Data Strategy
& Insights

All Data Strategy & Insights 2023 attendees are welcome to attend. 

Cyclical changes to the talent market have always been an issue, but today we are facing key structural changes in our talent, from skills deficits to demographic changes. Despite 2023’s high-profile layoffs, there are still millions more job openings than there are unemployed people to fill them. Improving your ability to access talent is a top priority for your growth strategy, especially by using alternative pools of talent. But this workforce planning must be done strategically. Hyperscaling your talent engine in the face of these challenges means that you will have to draw on every available talent resource.

In this session, you will learn how to:

• Develop a future fit culture and management approach that delivers flexible growth potential.
• Build, buy, borrow, and bot your way to a hyperscalable talent engine.
• Adopt a skills-based approach to guiding the talent you already have to the future you need.
• Anticipate and resolve barriers that other companies have faced in their journey to future fit talent strategies.

All Data Strategy & Insights 2023 attendees are welcome to attend. 

Out with the pandemic and in with a banking crisis as we head straight into a talent-constrained recession. What was last year’s metaverse is this year’s ChatGPT — though generative AI is exponentially gaining practical momentum within the future of work, editorial, education, customer experience, mathematics, and writing code. The stage is being set for 2024. Come listen to our top technology analysts discuss the next frontier of innovation threats, advantages, and opportunities.

Join us for a range of Special Programs including ForrWomen, Analyst Relations Exchange, and other ways to connect with your peers before the main program.

Join us for a pre-conference reception where you can network with Forester experts and Industry peers who will be part of the ELE program throughout the event.

By Invite Only

Welcome to Forrester Data Strategy & Insights 2023. This session will set the tone for the next two days of bold vision and actionable insight from Forrester.

AI is nothing new to the enterprise, but this past year it has taken over the zeitgeist and shot up the enterprise priority list. Join this session to learn how enterprises are taking advantage of technologies like generative AI and AI/ML platforms to deliver valuable experiences today and make their business fit for the challenges of the future. In this session Rowan Curran will share: 

• How enterprises are integrating generative AI into their business and starting to see the benefits. 
• What business can do to get started with a strategy to leverage generative AI into their applications and processes. 

Being a data leader is often about influence and organizational change management — encouraging those who aren’t data savvy to adopt insights-driven decision-making. For many data leaders, storytelling, listening, and empathy are skills that they should cultivate. In this session, you will learn:

• How to connect with others via stories to win support around data initiatives.
• How to become authentically fascinated and fascinating.

All ELE members are invited to join our exclusive lunch Ask Me Anything (AMA) with Forrester ​AI experts. Explore practical use cases, ethical considerations, and implementation strategies. Whether you’re an AI novice or leading the charge on developing AI initiatives, this AMA is your opportunity to get expert guidance on navigating the uncharted landscape, get direct answers to all your questions, and learn whether or not AI keeps Forrester experts up at night.

Whether you lead a data team of two or fifty, it’s essential to be fluent in the language of your business, adaptable to changing technologies and regulations, and relentlessly focused on driving business results. Join our expert panel discussion to discover the key elements for developing and managing high-performing data teams that deliver results and drive customer obsession, even in the face of constant change. In this session, attendees will learn:

• The data roles you need to be successful today and in the future
• Best practices for your team to engage stakeholders in your data journey
• How to make insights-driven impact and action a habit for your data team

Forrester’s research shows that technology is rarely the barrier to insights-driven maturity. Yet, clients say their organizations fail to turn insights into action and gut decision-making remains the norm. Often, decisions are already made and then a decision-maker asks for data to validate them.  How do organizations pivot from “decision-driven data making” to “data-driven decision making”?

In this session, you will learn:

• The organizational and behavioral reasons people fail to turn insights into action.
• Things you can do today to improve adoption of technologies that enable making impact with insights.

