From Gaming to Global Efficiency with Evan J Schwartz

My guest today is Evan J. Schwartz, the COO of AMCS Group North America, a global leader in sustainable cloud technology. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor and Board Advisor at Jacksonville University, mentoring graduate students in AI, cybersecurity, and technical project management.Evan traces his technology origin from early-1980s bulletin board systems to founding a company that built graphic multiplayer BBS games and a scripted graphics language, that he says predated HTML, reaching 33 titles across a global BBS market before the internet rapidly displaced it around 1995. He then shifted from internet gaming into business software, automating insurance workflows and later working in commodity and “reverse logistics” industries including forestry, natural gas, and waste/recycling at AMCS, citing route optimization across 770,000 trucks that saves 17–20 gallons of diesel per truck. He discusses why ERP adoption is hard, advocating game-design-style gradual introduction, putting people first, and having product teams do end-user jobs. He emphasizes vendor relationships over feature requests, AI governance and risk frameworks, a “person + AI” stewardship model, and evolving education/career paths toward broad skills, clear communication, domain knowledge, and knowing what “good” looks like.The timestamps are approximate and do not include the time for the intro. Add about 90 seconds to locate the section00:00 Welcome and Setup00:31 Early Computing Origins01:20 Building BBS Games03:02 Internet Shift to Business05:01 Reverse Logistics Mission06:34 ERP and AI Adoption08:31 Gaming Lessons for ERP11:03 People First Strategy13:00 Empathy by Doing the Job17:29 Vendor Trust and Roadmaps21:31 Universities vs AI Change24:58 Training Architects Without Coding26:03 AI as Faster Camera26:58 Stewardship Over Replacement28:34 Why Hallucinations Happen29:52 Capstones in One Class30:37 Excel to AI Migration33:08 M&A Governance Interop35:45 EU AI Act Reality Check37:56 Culture Shapes Adoption40:31 Interstellar Waiting Trap41:53 Career Skills for Stewards44:41 Quiet Failure Risk45:57 Protect Time and Values48:52 Closing ThanksEvan J. Schwartz is the COO of AMCS Group North America, a global leader in sustainable cloud technology. With 35+ years of experience in resource-intensive industries like waste, recycling, and natural gas, he drives digital transformation through AI and data science. Formerly AMCS’s Chief Enterprise Architect, Evan is also an adjunct professor at Jacksonville University, mentoring future IT leaders. A Forbes Technology Council member and sought-after speaker, he advocates for AI-driven sustainability and ethical tech. His bestselling book, People, Places, and Things, cements his expertise in seamless ERP implementation.SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:Website: https://www.evanjschwartz.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-schwartz-live/