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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Fachliteratur
- Sprache: Englisch
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
Use technology to connect systems and data to change the world for the better
In Digital Impact: The Human Element of AI-Driven Transformation, Steve Lucas, a three-time CEO, discusses how organizations can integrate and automate systems to create incredible outcomes that benefit people. Lucas explains how this becomes possible when businesses solve the ubiquitous problems of digital fragmentation and data complexity, which have become even more pressing with the rise of artificial intelligence.
Using real-world customer stories as examples and writing in non-technical language that will appeal to every reader, this book shows how organizations are succeeding in missions like providing aid after natural disasters, growing food more sustainably, and ensuring students have access to everything they need on college campuses—all powered by connected technology.
Inspiring stories explored in this book include:
- How a chocolate company is working to end child labor in the cocoa-growing process in West Africa
- How a well-known charitable organization provides aid and services for people in need
- How a credit union helps members make better financial decisions for their families
For business leaders across industries, Digital Impact serves as an essential blueprint to unleash an organization's full potential for doing good by digitally transforming its technology architectures through integration and automation.
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Seitenzahl: 366
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025
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Table of Contents
Cover
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Foreword
Introduction: The Digital Imperative in the Age of AI
Chapter 1: From Chaos to Cohesion: Mastering AI-Driven Transformation
Key Points
The Power of Connection
The Dark Side of Digital Transformation
Transformation Became Chaos
The AI Revolution Is Already Here
Welcome to the AI Era
Becoming AI-Ready
Chapter 2: Integration: Uniting Systems to End Fragmentation
Key Points
The CIO’s Dilemma
The Road to Fragmentation
The Problems Caused by Fragmentation
The Long-Running Battle Against Fragmentation
High-Performance Engines Need High-Performance Connectivity
The Power of a Connectivity Layer
A Conversation with Larry Quinlan
Summary
Chapter 3: Data Management: The Perils of Disconnected Data
Key Points
The Challenge of Data Management
Data Is the New Sand
The Fuel That Drives AI
Connectivity in an AI Data Management Strategy
A Conversation with Mark Fields
Summary
Chapter 4: Automation: Creating Enterprise Efficiency
Key Points
Connection Enables Automation
The Evolution of Automation
AI Meets Automation
The Orchestration of AI and Automation
Integration + Automation
A Conversation with Betsy Atkins
Summary
Chapter 5: API Management: Optimizing Connectivity for AI
Key Points
The Hidden Influence of APIs
The API Sprawl Problem
Thinking About API Management Differently
There’s No AI Without APIs
Chapter 6: Agent Management: The AI Future Is Here
Key Points
Strategic Integration and Automation
Agents Are Among Us
The Dreaded Expense Report
Agent Management
The Agentic Future
A Conversation with Dr. Vishal Sikka
Summary
Chapter 7: What You Need for AI-Driven Integration and Automation
Key Points
Addressing the Connectivity Problem
What You Need in an AI-Driven Integration and Automation Platform
Setting the Stage for Practical AI
A Conversation with Paul Cormier
Summary
Chapter 8: A Framework for Practical AI
Key Points
Embracing Practical AI
AI-Readiness
Creating Context for AI
Enabling Actions
Responsible AI
Bringing Practical AI to Life
Chapter 9: Building Your Digital Impact Mission
Key Points
The Power of Envisioning Success
We’re All in This Life Together
The Power of Connection
My Invitation to You
Author Bio
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index
Advertisement Page
End User License Agreement
List of Illustrations
Chapter 1
Figure 1.1 Typical digital architecture integration.
Figure 1.2 Digital architecture map.
Chapter 2
Figure 2.1 Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) architecture.
Chapter 3
Figure 3.1 The value of intelligent integration and automation.
Chapter 5
Figure 5.1 Federated API governance provides control over API management and individual A...
Chapter 6
Figure 6.1 A steady, unrelenting march of powerful algorithms and machine learning.
Chapter 7
Figure 7.1 A few typical enterprise applications.
Figure 7.2 Gaining complexity with more apps and connections.
