The event was held April 23-25 in Heidelberg, Germany, and customers on-site experienced insightful keynotes and sessions from 疯拍传媒 Executive Board Members Thomas Saueressig and Muhammad Alam, as well as 疯拍传媒 Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer Philipp Herzig and other experts.

presented important updates on topics that also included Business Transformation as a Service, RISE with 疯拍传媒, and 疯拍传媒 BTP. Attendees also benefited from interactive “eXpert eXchange” sessions and opportunities to network and share their experiences and best practices.

The 疯拍传媒 MaxAttention program offers premium-level engagement and personalized service for customers to move business-wide transformational change from boardroom plans to business reality with a tailored, premium experience. Program participants get premium access to trusted 疯拍传媒 experts, tools, and methodologies that can help deliver expected outcomes successfully with 疯拍传媒 solutions.

Replays

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Thomas Saueressig’s Keynote

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Muhammad Alam’s Keynote

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Philipp Herzig’s Executive Session

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In the latest episode of the AHA! Moments for Diversity & Inclusion video series, 疯拍传媒 Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer Supriya Jha talks to Houghton about how her first job started a lifelong advocacy for people with disabilities and how accommodations can make all the difference.

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Seventy percent of the world鈥檚 population 鈥� 1 billion people 鈥� has an invisible disability, including anxiety, depression, hearing issues, or autism, to name but a few. Houghton, who has a learning disability, is one of them.

Houghton was lucky; accommodations at school meant that she had the extra time needed to process information in exams. But when she took her law school entrance exams, her luck ran out. With no extra time or accommodation, she fell behind. This changed the trajectory of her life. Instead of legal studies, an internship followed. Instead of a career in law, her first job was in Indianapolis, Indiana, placing people born with disabilities into employment.

The AHA! Moment

During her time in Indianapolis, Houghton recalls one client in particular, Erica, and how the job for her 鈥渨asn’t just about a paycheck, but that it was about respect and it was about being included in her community and having friends.鈥� And, says Houghton, it 鈥渨as at that moment that I knew why I existed, and I never turned back.鈥� She has been a disability inclusion activist ever since.

As president of Disability:IN, Houghton has been a driving force in promoting disability inclusion in companies and with the Disability Equality Index (DEI), a tool for measuring and offering best practices for disability inclusion. The DEI analyzes disability inclusion practices and processes in leadership and culture, employment practices, community engagement, and supplier diversity. It also offers advice on how to better disability inclusion.

In 2023, more than 480 companies participated in the DEI, including 69 Fortune 100 companies with more than 14 million U.S.-based employees and nearly 9 million non-U.S.-based employees. 疯拍传媒 was awarded the top score in the 2023 DEI rankings.

Workplace Accommodations and Leadership Culture

Only 5% of employees with a disability choose to disclose, and 疯拍传媒鈥檚 Jha was keen to get Houghton鈥檚 insights on how to create a culture where disabled employees feel that they can articulate their needs and reach their full potential.

Houghton says the solution is twofold. First, leaders must use their platforms to be a disability inclusion ally or have the cultural space to own their identity 鈥� disabled or not. And second, workplace accommodations must be the norm.

Processes for requesting accommodations must be transparent and easy to follow. Managers must clearly understand how to arrange accommodations and, more importantly, budget must be available. If these processes aren鈥檛 easy, there is a risk that talent will be lost and that disabled employees will not have a sense of belonging.

Avoiding Microaggressions and Discrimination

To avoid microaggressions and discrimination against disabled employees, Houghton advocates using the best resource possible 鈥� your own employees, in particular disability employee groups. At 疯拍传媒, there are Employee Network Groups such as 疯拍传媒 HEAR and Friends and Enabled@疯拍传媒.

Disability is a true cross-collaborative task. After all, Houghton concludes, becoming disabled is the 鈥渙ne team that anybody can join at any time in their life.鈥�

Here, five 疯拍传媒 employees share about their roles, motivations, and tips for anyone wanting to step into AI. The women 鈥� Khawla Mallat, Camila Lombana Diaz, Xin Chen, Nadine Hoffmann, and Puntis Palazzolo 鈥� span four countries and three areas: Data Science Engineering, Product Management, and AI Ethics.

Data Science Engineering

Dr. Khawla Mallat, Security and Quantum Exploration Team, 疯拍传媒 France

鈥淏e ready to be challenged all times,鈥� says Mallat, if you want to build a career in AI.

Unlike most data scientists at 疯拍传媒, Mallat does not work directly on the product but is firmly anchored in researching and addressing 鈥渟ome of the technical challenges related to AI, namely fairness, explainability, privacy, and security.鈥�

Prior to joining 疯拍传媒 two years ago, Mallat was confronted with the unintended prejudices of face analysis systems. Certain demographic groups, explains Mallat, used to be inadvertently omitted or underrepresented in the underlying data sets, leading to shortcomings in the face analysis capabilities. Such cases highlight the broader issue of bias鈥痠n other鈥疉I applications. In鈥痑reas like HR, she continues, removing personal details in data sets might seem to solve鈥痶he bias issues, but AI can still infer these details.鈥疶his leads to potentially鈥痓iased outcomes and the lack of explainability in AI models makes identification of such biases鈥痙ifficult. Letting data sets like this take root and grow into powerful data models not subject to scrutiny will only magnify the inherent bias or discrimination.

Today Mallat鈥檚 passion for addressing such unfairness aligns well with her role of identifying the inherent risks of AI, educating teams about them, and defining technological solutions to mitigate them.

鈥淲e need to adopt an interdisplinary approach to AI, with experts from ethics, legal compliance, and domain experts, for example, and abstract ourselves from the role of data scientists to succeed,鈥� says Mallat.

鈥淚 love working in AI,鈥� she continues. 鈥淓verything is progressing at an incredible pace so if you want to work in AI, you have to have a certain thirst for knowledge. And, regardless of your role, you must take AI ethics 鈥� regulations and regulatory frameworks 鈥� seriously because these have huge implications not only for 疯拍传媒 but for individuals and societies in general.鈥�

AI Ethics

Camila Lombana Diaz, Responsible AI, Germany

鈥淎I is a mirror of our capacities as humans. And the biggest responsibility for those working in AI is, what do we want to see in that mirror?鈥� explains Lombana Diaz, AI ethics research expert in the AI Ethics/Responsible AI team located in the 疯拍传媒 Business AI growth area.

Lombana Diaz鈥檚 responsibilities include maturing and applying the 疯拍传媒 AI Global Ethics policy, creating and delivering enablement content, defining AI personas and processes, and giving guidance to make responsible AI an operational reality for development, as exemplified in 疯拍传媒鈥檚 AI ethics handbook.

When she joined 疯拍传媒 eight years ago, initially as a UX designer and then a strategic designer, machine learning and AI were core topics. But it became increasingly clear to her that 鈥渦nderstanding the human implications of AI for a responsible and ethical AI demands a human-centric perspective.鈥�

Even though 疯拍传媒 is committed to the ethical development of AI 鈥� developers must now complete AI ethics assessment tasks and a steering committee scrutinizes all high-risk use cases 鈥� Lombana Diaz emphasizes the need to remain focused on the inherent risks and unintentional harms that AI may present. Part of her role is an ongoing assessment of the technology, identifying risks and limitations and communicating them to different teams.

