Company culture forever changed when remote work became the norm. In a remote-first work environment, maintaining a sense of community and shared purpose can be challenging. However, at Metis Strategy, we believe in the importance of making time for in-person collaboration, even when we are miles apart. Our Day of Service exemplifies this commitment, as associates, managers, and partners from across the country gather regionally to make a positive impact in their local communities.
This year, teams in D.C., Houston, San Francisco, Atlanta, Miami, and more participated in service activities centered around the theme of sustainability. As we head back to our respective offices, we’re grateful for the opportunity to connect with colleagues, uniting behind the common goal of helping others.
The Bay Area Squad worked with Indigenous Permaculture, an urban farming group that uses regenerative farming practices to feed those in need across the San Francisco and East Bay Area. The team mulched, weeded, planted, and fixed irrigation lines on their Treasure Island plot. The day was both productive and educational, as the team learned about the importance of sustainable agriculture and community partnerships in empowering communities to develop self-sustainable ways of living.
“It was interesting learning about how pairing certain plants next to each other can act as a natural pesticide,” said Becca Salisbury, an associate on the West Coast team. “We also enjoyed learning how this group teams up with local farms and restaurants to distribute food about to go bad to those in need.”
Surrounded by nature, coworkers, and a spirit of collaboration, the team not only gave back to the community but also gained a deeper understanding of the crucial role local wildlife ecosystems play in supporting sustainable farming practices. It was a powerful reminder of the impact that collaboration, and just a little bit of mulch, can have in nurturing both the environment and the community.
Across the country, the D.C.-based Titans gathered in support of the Rock Creek Conservatory, a watershed organization aimed at restoring, protecting, and supporting the natural oasis of Rock Creek Park. This group, which included our President Peter High, took on the task of picking up trash around the parklands.
“D.C. is such a beautiful city, and it felt good to contribute to that maintenance effort for a few hours,” said Jillian Fielder, an associate from the East Coast team who organized the event. “At the end of the day, we had a few decently full bags of trash which included everything from Styrofoam packing materials to beer bottles to candy bar wrappers. I’m really proud that Metis Strategy continues to make community engagement and service a firm-wide focus.”
The day was marked by teamwork and a shared sense of purpose, showcasing these Titans’ commitment to environmental stewardship and community engagement. Following the event, the team gathered in the park to celebrate with a Capo Deli lunch.
Our Titans in Texas made a strong impact, representing Metis Strategy across Dallas, Houston, and Austin. Kelley Dougherty, Eva Maxcy, and Katherine Kennedy spent the day sorting food donations with Meals for Kids Houston, an organization whose mission is to end childhood hunger by delivering healthy meals directly to the homes of children in the Houston area facing extreme hunger.
In recent weeks, the Houston area experienced unprecedented severe weather, which caused the Meals for Kids warehouse to lose power and forced the organization to discard a significant amount of perishable goods that had gone bad without refrigeration. “You could tell the organization was very worried that the weather issues would impact their ability to provide food for these kids,” said Kelley. “It felt great to be part of the community that stepped up to make sure that wouldn’t happen.”
The Houston-based trio couldn’t have stepped in at a better time, joining a community-wide effort to support an organization in a time of need. While everyone was united in the common purpose of community service, a friendly sorting competition also served as an exercise in teamwork.
The Day of Service was a major success across Metis Strategy. In addition to the stories shared above, Titans in other parts of the country also found ways to meet up, volunteer, and spend valuable time together without a screen in between.
At Metis Strategy, the Day of Service is more than just another company event; it serves as a reminder for us all to give back to our communities and strengthen our interpersonal relationships at work and beyond. We are proud of the dedication and hard work displayed by all of our teams and look forward to continuing this tradition of service and collaboration for years to come.
May 21, 2024
12 p.m. – 3 p.m. EST
Advancements in artificial intelligence have opened the door for innovative ways companies can deliver unique and personalized customer experiences. Join us virtually on May 21 for our next Metis Strategy Digital Symposium where global business and technology executives describe how AI has improved their organizations, how they are continuing to foster a customer-centric mentality, and what the future of technology and digital looks like in the Age of AI.
C-level technology leaders, register here reserve your spot and stay tuned for agenda updates. We look forward to seeing you!
(Click here for highlights from our most recent Digital Symposium, and stay tuned to our YouTube channel for videos of our panel discussions.)
