helps leaders:

  • Navigate uncertainty more effectively

  • Align decisions with organizational values

  • Open new strategic possibilities instead of narrowing prematurely

In the age of generative AI, curiosity becomes a leadership skill—not just a personality trait.

The Rise of Human-AI “SuperCreativity”

James Taylor introduced the concept of SuperCreativity: human creativity amplified by AI collaboration.

AI can now assist with:

  • Audience analysis before key presentations

  • Predicting stakeholder objections

  • Matching innovation ideas with collaborators across the enterprise

Rather than replacing creative work, AI is making human insight more targeted, effective, and scalable—helping surface “backstage heroes” and democratize innovation across teams.

As routine cognitive tasks become automated, creativity is rapidly emerging as one of the most valuable enterprise skills.

Key Takeaways

  • Modernization ≠ migration: Agentic AI can extend legacy ERP without disruptive upgrades.

  • Autonomy matters: Enterprises must align technology roadmaps to business outcomes—not vendor timelines.

  • AI addresses labor realities: Automation is becoming necessary to offset workforce constraints.

  • Questions are strategic assets: Better inquiry leads to better decisions in uncertain environments.

  • Creativity is scalable: Human-AI collaboration can unlock innovation across the organization—not just in R&D.

Final Thoughts

Agentic AI won’t just change how software works—it will reshape how enterprises make decisions, allocate resources, and compete.

The organizations that succeed in this next era will be those that:

  • Reclaim autonomy from vendor-driven roadmaps

  • Encourage leaders to ask better strategic questions

  • Treat creativity as a core organizational capability

In a world of infinite AI-generated answers, competitive advantage may ultimately belong to leaders who chart their own direction—and remain curious enough to question it along the way.

Related Episodes

If you found Episode 428 valuable, here are a few others that align in theme or extend similar conversations:

 

Future of Work Tech Optimization New C-Suite ERP Chief Executive Officer Chief Technology Officer Chief AI Officer Chief Experience Officer

From “activation energy” and agent orchestration to donkeycorns and relationship capital, DisrupTV 425 explains what actually separates AI hype from real business impact.

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Career Uncertainty: Why Saying “I Don’t Know” Builds Stronger Leaders

Career Uncertainty: Why Saying “I Don’t Know” Builds Stronger Leaders

R "Ray" Wang
Principal Analyst and Founder
Constellation Research

R “Ray” Wang is the CEO of Silicon Valley-based Constellation Research Inc. He co-hosts DisrupTV, a weekly enterprise tech and leadership webcast that averages 50,000 views per episode and blogs at www.raywang.org. His ground-breaking best-selling book on digital transformation, Disrupting Digital Business, was published by Harvard Business Review Press in 2015. Ray's new book about Digital Giants and the future of business, titled, Everybody Wants to Rule The World was released in July 2021. Wang is well-quoted and frequently interviewed by media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, CNBC, Yahoo Finance, Cheddar, and Bloomberg. Short Bio R “Ray” Wang (pronounced WAHNG) is the Founder, Chairman, and Principal Analyst of Silicon Valley-based Constellation Research Inc. He…...

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Careers are often measured by titles and compensation, but leadership decisions are usually shaped by something deeper: understanding your own value.

At the Davos World Economic Forum, Constellation founder R "Ray" Wang joined Udemy's Elizabeth Weingarten to discuss the mindset behind taking risks and building something of your own. A pivotal moment came from a simple question his father asked during a major transition: not “What will you EARN?” but “What are you WORTH?”

In the episode, Ray shares how that shift in thinking ultimately led to starting Constellation Research — moving from earning a salary to investing in ideas, perspective, and long-term impact.

Future of Work Leadership
On

Integration Tax is the new AI tax, Zoho plans to crush it | ZohoDay 2026 Recap

Integration Tax is the new AI tax, Zoho plans to crush it | ZohoDay 2026 Recap

Liz Miller
Vice President & Principal Analyst
Constellation Research

About Liz Miller: Liz Miller is Vice President and Principal Analyst at Constellation, focused on the org-wide team sport known as customer experience. While covering CX as an enterprise strategy, Miller spends time zeroing in on the functional demands of Marketing and Service and the evolving role of the Chief Marketing Officer, the rise of the Chief Experience Officer, the evolution of customer engagement, and the rising requirement for a new security posture that accounts for the threat to brand trust in this age of AI. With over 30 years of marketing experience, Miller offers strategic guidance on the leadership, business transformation, and technology requirements to deliver on today’s CX strategies. She has worked with global marketing organizations to transform everything from…...

