Episode Summary

In this episode, Maribel Lopez interviews Kate Soule, Director of Technical Product Management for IBM's Granite products. They discuss IBM's third-generation AI models, their focus on efficiency and enterprise readiness, and the latest advancements including vision capabilities and reasoning features.

Guest

Kate Soule - Director of Technical Product Management for IBM's Granite products

Key Topics & Timestamps

00:04 - Introduction

• Maribel introduces the show and Kate Soule
• Brief overview of IBM Granite as fit-for-purpose, open-source enterprise AI models

00:48 - What is IBM Granite?

• Designed as core building blocks for enterprises building with generative AI
• Focus on efficiency with smaller model sizes
• Monthly innovation updates to keep pace with rapidly evolving field

02:19 - Understanding AI Reasoning

• Explanation of reasoning capabilities in AI models
• How allowing models to generate more text at inference time can improve performance
• Cost/benefit tradeoffs of reasoning features

03:13 - Enterprise AI Model Selection Criteria

• Moving beyond "one model to rule them all" thinking
• Importance of fit-for-purpose models
• Why smaller models can be customized more easily
• Trust and transparency considerations

05:38 - AI Governance and Safety

• How to evaluate models for governance requirements
• Safety evaluations and benchmarks as table stakes
• Systems-based approach to safety with guardrails
• IBM's Granite Guardian and protection mechanisms

08:55 - Benefits of Smaller Models

• Why size matters: cost, latency, and customization advantages
• Smaller models are easier to customize and require less computing power
• IBM's transparent approach to training data

10:13 - Future of AI Evaluation

• Performance per cost becoming the key evaluation metric
• The growing importance of flexibility in model selection
• How the "efficient frontier" between cost and performance will differentiate providers

12:41 - IBM's Vision Models

• IBM's pragmatic enterprise focus for multimodal capabilities
• Vision understanding (image in, text out) for practical business use cases
• Specialization for documents, charts, and dashboards
• Delivering powerful capabilities in only 2 billion parameters

15:25 - Understanding Model Size Context

• Evolution from millions to billions of parameters
• Practical considerations of deploying different-sized models
• Finding the right cost-benefit trade-off for specific use cases

This conversation explores the transformative impact of AI on business, particularly focusing on Zoho's evolution as it aims to enhance its enterprise offerings. The speakers discuss the importance of understanding customer data, the global dynamics of AI adoption, and Zoho's unique culture that fosters innovation. They also touch on the future of enterprise software and the integration of AI, emphasizing the need for a holistic view of customer engagement.

Takeaways:

• Massive interest in AI is changing markets and valuations.
• Tools are only as effective as their application in serving customers.
• Zoho is aggressively moving into the enterprise space with a focus on AI.
• Integration of data is crucial for a comprehensive customer view.
• The concept of customer 360 is often misunderstood.
• Global market dynamics affect how AI is adopted in different regions.
• Zoho's culture promotes innovation and responsiveness to customer needs.
• AI will soon be an integral part of enterprise operations.
• Not every enterprise is a fit for Zoho's offerings.
• The future of enterprise software will be driven by AI and data integration.

Chapters

00:00
The Rise of AI and Its Impact on Business

01:59
Zoho's Evolution and Enterprise Focus

06:10
Understanding Customer Data and Integration

10:08
Global Perspectives on AI and Market Dynamics

13:54
Zoho's Unique Culture and Approach to Innovation

21:56
Future of Enterprise Software and AI Integration

In this episode, Maribel Lopez of Lopez Research interviews Kevin McInturff Chief Technology Officer of Logility. We explore the transformative impact of artificial intelligence on supply chain management and the key considerations for successful implementation. Our discussion covers critical insights for business leaders and practitioners navigating the AI landscape.

Key Discussion Points

Throughout our conversation, we delve into how artificial intelligence is fundamentally reshaping supply chain operations. The democratization of information through generative AI has opened new possibilities, though organizations continue to grapple with data integration challenges. We examine the critical balance between innovation and responsibility, particularly regarding ethics and data security in AI deployment.

The discussion reveals how real-world applications of AI are enhancing decision-making processes across supply chain operations. We explore emerging AI technologies that are revolutionizing forecasting methods, while acknowledging the ongoing evolution of ROI measurement for AI investments. Building trust in AI systems emerges as a fundamental requirement for successful adoption.

Our conversation emphasizes the importance of practical experimentation with AI solutions. Organizations must understand the interplay of different roles and technical languages in AI implementation. This approach allows companies to develop effective, tailored solutions while maintaining ethical considerations and data security.

## Episode Resources

If you'd like to learn more about the topics discussed in this episode, follow me on social media at Youtube for the video version of this podcast and LinkedIN and X (Twitter) for AI research updates and insights.

Kevin McInturff Expert Bio:
Kevin McInturff, Chief Technology Officer of Logility, has 20+ years of experience in product and engineering roles. He spent his early career as an engineer on a plant floor working in industrial automation and plant information systems before moving into enterprise SaaS software. Under his leadership Logility has accelerated the pace of innovation and focused on delivering high quality product, a superior user experience and solutions that enable supply chain organizations to anticipate disruptions as opportunities to reap competitive advantages. He is passionate about understanding and meeting client needs with innovative solutions while building great engineering and product culture within his team.

Outside of his work with Logility he actively volunteers with the 501st Legion a non-profit who partners with other organizations to brighten the lives of the less fortunate and to bring awareness to positive causes on both a local and global scale. Kevin is a lifelong learner, an artist, and avid practitioner of the art of tsundoku.

He has earned a BS in Computer Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and a Masters of Science, Management of Technology from Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business. Kevin lives in Smyrna, Georgia with his wife and three daughters.

Maribel Lopez of Lopez Research hosted a podcast at AWS Reinvent, discussing QuickSight with ATracy Daugherty GM, QuickSight at Amazon Web Service and Travis Muhlestein, Chief Data and Analytics Officer at GoDaddy. QuickSight, a cloud-based BI tool, enables real-time data sharing and decision-making through dashboards, pixel-perfect reports, and Q for asking data questions. In the podcast, Muhlstein shares how QuickSight has transformed GoDaddy's approach from static dashboards to real-time, interactive data exploration and analysis, enabling more agile, data-driven decision-making across the organization.

Follow the guests at:
Maribel Lopez https://www.linkedin.com/in/maribellopez/

Travis Muhlestein, Chief Data and Analytics Officer at GoDaddy https://www.linkedin.com/in/travis-muhlestein/

Tracy Daugherty GM, QuickSight at Amazon Web Services https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracy-daugherty-28a1014/

Every industry, including the quick service restaurant (QSR) market, plans to transform its business with artificial intelligence (AI). Several years ago, Wendy's embarked on its AI journey, leveraging cloud services and generative AI to enhance employee and customer experiences. The drive-thru experience presents numerous challenges for QSR restaurants due to the complexities of menu options, limited-time offers, special requests, and ambient noise.

Wendy's chose to tackle the drive-thru experience with AI because 75 to 80 percent of Wendy's customers choose the drive-thru as their preferred ordering channel. The company saw a tremendous opportunity to improve the customer experience by creating a seamless ordering experience using AI automation in the drive-thru.

In an interview with Lopez Research, Wendy's CIO Matt Spessard shared how its AI program had advanced over the past year and shared advice for other leaders looking to tackle AI within their business.

At Amazon Re:Invent, Maribel Lopez met with several industry analysts to discuss their perspectives on what happened at one of the industry's premier cloud computing and AI trade shows.

https://reinvent.awsevents.com/