Figure 7.3 The typical enterprise landscape: digital sprawl.
Figure 7.4 A unified platform to tame digital app sprawl.
Figure 7.5 A unified platform powers and connects all your systems.
Chapter 8
Figure 8.1 The AI-ready enterprise.
Guide
Cover
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Foreword
Introduction: The Digital Imperative in the Age of AI
Begin Reading
Author Bio
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index
Advertisement Page
End User License Agreement
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DIGITAL IMPACT
The Human Element of AI-Driven Transformation
STEVE LUCAS
Copyright © 2025 by Boomi, LP. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 750-4470, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permission.
Trademarks: Wiley and the Wiley logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Further, readers should be aware that websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. Neither the publisher nor authors shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2025900909
ISBN: 9781394295241 (cloth)
ISBN: 9781394295258 (ePub)
ISBN: 9781394295265 (ePDF)
Cover Image: © Rabbit_1990/Adobe Stock Photos
Cover Design: Wiley
This book is dedicated to our customers, partners, and the passionate team of innovators at Boomi, who are all working to make an impact with technology, and to my incredible family, whom I treasure.
Foreword
By R. “Ray” Wang
Founder, Chairman, and Principal Analyst, Constellation Research
Almost every leader grapples with a confluence of forces that will transform their organization for better or for worse. Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of those forces. Not only will it impact future business models, but it will also reset winners and losers in every market landscape. So, the question is not whether AI will disrupt – instead, it is, “What will you do with AI to disrupt the market?”
The last great disruption came from the Internet Age. While academics and pundits will claim we have been in some Fourth Industrial Revolution for the purposes of convening world leaders at a very cold venue in January (and they were wrong), AI is truly the next great disruption. Now there are many parallels to previous disruptions. We’ve tried hard to say mobile was a disruption. Cloud played a key role in changing technology deployments. And digital transformation created new business models. While these statements are all true and these mini-waves were all disruptions, the magnitude of these disruptions really fell back into the Internet Age bucket. Moreover, with the rise of AI, the demarcation between the Internet Age and the Age of AI has become radically apparent in hindsight.
We are at the beginning of this next massive disruption, and, like the Internet Age, the rules will be rewritten. However, the Internet Age was different. The Internet Age ushered in four key attributes – open systems, decentralized control, many winners, and exponentially lower costs. In this Age of AI, we have the exact opposite – closed systems, centralized control, a few winners, and exponentially greater costs. While some of these four attributes will evolve, we will move from chaos to cohesion as the dust settles.
So, success in the Age of AI will require a more precise and disciplined approach. As Steve Lucas highlights in this book, the digital imperative in the Age of AI is here in front of us. Achieving great outcomes with digital transformation requires the ability to master data; use automation to achieve machine scale; and apply AI to augment, accelerate, automate, agentize, and advise our businesses.
AI cannot succeed without a strong data foundation, and businesses must weave AI into the fiber of the entire organization. Organizations will need to rapidly integrate data, seamlessly orchestrate processes, and contextually serve up relevant experiences. This will make the difference between a good business and a great one. With this new Age of AI, we can accomplish great things at machine scale. More importantly, we must also design for human scale.
As you embark on this AI journey, and Steve helps show you the possibilities for your business, I leave you with five questions to ask as you move from proofs of concept to real-world activations:
Where and when do you insert a human?
Most design aesthetics focus on when and where to automate. Determining when human judgment is required will provide a more effective and efficient design point.
Can you operate at machine scale with humans?
Machines are making thousands of decisions per second. Humans may not be able to catch up. So, how do you harmonize human scale with machine scale?
Do you have enough data to get to precision decisions that your stakeholders will trust?
Achieving precision decisions requires internal and external data sources. For example, 85% accuracy in CX may be okay, but 85% accuracy in finance, someone goes to jail. Worse, are you okay with 85% in health care?
Who do you partner with to create the last mile or last inch of data?
Organizations will have to partner for more and more data across industry value chains to achieve a high level of comfort and trust. Marketplaces for precision data will emerge.
