It’s great to have vision. Just make sure you’re ready for business growth.

I can’t tell you how many entrepreneurs have told me that growth remains their number-one priority. They want more customers, more sales, more inbound links, more repeat business, more products to sell. The problem is that they forget about the customer experience in the process.

How does an agency improve the customer experience while simultaneously dealing with a shrinking budget, a smaller workforce and maybe even a hiring freeze? It’s a classic federal Catch-22, and while no one has figured out a way to beat the system yet, some federal managers have developed strategies for survival.

Smart organizations have recognized that introducing new technology into the workplace isn’t about hardware or software: it’s about wetware, also known as human beings. If you want to be the kind of nimble business that can make the most of successive waves of tech innovation, you need human beings who can adapt to change.

Whatever you sell, your customers crave empathy above all else and will tell their friends where they get it.

I ambled in at 9:59 p.m. -- one minute before closing. The manager stood sentinel at the door, surveying the mini-mall parking lot for drifters like me. I had just driven 10 miles through flashing lightning and flash-flood rain to get a juicy burger. A guy’s gotta eat.

Findings from a recent study by Gartner showed that the number of organizations embracing business intelligence (BI) platforms continues to grow, but more focus is being placed on business-led, agile analytics and self-service features rather than IT-led system-of-record reporting.

Enterprises across the globe and in various domains are renovating their business offerings and trying to implement all that’s required to embrace digital transformation in a bid to become leaders of the digital race. QA adoption, continuous deployment, real-time business monitoring, faster time to market and customer experience are the most critical drivers of these initiatives.

Amazon, the online retail powerhouse, has submitted a patent application for a tower from which it will launch its delivery drones. The concept would be particularly appealing in urban areas where space is limited but demand for products - and timely delivery - is still high.

A customer's experience with a brand trumps everything in the age of the empowered consumer. Jim Dicso, CEO of SundaySky explains how the best brands, like Apple and Netflix, compete and win with personalized customer engagement.

JetBlue, Amazon, Netflix and Apple – what do these companies have in common? These four brands are recognized for their customer-centric approaches to business and superior customer experiences.