12:00 – 12:15 p.m.
Welcome and Introductions
Welcome and introduction to the Metis Strategy team
Peter High, President, Metis Strategy
12:15 – 12:40 p.m.
Customer Experience in the Age of AI
Marty Brodbeck, Chief Technology Officer, Priceline
Bala Subramanian, Chief Digital & Technology Officer, UPS
Moderated by Steven Norton; Co-Head Executive Networks, Research, and Media; Metis Strategy
12:40 – 1:05 p.m.
Driving Digital Innovation Ahead of Disruption
Greg Moore, Chief Information Officer, KB Home
Michael Lucas, Chief Information Officer, Wilson Sonsini
Moderated by Chris Davis, Partner & West Coast Office Lead, Metis Strategy
1:05 – 1:30 p.m.
Shaping the Story: Future-Oriented Talent and Innovation
Monica Caldas, Global Chief Information Officer, Liberty Mutual
Amir Kazmi, Chief Information & Digital Officer, WestRock
Moderated by Alex Kraus, Partner & East Coast Office Lead, Metis Strategy
1:30 – 1:45 p.m.
Entrepreneur Spotlight: CEO of Augment
Scott Dietzen, CEO, Augment
Moderated by Peter High, President, Metis Strategy
1:45 – 2:15 p.m.
Emerging AI Opportunities in Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare
Diogo Rau, Chief Information & Digital Officer, Eli Lilly
Cindy Hoots, Chief Digital Officer & Chief Information Officer, AstraZeneca
Greg Meyers, Chief Digital & Technology Officer, Bristol Myers Squibb
Moderated by Peter High, President, Metis Strategy
2:15 – 2:40 p.m.
Blueprint for AI Organizational Readiness
Praveen Jonnala, Chief Information Officer, CommScope
Tim Dickson, Chief Digital & Information Officer, Regal Rexnord
Moderated by Michael Bertha, Partner & Central Office Lead, Metis Strategy
2:40 – 2:55 p.m.
Closing Remarks and Adjourn
Peter High, President, Metis Strategy
Click here for highlights from our February Metis Strategy Digital Symposium, or watch the panels on our YouTube channel. We look forward to seeing you!
Introduction
The California Gold Rush launched in 1848 when a sawmill operator stumbled upon a literal goldmine while building Sutter’s Mill in Sacramento, California. Nearly two centuries later, a figurative gold rush kicked off as individuals and companies across the globe sought to capitalize on generative artificial intelligence (GenAI).
Looking back at Technovation podcast interviews from 2023, AI and adjacent technologies were easily the most talked about trends. Mentions of ChatGPT and GenAI soared through the rankings, going from a non-existent topic in 2022 to the second most frequently discussed trend on the podcast a year later.
The focus on GenAI brought with it a growing focus on AI more broadly, as well as cybersecurity, chatbots, and robotic process automation. It also spurred conversations about the possibilities of quantum computing and new opportunities to leverage data coming from a range of IoT sensors.
Technologies like blockchain and the metaverse took a backseat to AI this year, but many executives hypothesize that widespread adoption may yet be on the horizon.
Companies dive into generative AI
When generative AI became widely accessible to companies at the end of 2022, the possibilities seemed endless, spurring conversations about how it could reshape work.
Cisco Sanchez, SVP & CIO of Qualcomm, said he noticed an “anxiousness” within his organization to leverage that technology and show what was possible. Through the company’s Imagine platform, his team identified a number of use cases such as internal documentation search, image creation, and more.
Document summarization piqued the interest of DocuSign CIO Shanthi Iyer, who said GenAI could help clients quickly get answers to questions about their contracts, including which parties were involved, start and end dates, fiscal terms, and even potential risks.
GenAI’s rise also renewed conversations around voice assistants and chatbots. Tracy Kerrins, CIO of Wells Fargo, announced that the company completed 100% consumer rollout of a new virtual agent named “Fargo” that can be accessed through the company’s mobile app. The assistant “helps improve [the customer’s] banking experience and give them the information they may not have even known they needed when they need it,” Kerrins said. Powered by Google’s AI Dialogue Flow solution, “Fargo” is seen internally as the company’s first step toward adopting GenAI and paving the way for its expansion.
