"Futurology has always bounced around between common sense, nonsense and a healthy dose of wishful thinking." That's how a 2012 Scientific American article summed up the history of prediction. Our compelling annual urge to predict the future traces back to the ancient Greeks and their Delphic Oracle--so who am I to argue with such venerable tradition? Here's my top 10 countdown for the shape of our industry in 2015:
In 2005, Thomas Friedman's award-winning book The World Is Flat championed the transformative power of globalization. It highlighted how the traditional barriers of commerce, communication and politics were rapidly changing in these early years of the 21st century, due to the powerful impact of the Internet. It's a brilliant work whose core ideas continue to be proven as the digitization of every industry accelerates.
IDG Communications CEO Michael Friedenberg offers his take on the latest IDC predictions about retail customers, big data, supply chain and more
IDG Communications CEO, Michael Friedenberg, says it already has, as he contemplates 3D printing technology that can create things as varied as a human liver and a new home.
One CEO gains inspiration from quotes by business luminaries such as John Chambers, Jeff Bezos, Jack Dorsey and Howard Schultz
As the father of two young girls, I often think ahead to what fields my children might pursue in their professional careers. Since my own career is devoted to high-tech media, I naturally think about the world of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and wonder if it's a path I would recommend to my daughters.
Every time another survey about CIO tenure shows up, we're reminded yet again that a long corporate life at one company is rarely in the cards for IT leaders. Today's CIO lasts an average of 4.1 years on the job, according to management consultancy Janco Associates.
It's the time of year for bold and brazen predictions, so I'm jumping on the bandwagon with my forecast of the Top 10 trends, priorities and events of 2011:
Maybe one day, everything the high-tech industry has to offer your enterprise will come from the likes of IBM, HP, Oracle and Microsoft. But until that day arrives, it's refreshing to see a number of stealth-like vendors delivering some notably innovative solutions for customers.
One of my all-time favorite movies is All the President's Men. The best line in the movie is when Deep Throat (played by the great character actor Hal Holbrook) meets with Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and hears him explain how his investigation has hit a dead end.
Business is still a nutty roller coaster ride and CIOs have never found their roles more challenging. Here are three books worthy of your reading shelf:
Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell with Patrick Robinson. Marcus spoke at the CSO Perspectives Conference in early March in the US; you could hear a pin drop during his keynote. His book is absolutely riveting as he describes how four US Navy Seals went on a mission to capture or kill an al-Qaida leader only to have things go horribly astray. The story of what Marcus lived through and the collective courage and honour he and his fellow Navy Seals showed is just remarkable.
For the high-tech vendor community, 2007 was a great year. At <a href="http://www.cio.com/article/170052/subject/Google+Inc.">Google</a>, Microsoft, <a href="http://www.cio.com/article/170052/subject/EMC+Corporation">EMC</a>, IBM, Oracle, SAS, Sun Microsystems, Apple, Fujitsu, SAP and others, profits grew, new products emerged out of a renewed focus on innovation, and customer engagement increased. But one company led all the rest and had a year for the record books: Hewlett-Packard.
A wise man once told me, "When you try to read a crystal ball, you usually end up chewing glass." But the New Year is just around the corner so let's see if we can see what's in store for 2008...
"If I wasn't a CIO," says Joe Beery, CIO of US Airways, "I would probably be an ER doctor."
In baseball, if you fail to get a hit seven out of 10 times, that's a .300 average and you're regarded as a top performer. But CIOs don't play baseball. They play the game of business, and failing seven out of 10 times is not only embarrassing, it's unacceptable.