OpenText World 2020—The New Equilibrium and the Great Rethink

We are experiencing the fastest, deepest, most consequential technology disruption in the history of the world. In my keynote at OpenText World 2020, I discussed…

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Mark J. Barrenechea

October 28, 20206 minutes read

We are experiencing the fastest, deepest, most consequential technology disruption in the history of the world.

In my keynote at OpenText World 2020, I discussed how COVID-19 has changed everything, intensifying technological disruption and plunging the world into a new equilibrium.

Here are some of the exciting topics covered in my keynote, which I will explore in this blog:

  • There is a new equilibrium
  • We live in two worlds
  • The Great Rethink
  • The New OpenText
  • OpenText Five Pillars
  • OpenText Five Principles
  • Our New Clouds: Content Cloud, Business Network Cloud, Experience Cloud, Security & Protection Cloud and Developer Cloud
  • Be an OpenText Voyager
  • Stay well and young

Even before COVID-19, the world was in the midst of the fourth industrial revolution. Industry 4.0 is characterized by great accelerations in connectivity, automation, AI, computing power. Extreme volumes of information. Extreme speed. Extreme innovation.

Now, COVID-19 has accelerated the acceleration. We are moving at lightspeed—and the changes are systemic, structural and lasting.

Work from home (or work from anywhere) is here to stay. Direct to consumer has exploded. Contactless is the new normal, for everything from customer experience to payment to pickup and delivery. Supply chains are going digital, becoming more mobile and regionalizing. The window for Time-to-Value is shrinking. We cannot wait years or even months to deploy new solutions—we need them in a week. A day.

This is the new equilibrium.

Billions of humans are living in two worlds simultaneously—the virtual world and the physical world—and the new equilibrium is redefining both. People have migrated to the virtual world en masse since the beginning of the pandemic, straining the system with massive demand, unprecedented scale and galactic connectivity. But at the same time, there has never been a greater need for us to stay grounded in the physical world. To research vaccines. To combat climate change. To support humanitarian organizations.

We Live in Two Worlds

The monumental disruptions to our old equilibrium have exposed the fault lines of our society. This is true across the board, from the broadest societal and geopolitical issues down to the level of the individual. And that is why I believe it is time for the Great Rethink. This is our moment. We have a unique opportunity to come together and make lasting change.

The Great Rethink

It is time to rethink and create a better world.

The New OpenText

In my keynote, I also discussed how the new equilibrium is changing OpenText. We are rethinking our business, our technology and the ways we work.

A Snapshot of the New Equilibrium at OpenText

Today, we have five pillars in our Information Management strategy: Content Services, Business Network, Cyber Resilience, Digital Experience and Advanced Technologies (such as developer tools, AI and others).

Likewise, five essential principles guide us as we rethink and evolve: Cloud, Edge, Security, API Services, and Data and AI. We take a comprehensive view of the cloud, which today must be more agile and flexible than ever. But it is not only about cloud. It is cloud + edge. The edge is a top priority due to widespread decentralization, work from anywhere, 5G and complete global connectivity. And it must all be secure. Without a secure, trusted platform, nothing else matters. We also believe everything needs to be an API—massively scalable, running in the cloud, available to all. Finally, data and AI enable the Information Era. Making data available is at the heart of Information Management.

Our Five Information Management Pillars and Five Guiding Principles

This is our direction forward. We have the most comprehensive Information Management platform on the planet, but we will not stop there. We are constantly evolving and expanding what “comprehensive” really means.

I am thrilled, therefore, to share my announcement of our five domain-oriented clouds, all built on the OpenText Cloud platform. OpenText is 100% committed to delivering all our products as a service.

OpenText Cloud

OpenText Content Cloud is the single point of integration for your organization. It is our answer to the Infodemic and information sprawl, equipping businesses with a single source of truth to empower collaboration, optimize productivity and ensure adherence to governance policies. Content Cloud creates cultures of knowing—which has never been more important.

Connect once. Reach anything. OpenText Business Network Cloud powers seamless information flow across a trusted and secure digital ecosystem. It provides end-to-end visibility on transactions from procurement through delivery, with the ability to validate trading partner data and even score partners on factors like sustainability and ethics. Business Network Cloud and our Trading Grid are indispensable in the Information Era, delivering everything digital supply chains need to thrive in the new equilibrium.

Meeting rising customer expectations in a world of digital experiences, direct to consumer and omnichannel customer journeys requires a unified, modern platform that is agile, data-driven and able to deliver personalized experiences at scale. OpenText Experience Cloud is that platform. It’s not just about e-commerce anymore—it’s about enabling social commerce, in real time, across all channels.

OpenText Security & Protection Cloud, made up of Carbonite, Webroot, EnCase and BrightCloud, is the most extensive security platform on the market. Enterprise-ready, it arms organizations of all sizes (and professionals and consumers, too) with the tools they need for network security, endpoint detection and protection, data backup and recovery, ransomware and malware protection, forensics and behavior analysis.

Enabling the developer will help us build the solutions for our greatest challenges. OpenText Developer Cloud provides a faster, smarter way to create applications, support new use-cases and devise solution extensions. Customers will unleash the power and creativity of their developer teams to rethink how software supports their organizations.

Within the OpenText Cloud, customers will never have to upgrade again. You will always be up-to-date, with new releases automatically rolled out every 12 weeks. Our latest release, Cloud Edition 20.4, features innovations, updates and enhancements across the full portfolio of OpenText products and services.

I will cover each of our five clouds and Cloud Edition 20.4 in more detail in my next blog, so please stay tuned!

My final announcement was the kick-off of our new OpenText Voyager program, which is a suite of education, engagement and advocacy programs designed to build our ecosystem and support our customers and partners. A voyager is an explorer, a seeker, a person with endless curiosity. An innovator. OpenText Voyagers will now have even greater support on their journey, with access to new certification and learning services, an engaged community of peers and a new OpenText Champions program. This will provide our customers and partners with new opportunities to expand their skills, share their knowledge and become industry advocates.

The new equilibrium has accelerated Industry 4.0 and the Information Era. It has accelerated business requirements. And Information Management is at the center. It is foundational for thriving in this rapidly evolving world—and the world we will build with the Great Rethink. OpenText is always on, always here for our customers. We are ready to partner with you for your transformation and business needs. With 99.99% uptime, we only take eight seconds off per week! We are here, 24/7, and we are ready to rethink the future of business with you.

Stay well, stay young, stay happy!

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Mark J. Barrenechea

Mark J. Barrenechea joined OpenText as President and Chief Executive Officer in January 2012, and also serves as a member of the Board of Directors. In January 2016, Mark took on the role of Chief Technology Officer and was appointed Vice Chair in September 2017.

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