As AI continues to evolve at speed, so do the roles. Lombana Diaz is passionate about seeing AI beyond the confines of a technology-centric perspective. 鈥淎I is now an omnipresent technology shaping our daily lives; hence, we need individuals working in the field who challenge AI technology to be community centric. AI ethics is a space for experimental, open, curious, collaborative, and human-centered individuals,鈥� and, she concludes, 鈥渢he time to step into AI and build a career is now because, unlike the technology, the business of AI, the legal and ethical aspects, are still being shaped.鈥�

Data Science Engineering 

Dr. Xin Chen, 疯拍传媒 HANA Machine Learning, China

鈥淚 have always enjoyed working at 疯拍传媒 since joining nine years ago. I like the work environment and the colleagues here and I really want to encourage others to join us here in AI,鈥� says Chen, data science researcher on the 疯拍传媒 HANA Machine Learning team.

The team works on a toolbox providing different kinds of machine learning algorithms for regression, classification, clustering, and so on for the 疯拍传媒 HANA predictive analysis library.

Part of Chen鈥檚 role is investigating research papers on the latest machine learning algorithms and, together with the team, deciding which algorithms would be beneficial to customers. Once the machine learning algorithms are implemented, Chen and the team evaluate feedback from customers and deliver enhancements.

Recently Chen and her team researched machine learning algorithms investigating notions of fairness. 鈥淔airness is a very hot topic just now,鈥� she says. 鈥淚n mathematics, there are different notions of fairness, but it is still a complex and evolving topic.鈥�

And Chen鈥檚 advice to would-be AI developers? 鈥淐ritical thinking will become even more important to understand what solutions to offer, to make judgements on your own innovations, and to know if the generated output is right or wrong,鈥� she says, reflecting on how this skill will become ever more important for future AI developers.

Product Management

Nadine Hoffmann, 疯拍传媒 Business AI, Germany

鈥淚 translate and I want to fascinate,鈥� says Hoffmann, global AI product manager in the 疯拍传媒 Business AI growth area.

Even after more than 20 years at 疯拍传媒, disruptive ideas and mindset shifts still energize Hoffmann. To be an expert in new technologies, and to be energized and enthused by the constant volume and speed of them, is critical to being successful in the AI product management teams of today because product management is the glue between partners, customers, the field, and development.

鈥淥n the one hand,鈥� says Hoffmann, 鈥湻枧拇� has data scientists, software engineers, and researchers taking our software to the next level. And on the other, there are experts defining the legal and ethical guardrails.鈥� Product management must be fluent in both 鈥渢echnical software speak鈥� and 鈥渃ustomer speak鈥� to understand desires, pain points, and business processes.

Pivoting between these and aligning customer speak with technical software speak is akin to being a听 translator, Hoffmann says. Our software will only meet the requirements of customers if there is a common understanding between the teams responsible for the technological development, the legal teams responsible for ethical and legal compliance, and the customer.

Regardless of the latest innovation, Hoffmann says success in product management is 鈥渘ot only about convincing teams and partners about the ease and positiveness of a technology, but also infusing them with a fascination about it so that they become passionate advocates and are intrinsically motivated to find out more by themselves.鈥�

Data Science Engineering

Puntis Palazzolo, AI Strategist & Ethics Lead, 疯拍传媒 SuccessFactors, U.S.

鈥淭he ethical challenges presented by AI have transcended the scope of individual enterprises, extending beyond entities like 疯拍传媒. It is crucial that we collaborate with others to collectively address AI鈥檚 emerging concerns,” says Palazzolo, who leads the 疯拍传媒 SuccessFactors Data Science team.

The team acts as a consulting service on AI use cases for product teams in 疯拍传媒 SuccessFactors, analyzing the problem, developing code and algorithms, and building proof-of-concepts. Successful AI use cases are then integrated into 疯拍传媒 SuccessFactors solutions.

Much of the data in 疯拍传媒 SuccessFactors solutions is sensitive customer data. With the dramatic increase in generative AI use cases, safeguarding customer data must take precedence, Palazzolo says. 鈥淕enerative AI is a powerful technology that introduces new challenges, such as hallucinations and automated decision-making. In high-risk sectors like HR, we need to explain how we reach certain decisions, especially when we are impacting people鈥檚 lives.鈥�

Palazzolo joined 疯拍传媒 11 years ago and has been based in Palo Alto, California, since 2013, where she represents 疯拍传媒 on 鈥� a collaboration of academia and companies, such as Google and NVIDIA, dedicated to developing safe practices and industry-standard benchmarks to improve AI models.鈥�

Her advice to current and would-be AI practitioners? Follow your passion, be ethical, and make your voice heard while we still have time.

鈥淟egislators alone cannot write AI regulations for us because they do not have a full understanding of its complexities,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e cannot solve all the problems by ourselves, but we must make our voices heard to shape the future of AI.鈥�

Alexa MacDonald is an 疯拍传媒 News editor.

Q: What is your vision for how AI will shape the future of the IT industry?

Sun: Like with other major technology shifts, such as the breakthrough of the Internet, consumer understanding and adoption pave the way for more rapid business adoption. I think the same thing is happening in generative AI. The rapid consumer awareness of artificial intelligence, especially generative AI, in the past year was largely due to the November 2022 Chat GPT consumer release opening the door for AI and business applications.

Practically speaking, I’m seeing a crawl, walk, run approach to adoption. First of all, business leaders want to see it work. So, they鈥檙e going to try it out with close supervision and in smaller, more cautious ways to start.

After they鈥檝e gained some trust, they鈥檒l deploy it more broadly. Later, they will be so comfortable that they鈥檒l use it in all lines of their business. That will be a great opportunity for 疯拍传媒 to help these businesses crawl, then walk, then run through this process.

Where do you see the biggest opportunity for 疯拍传媒 in the AI space?

As a global leader in business applications, we can play a very big role in shaping how businesses adopt AI. It鈥檚 very exciting to be at the forefront of technology and also be in a position to do it responsibly.

At 疯拍传媒, we want to grow trust from our customers. As you know, 疯拍传媒 Business AI is relevant, reliable, and responsible. This position is deeply rooted in adhering to EU data protection laws. We have content filters, data provenance checks, and other features to help ensure accurate and reliable results. Our ethically responsible handling of AI helps ensure that customers can trust how we鈥檙e building these capabilities.

We are built for business: we have the deep knowledge and the shipped capabilities to make AI work for our customers. They know what their pain points are, and we can figure out how to solve the problem with technology. This is also about democratizing information for everybody, and we鈥檙e democratizing the ability for all businesses 鈥� large and small 鈥� to use AI.

I think we can use 疯拍传媒鈥檚 unique selling point, which is our access to business data combined with this strong data privacy and protection standards, to get customers to understand that they can trust our technology. With Joule, 疯拍传媒 is already shipping generative AI capabilities and, as we saw at 疯拍传媒 TechEd, we have plans for delivering more both in product and for our developers in 疯拍传媒 Business Technology Platform.

How do we balance the urgency of innovation with the prudence of ethical consideration in the deployment of AI?

I think AI ethics is an extremely important part of our equation. Trust takes years to earn but can be lost in seconds with one failure or one mistake. At 疯拍传媒, we have made investments in to ensure we鈥檙e building responsible AI for our customers. This includes fairness, explainability and transparency, reliability, and safety. It also includes having accuracy of information, privacy, and security in place. We also have our 疯拍传媒 AI Global Ethics Steering Committee helping to ensure further safeguards.

If we miss any aspect of this, we run a risk of breaking trust and moving backwards in our fast push to progress. From talking to customers, I鈥檝e been reaffirmed that they want to know what鈥檚 going on under the hood.

