Jennifer Sokolowsky

Chronus • 24th April 2023

Employee Resource Groups: Examples & Best Practices

Employee resource groups (ERGs) have been a part of corporate life since the 1960s, but they are growing in popularity. As employees look for support within their organizations and companies aim to foster engagement, create a sense of belonging and advance diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) goals, it’s becoming apparent how valuable these internal communities of employees really are in today’s workplace.

SAPPINGTON • 27th March 2023

Seeing the big picture | Profile of Sarah Watson Head of Marketing, AWS Strategic Accounts

For Sarah Watson, marketing has an important role to play in business success. Marketing teams should partner with the business and customers to drive meaningful outcomes—and, most importantly—revenue.

Microsoft • 7th November 2022

Microsoft 2022 Diversity & Inclusion Report

Our 2022 Diversity & Inclusion Report measures progress on our commitments to increase representation and strengthen a culture of inclusion at Microsoft and beyond.

11th April 2022

SHRAPNEL white paper

SHRAPNEL is the world’s first blockchain-enabled first-person shooter game, developed by a BAFTA and Emmy award–winning team of game industry veterans at NEON.

SAPPINGTON • 2nd February 2022

From humble beginnings

When Matt De Vincentis was growing up in rural Australia, he developed a passion for computers. He dreamed about Silicon Valley the way some Americans might place his country of kangaroos and koalas on their bucket list. Fast forward a couple of decades, and De Vincentis has made those dreams come true in a personal journey from misfit Aussie kid to Silicon Valley vice president.

Microsoft • 20th October 2021

Microsoft 2021 Diversity & Inclusion Report

Microsoft’s 2021 Diversity and Inclusion report is the company's third annual report and its eighth year of releasing global workforce demographic data publicly.

Microsoft • 28th September 2021

Infosys helps customers gain competitive advantage with Azure AI

Infosys created a transformative solution to help a leading global food and beverage company determine competitor product recipes, a key part of competitive intelligence. Traditionally, the customer relied on food labs to determine the makeup of competitor products, an expensive and time-consuming process. Using Azure ML, Infosys developed ML models that automatically reverse-engineer product formulations using publicly available information, such as nutrition data and labels.

Microsoft Transform • 8th September 2021

Lumen’s Paul Savill shares his view from the edge of the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Lumen is having a big year. The company was born in September 2020, when telecommunications company CenturyLink announced a rebrand to Lumen Technologies and brought to the forefront a focus on furthering human progress through technology. Transform spoke with Paul Savill, senior vice president of Product Portfolio Strategy and Alliances for Lumen Technologies, about the alliance between Lumen and Microsoft, and what it means for the enterprise world.

SAPPINGTON • 30th June 2021

The Discipline of Diversity & Inclusion

Diversity & Inclusion, or D&I, has received a lot of attention of late and is quickly becoming a high priority for corporations. But many organizations tend to neglect the “I” part—inclusion—according to GeriAnn Baptista, Microsoft Strategic D&I Brand and Communications Counsel.

Amazon Web Services • 24th June 2021

The Autonomous Journey: How CPG Firms Can Transform Supply Chain Demand Planning

Demand disruption has been a huge challenge for consumer packaged goods (CPG) supply chain management in 2020, and it will continue to be a big issue going forward. As we discussed in an earlier blog post, one part of solving supply-chain demand disruption is to improve planning. Sophisticated forecasts and demand sensing, powered by machine learning (ML), are key for making planning more accurate and efficient. Order allocation, which is critical for optimizing operations and maximizing revenue, is even more important for responding to demand volatility.

Microsoft Transform • 8th March 2021

Azure Arc helps companies get a handle on hybrid IT management

Last year, Microsoft enabled customers to simplify hybrid management with Azure Arc, a bridge to help companies run Azure services across environments and clouds, while maintaining consistent management and security. Businesses that have adopted Azure Arc have realized real-life advantages in development, deployment and ongoing management that are helping organizations focus on their core missions.

Amazon Web Services • 23rd February 2021

Data-driven Demand Planning: Managing Disruption in CPG with ML and Demand Sensing

Even in normal times, demand volatility is a constant challenge for consumer packaged goods (CPG) supply chain management. But these are not normal times. The COVID-19 pandemic has upped the ante, completely disrupting supply chain planning. Supply chain teams that are struggling to keep up can attest to the fact that sophisticated tools are needed to get supply chains back on track in the new normal. Advanced machine learning (ML) tools can work alongside existing systems to help ease the burden of creating operational forecasts in a volatile business environment.

Microsoft Transform • 20th October 2020

Azure Space partners bring deep expertise to new venture

Microsoft is moving into the final frontier with Azure Space, a new initiative that will deliver innovation to serve the mission needs of the space industry.

SAPPINGTON • 31st March 2020

Customer Obsession in the World of Remote Work

Now is the time to take an empathetic approach for your customers. Think not only about how you are communicating but also about the virtual conditions in which people will receive the information—and find ways to be truly caring and supportive.

SAPPINGTON • 23rd January 2020

Personal Best: Spotlight on Bruce Davie, CTO for VMware, Asia Pacific Japan

Bruce Davie, VP and CTO for VMware, Asia Pacific and Japan, knows how to stay ahead of the pack. A technology early adopter since his teenage years, Davie is also an avid runner. For Davie, setting goals is central to his approach to both running and life. And throughout his career journey, Davie’s overarching goal has been to make a positive impact through technology.

SAPPINGTON • 15th October 2019

Bam! Kapow! Microsoft’s Glenton Davis brings action-packed field enablement to life

Sometimes it takes a superhero to get the job done. Glenton Davis, senior product marketing manager for Microsoft Security, didn’t have a superhero handy to help salespeople understand their products better, so he led the creation of a whole league of crime-fighting heroes.

Microsoft Transform • 15th July 2019

Now it’s personal: Unilever’s digital journey leads to real results for consumers and employees

What does “digital transformation” mean for an established global manufacturing enterprise like Unilever, maker of iconic brands such as Dove, Vaseline and Ben & Jerry’s? For Unilever CIO Jane Moran, it means empowering employees to carry out the company’s mission of meeting consumers’ rising expectations.

Microsoft Transform • 17th June 2019

Airbus reaches new heights with the help of Microsoft mixed reality technology

It took Airbus 40 years to build its first 10,000 aircraft. Over the next 20 years, the aerospace giant aims to build 20,000 more—a formidable challenge that will require cutting-edge innovation. Holographic technology from Microsoft, known as “mixed reality” because it combines physical and digital worlds, will be key to helping Airbus reach this ambitious goal.

Microsoft Transform • 6th May 2019

Starbucks turns to technology to brew up a more personal connection with its customers

With the help of Microsoft, Starbucks is creating an even more personal, seamless customer experience in its stores by implementing advanced technologies, ranging from cloud computing to blockchain.

MyLodgeTax • 19th May 2020

Vacation Rental Lodging Tax Blog

Since 2017, I have been the primary writer for the Avalara MyLodgeTax blog, which covers news related to tax and regulation in the short-term rental industry.