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...