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Martin Schneider
Vice President and Principal Analyst
Constellation Research

Martin Schneider has had a unique career that has spanned both analyst and marketing practitioner roles, focused on high technology and related industries. The unifying factor has always been both a keen analysis of go-to-market trends, while also having achieved success as a marketing leader. Schneider started his career as a journalist covering B2B technologies, and quickly transitioned into a leading analyst covering application software for the 451 Group in NYC, where he specialized in CRM, marketing automation, and business intelligence/analytics technologies. After analyzing various go-to-market strategies of dozens of technology vendors, Schneider made the move to the vendor side, where he led successful go-to-market teams for several startups and established tech providers,…...

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Holger Mueller
Vice President and Principal Analyst
Constellation Research

Holger Mueller is VP and Principal Analyst for Constellation Research for the fundamental enablers of the&nbsp;cloud, IaaS, PaaS and next generation Applications, with forays up the tech stack into BigData and Analytics, HR Tech, and sometimes SaaS. Holger provides strategy and counsel to key clients, including Chief Information Officers, Chief Technology Officers, Chief Product Officers, Chief HR Officers, investment analysts, venture capitalists, sell-side firms, and technology buyers.&nbsp; Coverage Areas: Future of Work Tech Optimization &amp; Innovation&nbsp; Background: Before joining Constellation Research, Mueller was VP of Products for NorthgateArinso, a KKR company. There, he led the transformation of products to the cloud and laid the foundation for new Business Process as a…...

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Larry Dignan
Editor in Chief of Constellation Insights
Constellation Research

Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of Constellation Insights at Constellation Research, where he leads editorial coverage focused on enterprise technology, digital transformation, and emerging trends shaping the future of business. He oversees research-driven news, analysis, interviews, and event coverage designed to help technology buyers and vendors navigate complex markets with clarity and context. ...

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Chirag Mehta
Vice President and Principal Analyst
Constellation Research

Chirag Mehta is Vice President and Principal Analyst focusing on cybersecurity, next-gen application development, and product-led growth. With over 25 years of experience, he has built, shipped, marketed, and sold successful enterprise SaaS products and solutions across startups, mid-size, and large companies. As a product leader overseeing engineering, product management, and design, he has consistently driven revenue growth and product innovation. He also held key leadership roles in product marketing, corporate strategy, ecosystem partnerships, and business development, leveraging his expertise to make a significant impact on various aspects of product success. His holistic research approach on cybersecurity is grounded in the reality that as sophisticated AI-led attacks become…...

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Zoho Day 2026 did not disappoint. From Zoho's new app OS architecture and de-layered platform vision to a unified data layer powering AI, CRM, and RevTech, the message was clear: integration tax is the new AI tax, and Zoho plans to crush it.

Hear what the Constellation analyst team had to say on personal takeaways and implications for the future of enterprise technology.

Future of Work Tech Optimization Innovation & Product-led Growth AI CRM Chief Digital Officer Chief Data Officer
On

Experience on Our Minds: How Cross-Functional Partnerships Accelerated AI Success in CX at IBM

Experience on Our Minds: How Cross-Functional Partnerships Accelerated AI Success in CX at IBM

Liz Miller
Vice President & Principal Analyst
Constellation Research

About Liz Miller: Liz Miller is Vice President and Principal Analyst at Constellation, focused on the org-wide team sport known as customer experience. While covering CX as an enterprise strategy, Miller spends time zeroing in on the functional demands of Marketing and Service and the evolving role of the Chief Marketing Officer, the rise of the Chief Experience Officer, the evolution of customer engagement, and the rising requirement for a new security posture that accounts for the threat to brand trust in this age of AI. With over 30 years of marketing experience, Miller offers strategic guidance on the leadership, business transformation, and technology requirements to deliver on today’s CX strategies. She has worked with global marketing organizations to transform everything from…...

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Discover how cross-functional partnerships between customer experience leaders and developers are turning AI promise into real-world impact. Liz Miller, VP & Principal Analyst at Constellation Research, shares insights from IBM TechXchange—a “Customer Experience Day” hiding in plain sight among builders and developers.

