In a recent interview with Bob Monahan, vice president of product management at JD Edwards, we found some insights into what JD Edwards plans to deliver in the coming years. Take a look at Monahan’s opinion regarding digital transformation (DX). We’ll reference a few other important points later in this piece.

Interviewer: What is the number one thing businesses running JDE can do that will set them up for future business success in years to come?

Bob: Lay the foundation for enabling a digital transformation. No matter what challenges may come – it’s really about being agile to respond to business or market challenges, connected internally and externally and having real-time business insight. Stay as reasonably current as possible … This will allow you to stay agile and pivot no matter where the business goes.”

With a massive influx of data created over the last few years, the need to keep up with current technology is growing stronger than ever. How are you leveraging JD Edwards to solve some of your technology needs today? Are you taking advantage of your resources?

Lyle Ekdahl, Oracle’s senior vice president and general manager, also reminded us of an important fact: “The strength of digital technologies—social, mobile, analytics, cloud—doesn’t lie in the technologies individually. Instead, it stems from how companies integrate them to transform their businesses.” We learned last year that staying current involves more than the software programs you invest in — it’s a compelling change in mindset too.

The more obvious technologies that people love to talk about are clearly digital transformers, include IoT, artificial intelligence, edge computing, virtual and augmented reality and blockchain. However, the most impactful change occurs when new applications emerge as we see in the convergence of AI, IoT and big data analytics.

JD Edwards keeps up with digital transformation by continuing to innovate with a competitive ERP and a strong drive to compete in the future.

Here’s how JD Edwards is implementing needed changes this year and beyond:

• A strong enterprise resource planning (ERP) software — as we said before, a competitive enterprise resource planning software is key to a successful launch into digital transformation. It’s the solid foundation from which to launch new phases of growth.
• Virtual reality is the new reality — To revisit the Bob Monahan interview we discussed previously, “I think there are tremendous opportunities for JDE with virtual reality. We see virtual reality more and more in the consumer marketplace – I think about bringing that capability into the business world. For example, maintenance technicians training or certification would be able to interact with equipment virtually, before they ever touch the machine.”
• IoT and mobile applications — Mobile and IoT are trending with customers wanting to begin a digital transformation journey. There are even more digital transformation options with Oracle Cloud – you can tap into these enhancements by complementing JD Edwards with new capabilities, especially through SaaS and PaaS technologies.
• Amped-up analytics — More analytics and less manual information input. Oracle Analytics software, like Oracle Analytics Financials, provides businesses with the information to understand how they make and spend money, which actions drive which results and much more. With JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Tools’ reporting capabilities, you can manage data from any device.
• Artificial intelligence — Some have said that AI is the future of ERP software, but there still seems to be so much confusion regarding the proper use case of AI for businesses, and whether the cost is justified. Artificial intelligence plays a significant role in automating business processes and building better business platforms. A couple years ago, JD Edwards was recognized for their work with voice-enabled devices, and the fusion of JD Edwards EnterpriseOne and other artificial intelligence mechanisms is purported to rise.
• Blockchain — The infamous bitcoin services use blockchain technology, and “blockchain” has been a buzzword for months. What is blockchain? Though most definitions go into too much detail, the quick and dirty answer is this — “A blockchain is a digitized, decentralized, public ledger of all cryptocurrency transactions.” We might have overheard at Oracle Open World that Oracle might even want to get more involved in blockchain, so we can’t wait to see what develops there in coming years.