Those keeping a close eye on technology trends surely saw GenAI on the horizon, but few could have predicted the speed of its adoption. It’s safe to say that going into 2024, the topic of GenAI will remain strong, with new insights on where it makes sense to deploy the technology, what value it poses to the overall business, and what risk factors need to be considered to drive a successful AI strategy.
A renewed focus on data quality and value delivery
To take advantage of the opportunities presented by AI and GenAI, organizations noted the need for a sound data strategy and quality data management practices to act as a foundation. Kristie Grinnell, CIO of DXC Technology, emphasized the need for strong data fundamentals in the age of AI. “Is this data I can count on, take action on, make a decision on?,” asked Grinnell, “Because then, I’m going to run analytics over it to start predicting things for the future.” Without reliable data, she warned, companies could face “disastrous” results.
Filippo Catalano, CIDO of Reckitt, echoed this sentiment as well, describing GenAI as a “lens” on top of the data already collected. “You need to have your data analytics strategy in place,” said Catalano, “Frankly, if you don’t have good data practices… you will not be able to generate competitive advantage.”
Mentions of the Internet of Things and sensor-based technology have steadily declined in mentions over the last few years of podcast interviews. However, this doesn’t appear to be due to declining interest. Rather, sensors are now ubiquitous in many companies, collecting and feeding data back to the IT organization. To many executives, the more pressing topic wasn’t the implementation of sensors themselves, but the data coming from them and the value this data can deliver.
Johnson Controls CIO Vijay Sankaran remains steadfast in the use of IoT sensors in the real estate sector. The data his team collects has a wide range of applications, including mapping facilities to optimize the usage of physical space and improve employee experience. Similarly, at commercial lightning supplier Signify, CDIO Tony Thomas leverages the data about how customers use its smart light bulbs to help the company figure out how to evolve its product and service offerings.
At ConocoPhillips, real-time sensor data is giving the company more visibility into its drill sites than ever before, allowing it to more closely monitor equipment and learn about potential issues before they happen. Using IoT sensors to get real-time data “is allowing us to do deep analytics, machine learning, AI, and monitoring opportunities that we were never able to do before,” said CDIO Pragati Mathur.
Heading into 2024, data remains at the top of the CIO agenda as organizations seek new ways to collect, analyze, and act upon information to drive value.
Cybersecurity and data privacy are top of mind with concerns surrounding AI
With data being as valuable as it is, securing it is non-negotiable. The ever-present need to build consumer trust and protect enterprise data ensures that cybersecurity is a trend that will persist and evolve. “Cybersecurity is never a business by itself,” said Gili Raanan, Co-Founder of Cyberstarts. “If technology changes and you’ve got artificial and generative AI,” said Raanan, “you probably need generative AI security.”
The inevitable cyber risks and ethical questions surrounding GenAI’s implementation were not lost on executives. Rajan Kumar, CIO of Intuit, has been on a journey to mature his organization’s data strategy that powers the services offered to clients. While collecting the necessary data is one area of focus, just as important is doing so with “the right guardrails around the security and privacy.”
Alina Parast, CIO of ChampionX, reiterated the need for cybersecurity before leveraging any AI capability. “We need to find a safe and secure home for our data before we apply AI,” she said. Parast applied internal security procedures and protections integrated into the Microsoft platforms she uses to ensure any application of AI doesn’t place data at risk. Parast also explained how cybersecurity practices extended beyond IT to become part of an overall mindset. “We want people to internalize that cybersecurity is something that doesn’t just belong to a small team in the corner,” she said, “but [that] it’s everybody’s responsibility.” To drive home this mindset, she developed an internal cybersecurity training program framed as a murder mystery mini-series, providing a fun alternative to routine corporate training modules.
Juan Perez, CIO of software-as-a-service platform Salesforce, said cybersecurity has been imperative to any initiative he undertook throughout his career. When describing his top five pillars as a CIO, Perez began and ended his list with the need to protect and secure the enterprise. “None of the other [pillars] matter if, at the end of the day, we’re not prioritizing the security of our environments and the security of the information that we have to guard so closely so that we protect the business’s interests.”
AI prompts conversations on new computing needs
As companies run bigger and faster models, the demand for compute has picked up. “You have to get the ROI out of [GenAI], and there’s a lot of compute power that is required,” said Vish Narendra, CIO of Graphic Packaging.