This is not just for knowing so they can share with their company leaders, but to help everyone be comfortable with generative AI because it is new to everybody. People are a little bit cautious as to what is possible, and they want to know what鈥檚 happening.

The more we can explain, the more we show that we have the technology under control, the more comfort people will have in adopting and using it, which then creates that flywheel of more usage, more trust, and more adoption.

How do you view the collaboration between academia and industry?

With any new innovation, having the collaborative effort is really important to move fastest.

As someone who has worked both in academia and industry, I see exciting opportunities in collaboration. At 疯拍传媒, we want to build bridges, not silos. Let鈥檚 acknowledge academic priorities of publishing papers and state-of-the-art science and ask ourselves, 鈥淗ow can we partner so that it is a win-win situation for both of us?鈥�

We collaborate with academic research institutions to understand what state-of-the-art development is in the pipeline. Our role is to provide business knowledge and use cases and then merge that with the research scenarios to identify what could be practically implemented and be valuable to our customers.

疯拍传媒鈥檚 relationships with many top institutions, such as Stanford, Berkeley, MIT, and Technische Universit盲t M眉nchen, are really great. Our membership into the Stanford HAI program is a specific example. Beyond the research collaborations, the relationships help ensure that the best graduates from these universities think of 疯拍传媒 when looking for their first job and guarantee that we鈥檙e on top of the latest technology.

In the latest episode of the AHA! Moments in Diversity & Inclusion video series, 疯拍传媒 Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer Supriya Jha and Lengler discuss what inclusion awareness means to him.

On the Trail

The World Economic Forum estimates that more than 150 million people are homeless globally and, for Lengler, meeting one of them further cemented his passion for diversity and inclusion.

During his 162 days on the Appalachian Trail, Lengler discovered that another hiker he met had been homeless for more than 10 years. Initially, he was a little apprehensive about this fact 鈥� and the hiker. However, he quickly discovered that sharing a common goal 鈥� in this case to complete the trail 鈥� meant that any preconceptions or concerns about this formerly homeless individual ceased to be relevant. They were to spend the next four weeks hiking the trail together.

鈥淥n the trail,鈥� Lengler explains, 鈥測ou have the same goal, and you are open to all people there.鈥�

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Unlearning Ingrained Behavior Patterns

Lengler reflects on those groups of individuals he refers to as 鈥渙ld white men clubs鈥� who have never consciously suffered exclusion and have no understanding of the barriers that others face. Identifying unconscious biases and unlearning ingrained behavior patterns is critical to sustaining the success of diversity and inclusion initiatives.

For Lengler, the important aspect of inclusion is not just to increase the number of employees from diverse backgrounds but to create a culture of true inclusion. Passionately, he explains that for him true inclusion means 100% acceptance for all team members, regardless of their backgrounds. Only team members who are 100% accepted and truly included in all aspects of team life will be able to bring their best selves to work and can be 鈥渙pen in their voice and their mind.鈥� 

The AHA! Moment

On the Appalachian Trail, Lengler experienced first-hand how a common goal and common hardship can bring people together. Above all else, someone who has different life experience or is in some way different from the rest of the team will bring another point of view and, says Lengler, 鈥渨ill look at the same problem in a different manner,鈥� crystallizing his conviction that when you share your goal, 鈥測ou can reach it together more easily instead of making it alone.鈥�

Diversity and Inclusion at 疯拍传媒

In its , 疯拍传媒 states its mission to become 鈥渢he most inclusive company in the world.鈥� In the U.S., for example, more than 40% of employees are from underrepresented groups. 疯拍传媒 is on track to achieve long-term gender goals and has a five-generation workforce. 

One of the initiatives that the Global Diversity and Inclusion Office has launched to help further 疯拍传媒鈥檚 progress towards becoming the most inclusive company in the world is the Inclusive Mindset Challenge. This challenge allows employees to learn about inclusion topics and the importance of becoming an ally for marginalized groups at their own pace. The challenge comprises a broad range of micro-learnings, such as menopause, transphobia, or sexism to name a few. In 2022, more than 11,000 employees completed this challenge. New challenges are added regularly; recent additions include indigenous inclusion and infuse D&I with AI.

疯拍传媒 Inclusion Month

疯拍传媒 has designated October 2023 as 疯拍传媒 Inclusion Month. All employees are invited to join the inclusion journey and to get involved in an Employee Network Group (ENG) journey, allyship journey, and, for leaders, the intentional inclusion journey.

With more that 40,000 employees, ENGs are voluntary, employee-led diversity and inclusion initiatives representing groups such as visually impaired employees, caregivers, or Latinos.

With the allyship inclusion journey, employees are invited to use their privilege and power to support marginalized groups. With the intentional inclusion journey, leaders learn about intentional inclusion practices that can help further advance 疯拍传媒鈥檚 journey to become a truly inclusive workplace.

Top photo courtesy of 疯拍传媒 employee Celia Carillo.

Q: What is at the heart of the 疯拍传媒 AppHaus approach?

A: 疯拍传媒 AppHaus has always been a front-runner for incubating new products, technology, and methods. To date, we鈥檝e completed more than 1,000 customer co-innovation projects. But what makes us unique is our human-centered approach to innovation driven by a combined methodology of .

At an 疯拍传媒 AppHaus customer workshop, people from IT, the business, and end users of our customers often come together for the first time ever! And this is where the dialogue begins 鈥� with the end users at the heart of the process. The core of our methodology is, first and foremost, to understand the end user鈥檚 problem. Finding a solution to that problem guides us from the first iteration to the go-live. And this is why, I believe, customers love to work with us 鈥� because we help them understand their problems before we come up with a solution and then help them solve it with 疯拍传媒 technologies. Making innovation real and getting it into the hands of end users is our mantra.

One of the issues I see time and time again in some organizations is a tendency to build, sell, or talk about products before understanding the customer problem. Generative AI is a case in point. With all new technologies, people often believe that technology alone will solve all their problems. But generative AI cannot solve everything. To this end, we鈥檝e created a new . The goal is to identify use cases where generative AI is the perfect solution and can create high business value for our customers. 

What sparks change and innovation?

Experience drives change. Ten years ago, our customers wanted to have an Amazon-like experience with their 疯拍传媒 apps, and this started to shift the focus to end-user experience and expectations. What, we had to ask ourselves, do customers and their end users need?

Creativity and new ideas are useless if they鈥檙e not implemented. If we implement something that nobody needs, then there鈥檚 no value. And with no value, there鈥檚 no innovation.

Innovation is creativity multiplied by execution to increase business value. True innovation adds business value and customers benefit from it. That鈥檚 innovation.

How do you measure the success of 疯拍传媒 AppHaus? What are your KPIs?

Our focus on getting customers on stage to tell their story is unrelenting because are our currency.

Customers talking about their successful implementations and how they use 疯拍传媒 solutions is the most powerful way to change perception about 疯拍传媒 products. With our human-centered approach, we demonstrate that we support 疯拍传媒鈥檚 activities and ambitions in different ways: by helping to sell our software and services, drive adoption of our products, improve products based on customer feedback, and promote 疯拍传媒 as the innovation partner of choice. Our customer relationships are long-term 鈥� from accompanying customers to go-live, to helping them work successfully with their new 疯拍传媒 solution, to helping them with further improvements and innovations.

疯拍传媒 AppHaus focuses on use cases where customers want to innovate at speed and have a solution in a matter of months or even weeks. Getting those customers live on the stage at events like 疯拍传媒 Sapphire and 疯拍传媒 TechEd is a major performance indicator for 疯拍传媒 AppHaus.

