As yet another successful year comes to a close, the one common thread that is once again present in all business is that technology is the single greatest driver as we move into the New Year.
In 2018, we saw the rise and acceptance of the need for digital transformation and all that it can deliver for business success, we witnessed the start of the silos of IT begin to dissolve with the promise of interconnectivity, and we saw the new rise of the mainframe as it solidifies itself as the powerhouse that will drive next generation data.
And of course there is the data—the world’s new gold. It is now apparent that data is and will continue to be the single greatest asset for any company—a fully digital economy that will drive us to new heights and new possibilities. And with that data has come new approaches. From the days of the “Big Data” discussions, has come AI to manage and analyze it—faster and better than our own human minds can manage.
Perhaps that’s the greatest point of 2018 and what is next for all of us collectively in 2019—a world where AI, IoT and machine learning unlock the very best human potential. As I see these technologies unfold, I see a glimmer of hope whereby the very technology that has in some ways separated us into our own silos as human beings—the loss of real human interaction—may be the thing that drives us all closer together.
In any of these cases, I sincerely thank you for your ongoing support in 2018, and wish all of you a happy, safe, and prosperous New Year!