Who do you sue when something goes wrong?
Does the blame lie with the system, the operator, the partner, or another third party? Liability will play a key role in AI deployments.
As you can tell, the winners will apply AI to automate the decision-automation cycle. In fact, projects that deliver a tangible return on transformation investment (RTI)a focus on decision automation, not just the technology in AI, but how these new systems move from agents to advisors and answer the key question – how humans and AI will work together.
Decision automation applies business rules, data analysis, workflows, and AI to automate the decision-making process in both operations and strategy. This could be knowing when to make ad buys for a campaign, change pricing for dynamic discounting, send follow-up texts for a future upsell/cross-sell, increase shifts at the factory to meet production demand, adjust invoices and discounts based on interest rates, or determine when to check in on customer satisfaction after a new purchase.
Every organization and leader now has an imperative to reimagine how AI will create better outcomes. The success and failure to harness the forces of disruption rests with your ability to master AI. If you are reading this book, I doubt you will fail.
Through your efforts and understanding, you will achieve digital impact and succeed by delivering a human impact to AI-driven transformation.
Introduction: The Digital Imperative in the Age of AI
We stand at a crossroads where technology isn’t just evolving – it’s rewriting the rules. This book is your guide to mastering that change.
The phrase “digital transformation” was somewhat born out of the movement. In general, it captures the trend from paper-based systems to truly digital systems. But digital transformation has evolved well beyond that. It has moved from digitizing paper processes to integrating, automating, and connecting systems that empower people to work smarter, not harder.
My personal point of view, after living in the enterprise software world for nearly 30 years, is that the applications involved in digital transformation are somewhat irrelevant. Your company has countless applications. A technology infrastructure is by nature heterogeneous, and all these systems were largely built in a vacuum. Salesforce doesn’t talk to SAP, Microsoft doesn’t talk to Oracle, etc. This is the nature of software vendors and their strategy to force you to adopt their “stack.” But in the end, we all know that no one software company can solve all our needs. Hence, the complex subway map we all stare at when we talk about enterprise architecture.
Regardless of which technology vendor – SAP, Salesforce, Microsoft, Oracle, etc. – may have persuaded you that their system is the way to go, it doesn’t really matter. At the heart of every technological shift are the people who drive it – your team, your customers, and your leadership.
This book focuses on how connecting and empowering these people through technology leads to true transformation.
As we’ve moved from paper-based systems to interconnected digital environments, we’ve arrived at a new frontier: artificial intelligence (AI), the force that is poised to redefine everything. AI isn’t just another tool. It’s transforming how we connect, innovate, and lead. I will go as far as to say that everything we know about digital technology and the systems powering the world as we know it is going to change thanks to AI. Starting now.
If you blinked, you might have missed the moment when AI made the quantum leap from science fiction into our everyday reality.
When I first encountered AI, it wasn’t just a new technology. It was a glimpse into the future. A future where systems not only connect but think and evolve. Upon my first use of ChatGPT (generative AI) in late November 2022, I was enthralled, flabbergasted, and astounded. The conversational chatbot was like nothing I had ever seen. It was as if the words of the late writer Arthur C. Clarke had sprung to life. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.1
In that blink of an eye, I realized what the developers at OpenAI already knew. Our world had been forever transformed. It was like watching a mind-bending magic trick and trying to understand how it was happening. How was the groundbreaking chatbot doing this? How was it immediately providing answers to anything I asked? How could I make any request, even something as silly as, “Write me a Shakespearean sonnet in the voice of beloved Star Wars character Yoda,” and see it just appear? Or, on a more practical level, how did I only describe an application I wanted, and it writes workable code to create it almost instantaneously?
It was a thunderbolt from the blue – much like my first experience using the Internet, listening to digital music, or holding an iPhone in my hand. I knew this would change things.
It was also profoundly humbling. I’ve spent nearly three decades with leading technology companies at the forefront of innovation, such as Microsoft, SAP, Salesforce, and Adobe. I’ve been the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of three software companies. I’ve witnessed firsthand the transformative power of technology. I thought I was well-connected with trends and dialed into the research around artificial intelligence. Instead, I had been completely blindsided. How could I have not seen this coming?