At 疯拍传媒 TechEd this year, for example, our customer success stories included AMD, Doehler, Henkel, Pif Paf, and Orbia. Let鈥檚 not forget, this is always the result of a cross-team effort that involves organizations from across 疯拍传媒. All organizations contribute their outstanding business and technical knowledge to the overall success. The additional skills 疯拍传媒 AppHaus brings to the table are methodologies to understand the needs of people (user research) and visualize the potential solutions (UX design) as well as the skills to execute a customer project on a holistic basis.

How is 疯拍传媒 AppHaus scaling its success?

As long ago as 2016, we had to think about how we could scale our approach and create even more customer success stories, which led to us launching our first pilot with a partner based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Today has 22 locations and teams 鈥� three run by 疯拍传媒 and 19 by partners 鈥� with more than 15,000 employees. There is an 疯拍传媒 AppHaus partner on every continent! Our most recent partner addition is in Mexico.

All partners joined the network as single companies. But over time, the network has evolved, with its members teaming up across the globe to form a community of collaborating companies. What unites them is their joint vision to make innovation real by applying a human-centered approach that starts with people, not technology. To give an example, the network has a very active enterprise architect community with about 120 members currently focusing on generative AI.

疯拍传媒 AppHaus typically works with local 疯拍传媒 market units to identify smaller, agile partners that can provide a deep understanding of the local culture and a focus on that region or country.

What makes 疯拍传媒 AppHaus special?

In the team, there鈥檚 a culture of openness, a lack of hierarchy, space for disagreements, and time to reach a consensus. Above all, I would say that the team is a learning organization. The team has the amazing power of reinventing itself every two years or so to embrace new products, trends, and methodologies.

What have you learned about leadership during your time at 疯拍传媒 AppHaus?

As a leader, the process of learning how to lead the team the right way is an ongoing process. I absolutely believe in empowering employees to be their best selves and to reach their potential. But the flip side of empowering employees is that employees need to take accountability. The role of a leader is to find the balance.

I have had a very good experience with just being authentic, telling it like it is, and putting my ego aside. It is all about the team and its focus on customer success. I am a person just like everybody else. And, yes, I play a certain role, but like others I too have had my challenges.

I鈥檝e led 疯拍传媒 AppHaus since it was founded 10 years ago. During that time, I had cancer twice. It gave me a chance to reinvent myself. Today, I am thankful for this experience because it helped me find a better work-life balance and become a better leader. My key takeaway is this: focus on the topics that really matter, get them done, and give others the space to do what they are best at.

Top image courtesy of 疯拍传媒 employee Karsten Hohage

Reforestation projects have long played a crucial part in storing and removing CO₂ from the atmosphere and are one of the keys to a low-carbon future. For more than a decade, climate action has been at the top of 疯拍传媒鈥檚 corporate agenda along with the three other key sustainability focus areas 鈥� holistic steering and reporting, circular economy, and social responsibility.

One of the company鈥檚 climate goals is to foster biodiversity and nature-based solutions to combat climate change. The provides transparency on 疯拍传媒鈥檚 financial, social, and environmental performance and targets; information on measures to reduce CO₂; and progress on 疯拍传媒鈥檚 journey to achieve net zero along its value chain by 2030. For example, 疯拍传媒 runs all its offices and data centers with 100% renewable electricity, delivers sustainability management solutions to customers, and has financed the planting of more than 15 million trees to date to restore ecosystems and foster sustainable development. Since 2021, 疯拍传媒 has been part of , a corporate alliance committed to conserving, restoring, and growing 1 trillion trees by 2030.

Planting trees might sound simple, but reforestation projects must be in harmony with the needs of the local community and ecosystem to avoid doing more harm than good in the long run. This is where scientific tree planting projects have a vital role to play.

Project Highlight: The Carbon Community

Charitable donations from 疯拍传媒 support scientific plots in 疯拍传媒 Forest UK at , based in Wales, UK.

The Carbon Community鈥檚 mission is to optimize nature-based solutions to combat climate change. 疯拍传媒鈥檚 donations have contributed to a landmark carbon study that started two years ago.

This study 鈥� the world鈥檚 first 鈥� investigates how sequestration of CO₂ in trees and soil can be accelerated by combining two nature-based climate solutions. This aligns with 疯拍传媒鈥檚 strategy of using nature-based solutions whenever possible to fight climate change.

To be as sure as possible that planted trees deliver the anticipated benefits, 疯拍传媒 works with reputable and experienced partners like The Carbon Community that have been subjected to a rigorous selection and monitoring process.

Other Trusted Partners

疯拍传媒鈥檚 longest partnership is with , where 疯拍传媒 investments have funded the planting of over 13 million trees in Senegal, Rwanda, India, Indonesia, Guatemala, and Mexico. These investments with LCF help the environment and the local community while also generating carbon credits.

疯拍传媒 also donates to charitable organizations, extending support to projects in countries such as Australia, Brazil, Haiti, Indonesia, Nepal, Madagascar, and scientific research in Wales.

Providing Transparency

Trusted partners must provide transparency on their projects; for example, key metrics, annual reports, and updates such as the from The Carbon Community.

For customers, offer transparency on environmental and social performance. 疯拍传媒 solutions can record emissions in supply chains, report emissions in a way comparable to standardized reporting, and identify and analyze ways to reduce emissions. , for example, is a single solution to help calculate and manage a full range of corporate, value chain, and product-level greenhouse emissions. And, 疯拍传媒 is pioneering a concept that can allow customers to track the carbon entering and leaving their systems and to balance their 鈥渃arbon books鈥� in the same way as they balance their financial books.

A Step in the Right Direction

Although cost-effective and essential for all life on earth, it is a gross oversimplification to claim that nature-based solutions alone, such as those proposed by The Carbon Community, or planting 1 trillion trees in the next seven years will fix the global loss of biodiversity and stop climate change. 

For this reason, reforestation projects and scientific tree planting projects are just one piece of 疯拍传媒鈥檚 climate action plan, along with reducing its own carbon emissions and enabling customers to accelerate their own net-zero journeys with customer solutions for sustainability.

In terms of numbers, the scientific plots of 疯拍传媒 Forest UK account for less than 1% of the total number of trees planted with support from 疯拍传媒 鈥� but measuring the potential is another matter altogether. If the current field studies facilitated by The Carbon Community are successful and scaled up, that 1% could make an immeasurable difference to how beneficial future reforestation initiatives could be in terms of promoting biodiversity and rates of carbon sequestration.

Science-based research to optimize nature-based solutions , together with 疯拍传媒 Sustainability solutions to combat climate, change is, without doubt, a significant step in the right direction.

Top image courtesy of The Carbon Community

The recent acceleration of generative artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities — as shown in a demo of at 疯拍传媒 Sapphire Orlando this year, for example — has left customers eager to embed these capabilities into their 疯拍传媒 applications as soon as possible.

Now, the challenge for 疯拍传媒 is to meet this demand with embedded generative AI capabilities that are not only efficient but also sustainable, responsible, and trustworthy. One part of this complex puzzle is collaboration with the 疯拍传媒 AI Ethics Advisory Panel.

