PowerTalk

Welcome to another edition of PowerTalk. I’m your host Chris Versace, editor of the investment newsletter PowerTrend Profits and portfolio manager of the Thematic Growth Portfolio at Fabian Wealth Strategies, and these are my 1-1 conversations with the movers and shakers in the business world that take you behind the scenes and in the know. Be sure to check out ChrisVersace.com for more on PowerTrends and past editions of PowerTalk as we'll as FabianWealth.com for more on my Thematic Growth Portfolio

Every so often there are key words and phrases that get big play around the media and before you know it they are in use almost everywhere. Irrational exuberance, outside the box, deliverables, skill set, metric, multitasking, bandwidth, selfie, spyware and a more than a few others.

I’m sure over the last few years, you’ve heard those words and phrases time and time again… so much so that the meaning behind those words became dulled if not lost. 

There’s another term that has been gaining in popularity over the last year or so and believe you me, it is one that will impact your very life — big data. 

I know you’ve heard those two words before — big data —  term before and it’s been used by companies like Cisco (CSCO), Facebook (FB), Google (GOOG), Oracle (ORCL), IBM (IBM) and others. In this age where more and more things are connected, monitored and captured, what is big data? How is it used? What does it mean for business and for the consumer? How will it change things?

These are the questions we need to understand and joining me today on PowerTalk to sort through all of it is Arnab Gupta, Founder and CEO of Opera Solutions. As Arnab points out, it’s not just you and me that are just figuring out what big data is, companies are in the same boat - they know they need to spend on it and they are, but how do they get value from it? How do companies use it to make better decisions, work more productively, and take better actions? How does a company go from spending on big data to making it a competitive advantage for their business?

Arnab and I not only discuss all of this, but he shares how he thinks big data will force companies like Oracle, IBM SAP and others to expand and change their capabilities lest they risk becoming the next Kodak. 

Direct download: 01-28-14_OPERAPOWERTALK_.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:16pm EDT

Welcome to another edition of PowerTalk. I’m your host Chris Versace, editor of the investment newsletter PowerTrend Profits, and these are my 1-1 conversations with the movers and shakers in the business world that take you behind the scenes and in the know. Be sure to check out ChrisVersace.com for more on PowerTrends and past editions of PowerTalk.

Throughout this would be US economic recovery, job creation has not matched what it has been in prior recoveries. In fact, we’ve seen more people dropping out of the labor force, while companies complain they can’t find the kind of workers they need. At the same time, there have been two structural shifts in the economy - the migration to online businesses, which is only accelerating given the adoption rates of smartphones and tablets, but also the slow death of domestic manufacturing. Let’s face it folks, that is a long-term recipe for disaster for the American middle class when it comes to jobs and incomes. It’s not like it was when I was a kid and a family could support itself with one parent working a middle management job.

While many businesses and entrepreneurs are using the online world to enhance their businesses and profits, few are also setting out to return manufacturing and jobs to the US. One such company that is is American Love Affair, an e-tailer that deals exclusively in goods made here in the US. If you’ve listened to my PowerTalks with Abe’s Market about its online business model and Motorola Mobility about how and why it’s building its Moto X smartphone here in the US, then you’ll get exactly what American Love Affair founder and CEO Noelle Nguyun is doing. 

Noelle and I also talk about why she founded the company and how she can compete with not only some of the bigger retail companies  — The Gap (GPS), JC Penny (JCP), Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), Macy’s (M) and others—  but also with the growing online behemoth that is Amazon (AMZN). It’s a great conversation on many levels and it will have you seeing the opportunity and ability to not only save but  return both manufacturing and jobs here to the US.

Direct download: 01-21-14_AMERICANLOVEPOWERTALK.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:42am EDT

Welcome to another edition of PowerTalk. I’m your host Chris Versace, editor of the investment newsletter PowerTrend Profits, and these are my 1-1 conversations with the movers and shakers in the business world that take you behind the scenes and in the know. Be sure to check out ChrisVersace.com for more on PowerTrends and past editions of PowerTalk.

Ever since we started PowerTalk, I’ve spoken with a number of companies that are benefitting from the shift toward mobile as well as the productivity driver that is connectivity. Being able to share information is a driving force in this connected and increasingly mobile world, not only for the enterprise market, but also for the consumer. We’re seeing companies like Microsoft (MSFT), Google (GOOG), Dropbox, Box, and others bring collaboration services to market, but it also raises security concerns, particularly for the business community. On the consumer side, companies like Snapchat and Glide along with Facebook’s (FB) Instagram and Twitter’s (TWTR) Vine applications are riding the transition from voice and text to video and video chat. 

Imagine if there was one company that did all of this? And it worked no matter where your data was stored and no matter what device — Apple (AAPL) iPhone, Google (GOOG) Android or Microsoft Windows — powered smartphone or tablet. Well there is and it’s called Moxtra. In many ways, Moxtra is set to do to collaboration what Blackberry (BBRY) first did for email.

Joining me today on PowerTalk is Subrah Iyar is the former co-founder and CEO of WebEx Communications, which he founded, served as Chairman & CEO through its IPO and 2007 acquisition by Cisco Systems (CSCO) for $3.2 billion. Today, Subrah and I are talking about his latest company, Moxtra, a technology company focusing on productivity and collaboration solutions. 

Direct download: 01-14-14_MOXTRAPOWERTALK.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:10pm EDT

Welcome to another edition of PowerTalk. I’m your host Chris Versace, editor of the investment newsletter PowerTrend Profits, and these are my 1-1 conversations with the movers and shakers in the business world that take you behind the scenes and in the know. Be sure to check out ChrisVersace.com for more on PowerTrends and past editions of PowerTalk.
Since we started PowerTalk back in late 2012, I’ve had the pleasure of sharing my 1-1 conversations with Steve Forbes, Dr. John Lott, James Debney, the CEO of Smith & Wesson, Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and dozens upon dozens more with you. 
Looking at what we have coming up in the following months, I can honestly say we are just getting started. So sit back, relax and get ready to once again go behind the scenes and in the know.
As we get started today, let me share an interesting factoid with you
Internet backbone company Cisco Systems (CSCO) sees video being a key driver of Internet traffic and with more and more devices equipped with cameras it’s easy to see how. It’s not just smartphones and tablets, there is an increasing demand for video surveliance from retailers, banks and other companies and even law enforcement.
With this exploding amount of data in general and with all that video being created, uploaded and shared, a key question is how can consumers and companies harness that data?
Joining me on to talk about that opportunity today on PowerTalk is Al Shipp is the CEO of 3VR. 3VR provides value by enabling organizations to search, mine and leverage video to bolster security, identify and mitigate fraud and better serve customers.
A seasoned technology veteran, Al joined 3VR from Apple (AAPL), where he built a world-class sales and marketing group and led the Enterprise Division to be one of Apple’s most profitable business units. Prior to Apple, he served in senior leadership roles at Critical Path, Inktomi Corporation, BEA Systems, and IBM (IBM).
You may be asking yourself, who is using 3VR’s technology? Companies like Hilton, T-Mobile, Chico’s FAS, the Elk Grove California Police Department, Union Saving Bank and many more across a number of industries. 
After listening to Al and what 3VR is working on, you may think twice before walking out with that pen you just used to sign your name on the credit card receipt.
Direct download: 01-07-14_3VRPOWERTALK.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:39pm EDT

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