Liz unpacks:

  • The “two polls” that reveal what developers really worry about with AI (accuracy, training data, and outcomes)
  • Why customer and employee experience is the #1 place builders want to apply AI
  • The challenges teams face with data access, quality, and legacy systems
  • How Scuderia Ferrari and IBM are using AI and up to 10,000 data points per second to transform fan engagement
  • Why CX, data, and AI must become a team sport across marketing, service, sales, commerce, and development

If you’re a customer experience, marketing, service, or product leader wondering how to work better with your builders—and how to turn operational data into unforgettable experiences—this talk is for you.

Next-Generation Customer Experience Future of Work CX Employee Experience Customer Experience developer Chief Marketing Officer Chief People Officer
On CR Conversations

Cisco AI Summit 2026 Key Takeaways | With R "Ray" Wang & Chirag Mehta

Cisco AI Summit 2026 Key Takeaways | With R "Ray" Wang & Chirag Mehta

Chirag Mehta
Vice President and Principal Analyst
Constellation Research

Chirag Mehta is Vice President and Principal Analyst focusing on cybersecurity, next-gen application development, and product-led growth. With over 25 years of experience, he has built, shipped, marketed, and sold successful enterprise SaaS products and solutions across startups, mid-size, and large companies. As a product leader overseeing engineering, product management, and design, he has consistently driven revenue growth and product innovation. He also held key leadership roles in product marketing, corporate strategy, ecosystem partnerships, and business development, leveraging his expertise to make a significant impact on various aspects of product success. His holistic research approach on cybersecurity is grounded in the reality that as sophisticated AI-led attacks become…...

Read more
R "Ray" Wang
Principal Analyst and Founder
Constellation Research

R “Ray” Wang is the CEO of Silicon Valley-based Constellation Research Inc. He co-hosts DisrupTV, a weekly enterprise tech and leadership webcast that averages 50,000 views per episode and blogs at www.raywang.org. His ground-breaking best-selling book on digital transformation, Disrupting Digital Business, was published by Harvard Business Review Press in 2015. Ray's new book about Digital Giants and the future of business, titled, Everybody Wants to Rule The World was released in July 2021. Wang is well-quoted and frequently interviewed by media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, CNBC, Yahoo Finance, Cheddar, and Bloomberg. Short Bio R “Ray” Wang (pronounced WAHNG) is the Founder, Chairman, and Principal Analyst of Silicon Valley-based Constellation Research Inc. He…...

Read more

Cisco AI Summit 2026 communicated a clear message through its powerhouse lineup of speakers: AI is real, it’s here, and the gap will widen quickly between those who experiment boldly and those who wait.

Here are key takeaways from CR analysts R "Ray" Wang and Chirag Mehta:

  • OpenAI vs. Anthropic: Two very different cultures and go-to-market motions—consumer-first vs. enterprise-first—but both pushing the frontier fast.
  • Metrics matter (from AWS’s Matt Garman): Most generativeAI POCs fail not because of the tech, but because they lack clear success criteria.
  • Context is everything: Teams that started with A#I from day one are seeing 100x gains vs. ~10x for those retrofitting AI onto existing workflows.
  • Prompt is the craft (from Dylan Field): AI doesn’t replace designers and developers—the value shifts to how well you frame problems and prompts.
  • Beyond digital intelligence (from Fei Fei Li): The next frontier is physical and spatial intelligence—how AI perceives and interacts with the real world.
  • Cisco’s three big gaps: Infrastructure, data, and trust will define who actually wins with AI at scale.

As R "Ray" Wang summarized: we’re entering a world of margin compression, exponential scale (10x/100x/1000x), and seemingly infinite possibilities, but only for those who apply AI with precision and clear order of operations.

Looking forward to continuing these conversations at the Constellation's AI Forum on March 19, 2026, in Menlo Park, CA, where we’ll focus on real-world lessons from Chief AI Officers and operators in the trenches.

Learn more here: https://www.constellationr.com/event/2026/constellations-ai-forum-2026

Future of Work Tech Optimization Data to Decisions Digital Safety, Privacy & Cybersecurity AI Agentic AI Generative AI Digital Transformation
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