疯拍传媒 was the first major European tech company to create an AI ethics advisory panel five years ago, comprising independent AI ethics experts from academia and industry. The panel, sponsored by Thomas Saueressig, Executive Board member of 疯拍传媒 SE, 疯拍传媒 Product Engineering, convenes twice a year. Together with the 疯拍传媒 AI Global Ethics steering committee, panelists discuss current AI ethics issues and anticipate upcoming ones. Continuing to build on this tradition, panelists this year included:

• Peter Dabrock听(virtual), chair of Systematic Theology (Ethics), University of Erlangen, Germany
• Susan Liautaud, lecturer in Public Policy and Law Stanford University, U.S.
• Nicholas Wright, consultant and intelligent biology affiliated scholar at Georgetown University Medical Center, U.S., honorary research associate at University College London, UK
• Paul Twomey, global听founding figure of ICANN, co-founder of STASH, Australia
• Emma Ruttkamp-Bloem, professor and head of the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Humanities at the University of Pretoria, South Africa

The Office of the Chief Sustainability Officer chairs this annual meeting and, as Schmid explained, 鈥渞uns the AI ethics governance process to guarantee independent oversight of AI ethics at 疯拍传媒 and to guarantee that the 疯拍传媒 commitment on global human rights is taken into account.鈥�

Day One: Understanding the Risks

With human rights top of mind, the AI Ethics Advisory Panel got to work, focusing on use cases with embedded generative AI capabilities.

Discussions were frank and fruitful: Is the identity of the individual really protected? Are users truly informed about what the app can and can鈥檛 do? What about consent? What is the risk of harm to individuals if information is incorrect? What about legal liability? 疯拍传媒 has a responsibility to make apps safe — how can it? Does the cost of raising revenue and efficiency with generative AI also mean an increase in risk to our customers’ data, reputation, and to 疯拍传媒?

疯拍传媒 regards all generative AI use cases as high risk because of current technological limitations such as hallucinations, high effort of training, and the high effort of operations. In addition, other risks include biases in output, potential misuse of models, and the fact that the legal frameworks for intellectual property and copyright for generative AI are still uncertain.

High-risk use cases are subject to a high degree of scrutiny and must be assessed by the 疯拍传媒 AI Global Ethics steering committee before development can continue.

For example, aspects such as processing personal or sensitive data, automated decision-making, and the negative effect on individuals or groups of individuals are examined, as well as the planned domain for deployment. Law enforcement, healthcare, democratic processes, employment, and HR are just some examples of types of applications that 疯拍传媒 deems to be high risk in the context of generative AI.

Day Two: Unlocking the Potential with AI Ethics

On the agenda for day two was 疯拍传媒鈥檚 strategy for generative AI, a discussion on human rights and AI, and the progress that 疯拍传媒 is making toward equipping the workforce to deliver responsible and trustworthy AI.

Part of the AI ethics framework is dedicated to workforce enablement, delivering the knowledge, skills, tools, and processes required to make informed decisions about deployment. The panel offered feedback on 疯拍传媒鈥檚 proposals on how to further embed AI ethics in its corporate DNA.

The advisory panel concluded that the key to unleashing the full potential of generative AI is to understand the current potential pitfalls and dangers and that 疯拍传媒鈥檚 AI governance framework is in a strong position to adapt, respond, and manage the ethical challenges of generative AI going forward.

The detailed findings of the advisory panel are shared with the 疯拍传媒 AI Global Ethics steering committee and the Executive Board of 疯拍传媒 SE.

Interview with Professor Ruttkamp-Bloem

In an interview, Ruttkamp-Bloem answered questions on AI, her experience on the panel, and why language matters.

Q: How can the potential of AI be actualized?

A: The potential of AI can only be fully actualized if it is fully adopted, and it can鈥檛 be fully adopted if it is not trusted — and it won鈥檛 be trusted if it is not ethically governed.

What is sustainable AI technology?

The only sustainable AI technology is ethical, responsibly governed AI technology. If you don鈥檛 have sustainable AI — AI that is ethical and responsibly governed — your reputation will be damaged, you鈥檒l have court cases and, ultimately, you will lose business.

How does 疯拍传媒 work with the AI Ethics Advisory Panel to make AI ethics part of our corporate DNA?

The 疯拍传媒 team that the panel interacts with doesn鈥檛 actually need the panel! 疯拍传媒 has done homework itself on these issues and, in many cases, they are people who have not had any kind of specific training and have stepped beyond the parameters of their software engineering background, but they knew what they are talking about with terms such as structural bias, identity, prejudice, and more. And now, 疯拍传媒 has a whole AI ethics structure in which, from my experience at World Benchmark Alliance, is lacking at many other companies. 疯拍传媒 is one of only 22% of companies that say anything about ethics on their Website.

Just putting up guiding principles is useless without actualizing them, but 疯拍传媒, unlike other companies I have consulted, has a bottom line, meaning that if there are certain ethical concerns it will pause the project and go back to the drawing board.

疯拍传媒 does have an AI ethics structure in place, 疯拍传媒 does know what it鈥檚 talking about, 疯拍传媒 does understand that the next step is actualization, and 疯拍传媒 listens to the panel.

For example, at last year鈥檚 meeting, the panel discussed how 疯拍传媒 could start talking about the impact of AI ethics in the company and how teams would feel if their projects had to be rethought or paused because of AI ethics concerns. 疯拍传媒 responded with different initiatives, such as the very successful open疯拍传媒 course “AI Ethics at 疯拍传媒,” as well as an internal AI ethics speaker series. It鈥檚 also clear that, on the ground and in the company itself, 疯拍传媒 is actively supporting development teams to manage the additional requirements of developing AI ethically. 疯拍传媒 is going out of its way to tell teams why these steps are necessary because, ultimately, developing AI ethically is about developing a sustainable product.

Why is the intersection of human rights and AI critical?

The growing number of use cases means that the scope for harm and misuse is also growing. As previously explained, sustainable AI technology has to be ethically and responsibly governed and the reason for this lies in the nature of the technology; it鈥檚 not human-centered, but human-driven.

The math behind AI is beautiful, but without the human data it鈥檚 nothing. This is not emphasized enough because AI builds on what we typically do as humans and thus builds on bias, so bad things are amplified because the algorithms latch onto patterns and, in the absence of knowing good from bad, bad things can be amplified and the whole thing explodes. There is an ethical reason to take responsibility and ethically govern software because of the harm that can come from AI and the overall threat it has to what it means to be human.

How does the phrasing of guiding principles impact trust?

The phrasing of principles is critical to making them understandable. It is hard to adhere to principles that you were not part of framing and a language you do not recognize. This is where the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI is unique, as the ad hoc expert team that drafted the recommendation, of which I was the chair, went out of their way to include different articulations of shared values — some of which had to regrettably be changed during member states negotiations as there is the issue of diplomatically recognized vocabulary.

Companies that operate globally and have ethical principles want everyone to understand them and ultimately these companies want the technology that they鈥檙e building to be useful in the society in which it will be deployed. But if you have a set of principles articulated in a vocabulary that doesn鈥檛 make sense to the society where you鈥檙e deploying your technology, it will impact the trust and the scope of adoption. Culture plays a part. It鈥檚 an interpretation tool, a lens that, if used in policy making and related discourse, can make people feel more involved. They see the vocabulary they know and, consequently, adherence to and trust in this process come more easily.

Arroyo uses she/her/hers pronouns, identifies as a woman, and regards being transgender as a process and not an identity. As a woman, a Latina, and a member of the security and compliance community at large, 疯拍传媒 Concur, Intelligent Spend Management, and 疯拍传媒, she discusses how intersectionality 鈥� the overlap of distinct identities 鈥� is key for understanding that LGBTQIA+ individuals are more than their sexual orientation or gender identity. At 疯拍传媒, intersectionality is part of our culture and allows Arroyo to bring all these identities together and be her authentic self at work.