At NRG Energy, Dak Liyanearachchi leads the technology and data teams with the goal of driving business outcomes that lead to sustained success throughout NRG. In this session, Dak will share how leaders can foster collaboration, innovation, and an insights-driven culture across a matrixed organization with diverse analytical needs. Join this session to learn:

• How to make an impact with insights and turn data into your competitive advantage
• How to foster cross-functional partnerships to drive business outcomes
• How to better organize your team(s) for success

In today’s data-rich landscape, possessing data is just the beginning. The real challenge lies in producing trusted, high-quality data that stakeholders can effectively use for decisions. In this session the CIO and CDO from the City of Dallas will discuss the four pillars of building a data analytics culture: infrastructure, software, talent, and data.  In this session, Dr. Brita Andercheck and Bill Zielenski will share:

• How to build an infrastructure and ecosystem that creates safe, and agile ways for users to interact with data throughout the organization.
• How to identify and implement software that will enable your organization to clearly process operational data and gain analytics insights.
• Steps for recruiting and empowering talent to work with data and analytics software to produce high quality analysis and insights.
• How to ensure your organization has the data needed to conduct these analyses to ensure you have the right data, leading to business unit success.

Join us for a reception full of networking, fun, food, and refreshments.

Enjoy this opportunity to further engage with peers you’ve met during the ELE program.

Bring your teams and join your ELE peers for a final breakfast to wrap up the conference and share your top moments and takeaways from the past few days.

Welcome back to Forrester Data Strategy & Insights 2023. Join Forrester’s Srividya Sridharan as she reflects on Day 1 and what’s to come for the rest of the conference.

Investments in data, analytics, insights, and artificial intelligence all have one overarching purpose — to improve decision-making. All decisions — whether tactical or strategic, automated or human made — follow a similar process. In this keynote, Forrester VP and Principal Analyst Brandon Purcell will: 

• Introduce Forrester’s decision-making framework.  
• Reveal best practices for humans, technology, and man-machine partnerships throughout the decision-making process. 

A future fit technology strategy requires resilience, creativity, and adaptability where platforms and architecture evolve continuously with the growing maturity of an insights-driven organization. Architectural patterns are key to enabling flexibility, scale, and speed for a modern, use-case driven data organization. Join Forrester VP and Principal Analyst Michele Goetz in this session to learn about:

• Five foundational data architecture patterns.
• Emerging data platform capabilities that insights-driven businesses need today and tomorrow.

As ChatGPT becomes a household buzzword, the regulatory environment for AI is heating up too. Enterprises are discussing the impacts of AI and regulations at every level, from boards to the C-suite and down to the teams responsible for implementation. Data and analytics leaders are scrambling to implement or update AI governance, and to coach their staff appropriately to establish trust in AI. This session will provide:

• Strategies, frameworks, and standards to navigate AI regulations.
• Insights on how to de-risk AI and attain desired business outcomes.

Generative AI is and will be an engine of productivity, adaptability, and soaring creativity. You’ve tried ChatGPT.  But generative AI technology also includes image generation, data generation for scientific exploration, and even TuringBots that generate code. It is early days and generative AI is evolving quickly. In this session, attendees will hear from Forrester experts about:

• The maturity trajectory of generative AI for technology leaders.
• How to identify and prioritize generative AI use cases.

Marketplace breaks are your chance to connect with sponsors and catch up with colleagues on the show floor.

Check out our Sponsor Spotlights to learn more about the next great solution for your team.

U.S. Bank is a leading financial institution that has been at the forefront of AI innovation in the financial services industry. U.S Bank’s AI strategy has turned to AI to transform growth, fraud prevention, operational efficiency, automation, and more. Join this fireside chat with Srini Nallasivan, executive vice president and chief AI and analytics officer at U.S. Bank, to hear how he and his team harness the power of AI and analytics to drive customer-centric initiatives, leverage deep insights and meaningfully impact customer experiences, and build a future-proof organization. The bank is committed to using AI in a responsible and ethical manner, always prioritizing the safety and security of customers. This conversation will cover: 

• U.S. Bank’s AI journey and how these initiatives drove business growth. 
• Real-world applications of generative AI in customer experience and digital marketing. 
• Operating in a complex landscape of changing regulations and compliance. 