One such avenue is quantum computing. Douglas Lindemann, CIO of ArcBest Technologies, has a team dedicated to researching quantum. This research has informed Lindemann’s perspective on the role that quantum can play as enterprises continue their AI journeys. Through his team’s research, he was able to apply some of the learnings to ‘quantum-inspired optimization’ (QIO) that runs on classical computers to “make more efficient algorithms that can respond and provide responses in a quicker time” and “provide better, quicker model responses with some of our AI.”
Monica Caldas, CIO of Liberty Mutual, says quantum computing could change the way data is recorded and calculations are done. “I just think about the ability of the speed and the processing power that that will bring,” she said. As quantum capabilities advance, “how will that change how we do algorithms? How will that change how we process?”
Vanguard CIO Nitin Tandon agreed, citing the intersection of quantum and AI/ML tools was a trend he was particularly excited about. “We are talking about NVIDIA and GPUs today, but think about if we had qubits, GPUs and CPUs that you can harvest in whatever ratio you want to drive really powerful AI/ML engines.” However, like AI, the advent of quantum poses its share of risks. “It also has huge security implications, which we’re also cognizant of and working on.”
Other trends on CIOs’ minds
Continuing the path to cloud maturity
Cloud computing technology has been a trend often mentioned on Technovation, as many companies began their cloud journeys years ago. With strategies in place and transformations in progress, the conversation now is focused on how the cloud has and can continue to enable new processes.
Executives still see value in blockchain, mostly in financial services
Blockchain seemed poised to be a game-changing technology, but adoption has proved slower than many anticipated. Shubham Mehrish, Global VP of Mars, jokingly contrasted the successful takeoff of AI to the lukewarm response to blockchain. The rise of AI “ is not a blockchain/crypto moment. This is probably more real than that.”
Within the financial services industry, however, some see high potential for value-add use cases. Sumedh Mehta, CIO of Putnam Investments, said during a podcast interview earlier in the year that he sees blockchain as having the “potential for being the backbone of future global financial transactions.”
Lori Beer, CIO of J.P. Morgan, also sees the potential value of blockchain if it is done right. “When you think about all the processes that we have to comply with payments…there’s so many opportunities where you have to connect to other banks to understand information in that [know your customer] process to be able to know that you can go ahead.”
Co-founder and Co-chairman of The Carlyle Group, David Rubenstein, said crypto and the like are here to stay. “Crypto will be perfected at some point,” he said, “and probably it’ll be made more valuable in some ways down the road.”
The metaverse has been put on ice but isn’t being ignored
While the metaverse, augmented reality and virtual reality didn’t make the most-mentioned list this year, the emerging technology may still get its day.
As companies collect more revenue from digital channels, the metaverse could serve as a new frontier for customer interactions. “Whether it is immersive environments like the metaverse, your regular eCommerce shopping, or social media shopping, you can actually put prototypes of new products and designs, and see what the interest of consumers is,” said Katia Walsh, former Chief AI Officer of Levi’s. Metaverse technologies like VR may find some early adoption outside the consumer sector. ConocoPhillips has already started deploying tools to make full use of the capability when it arrives. “Today we use VR headsets for drilling locations and to interact with the machines and people without leaving our desks,” said Pragati Mathur. “How we extend that into the industrial metaverse is something … which is exciting.”
CHEVY CHASE, MD., May 17, 2023 – Metis Strategy, a boutique management and strategy consulting firm focused on the intersection of business, technology, and innovation, is proud to receive the 2023 Great Place To Work Certification™. Great Place To Work is the global authority on workplace culture, employee experience, and leadership behaviors proven to deliver market-leading revenue, employee retention, and increased innovation.
The prestigious award is based entirely on what current employees say about their experience working at Metis Strategy. This year, the vast majority of employees consider Metis Strategy a great place to work, well above the U.S. average. About 97% said the company provides a significant amount of responsibility, is honest and ethical in its business practices, and gives everyone an opportunity for special recognition.
“We are honored to have earned the 2023 Great Place To Work Certification,” said Peter High, President of Metis Strategy. “I am grateful to my colleagues who make Metis Strategy an amazing place to work, and I am proud they continue to be recognized for the collaborative, team-based culture they drive at the firm.”
“Great Place To Work Certification is a highly coveted achievement that requires consistent and intentional dedication to the overall employee experience,” says Sarah Lewis-Kulin, Vice President of Global Recognition at Great Place To Work. She emphasized that Certification is the only official recognition earned by the real-time feedback of employees regarding their company culture. “By successfully earning this recognition, it is evident that Metis Strategy stands out as one of the top companies to work for, providing a great workplace environment for its employees.”