In that split second, I recognized that all I had ever known about software would change drastically in the coming years. My previous worldview of technology and how it helps businesses operate had been shattered. Now, it would have to be rebuilt because we had suddenly embarked on a great rethinking of technology and how we use it.
Over the short time since OpenAI’s announcement and the flurry of other AI advancements that arrived with breathtaking speed, we’ve all learned about things such as generative pre-trained transformers (GPTs), large language models (LLMs), neural networks, and agents. But understanding how AI works still doesn’t spoil the “trick” for me. Instead, I’ve become even more convinced that our businesses will never be the same.
This is why I believe everything we know about software is going to change.
Unlike magic tricks, the AI revolution is no illusion. It’s a fundamental reshaping of everything. It’s happening before our eyes, and we all have to move quickly and adapt to this rapidly evolving landscape. We’ve come a long way from the early days of digital transformation, which were focused on moving apps, and later infrastructure, from on premises to the cloud. Now, everything is going to be pressure-tested by AI.
The digital revolution that began decades ago with the first computer has exploded into an AI-driven future that promises to disrupt every aspect of our lives. We stand at the precipice of a new era, where the lines between human intelligence and artificial intelligence blur and intertwine, where data flows like electricity, and where connectivity is as vital as oxygen.
This all frames one of my main points – that AI’s true power lies in its ability to connect disparate systems, transforming fragmented processes into cohesive, intelligent workflows that adapt in real time.
Integration and automation aren’t just buzzwords. They’re the foundational elements that enable AI to function effectively within your organization, turning fragmented systems into a unified, intelligent enterprise.
Of course, you’re probably wondering about the same question I did: “How can AI change what businesses do?” I think it’s clear for the 17 year old who wants help with their homework. But what about the software that powers organizations? What about sales? What about business processes?
As CEO of an integration and automation software company, I constantly ask: “How will this radical shift in capability – where applications can now reason – reshape organizations, their systems, and processes?” This shift demands that the C-suite rethink how their businesses operate from end to end.
The possibilities for infusing AI into processes are endless. It could radically transform health care, improve education, help address climate change, and, yes, make our businesses more efficient and our customers happier. At the same time, the challenge for each of us is navigating the profound changes that come with AI and leveraging the technology to our best advantage.
This shift into the AI era also highlights a fundamental, existential problem that every organization must urgently confront. We explore that problem in this book.
Beneath the gleaming surface of this digital utopia lies a chaotic underbelly within our businesses – a tangled web of fragmented systems, isolated data silos, and disconnected processes.
This lack of cohesion was already the hidden crisis of our time. But now, it’s further exacerbated by the advent of GPTs, LLMs, agents, and the coming wave of AI-fueled disruption. Digital fragmentation threatens to derail the AI revolution for your business before it truly begins. If we don’t address the chaos of disconnected systems now, the AI revolution could slip through our fingers before we even begin to harness its power.
The stakes have never been higher. Addressing digital fragmentation is no longer optional – it’s imperative. Otherwise, the promise of AI will remain out of reach. Furthermore, we all like to think we live in a world where everything is connected. But is it connected properly? When it’s not, nothing works. As you will see, this is especially the case with AI.
Connected Technology and Its Impact on My Life
Technology can do amazing things to change the world. I’m a living, breathing example of how it can have a transformative impact on people. My journey in technology isn’t just professional. It’s deeply personal.
In my mid-20s, I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. In this life-threatening condition, the pancreas stops producing insulin, a vital hormone that regulates the glucose in your blood. Initially, I was left reeling and, at the risk of sounding overly dramatic, believed that the future I had envisioned for myself was over. But nothing could have been further from the truth. Over time, I’ve come to believe that diabetes has made me a better, more empathetic person. I’ve lived a rich life because of diabetes, not despite it.
