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Articles by Spencer Izard
Adobe Summit London 2026 Takeaway
Home » Blog » Adobe Summit London 2026 Takeaway PAC observes that the transition from isolated digital pilots to enterprise-scale implementation is the defining challenge for modern C-suite executives navigating complex legacy operations. While initial experimentation provides a safe environment for technical validation, operational reality often requires a complete re-engineering of part or most of an organisation’s baseline enterprise architecture.
The Hidden Cost Problem in AI Model Usage
A significant shift is occurring in the artificial intelligence market as enterprise buyers move decisively from unconstrained exploration toward architectural optimisation. Senior technology and financial leaders are increasingly auditing their generative, and now agent, pipelines, realising that routing everyday transactional queries to massive, closed frontier networks is economically unsustainable.
ServiceNow’s CRM Vision & Midmarket Momentum
Home » Blog » ServiceNow’s CRM Vision & Midmarket Momentum PAC recently had the opportunity to attend the EMEA Industry Analyst Summit co-located at the ServiceNow World Forum in London. Over the past year, the global software and services industry has focused itself entirely on rapidly incorporating deep learning (DL) generative and agentic AI capabilities into its existing product and service offerings.
A quantum step in the agentic direction for McKinsey
Home » Blog » A quantum step in the agentic direction for McKinsey Recently, PAC had the opportunity to attend a McKinsey event in London focused on their QuantumBlack division. Next year will be the 100th anniversary of McKinsey, which is internationally known for its business-led management consulting capability serving businesses, governments, and institutions focused on addressing the strategic and operational challenges organisations face.
Facing the new global trade realities – plus ça change?! -
Home » Blog » Facing the new global trade realities – plus ça change?! These are unprecedented times. On 2 April 2025, President Donald Trump announced a comprehensive tariff strategy that includes a base rate of 10% on all US imports and higher, country-specific tariffs, notably a 20% tariff on goods from the European Union. For offshore locations like India (26%), Vietnam (46%), and China, a whopping 54%. These measures are scheduled to take effect at the beginning of April 2025.
Blue Prism Beds in at SS&C -
By Spencer Izard & Nick Mayes When financial software group SS&C acquired Blue Prism in 2022, it took out one of the three front-runners in the robotic process automation (RPA) software field. This week, PAC caught up with some of the leadership of the Blue Prism business, who provided an update on how it is bedding in as part of the wider $5.6bn software group and how artificial intelligence – and specifically Gen AI – fit in to its roadmap.
AWS Summit London 24: Q’ing up a new era of enterprise AI -
PAC recently had the opportunity to attend the AWS Summit London 2024 event. Over the past few years, the cloud hyperscaler market segment has become highly competitive and more challenging to differentiate. So, it was encouraging to see over the sessions PAC attended that AWS keenly understands what is driving the European market regarding the types of technology services they provide. Understandably, AI, specifically generative AI (GenAI), was a significant focus for AWS on the day.
MERKLE LEADING DATA-DRIVEN ADOBE TRANSFORMATION - SITSI®
In March, market research and strategic consulting firm PAC released its PAC INNOVATION RADAR on “Adobe-related Services in Europe 2024”. It is designed to help Adobe clients and prospects in the region identify the right service partner for their business. PAC evaluated leading IT services partners across Adobe’s four most important industry sectors in Europe.
Generative AI will be a “force multiplier” for ServiceNow - SITSI®
Home » Blog » Generative AI will be a “force multiplier” for ServiceNow PAC recently had the opportunity to attend the EMEA Industry Analyst Summit co-located at the ServiceNow World Forum in Rotterdam. 2023 has been an interesting year for the technology industry due to the impact in awareness of what generative AI (GenAI) is and its far-reaching potential impact on how people function in both their personal and professional lives.
Generated Drama at OpenAI - SITSI®
Home » Blog » Generated Drama at OpenAI The fluidity of leadership So, when reflecting upon the year-long journey of GenAI to this point, it would have been unimaginable to think that OpenAI would be in a position where its board would sack its CEO.