This certification follows Metis Strategy’s recent recognition as one of the Top 50 Boutique Consulting Firms to Work for in North America in 2023 by Vault and one of America’s Fastest Growing Companies 2023 by the Financial Times. As a relationship-oriented firm, Metis Strategy tailors its work to clients’ unique needs. Metis Strategy has earned a reputation as a trusted advisor and partner to some of the world’s most innovative and successful companies through its people-first culture built on collaboration, diversity, and inclusion.
About Metis Strategy: With more than two decades of experience, Metis Strategy is a boutique strategy and management consulting firm focused on the intersection of business, technology, and innovation. Serving mainly Fortune 500 and Forbes Global 2000 companies, areas of specialty include business strategy, digital transformation, technology strategy and operations, growth and scale strategy, and organizational change. We help define new products or services for clients, design improved customer and employee experiences through digital capabilities, and advise organizations on how they can achieve favorable business outcomes more efficiently and effectively.
Learn more about Metis Strategy
Read about our work
Listen to the Technovation podcast, featuring interviews with top technology leaders
Explore career opportunities
Rising to the C-Suite sits atop the list of career aspirations for many professionals, both inside and outside technology. No two career journeys are exactly the same, and those who have reached the level of the CIO, COO, and the like all have a unique story to tell.
On the Technovation podcast, Peter High, President of Metis Strategy and author of Getting to Nimble, interviews C-level technology executives across industries on a number of topics, including how they got to where they are today and what they see as difference-makers in their careers.
In this video, the following executives share their “secrets to success:”
- Former Medtronic CEO Bill George
- Cardinal Health CIO Michelle Greene
- Union Pacific CIO Rahul Jalali
- AstraZeneca CDO/CIO Cindy Hoots
- Verizon Chief Strategy Officer Rima Qureshi
- Fannie Mae CIO Ramon Richards
- Tractor Supply Co. Chief Tech, Digital Commerce, and Strategy Officer Rob Mills
- NFL Chief Data & Analytics Officer Paul Ballew
- Land O’Lakes CTO Teddy Bekele
- Former Northwestern Mutual CIO Neal Sample
- Wendy’s CIO Kevin Vasconi
See below for the full video and a list of key takeaways.
#1 Find a mentor
Mentors and coaches provide many benefits to professionals during their careers, providing candid advice while also keeping them grounded and on track. Michelle Greene, Chief Information Officer of Cardinal Health, says she has been intentional about having a mentor to guide her in her leadership role and help create a support system for her development and well-being. She notes that we pay for trainers when we want to get in shape, so why not invest in a coach to guide professional development? “If you’re serious about your career development, you have to embrace that.”
Similarly, among many things, mentorship has taught Rahul Jalali, Chief Information Officer of Union Pacific, to set “impossible goals” and work to develop his career beyond what you might have seen for yourself on your own.
#2 Be open to new and unexpected opportunities
“Jump and trust that the safety net will appear,” says Cindy Hoots, Chief Digital Officer & Chief Information Officer of AstraZeneca. She attributes her success in part to being open to the opportunities that were presented to her and saying yes to different roles she was asked to do, even if they weren’t something she “wanted” to do at the time. As she reflects on these roles, they now serve as some of the most pivotal ones in her career.
Similarly, Rima Qureshi, Chief Strategy Officer of Verizon, suggests not rigidly planning out a career trajectory, but rather seeing and taking opportunities as they come. “They take you in a direction that you may not have expected.”
#3 Never stop listening, never stop learning
It may sound obvious, but it bears repeating: leadership requires an ability to constantly listen and learn. In that spirit, Ramon Richards, Chief Information Officer of Fannie Mae, encourages leaders not to hesitate to ask questions. “If there’s something you don’t understand,” says Ramon, “you’re probably not the only one.”
Ashok Srivastava, Chief Data Officer of Intuit, suggests that the ability to listen to each other is a critical way of learning. “We have to be able to accommodate other points of view, and we have to be able to grow from those interactions.”
#4 Focus on people
Within an organization, the single most important asset is talent. People build solutions, interact with customers, and drive the business. Leaders have a responsibility to develop talent and foster a collaborative culture. “Ultimately, 90% of my job is people,” says Teddy Bekele, Chief Technology Officer of Land O’Lakes, “It’s unleashing that power in the people who then can go do the work.”
