The People Matters TechHR Singapore 2019 will be a window to how today's incredible pace of technology advancement provides businesses, talent managers and technologists the perfect opportunity to engineer a fascinating workplace of tomorrow. One of the themes of the conference is harnessing technologies that could enable disproportionate leaps in work efficiency and nurturing a future ready digital workforce. One of the highlights of the event will be the keynote session spearheaded by top global tech influencer, Ray Wang. Ray Wang is the Principal Analyst, Founder, and Chairman of Silicon Valley-based Constellation Research, Inc. Wang has held executive roles in product, marketing, strategy, and consulting at companies such as Forrester Research, Oracle, PeopleSoft, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, and Johns Hopkins Hospital. Ray's expertise lies in digital, innovation, business model design, engagement strategies, customer experience, matrix commerce, and big data.

Humans and machines need to learn from each other, says Ray Wang. The will they or won't they debate surrounding robots replacing humans has caught the imagination of both business and consumer in recent times, with a myriad of reports putting forward a plethora of stats in support of the opportunity, or threat, of robots and AI. Thus, it was unsurprising that a key focus on day two of the SAP User Group Conference was on the polarising emerging technology. Ray Wang, Principal Analyst, Founder, and Chairman of Silicon Valley based Constellation Research, took to the stage to pose the topical question, 'Will Robots Take Over?' The answer put forth by Wang, unsurprisingly, was not straightforward. Yes, AI and machines will take over certain jobs, but there will always be a need for human input when it comes down to qualities such as creativity, compassion and physical presence.

Anyone can look into a crystal ball, but it takes a visionary to translate vague details into useful information. Noted analyst, R "Ray" Wang is just such a visionary. As the founder and chairman of Silicon Valley-based Constellation Research, Wang advises companies on topics including how disruptive technologies impact the future of work, next generation customer experience, cross-channel commerce, big data and analytics, digital marketing transformation, and technology optimization. His latest book, Disrupting Digital Business, is required reading in many boardrooms. We spoke with Ray during the Oracle Cloud Days event in Denver to get his perspective on the role of cloud-based analytics in managing disruption and maximizing business opportunities.