The Potential Role For Intelligent Agents In Retail
Menu Wednesday, 27 November 2019 08:00 Written by Spencer Izard, Leading Edge Forum Published in Executive ViewPoints The retail sector has evolved dramatically in the last decade. This has been largely driven by continuously improving mobile device hardware and the connectivity on which they rely. It means that more often than not, we reach for a mobile device to indulge our shopping needs, whether that be through a browser, or more commonly with our favorite brands, through their dedicated app.
Embedding a Foundation Now for In-Store Personalization
The impact of digital was first felt by retailers through the evolution of online shopping over the past decade. In conjunction with this, the retail industry witnessed the ubiquitous adoption of smart devices by consumers. However, due to many practical business reasons the physical store continues to be slower to digitally evolve despite all the hype in regard to automation and AI. Digital technolgy inside stores benefits both customers and retail teams equally if prepared for properly.
The changing role of the enterprise architect
It’s no secret that the enterprise architect (EA) function is a technology-focused one and as such falls under the IT department’s domain. The reasoning behind this is logical – to quote several IT leaders, “You cannot architect technology unless you have developed technology”. Given this belief, the EA role has typically been sourced from IT department staff – specifically those who have been in solution or development roles on projects for line of business (LoB) functions.
'Outside-in' digital age devolves the enterprise architect role
Editor's note: The following is a guest article from Spencer Izard, lead advisor and researcher at Leading Edge Forum. The enterprise architect (EA) role has always resided within the IT department.
The opportunity of visual search in retailing
Sept. 24, 2019 By Spencer Izard, research and advisory lead, Leading Edge Forum Retailing is a visual industry and has for decades placed significant focus on the design of branding, packaging and products to attract the attention of consumers across all channels and engagement points.
Embedding a Foundation Now for In-Store Personalization
The impact of digital was first felt by retailers through the evolution of online shopping over the past decade. In conjunction with this the retail industry witnessed the ubiquitous adoption of smart devices by consumers. However, due to many practical business reasons the physical store continues to be slower to digitally evolve despite all the hype in regard to automation and artificial intelligence (AI).
The Customer Experience Course Correction
For decades a retailer’s business was understandably centered around the products it sold. However, the onset of digital drove the need for retailers to reassess what their central focus must be, moving from products to the customer. This change created a delta between a retailer’s leadership team placing the customer in the center and the day-to-day operational reality of it.
Let your emotions run free
Over the past decade we have all witnessed the core strategic switch in retailing. Retailers no longer consider themselves product- or service-centric, but customer-centric and the emphasis we place on data analysis to understand customers and direct the business is now huge. We use it to try and improve the customer experience, make buying and merchandising decisions, and ultimately measure our success across any number of KPIs you can care to think of.
An enterprise brand is only as strong as its weakest digital link - Ovum
Digital has gained a “terminal velocity” of hype across all facets of the IT industry over the past couple of years. However, the adoption of technologies in support of digital business outcomes can vary greatly across industries in terms of use-case maturity, cost, complexity, and time to market.
The business-critical necessity of addressing cybersecurity - Ovum
The opportunity of digital transformation to provide greater insight into customer/client and competitor dynamics by utilizing an array of data, sourced both internally and externally, has yet to reach a broadly recognized paradigm for every industry. This means that regulatory bodies across the globe will be in catch-up mode, as is often the case for technology-related business innovations that could have a continued impact on the operating requirements of organizations in a digital context.
CIO Advisory: Establishing a foundation for successful IoT adoption - Ovum
The term Internet of Things (IoT) continues to evolve into being many different things for many different organizations and use cases. The challenge for CIOs and related senior leaders is not adopting IoT, but instead establishing an “IoT-ready” approach with regard to existing architecture, governance, and support models. The potential business applications of IoT span an ever-growing set of industrial and consumer implementations.
Business Strategy: European Digital Stores
IDC Research, Inc. 5 Speen Street Framingham, MA 01701+1.508.872.8200 Copyright 2016 IDC. All rights reserved.
Pivot Table: Worldwide Retail IT Spending Guide, Version 2, 2014-2019
IDC Research, Inc. 5 Speen Street Framingham, MA 01701+1.508.872.8200 Copyright 2016 IDC. All rights reserved.
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