To be successful in a leadership role, it’s critical that you understand your team and prepare them to operate in a dynamic environment. Rob Mills, Chief Technology, Digital Commerce, and Strategy Officer of Tractor Supply Company emphasizes this point. “That’s what makes a great leader,” says Rob. “Understand the team and how they’re willing to embrace and accept change.”
#5 Find and nurture your passion
The success you find in your career will be easier to attain once you find your passion. “Figure out what elements of your job are not just a job,” suggests Neal Sample, former CIO of Northwestern Mutual. “Figure out what it is that makes you excited about it.” A role that ignites that internal drive will inevitably generate commitment and keep you on pace for success.
Kevin Vasconi, CIO of Wendy’s, agrees, noting that passion comes through in the work product. “If you get up too many days and you’re not enjoying what you’re doing,” he says, “you probably should try to find something else to do, because life’s too short, right?”
For more insights into the secrets to technology leaders’ success and other anecdotes from their career journeys, be sure to check out the full podcast episodes and YouTube channel.
In interviews with more than 100 digital and technology leaders on the Technovation podcast in 2022, executives shared the technologies and trends they believe have the potential to deliver significant value to their organizations in the years ahead. For the fourth year in a row, analytics, machine learning/AI, and cloud were the top three trends on executives’ radars.
A closer inspection of the interviews finds that more analytics use cases are bearing fruit across organizations as teams place greater emphasis on data strategy and governance. Developing solid data foundations enables new capabilities and opens the door for AI and machine learning at scale. We expect to see this focus continue in the year ahead.
Some new trends also began to emerge this year, including the metaverse and IT’s growing role in environmental sustainability and other ESG initiatives. There is also continued interest in the new ways of working and the tools and practices that will bring them to life. See below for more on the trends that are rising in importance in the year ahead.
2022 Technovation Tech Trends
Personalization drives AI use cases in 2022
Companies across industries are increasingly leveraging machine learning models to make sense of the large amount of data they collect. Today, machine learning capabilities are “not just niche to businesses that try to answer decision support-like type questions that rely on predictability,” said Neal Sample, former CIO of Northwestern Mutual. “Entire industries are being upended by better thinking around data.” What does this better thinking look like? Increasingly, it means leveraging data and analytics capabilities to deliver differentiated products and services for customers.
Anil Bhatt, Global CIO of Elevance Health (formerly Anthem Inc.), detailed how AI helps deliver better customer experiences through personalization. The symptom triage function in the company’s Sydney Health App, for example, can identify the symptoms a member is experiencing and analyze why they are reaching out for care, helping them receive personalized care more quickly and driving higher member satisfaction.
Similarly, Rite Aid’s Chief Digital and Technology Officer, Justin Mennen, notes that advances in AI and machine learning “are driving a completely different level of personalization.” Through the company’s partnership with Google, Rite Aid is using data and analytics to drive insights for the business and for customers, including tools that help customers choose the right medical products based on where they are in their journey.
The continued rise of data and analytics capabilities brings with it a continued need for talented team members to drive those initiatives forward. Ashok Srivastava, Intuit’s Chief Data Officer, began the journey to advance AI nearly five years ago by investing in skills development and recruiting. “We built this team of artificial intelligence scientists and engineers and we focused them on what matters most, and that means what is best for the end customer,” he said. One win came from merging data and AI teams. “We could see that that data platform was powering a lot of experiences and as we focused those data platforms on AI and then on analytics, we could see that tremendous benefits were coming out of it.” Some of these benefits included Intuit’s “follow-me-home” approach to personal finance, in which AI models use data to understand how the customer is using the product, automatically categorize customer transactions, and provide insights to the customer about their financial health.
Check out our compilation of other technology leaders on Technovation with Peter High speaking about how their organizations are using artificial intelligence:
Digital twin, AR, and VR technologies begin to converge as interest in the metaverse rises
A new trend that has intrigued (and puzzled) some technology executives is the metaverse. The concept has been around for a while (see Neal Stephenson’s 1992 novel Snow Crash and the virtual world of the Wachowski sisters’ 1999 film The Matrix), but only recently has it emerged in a business context. Today, we see executives largely focused on the adoption of digital twins and augmented/virtual reality tools – two technologies often associated with the metaverse – for use cases ranging from product development to employee training.