Helping employees find and act upon insights grows more challenging by the day. It seems like there is a new application, algorithm, data set, or report everywhere you turn. So how can insights driven business (IDB) leaders help employees make smarter decisions, faster? In this session, Forrester Senior Analyst Kim Herrington will share:

• How to increase “curiosity velocity” by asking uncomfortable questions to find gaps in your data culture GPS.
• Best practices for leaders to help build a data culture so their teams can make smarter decisions, faster.

Prompt engineering is an emerging discipline focused on crafting and refining prompts for natural language processing models, such as ChatGPT. Falling somewhere between art and science, well-engineered prompts are essential for all users of generative AI to create content that is accurate, relevant, ethical, and consistent.

Bring your laptop to this interactive workshop where we will:

• Explore Forrester’s tips and tricks for getting the most out of generative models.
• Provide strategies for qualitatively evaluating their outputs

AI is nothing new to the enterprise, but this past year it has taken over the zeitgeist and shot up the enterprise priority list. Join this session to learn how enterprises are taking advantage of technologies like generative AI and AI/ML platforms to deliver valuable experiences today and make their business fit for the challenges of the future. In this session, Rowan Curran will share:

• How enterprises are integrating generative AI into their businesses and starting to see the benefits.
• What businesses can do to get started with a strategy to leverage generative AI into their applications and processes.

Generative AI and large language models are having their ‘moment’ in customer service (and, well… everywhere). Will they (and other emerging technologies) change everything we think we know about the contact center? Maybe. But not in the way you might think. Explore the transformative potential of these technologies as catalysts for change, amplifying human potential, reshaping customer service strategies, and inviting a new era of customer engagement.

During this session we will discuss:

• The kinds of bets we’re already making with our technology decisions (whether we realize it or not)
• Planning for the contact center of the future
• Human-led customer service as a competitive differentiator—and risk equalizer

All ELE members are invited to join our exclusive lunch Ask Me Anything (AMA) with Forrester ​AI experts. Explore practical use cases, ethical considerations, and implementation strategies. Whether you’re an AI novice or leading the charge on developing AI initiatives, this AMA is your opportunity to get expert guidance on navigating the uncharted landscape, get direct answers to all your questions, and learn whether or not AI keeps Forrester experts up at night.

Implementing AI is a question of “when” not “if” and companies that don’t embrace the evolving tech will be left behind. So how do industries such as healthcare and finance lean into AI while keeping regulations, customers, and security top of mind? Join this session to learn key considerations for navigating a fragmented and evolving environment of new business models, regulations, and technological advancements on the journey to achieve AI-enabled business results.

Investments in data, analytics, insights, and artificial intelligence all have one overarching purpose — to improve decision-making. All decisions — whether tactical or strategic, automated or human made — follow a similar process. In this keynote, Forrester VP and Principal Analyst Brandon Purcell will:

• Introduce Forrester’s decision-making framework.
• Reveal best practices for humans, technology, and man-machine partnerships throughout the decision-making process.

As ChatGPT becomes a household buzzword, the regulatory environment for AI is heating up too. Enterprises are discussing the impacts of AI and regulations at every level, from boards to the C-suite and down to the teams responsible for implementation. Data and analytics leaders are scrambling to implement or update AI governance, and to coach their staff appropriately to establish trust in AI. This session will provide:

• Strategies, frameworks, and standards to navigate AI regulations.
• Insights on how to de-risk AI and attain desired business outcomes.

Generative AI is and will be an engine of productivity, adaptability, and soaring creativity. You’ve tried ChatGPT.  But generative AI technology also includes image generation, data generation for scientific exploration, and even TuringBots that generate code. It is early days and generative AI is evolving quickly. In this session, attendees will hear from Forrester experts about:

• The maturity trajectory of generative AI for technology leaders.
• How to identify and prioritize generative AI use cases.