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The AHA! Moments

For Arroyo, there was not one but two defining AHA! moments in her life when she realized that she can be her authentic self at work 鈥� the 2020 U.S. Supreme Court Bostock v. Clayton County ruling and reviewing the 疯拍传媒 gender transition guidelines.

In June 2020, 19 years after the birth of Pride@疯拍传媒 and nine years after 疯拍传媒 pledged in its to prohibit 鈥渄iscrimination and harassment based on personal factors including but not limited to […] gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression,鈥� the U.S. Supreme Court ruled it was illegal to fire employees because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Prior to this ruling, employees could be fired for being gay, bisexual, or transgender in more than half the states in the U.S. 鈥淪eeing that ruling,鈥� recalls Arroyo, 鈥渨as very encouraging for me to come forth in the workplace to be myself.鈥�

The 疯拍传媒 gender transition guidelines also signaled clearly to her that 疯拍传媒 is a safe place to transition.

For many transgender people, including Arroyo, there comes a point when they start to align their lives and physical identities to their gender identity, generally with the goal of living consistently in their gender identity full time. Employers are key to facilitating this process to make it as smooth as possible. For many 疯拍传媒 employees, teams, and managers, working with a transitioning or transitioned colleague will be a new situation; there may be anxiety about expected behavior or questions and uncertainty about how to support a colleague during the gender transition process.

The Employee View

The 疯拍传媒 gender transition guidelines set out clearly how an employee can start this process 鈥� from the notification of gender transition to clarification on appearance. All 疯拍传媒 employees are bound to the 疯拍传媒 dress code and have the right to express themselves according to their gender identity. Issues like restroom and health facilities access based on an employee鈥檚 gender identity are also, for example, addressed in the guidelines.

The HR and Manager View

The correct support of HR and the manager of the transitioning employee is a top priority to safeguard employee well-being.

The guidelines explain how HR designates a people relations partner to support the transgender or transitioning employee and explains the manager鈥檚 obligation to respect employee privacy. It also provides guidance on how a manager can address concerns of other team members as questions may arise. Managers are urged to be open, to listen, and to work closely with the people relations partner.

HR is also responsible for changing names and pronouns on all non-regulatory documentation such as e-mail, access badge, and so on.

No More Deadnaming

Deadnaming happens when a person鈥檚 previous name, which does not correspond to their gender identity, is used. Using this previous name stops others from seeing and getting a sense of the person鈥檚 true identity.

Arroyo explains that updating her name, pronouns, and gender marker in company applications, such as 疯拍传媒 SuccessFactors solutions, e-mail, MS Teams, and other communication systems, was extremely important to convey to others who she is. Although this was not a simple process because of the coordination required between the IT and HR departments, these updates are crucial to successfully transitioning at 疯拍传媒.

Updating her name to Robyn was a critical component in coming out at 疯拍传媒. It allowed her to be her authentic self and, as she says with a broad smile, 鈥淲hen I saw my name, I saw myself. And when others see my name, they know who I am.鈥�

鈥淓veryone鈥檚 autism is slightly different,鈥� Dietsch explains. Before the terms neurodiversity and neurodivergent became common currency to describe these differences in brain functions and behavior, autism was often classified as a disability.

Today, most individuals on the autism spectrum reject the 鈥渄isability鈥� label. Neurodivergent means just that: different, not disabled.

More often than not, says Dietsch, neurotypical individuals who view neurodivergence 鈥渁s a disability and a hindrance鈥� are the ones applying a disability label to an autistic individual鈥檚 differences in behavior, interaction, or communication.

Unfortunately, these differences can sometimes make it difficult for autistic individuals to shine in conventional job interviews, contributing to the higher rates of unemployment or under-employment in this group.

To make recruiting practices fairer and to promote an autistic-inclusive workplace, 疯拍传媒 founded the program in 2013.

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Autism at Work Program

With a team dedicated to fostering an inclusive workplace experience for autistic colleagues, the Autism at Work program offers tailored accommodations including, for example, the sharing of interview topics in advance and an Autism at Work buddy for new hires.

This global program not only signals a commitment to autism inclusion but provides robust tools and processes to deliver it. More than 215 colleagues have been hired in association with this program or have self-disclosed.

The program has been vital in hiring autistic employees who, in turn, often become role models and an inspiration to others.

The AHA! Moment: The Role Model

Dietsch recalls very clearly the moment when he realized that 疯拍传媒 could be the right fit for him and a workplace where he could thrive.

At an Autism at Work event in 2018, Dietsch met someone on the autism spectrum working in cybersecurity at 疯拍传媒. Seeing this positive role model made him believe in himself and that he, too, could work in cybersecurity. He felt inspired to apply.

With a hiring format designed to set him up for success 鈥� no open questions, no group tasks, no relying on eye contact, for example 鈥� Dietsch secured an internship at 疯拍传媒 before applying to his current permanent position.

鈥淚 Do Not Have to Mask Myself鈥�

Only 5% of disabled and neurodivergent employees choose to disclose. A culture that makes employees feel uncomfortable or vulnerable about being their true selves puts great pressure on the individual, increases the chances that employees will not reach their full potential, and increases the chances that companies will lose out on valuable talent.

By the time Dietsch joined 疯拍传媒, he had experienced firsthand the strength of 疯拍传媒鈥檚 commitment to welcome neurodivergent employees. He had first heard of Autism at Work in 2013, attended another Autism at Work event in 2016, and experienced a life-changing moment in 2018 when, at another Autism at Work event, he met the colleague who worked at 疯拍传媒 in cybersecurity.

By 2019, Dietsch had also experienced the Autism at Work hiring process that played to his strengths and had secured an internship.

Disclosing his neurodivergence was not an issue 鈥� there was no risk. 疯拍传媒鈥檚 commitment to autism inclusion was already clear to him. He could be his true self with no need to adapt his behavior or endure the mental strain of trying to be someone else to fit in. He felt included and had a clear sense of belonging.

A Culture of Autism Inclusion

疯拍传媒 has two important pillars for fostering inclusion of individuals on the autism spectrum:

• Autism at Work: This program was Dietsch鈥檚 initial touchpoints with 疯拍传媒. It acts as the external-facing arm focused on hiring and onboarding autistic employees as well as creating an inclusive workplace.
• Autism Inclusion Network (AIN): This is an Employee Network Group from 疯拍传媒 with Chief Technology Officer and Executive Board Member Juergen Mueller as the sponsor. AIN acts as the internal platform promoting belonging for 疯拍传媒 employees and driving workplace diversity and inclusion.

Working with Our Strengths

Dietsch is clear about the strengths of autistic colleagues. For example, if you are looking for a frank, honest opinion, then your autistic colleagues will give you one each and every time 鈥� especially at 疯拍传媒, where autistic colleagues are empowered to be their true selves. The important thing to remember, says Dietsch, is that even when the honesty feels brutal, it鈥檚 not personal.

Leave out the irony, the sayings, and any form of communication that requires 鈥渞eading between the lines鈥� to get the best out of your interactions with autistic colleagues. It is, says Dietsch, quite simple: 鈥淟et鈥檚 meet in the middle.鈥�

In the latest episode of the video series AHA! Moments for Diversity & Inclusion, 疯拍传媒 Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer Supriya Jha talks to Romo Edelman about how personal experience and a desire to safeguard her daughter鈥檚 future has resulted in 300 global corporations signing the Hispanic Promise, a pledge to recruit, retain, and promote Hispanics.