Susan Doniz, Chief Information Officer of Boeing, says the company sees benefits of digital twin technology, noting that the combination of physical and digital worlds allows the company to efficiently iterate on new designs, to “fly the airplane thousands of times before we really fly it, and build it thousands of times before we really build it.” At Raytheon, Chief Digital Officer and SVP for Enterprise Services Vince Campisi and his team are using digital simulations of factories to optimize facility usage.
Technology leaders recognize the need to stay up to date on emerging metaverse-related technologies, from digital twins to AR/VR and Web3. “Not all of it is always relevant in the moment, but if you don’t start to get yourself up to speed and know where the opportunities lie, then I think you find yourself at the tail end,” said Cindy Hoots, Chief Digital Officer and Chief Information Officer of AstraZeneca. Her team invested in an experience-based group at AstraZeneca called ‘XR’. “Whether it’s the virtual reality or augmented reality team, we’ve got our own metaverse environment looking at how digital twins that we already have play into that, and just trying to build up some internal muscle on some of these trends.”
The metaverse, whatever form it may take, also creates new opportunities for collaboration and culture building, particularly in hybrid environments in which many work remotely. Likening the impact of the metaverse to that of ‘dilithium crystals’, the material used in the Star Trek universe to power warp-speed faster-than-light space travel, Cummins CIO Earl Newsome said the technology can act as a “transporter” of sorts, bringing people together from across the world. “I think we’re going to be able to leverage the metaverse to do some of that,” he explained, “especially when the metaverse gets to be really mixed reality.”
Cybersecurity threats grow more sophisticated
Perhaps unsurprisingly, cybersecurity remained top of mind for business technology leaders in 2022. As attacks grow more prevalent and sophisticated, CIOs continue to focus on mitigating risk and building a culture of cybersecurity awareness across their organizations.
At Cummins, Earl Newsome is training his team to minimize the number of preventable cyberattacks through the CyberSMART program, which equips “cyber soldiers” with the tools needed to sniff out phishing schemes, be more aware of their surroundings, and improve password management. “The issue is either on two legs or two wires,” Earl joked. “The two legs issue is the one that we need to focus on because 82% of all cybersecurity issues have a human element in them.”
The other 18% of cyberattacks may pose trickier to prevent, but CIOs are looking to new technologies and tools to help identify when attacks are occurring and mitigate the risk of exposure. Mike Feliton, CIO of Crocs, sees an opportunity with machine learning and RPA to quickly detect when an attack is occurring. “Noticing when a brute force attack is hitting your organization and being able to shut that down before any of your employees have to get engaged is essential because we can cut it off before anything starts to explode.”
More sophisticated attacks are likely to trouble some companies as computational capabilities advance. As research and development in quantum computing evolves, it is time for organizations to plan for post-quantum cryptography, said Kevin Stine, Chief of the Applied Cybersecurity Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Information Technology Laboratory. With the rise of quantum computers, even the most secure systems today could be at serious risk of being breached without new forms of protection.
Yet while quantum computers create the risk of more advanced cyberattacks, they also offer the benefit of more advanced cybersecurity measures. Sangy Vatsa, Global Chief Technology & Digital Officer of FIS, is excited about the possibilities quantum can bring to the cybersecurity landscape.
Sustainability becomes a key consideration when building technology
While not a “tech trend” we have typically tracked across podcast episodes, sustainability appeared much more frequently this year as executives contemplated IT’s role in contributing to enterprise ESG initiatives.
Consumers are now, more than ever, concerned with how a company is addressing these issues, particularly in the energy sector. “Customers are paying attention to what companies are doing […] in terms of sustainability,” said Dak Liyanearachchi, Head of Data and Technology at NRG Energy. He noted “the decarbonization of our economy” as a trend that stands out.
“It really doesn’t matter what you think about climate change and sustainability, you are going to deal with it,” said Edward Wagoner, CIO of Digital at JLL. For technology leaders, the focus is on how best to do it. To name one example, Edward noted opportunities organizations have to use IoT and sensor technology to measure water and energy usage and reduce waste.
Companies are pursuing other technology-led sustainability solutions. Earlier this year, Frank Cassulo, Chief Digital Officer at Chevron, discussed Chevron New Energies, a business unit launched late last year that aims to produce low-carbon solutions (e.g. hydrogen) and reduce carbon emissions for both customers and internal operations. “We’re really looking at where we have competitive advantages and how we can help accelerate that energy transition,” he said. “It’s exciting for us to both think about how we continuously improve delivering the products today, but also transitioning to a lower carbon future that we’re going to play a large part in.”