But that doesn’t mean that managing diabetes has been easy, as any of the approximately 1.3 million adults in the United States alone who are living with the condition can tell you.2 During the first 15 years of coping with it, I estimate that I probably administered about 50,000 injections of insulin, assuming 8–10 doses a day. It’s like you’re a scientist, constantly monitoring a chemistry experiment inside your body, 24/7/365. It’s notoriously challenging to match the correct amount of insulin with your food intake, and very bad things can happen if you take too much or too little.
Here’s where technology enters the picture, ultimately leading to the reason why I wrote this book. Over the years, medical technology innovation has made it easier for people with diabetes to thrive, not just survive. Preloaded insulin pens were introduced to replace syringes. Then came pumps and continuous glucose monitoring sensors. Today, I wear a pump on one side of my abdomen with a several-day insulin supply and a glucose monitor that measures my blood sugar level on the other side.
The sensor and the pump talk to each other via an algorithm that acts as one’s natural endocrine system would. It connects the two devices and automatically administers the correct dosage of insulin. It’s like I have a working pancreas again. Only I wear mine on the outside of my body. (I think I officially qualify as a cyborg, which is pretty cool.) This interactive system features:
Technology:
Remarkable advancements in ubiquitous computing, nanoscience, and wearable medical devices.
Integration:
The ability to connect two disparate technologies to communicate about my body chemistry in real time.
Automation:
The automating of insulin delivery at the appropriate dosage.
This miracle of connected technologies isn’t just about convenience. It’s a life-changing innovation that allows me, and people like me, to live more fully and focus on what matters most.
My health history gives me a unique appreciation of the power of connected technology. But this personal experience mirrors the journey many businesses are on today. Just as my health management evolved from manual injections to an automated and connected system, organizations are grappling with the need to move from fragmented, siloed operations into seamlessly integrated, AI-enhanced processes.
Almost every business purchased and implemented each of its systems individually, to solve an array of specific business needs. Think of all the digital systems you rely on today within your operations: enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), supply chain management (SCM), human resource management (HRM), marketing automation, cloud-based applications, data warehouses and lakes, edge systems, public and private clouds, etc. The list seems endless – and it’s growing longer every day. That’s why our digital architectures are a mess.
Individually, those foundational systems play pivotal roles in business, ensuring that specific functions run smoothly. But company-wide efficiency occurs only when they’re connected and genuinely work together. Orchestrating those systems and processes through connectivity has the capability of changing the trajectory of your business. The improbable becomes possible if systems operate as one, workflows are seamless, and data is readily available to those who need it.
You probably know from hard-earned experience that this nirvana of connectivity is difficult to achieve. But perhaps what you don’t yet realize is that it’s even more essential in the age of AI. Businesses with disconnected systems will not survive the coming changes. You can have the shiniest, fanciest AI model at the heart of your business. But AI won’t understand your business if your systems aren’t integrated, and processes aren’t automated. The technology won’t have the context that comes with understanding your CRM system, sales and marketing motion, invoice processing, ticket handling, and everything else. It won’t know because it won’t have access to your trusted, proprietary data. AI won’t have the intelligence to make the right decisions for your business and deliver the best outcomes.
This isn’t much different from how a human brain won’t function properly when the biological neural pathways are disconnected or disrupted. The digital neural networks of AI can’t perform their best without clear pathways providing the right information.
When I was growing up, my grandfather would tell me that if you can’t say something quickly, you can’t say it at all. It was great advice then and now. So, let me be clear: For businesses to succeed in the age of AI, they must be relentlessly focused on integrating and automating their systems. It’s the only way to drive what we refer to many times throughout this book as AI-fueled digital transformation. Or, said more succinctly, AI-field change.
Why This Book? Why Now?
I believe we’re at a critical juncture. The promises of digital transformation have often fallen short, leaving many businesses disillusioned and struggling with increased complexity rather than enhanced efficiency. Trust me, I’ve lived through the challenges of rapid digital advancement and seen the many pitfalls. Now, as we stand on the brink of widespread AI adoption, it’s crucial that we learn from these past experiences and build a solid foundation for the future.
