Through each of the talks about Augmented Organizations and Groundbreaking Technologies, we had a lot to learn at Converge Bogotá.
Together with more than 400 other people, we saw a little bit of everything. There were 10 speakers with their trendy and fascinating talks. There were also many moments of networking sparked by the event, between entrepreneurs and professionals from Colombia, Argentina, Uruguay, the United States, among others. These interactions took place at the entrance to the plenary session, in the hallway outside, and also amidst the “experiences” that were set up in the lobby.
Interacting with the technology
These experiences grabbed our attention, and were all pertinent to digital transformation. There was a well-attended stand for StarMeUp OS, so that the participants could experience the application that helps organizations maintain, understand, and improve their culture. As Guibert Englebienne said in his talk, this application “puts in our pocket all the power of our organization’s culture.”
The difference that culture makes for organizations—large or small—in terms of their success in transformation was a common theme throughout the day. In particular, Milagro Medrano spoke about the business aspect of transforming digitally, and the importance of “co-creating” with those on the technological side of things. For his part, Diego Figueyra expressed that it’s essential to have a culture that allows innovation. Otherwise, instances of innovation are just that, instantaneous. Not ongoing. Another key observation was one that Nicolas Correnti made: before starting a transformation, you have to be sure you have your business’s leadership on board.
Attendees also had the option of experiencing Minds. There, and also at the Amazon Web Services stand, we got to work with one of the technologies that ran the day: Artificial Intelligence. In her talk, Maritza Vasquez assured us that—especially with AI projects—the central question is: “is this going to work for people’s good?” While Maritza showed us our social and ethical responsibility in implementing AI, Haldo Spontón showed us AI’s creative abilities. He showed us generative tools, and also artists that team up with AI, yielding extraordinary results.
Learning from the stories at Converge
The talks were centered on digital and cognitive technologies, but each speaker had their unique approach. For example, Andrew Stump emphasized the importance of transformation in the manufacturing industry: up to this point, “manufacturing is not known for being a technologies leader.” This needs to change, continued Andrew, in order for the industry to take advantage of this big opportunity. Because it’s also true what Tomás Escobar underlined: the speed of technology at this point in time is impressive. We have to stay relevant. Another example of fast-progressing technology at the event was what Jason Oviedo told us about. He described his experience developing a fleet of robots for his company. And at the end, Alex Torrenegra closed out the day of talks with his experience as a young Colombian entrepreneur, giving lots of ideas to those other Colombian entrepreneurs present.
He put emphasis on the importance of investing in technological innovation alongside entrepreneurship, which he already sees as a strong point in the Colombian economy.
After the talks concluded, we enjoyed talking together, all full of good ideas and new inspiration to share at our many places of work the next day. The combination of technology, experiences, stories, and inspiration at this event made their mark. Hopefully as a result we will continue to see a rise in technological innovation in Colombia and in the rest of the world, inspired by the groundbreaking technologies that will help us go even beyond digital and cognitive.