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Video by John Hunt

Romo Edelman is a Mexican-Swiss diplomat: an activist for diversity, equity, and inclusion who has led marketing and advocacy for global organizations such as the World Economic Forum, UN Refugee Agency, and UNICEF. She founded to advance equity through diversity and inclusion, as well as the to elevate and empower Hispanics, the largest and fastest growing ethnic minority in the United States.

鈥淚 lived my entire life as a happy Mexican,鈥� she recalls, until, after 25 years in Europe, she moved to the United States and heard, for the first time, that she was not (just) a Mexican or a Mexican-Swiss but a Hispanic 鈥� that is, a person living in the United States who is descended from Spanish-speaking people.

Initially, being Hispanic seemed amazing to her. Judging by the number of Hispanics living in United States 鈥� the largest ethnic minority 鈥� she thought she would no longer be in a minority. But she 鈥渄idn鈥檛 see the red carpet anywhere,鈥� recalls Romo Edelman.

Her ‘AHA’ moment came when she realized that her Hispanic daughter would face discrimination in the workplace, likely earning far less than her U.S. counterparts. Wanting her daughter to graduate and get a job in a society where being Hispanic is a positive and not a negative, Romo Edelman decided to focus her energy, experience, and expertise on her own community, creating Hispanic Star, a foundation to promote Hispanic inclusion.

Romo Edelman鈥檚 approach to Hispanic inclusion is threefold, comprising the Hispanic Star Fund, the Hispanic Star, and the Hispanic Promise. The Hispanic Promise, of which 疯拍传媒 was one of the first signatories, is a corporate pledge to recruit, retain, and promote Hispanics; the Hispanic Star is a brand to represent Hispanic unity and pride; and the Hispanic Star Fund allows companies to donate to causes important to the Hispanic community.

Romo Edelman says that the journey to equity for Hispanics is about recognizing their distinct roots and cultures, and that the 鈥淗ispanic Star鈥� is one of many stars that make up the United States. 鈥淭here is no one seat at the table because there’s no table. There’s only a country full of opportunities for everybody to be able to shine,鈥� she says.

Here, meet the finalists in the Products and Technology category.

The Hasso Plattner Founders鈥� Award is the highest
employee recognition at 疯拍传媒, awarded annually by the CEO
to an individual or a team.

Finalist: Carbon Data Network

In the chase for net zero, all businesses must disclose their carbon emissions, but aggregating verified emissions data along their entire supply chains is not possible.

Considering the limited accuracy of public emission databases often used for measurements, numerous suppliers and countries, and no common standards for measuring, auditing, or verifying carbon emissions, pressure is growing on businesses for transparent, credible supply chain emission information.

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Video by Esteban Villate

鈥淚f you don鈥檛 have the underlying data about the entire footprint of carbon emissions in the supply chain, how are you going to make good decisions about your suppliers? It鈥檚 just not possible if you don鈥檛 have good quality data,鈥� says Marcus Krug, product manager at 疯拍传媒.

In addition to verifiable emissions data, the team around Carbon Data Network realized that the carbon emissions sustainability space has a unique feature: all industries — or, at a minimum, certain sectors of industry — are potentially interconnected, regardless of vendor, size, or country. Ultimately, nearly every business, large or small, must track emissions. Any boundaries would be artificial and could exclude businesses.

To secure success in this space, networks must be open and inclusive. How can such a network be secure, trusted and credible?

Decarbonization Is a Team Sport

Using blockchain technology, zero-knowledge proofs, and self-sovereign identity (SSI), the team created Carbon Data Network, an interoperable network that is open to all businesses while safeguarding business data privacy and verifying carbon emissions.

Trusted issuers assign decentralized identities as verifiable credentials to businesses joining the Carbon Data Network. With SSI, businesses have control over when and how they share emissions data. When a request for emissions data is sent to a business (data owner) from another business (requester), the data owner transfers the requested emissions data directly from its back end to the requester’s back end. Zero-knowledge proofs verify accounting standards in the emissions calculations.

Pilot customers include Maersk and H&M, , among others. The team also has proof feasibility in the Chinese blockchain infrastructure, as well as the EU and U.S.

Decentralized and open, Carbon Data Network can be monetized via the network clients. If successful, this network will connect businesses globally and extend the reach of 疯拍传媒 Business Network. A plan to issue decentralized identities to the 3 million customers in 疯拍传媒 Business Network offers another possible revenue stream for 疯拍传媒; existing 疯拍传媒 Business Network customers will request emissions data from non-疯拍传媒 Business Network customers.

Decarbonization Is a Global Collaborative Process

With a permission-less blockchain infrastructure and an extremely low barrier for entry, Carbon Data Network offers a vendor-neutral network. Decentralized identifiers guarantee that businesses in the network can be trusted, so every business on the planet will have access to verifiable carbon emissions data and decarbonization becomes a global collaborative process.

Finalist Fast Facts

• Submission Title: Carbon Data Network
• Team: Marcus Krug, Mehran Shakeri, Nicola Zanon, Anne Taubitz, Niko Lockenvitz, Madhubala Ganesan, Pembe Karahan, Phipps Xue, Jesper Schleimann, Mohan Shekar, Yan Zhao, Pouline Mensen
• Number of employees: 12
• Achievement: An open, decentralized network application allows every business on the planet — regardless of geography, industry, or company size — to share trustworthy, verifiable carbon emission data with each other.
• Impact: The ability to measure and reduce carbon emissions influences the planet’s decarbonization. The established network could be leveraged to enable any other cross-company business collaboration and is not restricted to sharing only carbon emission data.

Finalist: 疯拍传媒 Intelligent Agriculture

While more than one quarter of the global workforce is employed in agriculture and feeds Earth’s population, agriculture is currently facing an unprecedented mix of challenges driven by climate change, global conflicts, and limited resources.

All players along the agribusiness and food value chain are increasingly concerned about sustainability, how to make regenerative agriculture profitable, and how to remain competitive. A common vision has emerged of efficient, sustainable, and resilient agriculture.

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Video by Matt Dillman

The team around 疯拍传媒 Intelligent Agriculture leveraged the 疯拍传媒 Advisory Council for Agribusiness and worked with the associated Workgroup for Efficient and Sustainable Farming with 14 customers to understand needs and challenges.

鈥淲e discovered that the vision of applying technology to make farming smart in many aspects just practically wasn鈥檛 working yet,鈥� recalls Cedrik Kern, solution owner at 疯拍传媒. “Many of our customers had already invested in new capabilities such as drones and AI models, but had significant challenges to leverage these investments in their day-to-day farming processes, services, and decisions.”

Industry Cloud Solution Helps Future Food Security

鈥淲e knew we needed to deliver fast to capture a critical time window in the market, so the whole team committed to releasing after only nine months of development,鈥� says Florian Waidner, product manager at 疯拍传媒. “The team worked relentlessly and we were able to get the solution to the market in time, which is truly remarkable.”

疯拍传媒 Intelligent Agriculture makes next-generation, data-driven farming processes and services a reality. For the first time, 疯拍传媒 customers can now rely on an enterprise-grade, native cloud solution to capture and manage farm data at a granular level and optimize farm planning and operations based on their valuable experience. Combined with artificial intelligence (AI) and data science models, agribusinesses now have the potential to produce more while reducing water, fertilizer, and pesticides.