Why Should You Consider My Perspective?
Today, I lead Boomi, the world’s largest independent, AI-driven integration and automation company.3 The roots of the company’s name tell the Boomi story. It derives from the Hindi word Bhumi, which loosely translates to “of the earth.” Boomi’s founders believed our technology is foundational to business success because everything works better when systems, processes, and people are connected.
But I’m not here to pitch a product. I don’t like to be sold on something, and I doubt you do. No one wants to be marketed to, either. (That’s one of the first lines I wrote in a previous book about the engagement economy, Engage to Win.4) But we all want the kind of advice and guidance that helps us make better decisions, solve problems, and keep our businesses heading in the right direction.
Digital Impact is your guide through this new labyrinth, a beacon of clarity in the fog of technological hype, and it will show you how to make AI practical within your business. I’ve structured the book to take you on a journey – one I’m experiencing right along with you. Think of me as your sherpa as we climb to the mountaintop together. We start at base camp by examining the current state of digital fragmentation and its impact on businesses. Then, we begin our ascent with the key elements necessary for creating a truly connected, AI-ready organization: integration, data management, automation, application programming interface (API) management, and agent management.
The thread woven throughout the book’s fabric is the theme that every business needs to interconnect the critical business objects of applications, data, APIs, and now AI agents. The successful cohesion of these essential elements, if you will, is at the core of navigating digital transformation. Following this thread leads us to explore several fundamental concepts that will help your business be more successful today and better prepared for whatever the AI future brings.
The Integration Imperative:
We address how integration is the bedrock of digital success. It’s an invisible force that turns disparate technologies into a symphony of productivity. Connectivity can be a superpower for your business.
Data: The New Oil or the New Sand?
We challenge conventional wisdom about data and explain why more isn’t necessarily better. We discuss how you can transform your data from a burden into a strategic asset that fuels AI and drives decision-making.
The Automation Revolution:
We examine how intelligent automation creates efficiencies, improves productivity, and frees human potential and creativity.
How APIs Are the Hidden Backbone of the Digital World:
We unveil the crucial role of APIs as the digital connective tissue that creates a flexible, scalable digital ecosystem ready for the AI age.
The Rise of the Machines (That Work for Us):
We examine the emergence of AI agents – not as science fiction but as practical tools that already are reengineering how businesses operate.
The Human Element:
Throughout this journey, we never lose sight of the most critical factor – how these technologies impact people.
I want to pause on the last bullet point because it holds special meaning for me. At this inflection point, there’s a deep concern that these technological advances, as wondrous as they potentially are, will also de-emphasize people and their roles within organizations.
AI represents a tectonic shift in how our businesses will operate. But the problem is that with any digital transformation, we too often focus on the technology itself and not how it affects people. This is a mistake. My goal is to explain how real digital transformation has to be human-centric in order to be successful. AI and automation are powerful, but their success hinges on one thing: the people who use them. Without a human-centric approach, even the most advanced technology will fail.
As humans, the way we connect is through stories. So, I’m so proud to have the opportunity to share some amazing stories of how organizations such as Australian Red Cross, Tony’s Chocolonely, and the Credit Union of Colorado are leveraging the connectivity of technology in innovative ways to make a real difference in people’s lives. You’ll see how each one never loses sight of the human impact of technology as part of their mission. They all lead with empathy, sincerely desire to help people, and always seek ways to grow their impact. These stories aren’t just inspiring; they’re proof that we can change the world when we get digital transformation right.
You also won’t hear just from me as we venture through these pages. That would be boring, and I’m not sure I want to listen to myself for that long. I’ve sought out true industry titans, visionary technology leaders, and AI pioneers to share their wisdom. Their insights, combined with real-world case studies, will ground our exploration in practical, actionable strategies.
When speaking publicly, I often talk about how much I love the transformative power of technology. (Nerdy but true!) I’m a technologist who believes IT departments are the unsung heroes of modern business. In that spirit, I want readers familiar with the day-to-day challenges around digital fragmentation to gain valuable knowledge about the efficiencies possible with a connected architecture. However, as a CEO, I see everything through a business lens and understand there has to be clear value for any technology initiative.