U.S. Bank is a leading financial institution that has been at the forefront of AI innovation in the financial services industry. U.S Bank’s AI strategy has turned to AI to transform growth, fraud prevention, operational efficiency, automation, and more. Join this fireside chat with Srini Nallasivan, executive vice president and chief AI and analytics officer at U.S. Bank, to hear how he and his team harness the power of AI and analytics to drive customer-centric initiatives, leverage deep insights and meaningfully impact customer experiences, and build a future-proof organization. The bank is committed to using AI in a responsible and ethical manner, always prioritizing the safety and security of customers. This conversation will cover: 

• U.S. Bank’s AI journey and how these initiatives drove business growth. 
• Real-world applications of generative AI in customer experience and digital marketing. 
• Operating in a complex landscape of changing regulations and compliance. 

A data leader must navigate from big picture to implementation details and fly at multiple altitudes on any given day. Join Genevy Dimitrion as she takes us on her journey as a data leader at Humana, navigating from showing business value to the leaders to what it takes to create a data-centric organization. In this session, attendees will learn:

• How to keep an eye on your data health.
• Why data sharing, data security, access control, usage monitoring, and data understanding leads to better data-driven decision-making.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (“DEI”) are key concepts at the forefront of many corporations’ agendas today. The need for a more inclusive workspace is not new, but corporations are now recognizing trends in the correlation between a diverse/inclusive workspace and greater staff retention and productivity. This session provides an easy-to-follow pathway that helps get any company past the initial step (of what is often viewed unfavorably as ‘requisite diversity training’) and around the most common traps that stop companies from maintaining best practices.

• How to ‘jump right in’ and identify specific areas for program enhancement. Don’t get lost in the too-big picture!
• Learn the three key components of the employee lifecycle for DEI incorporation.
• Discover how a stronger DEI program can lead to team and company maturity.
• Recognize the most common traps: where attempts to be inclusive go wrong with most corporations.
• Act upon two things you can do to improve immediately/today.

Gone are the days when leaders stood in front of their followers and told them what matters. Modern leaders engage their teams to learn from them, and with them, what matters in business and for customers. But that can only happen with a more purposeful listening strategy. In this session, attendees will learn:   

• What listening is and why it plays the largest role in an organization’s approach to employee input.  
• How listening is a productive, rather than merely reactive, tool for improving the business.  
• Why successful leaders will be known as much for what they learned as what they said.  

Energy and engagement are finite resources that are essential to achieving business results. One of the challenges that organizations and leaders face is that these resources have been depleted for many of their employees due to a lack of strategies to refresh and sustain that energy. In this session, we will:

• Define “tired rock stars” — high-engagement contributors who are at risk of burning out.
• Guide leaders to see the tired rock stars in their ranks (including, possibly, themselves) and understand them more clearly.
• Share how leaders can sustainably earn excellence from their talent.

Compliance and avoiding lawsuits are no longer the primary driver behind enterprise accessibility statements. This panel will discuss the shift of firms citing that “attracting and retaining talent” as the top driver behind their accessibility commitments. During this session, we will discuss:

• The myths of providing accommodations, and how to manage an increasing number of requests from employees
• How companies are personalizing their employee value proposition at scale
• Why a “one size fits all” approach no longer works and how having a strong, accessible culture can be the difference between a productive employee base vs. an unsatisfied one.

A personal & professional journey that has seen this Product Leader succeed across multiple industries, geographies and at the intersection of technological & business disruption. In this fireside chat, Ash Mukherjee will discuss with Monica Carlesso how she has grown as leader by embracing curiosity and displayed grit to open to be constantly out of the comfort zone, yet has learnt how self-care is key to leadership and a sustainable growth. Modern leadership is about embracing change and dichotomies, both as strategic business levers but also to lead compassionately through massive societal changes and Monica will share her story with Ash.

During this session, we will discuss:

• A product leader’s journey across different industries and geographies, exploring challenges and implications

• How to overcome the bumps of a growth journey with curiosity, grit and self-care.