Driving innovation, 疯拍传媒 Intelligent Agriculture is also a frontrunner in multiple areas, such as feature-driven development supported by deploy with confidence, which helps to release new features instantly, and the new Industry Cloud Enterprise Agreement.

Royal Eswatini Sugar Corporation Limited is already on board as an early adopter customer, with others in the pipeline.

Farming for the Future

疯拍传媒 Intelligent Agriculture is unlocking a market of intelligent farming operations for 疯拍传媒 鈥� estimated to be worth US$1 to $2 billion 鈥� empowering agriculture customers to remain competitive, run resilient operations, farm efficiently and sustainably, and help ensure food security.

Finalist Fast Facts

• Submission Title:听疯拍传媒 Intelligent Agriculture 鈥� Sustainably Feeding the World
• Team: Cross-functional team
• Number of employees: Core team of approximately 50, with many other stakeholders and supporters across the company
• Achievement: Enabling data-driven farming processes and services for more a sustainable, efficient, and resilient agricultural production, now working with the first early adoption customer to bring the solution capabilities to the field.
• Impact: Enormous potential for 疯拍传媒 to grow with cloud solutions in the agribusiness industry’s total addressable market of US$5 to $10 billion, with the solution as a driver and enabler for 疯拍传媒 S/4HANA, 疯拍传媒 Digital Supply Chain, 疯拍传媒 Business Technology Platform, and 疯拍传媒 Customer Experience solutions in the space.

Finalist: Feather by 疯拍传媒

Brand retailers often use dedicated brand-owned channels to sell their premium apparel. These channels offer carefully curated customer journeys and customer touchpoints. Outstanding customer experience is the key to customer brand loyalty.

However, Joanna Maryeswka, general manager and founder of the 疯拍传媒.iO Venture Studio program in New York, experienced another journey when selling and buying secondhand brand apparel, a journey that 鈥渇elt very tedious鈥� to her as a customer. 鈥淲hy,鈥� she wondered, 鈥渁re these consignment marketplaces making so much money out of a product they never made?鈥�

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Video by David Aguirre

Venture capital funding trends today are showing the continued rise of the secondhand apparel market. One estimate projects that the global market for secondhand apparel will grow 127% to US$218 billion in the next five years, driven in part by a demographic looking for lower acquisition costs, concern for the planet, or both.

How can brand retailers appeal to this market, particularly consumers motivated by lower acquisition costs and concern for the planet? How can they take control of their secondhand apparel, monetize it, promote responsible consumption, and protect their brand?

Apparel Retailers Grow Sales Without Manufacturing More

The answer is Feather by 疯拍传媒, which unlocks recommerce, a new growth area for 疯拍传媒 and brand retailers, with an end-to-end solution to launch, manage, and scale resell.

Built on a cloud-based platform, Feather by 疯拍传媒, now part of the 疯拍传媒 Customer Experience portfolio, comprises back-end integrations and workflows that feed all transaction data to a reporting dashboard. From managing inventory and taking back the apparel to issuing store credits, preparing apparel for recommerce, and posting the apparel to a branded storefront, Feather by 疯拍传媒 manages the complete resell cycle.

From five full-time members after their first year to 11 today, the lean team has had more than 30 customer engagements, including Tapestry, PVH, and one active pilot customer, Sports Basement.

Fashion for the Future

With this new business model and solution, Feather by 疯拍传媒 is shifting brand retailers from a linear to a circular business model, increasing business value with no additional resource consumption with a model that manages the green line, unlocks a new market for customers and 疯拍传媒, and grows the customer鈥檚 and 疯拍传媒鈥檚 top line at the same time.

Finalist Fast Facts

• Submission Title: Feather by 疯拍传媒 鈥� Reimagine Recommerce
• Team: Joanna Maryewska, Raghunath Posa, Kenneth Fajardo, and a global team spanning four continents
• Number of employees: 11 employees supported by fellows and interns
• Achievement: The enterprise-ready鈥痚nd-to-end solution for a new sustainable business model of resale had its first customer onboarded, a planned a recommerce pilot, and more than 30+ accounts engaged this year. Resale capabilities to 疯拍传媒 customers at scale are in the pipeline.
• Impact: For a better, more sustainable tomorrow, Feather by 疯拍传媒 is an enabler for launching and scaling recommerce, allowing customers to purchase, manage, and resell pre-owned goods while simultaneously tracking key financial and performance indicators.

Visitors flocked to these portraits on opening night. Shot in black and white and devoid of the stereotypical feminine attributes of perfectly made-up face, hair, complimentary clothes, or colors, these images condense and edit to the essence of Merkel鈥檚 character. Captured by a female photographer, the focus is not on Merkel as female but on the characteristics that made her a powerful politician.

Christa Winter鈥檚 modern take on Renaissance women, such as those portrayed by Leonardo da Vinci, concentrate attention very much on gender. During the Renaissance, an era that marked the end of the Middle Ages in Europe, aristocratic urban women had some level of determination over their own lives; they could, for example, have a profession and some measure of control over their finances. Winter captures this growing sense of entitlement and self-confidence in her portraits that are of 鈥渂ody-conscious women, strong, intelligent, beautiful, [who] could be entrepreneurs, bosses, or startup founders, without denying their feminine physicality.鈥�

It鈥檚 difficult to tell if the women in Look At Me, by Danielle Zimmermann, are body conscious or not. Is the seated woman posing suggestively or innocently? Is her companion, her face hidden by a head of long and luxurious brown hair, shy or defiant? Knee-length silk tunics reveal their flawless skin, their perfectly shaped legs, and manicures. Delicate hummingbirds are fluttering around them. These idealized portraits would not be out of place on the cover of a glossy magazine, except for the canvas 鈥� old cardboard boxes 鈥� wash powder, meat, car oil, and tissues, the mundane reality of consumerism clashing with an unrealistic construct of beauty.

Even for visitors unfamiliar with EVA & ADELE, themselves both artists, Birgit Helmy鈥檚 sculpture of the couple perched on a gold chair with their egg-shaped shaved heads, matching pink mini dresses, and knee-length red boots gives visitors pause for thought on feminine physicality, gender, and sexuality. EVA & ADELE did not marry until EVA 鈥� who has the body of a man 鈥� was legally recognized as female. What role does gender play here? In a conversation, the sculptor stresses how important it is to celebrate and defend such gender journeys.

Another of Helmy鈥檚 sculptures, Rettungsring (Eng: Lifesaver ring) is a life-size terracotta statue of a young girl in a blue bathing suit with a red lifesaver ring around her waist. With open eyes, she is staring into the distance and, as your mind orders the contents of what you are seeing, you realize that her arms are trapped inside the lifesaver ring, rendering her captive and immobile. She exercises power in the only way possible 鈥� in giving us the finger.

Other women do not even have the option of moving a finger in protest: in Phase 2, metal fishhooks stretch lips to create a perfect smile, women are completely absent from the dancing skirts (Broadway) or trapped in a dystopian world (Rituale der Neuenzeit, Eng: New Age Rituals).

These 14 female artists, born between 1935 and 1981, present visitors a wealth of perspectives in this extensive range of works that include sculpture, a video installation, paintings, kinetic installations, and photographs. With this exhibition now open, visitors can experience for themselves 鈥� both virtually or in person 鈥� how female artists use women and femininity in their art to continually reframe and recalibrate topics such as power, beauty, and gender.

Curated by Alexandra Cozgarea, the exhibition is at the 疯拍传媒 Training Center in Walldorf, Germany, and runs until September 30, 2022. Opening hours are Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Admission is free. In addition, there鈥檚 a available.