My goal is to strike a balance for everyone, both technical and nontechnical, and provide a roadmap for success in the AI-driven future. Whether you’re a CEO charting your company’s digital strategy, a CIO grappling with technological complexity, or a business leader just trying to make sense of the AI revolution, Digital Impact offers a clear path forward.
No book about AI can be definitive because we’re so early in the game. Right now, we still don’t know what we don’t know. But a book can be directional. This one is designed to provide guidance and support as you harness AI’s potential to propel your organization into a future of unprecedented productivity and innovation. More than anything, I hope it makes you think.
We’ve reached a nexus in the world of enterprise software. The future isn’t just coming – it’s already here. It’s more complex, more interconnected, and filled with more potential than we ever imagined. It’s a little scary too. But I firmly believe every business can succeed when it turns digital fragmentation into digital cohesion. When you can focus on creating systems that don’t just process data but generate insights and drive action, something amazing happens: magic.
As you dive into the chapters ahead, keep in mind that the choices you make today about integrating and automating your systems will define the future of your business. You have the power to take control, embrace change, and lead your organization into a future where digital cohesion creates the real magic.
Chapter 1From Chaos to Cohesion: Mastering AI-Driven Transformation
What we discuss in this chapter:
The real reason why digital transformation initiatives often fail.
How your success with AI will depend on the degree of connectivity within your digital architecture.
How Australian Red Cross unified a complex digital ecosystem with a single layer of connectivity to better help people in need.
“If Red Cross couldn’t respond to disasters, who would?”
On the evening of March 12, 2022, the eyes of a nation were on the IT team at Australian Red Cross.5
Actually, Australians were fixated on the country’s three national television networks. They had banded together to broadcast a star-studded telethon called “Australia Unites” to raise desperately needed disaster relief funds after historic flooding in Queensland and New South Wales.
Viewers watched celebrities such as Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban, and Cate Blanchett urge fellow Australians to give what they could to help people who, in some cases, had lost everything. Behind the scenes, Australian Red Cross’ IT team was under tremendous pressure to ensure its digital operations withstood an unprecedented surge in donations.
“It was like a duck swimming on a pond,” said Chief Information Officer Brett Wilson. “It might have looked like we were cruising along nicely. But beneath the water, our little legs were moving a million miles an hour. We know how to react quickly at Red Cross. But nothing had ever been done before at this scale, and expectations were significant that the technology needed to provide a flawless experience.”
The back-office systems functioned brilliantly. Australian Red Cross’ website, which typically has about 300 unique visitors at any given time, handled an average of 10,000 visitors – processing 11 donations per second over five-plus hours without a hitch. The event was a smashing success, ultimately raising $32 million – all directly going to help people.6
This was a remarkable achievement, and not just because the event came together in just five days. Australian Red Cross was in the early stages of a digital transformation initiative to radically overhaul its aging architecture. The organization still relied on antiquated technologies that limited its operations even under normal circumstances.
Australian Red Cross’ team had one significant advantage: an AI-driven integration and automation platform from Boomi.
This platform enabled the IT staff to scale up several legacy systems on short notice. For example, the organization’s customer relationship management (CRM) system, without the integration and automation platform, could normally only execute about 30 transactions every 10 minutes. The Boomi Enterprise Platform’s capabilities supercharged that speed, enabling Australian Red Cross to process 300,000 donations in 24 hours. This meant the not-for-profit could unlock funds faster to support the community.
“Even with all those legacy systems, we had that modern platform sitting in the middle, connecting everything,” Wilson added. “It was a key piece of technology that made the night a success because we would not have been able to handle that volume without it.”
Australian Red Cross has a simple yet profound mission: assisting people. Approximately 1,600 staff, 8,000 members, and 25,000 volunteers deliver humanitarian and community services. The organization operates retail stores and oversees initiatives like the Young Parents Program, which supports mothers and children, assists immigrants, and helps First Nations people. When disasters strike, Australian Red Cross runs toward danger, not away.
