Obsessions to Innovations

Each year there does seem to be the “MARKETING TERM”. This year seems to be the year of AI, but before we throw ourselves down that rabbit hole, lets not forget about the obsessions of the past – Cyber and Big Data.
 
Cyber is the catch phrase that tries to put thought to word in the ever evolving and ever challenging race against modern crime. Organized crime has reached the third largest economy in the world by GDP which means they are funded, have infinite resources, and a profit engine. It is no wonder that we have been obsessed with finding the balance of investment and risk mitigation. Success just makes you a target right now. When you are busy trying to keep the doors locked, its very hard to dedicate the resources needed to innovate… so this will be the challenge for the coming year, getting to the point where security is part of what is being built rather than an afterthought. It’s time to rethink how we approach security so that it fuels, rather than hinders, our creative and technological advances.
 
Big Data has been a multi-year push to identify, govern, and monetize the data that is collected within an organization. We’ve been shouting about the importance of data for years, but only now is its value truly hitting home. Data is the ultimate competitive advantage for each and every organization out there. BTW – its also required for AI. Understanding what you have, where its kept, and how it currently and in the future collected is essential for those looking to make decisions by data and in using AI to generate ‘Actionable Intelligence’.
 
There is an old argument that was made sorta famous in the TV show Silicon Valley. The box vs the platform. People buy boxes. Platforms provide the capability to make infinite boxes. The challenge is that it is almost impossible to sell people on a platform – they cant deal with infinite possibilities when there is work to be done now. This brings us to AI. Right now, the many platforms developed around AI are spinning out boxes for organizations to invest and get started. In truth, the organizations will need a platform and a team to use that platform for the unique data and possibilities encased within – but that just seems like a lot of work right now. There’s a lack of vision and know-how holding us back from turning AI from a cool gadget into a game-changing platform – BUT – this will change, and rapidly.

“Change is the essential process of all existence” – Spock