Pluralsight Navigate 2023: Wednesday's top takeaways
Day two of Navigate was filled with AI product announcements, talks on human intelligence, and discussions by tech leaders from AWS, SAP, IDC, and more.
Oct 19, 2023 • 6 Minute Read
The second day of Pluralsight Navigate 2023 was packed full of new AI and Flow product announcements, as well as expert keynotes and strategy sessions. From generative AI and upskilling to cloud maturity, experts discussed the major trends transforming the tech landscape.
Curious about everything that happened on the second day of this exclusive, in-person event? Keep reading. And if you missed out on the first day, check out our Tuesday recap article for all of the highlights.
Table of contents
New Pluralsight product announcements: AI assistant, Flow Single-Tenant, and more
On Wednesday, Pluralsight’s Chief Product Officer, Greg Ceccarelli, unveiled several exciting AI-related product announcements. This included new courses, assessments, and generative AI content specialized across domains. He also introduced the upcoming AI assistant that will solve problems for leaders and learners with personalized solutions, such as suggesting courses, skills, and roles and explaining why they’re relevant.
Pluralsight also presented new services to give teams even more secure visibility into engineering teams’ performance: Flow Single-Tenant and Flow Git Metadata Collector.
“Flow Single-Tenant is an enterprise-ready, fully isolated, dedicated SaaS service that is hosted and managed by Pluralsight, deployed on AWS, and leverages a PrivateLink connection to ensure that all data is encrypted while in transit and at rest,” said Pluralsight’s GM of Flow, Paul Auffermann.
“Meanwhile, for those that host their source code repos on-premise, the Flow Git Metadata Collector is both a great name and an optional add-on that provides an additional layer of security without requiring you to manage and host an entire Flow instance.”
On the second day of Navigate, industry leaders from AWS, SAP, IDC, and more shared their strategies for tackling tech transformation. The founder of Seven Seven Six and co-founder of Reddit, Alexis Ohanian, also spoke during the opening session. Here are the key takeaways from day two.
1. We need human intelligence to use artificial intelligence
Although there are many exciting new products in the realm of artificial intelligence, nurturing human intelligence is crucial to unlocking their benefits.
“In a time when we’re all talking about artificial intelligence, it’s actually human intelligence that will unlock the full potential of AI,” said Pluralsight CEO Aaron Skonnard. “[Your people are] the ones who harness technology to bring innovation to market across every industry.
“Artificial intelligence, like any technology, still relies on human input. So if you want to get the most out of AI, you need people with the skills to leverage that technology and who have skills across other domains important to your business.”
Alexis Ohanian shared this sentiment in his Navigate session, stating AI will open up new possibilities in space tech, climate tech, and more.
“We’re going to have more opportunities to take some bigger swings as a species [with AI],” said Alexis. However, he also said organizations needed to be aware AI isn’t flawless.
“I think it’s really important that we also have conversations about the downsides…It’ll be up to the humans behind the tech to have those conversations and ensure we use AI ethically.”
2. Upskilling is a competitive differentiator for future-focused orgs
According to Gina Smith, Research Director at renowned analyst firm IDC, executing a successful upskilling program isn’t a walk in the park, especially during a recession. However, in the long term, research shows it pays off considerably.
She shared research from a recent study: "By 2025, more than 90% of organizations worldwide will experience negative impacts of the IT skills shortage, costing $6.5 trillion in product delays, reduced customer satisfaction, loss of competitiveness, and missed revenue goals.”*
According to the assembled experts, organizations need to invest in the following four areas for future success:
Cybersecurity and data security
IT service management
Cloud computing
Artificial intelligence and machine learning
*IDC Skills Forward: Staying Competitive Amid the Worsening IT Talent Shortage, Doc #US51248323, September 2023
3. Orgs can measure the AI skills gap
According to research shared by Pluralsight CEO Aaron Skonnard, 81% of technologists are confident they can integrate AI into their roles right now. But only 12% have significant experience working with AI.
“That’s unlikely to change when three out of four executives feel that their company isn’t investing enough in AI training,” Aaron said.
This gap contributes to what Pluralsight’s Developer Success Lab calls the AI Skill Threat. With the rise of AI technology, the AI Skill Threat refers to developers’ fear that the skills they’ve used to become successful code writers may now be obsolete. To combat this growing concern, Pluralsight’s research specialists introduced the Generative AI Adoption Toolkit.
At Navigate, they walked leaders through the toolkit, explaining how organizations can use it to benchmark their AI adoption readiness and respond appropriately with tools for where they’re at in their journey.
4. Orgs need to move from just L&D to workforce transformation
According to SAP Learning’s Executive Vice President Max Wessel, organizations need to stop treating learning and development as an end point and start seeing it as a means for workforce transformation. He said workforce transformation is about knowing where you are and where you want to go, and learning is the path to get there.
At SAP, Max said they started by identifying their skill priorities, then used Skill IQ assessments to measure workforce abilities. Based on this data, they created targeted tech training programs. They've also been using GenAI to increase their staff’s access to learning and insights.
Bryan Alli, General Manager for Business Transformation at Delta Air Lines, also shared the upskilling strategies they’ve used to drive tech transformation. This includes:
Developing learning personas and customized learning journeys
Combining Pluralsight content with content from Delta subject-matter experts
Breaking down learning programs by depth and skill level
Measuring the business impact of learning
5. Higher education’s role in preparing the next generation of tech leaders
In a fast-paced tech landscape, higher education can find itself playing catch-up and struggling to prepare students for the workforce. However, industry experts explained there’s a way universities can avoid feeling one step behind.
At Navigate, Susan Thackeray, Department Chair for Technology Management at Utah Valley University, and Erin Livingston, Adobe's Global Enablement Program Manager, dished out real talk on how universities can compliment degrees with specialized tech and soft skills. The result? Minimizing on-the-job learning curves for new hires, creating a win-win situation for everyone.
Learn more about how tech fluency prepares students for the workforce.
On the third and final day of Pluralsight Navigate 2023, there’ll be more expert talks with leaders from VMWare, DocuSign, SAP, Sage, and more (including Pluralsight, of course). There will also be a session with Guy Raz, award-winning podcaster, author, radio personality, and journalist.
If you missed out on day one, you can read the highlights. In the coming weeks, keep your eyes peeled for more detailed recaps and on-demand videos from Pluralsight Navigate 2023.
Want to keep the momentum going? Watch this session, and everything else you missed from 2023 Pluralsight Navigate, on demand. Plus, check out on-demand sessions from last year’s Navigate.