Two years before those epic floods, the organization was instrumental in helping Australians rebuild their lives following terrible bushfires. At the time, Wilson was in corporate IT, where he had focused on simplifying complex technology environments in industries that included construction, manufacturing, and finance. When his aunt nearly lost her home in the fires that devastated her community, Wilson organized an effort to donate supplies and campers as temporary housing for those who had lost their homes. Soon afterward, Wilson joined Red Cross because he saw an opportunity to make a more significant impact.
“Australian Red Cross does so many amazing things,” Wilson said. “But when our people are in the field, they need the information to make decisions and act on them quickly. Time is always of the essence. Older, archaic systems are quite challenging. They add to the time it takes to help someone. If we have an emergency and then have to figure out how to access information, it slows things down.”
One notable example of digital chaos was that 89% of the 200-plus applications at Australian Red Cross consisted of “shadow IT” – deployed without the technical team’s knowledge or oversight. The result was siloed data, poor visibility into basic operations, increased security risks, and ultimately fragmented customer experiences.
The IT team spent about 18 months creating a new digital spine by implementing seven core technologies, including CRM, HR, marketing automation, an enterprise data platform, finance, and risk assessment systems. The objective was to create a single view of staff, volunteers, and donors with trusted data. That would increase organizational speed, improve efficiency, and make Red Cross better financial stewards.
Australian Red Cross used the Boomi platform to stitch everything together and deliver on its mission. The platform replaced a complex mix of point-to-point integrations with a single connectivity layer. It helped the team reduce the number of applications and costs in the organization’s tech stack, integrate systems more quickly, automate processes, and create a unified architecture with a complete view of operations.
“The platform enables Australian Red Cross to connect a lot more systems and platforms, a lot easier and simpler,” Wilson said. “The less money we spend on the back office, the more we can provide help and support during a disaster or in a community program. It always comes down to the fact that we have a finite amount of money, and how do we use it most effectively? The platform helps us do that.”
For instance, automating a cash assistance program for migrants eliminated 11 of 12 manual processes, saving an estimated 451 days of manual effort each year. And, as Australian Red Cross’ transformation journey continues, Wilson said they’re excited about the platform’s AI functionality for using natural language requests to integrate systems. By eliminating the technical skills required for connecting systems, Australian Red Cross speeds up development time, uses IT resources more effectively, and saves money.
Other AI-related projects that will depend on seamless connectivity include creating more personalized donor experiences to increase fundraising, automating processes with third-party vendors to ensure no humans encounter personally identifiable information, and developing a “smart bot” to speed operations. If a staff member in the field needs information quickly, an AI assistant support bot can immediately provide access. Wilson said the conservative estimate is that over three years, it will resolve around 20,000 calls and eliminate 1.3 million hours of wait time.
“Sometimes terms like AI and transformation are overused,” Wilson added. “But they really mean something to us. They’re about finding ways to help people faster and ensuring more money goes into the community to do great things. If Red Cross couldn’t respond to disasters, who would?”
Key Points
Goal:
Improve the organization’s speed and efficiency so more money goes directly toward services that help people in need.
Human Impact:
Integration and automation play a significant role in transforming an outdated infrastructure, decommissioning about 10% of their applications, deploying seven foundational systems, providing a unified view of operations, and preparing the organization to use AI, which makes providing services more efficient.
Lessons Learned:
“I think anything’s possible when you have a great team, and you’ve made sure you have great support around you. When that happens, you can achieve some amazing things. Everyone rallied together to make the telethon successful. That attitude has carried forward in our digital transformation.” –
Brett Wilson, Chief Information Officer, Australian Red Cross
The Power of Connection
Australian Red Cross’ journey is a metaphor for what we’re addressing in this chapter – how we must prepare to handle challenges, even potential disasters. In this case, Australian Red Cross was prepared and saved lives. Their success during this critical event wasn’t just about technology – it was about connection. Connecting systems, people, and data seamlessly made this response possible.
