Kevin Roberts

The tax industry is continually changing. H&R Block stays ahead of those changes at every stage to provide seamless multichannel experiences. The company started using Azure back in 2019 by moving various workloads to Microsoft SQL Server 2017 and Azure and using Azure data services. As a result, the tax provider was able to enhance service delivery, scale to meet peaks in demand, and accelerate innovation. Read more.

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The recent ransomware attack on CDK Global reinforces the importance of cybersecurity for all industries. Make sure you’re prepared to protect your organization — and your bottom line — and learn why cybersecurity isn’t just an IT responsibility anymore. #cybersecurity #IT #automotive #cyberattack

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Pleasantly surprised by the relevance of traditionally engineering-focused topics at AssetMark's Wealth Management Executive Forum 2024! Key takeaways: 1. Every organization, regardless of industry, needs a well-defined and purpose-driven data strategy, whether by partnering with the right tech company or building the expertise in-house. 2. It's increasingly important for leadership and management to have some level of engineering skills and, at the very least, a technically accurate intuitive understanding of the implications of applying Machine Learning techniques.

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🚀 Field Time with Our Software Relationship Manager: Where Magic Happens! ✨ Ever wondered what it's like to walk in the shoes of a Software Relationship Manager at Heartland? Last week, I had an epic day shadowing Chris J., and wow, what a ride it was! From brainstorming sessions that spark innovation to fielding questions that could stump even the most seasoned techie, Chris J. truly showed us how to turn challenges into opportunities. 🔍 Key Takeaways: Communication is Key – Clear, open dialogues are the secret sauce to successful relationships. Customer Insight is Gold – Understanding our clients’ needs helps tailor solutions that truly make a difference. Flexibility Rules – Adapting on the fly keeps us ahead in the fast-paced world of software. A huge shoutout to Chris J. for their incredible energy and insight! Here’s to more days of learning, laughing, and growing together. 🌟 #Teamwork #CustomerSuccess #SoftwareMagic #LearningAndGrowing

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How can the value provided at #OutperformwithPROS benefit your business? Find out what PROS VP of Design and User Experience, Ravi Singh has to say to someone who says they can't afford to take a week off work to attend. Don't miss out! 📆 May 20-22, 2024 📍 Orlando, FL 🔗 pros.com/outperform Welcome to #GenerationAI - let's embrace the future, to be part of the narrative. #PROSAI #ProfitableGrowth #B2B #Airlines #AI

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"Marketing is more efficient than they’ve ever been, allowing them to spend time developing more complex campaigns to improve our customer’s experience." -John Williams, on their ROI with SugarCRM. https://sgrcrm.co/3Yfcgjh #CX #CRM #CustomerExperience

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"Marketing is more efficient than they’ve ever been, allowing them to spend time developing more complex campaigns to improve our customer’s experience." -John Williams, on their ROI with SugarCRM. https://okt.to/Ci57hP #CX #CRM #CustomerExperience #SugarCRM

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Do you enjoy your planning rituals? Recently, we participated in a Program Increment (PI) planning event for a client in Chicago that left me genuinely inspired and eagerly anticipating the next one. Picture this: 140 + people, aiming to truly realign on business goals for the next six sprints. After breaking into groups and then reconvening for the first readout, the room erupted with cheers and high fives. The energy was contagious, with real excitement about the work ahead, and smiles all around. That moment sums up the true essence of Agile in business. It's not just about the practices or methodologies. It's about people, united around common goals and buzzing with energy, focused on delivering something they really believe in together. Some advice for tech leaders: when engagement wanes, reconnect with the human side. Help teams rediscover their "why". That's the key to maintaining motivation and driving exceptional results. #Agile #Teamwork #Leadership #PIPlanning #ProgramIncrementPlanning #ProjectManagement

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Invoice automation is time and money saved. For large organizations it can be a whole lot of both. Combining leading business knowledge and efficient, scalable cloud architecture is what we do! Congrats to our excellent team. 🚀 #InvoiceAutomation #CloudArchitecture #BusinessEfficiency #TechInnovation

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"Marketing is more efficient than they’ve ever been, allowing them to spend time developing more complex campaigns to improve our customer’s experience." -John Williams, on their ROI with SugarCRM. https://sgrcrm.co/4hhsYHp #CX #CRM #CustomerExperience

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Learn how Port Hotels automated their marketing emails, enhanced their overall guest experience, and generated more bookings with Cendyn CRM.👉 https://ow.ly/QEGS30sEb5R #HotelCRM #Personalization #Automation #HotelMarketing #HotelEmailMarketing #HotelCDP

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If anyone tried to e-file their taxes with H&R Block desktop software, over 24 hours (Sunday, April 14th until midday April 15th), they would have failed. https://lnkd.in/gycJmDDN Let me break this down for you - this is a CLASSIC n-phase commit issue. I would NOT be surprised if they are using threads to meet this need and of course, they are failing spectacularly! Why? Because as much as I love threads, I have been using threads since 1994 or earlier, large-scale, heterogeneous systems architecture is never to be built with threads! Threads mean you hope you can control the spanning and the response times. Otherwise, the countless waiting threads chew up cycles, timing, and the overall machines, until you have system starvation. The proper way to manage unbounded interactions is to use non-blocking (event-based) architectures. This allows the backend to manage the many disparate systems it needs to interact with and ensure they are completed and the customer knows the final outcome. I stress, the last point - you can have the best backend system out there but unless the customer interaction model is equal to the backend model, the customer will not know what happened. If the backend is trying to do many things in an async manner but uses a sync user interaction model then the customer does not know what happened. The customer may be trying to e-file their taxes, which is at least two steps, charge the card and file the taxes with at least one government system, maybe more. If that interaction on the backend is done async, and then it fails, the customer's interaction model will also fail, and now the customer is left in a place where they do not know what happened! Many customers, in this case with HRBlock, actually had their e-file work, but they never knew it! Eventually, the Federal Government emailed them saying that the taxes were filed. Which is a horrible user interaction. The main point here is that all complex user-facing interactions on the backend need to have a user model where the customer knows what happened and if they can try again! Failure is NOT an IF it is just a WHEN. One MUST build their architecture embracing failure. In the end, persistent orchestration, using things like Airflow of Amazon Steps, along with idempotency is the only way to ensure that the customer will get the outcome they desire. System failures is expected, systems not giving the customer a final understanding of where they stand on such important transactions is a failure. If the user experience is clear in stating that the user's request is being handled and then the backend fails, but the user experience is not tied - directly - to that backend, then that one level of abstraction allows the experience to do retries and poll for the state of the backend's final outcome. Best wishes to all for success and much better outcomes than my annoyances this week!

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Some of the key features which improves your productivity with respect to ABL around 12.8 LTS release are discussed here.

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Renovations Are Often Seen As Large, Costly Undertakings, But They Don't Have To Break The Bank To Make A Significant Impact. For Small Business Owners And Entrepreneurs. Article: https://lnkd.in/dXSk37FX Tags: #Business #BusinessRenovations #Renovations #OfficeRenovations #HomeRenovations #SmallBusinessOwners #Entrepreneurs

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Hiring movers can relieve some of the stress and anxiety that comes with moving. But movers can be expensive. Learn more from Capital One about how much moving might cost, factors that could affect the cost of a move and some ways to save on moving expenses. https://bit.ly/4cADiaa

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