While the energy industry is put under the microscope when it comes to sustainability, it certainly isn’t the only industry that is looking at lowering carbon emissions. Avery Dennison CIO Nick Colisto has been the primary driver of sustainability both within IT and within the business. In his view, IT is uniquely positioned to be a driver of sustainability at a company. “We incorporated [sustainability] as one of our strategic priorities in IT,” Nick said. “It’s essentially about innovation in building products that satisfy recycling, composting, and reuse of single-use consumer packaging and apparel in our products and in our solutions.”
At Avery Dennison, a low-code technology system called AD Circular makes it easier for customers to recycle used paper and filmic label liners across Europe. The company also introduced atma.io, a cloud platform that uses connected-product technology to track products through the value chain.
Trends likely to rise in 2023: 5G, voice, new ways of working
In addition to the topics noted above, other trends show signs of gaining traction in 2023:
- 5G and quantum computing: With 5G already rolled out and eyes shifting toward the theoretical “6G”, executives are excited about the ability to not only rapidly transmit data but also rapidly compute. “Quantum computing is just around the corner, so they say,” quips Diogo Rau, Chief Information and Digital Officer of Eli Lilly. “If it does come at some point, it will be an absolute breakthrough for everything.”
- Chatbots and voice assistants: “Why don’t we talk to our computers?” asked Kevin Vasconi, Chief Information Officer of Wendy’s, in a recent interview. “At Wendy’s, when we think about voice AI, we do think about very specific applications like voice AI in the drive-through… if it’s got a chip in it, we’re willing to go see if we can make voice work on it.”
- Hybrid and remote collaboration: The future of work has been an ongoing discussion for organizations across industries. Some companies have embraced a completely remote model or a completely on-premise one, with most somewhere in between. “This back-to-work thing has made things like meetings that are half in person, half remote, really challenging,” said Greg Meyers, Chief Digital and Technology Officer of Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS). We expect the topic to remain top of mind for technology leaders in the year ahead as they pilot technologies that enable more efficient, productive, and creative ways of working.
Stay tuned to Technovation in 2023 for more discussions about the transformative technologies driving organizations forward.
To some, the term artificial intelligence evokes images from The Terminator, 2001: A Space Odyssey, or, for the more optimistic, WALL-E. But today AI might isn’t as far out as many might think. Today, machine learning and AI applications are being used to personalize customer experiences, predict behaviors, and improve processes across industries.
On the Technovation podcast, Metis Strategy President Peter High asks tech executives about the trends that excite them and the new projects making their way onto their roadmaps. This year, artificial intelligence was often at the top of the list. In this video, executives from Elevance Health, ServiceNow, Whirlpool, Guardian Life, Levi Strauss, Upstart, and Intel share how they are embedding artificial intelligence into their organizations and ponder AI’s future trajectory. For more insights into how today’s technology leaders are adopting artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, be sure to check out the full podcast episodes and YouTube channel.
In interviews with more than 100 digital leaders on the Technovation podcast in 2021, executives noted artificial intelligence, cloud, and analytics among the technologies that show the most potential inside their organizations. Executives also noted the need to defend their organizations from increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks and efforts to scale automation efforts.
Below is a list of the top 10 technology trends on technology leaders’ minds in 2021, as well as a glimpse of topics rising in importance in the year ahead.
AI, cloud, and analytics remain top of mind
During an unprecedented year of digital acceleration, Technovation guests described the ways in which technology has become even further ingrained in the fabric of business operations, transforming the way customers consume products and services. “Every decision we make as executives has a fundamental aspect of technology in the discussion,” said Greg Carmichael, Chief Executive Officer at Fifth Third Bancorp, after seeing a sustained 20% increase in digital channel usage since the start of the pandemic. To navigate the operational changes required in an increasingly digital world, AI and data analytics have enabled organizations to deliver deeper insights with greater speed than ever before.
Alongside AI and analytics efforts, technology executives increased their focus on cloud. At Whirlpool, CIO Danielle Brown is taking a cloud-first approach for critical systems and data. “You are able to leverage data not just in functional silos, but across multiple functions within the business (and) across regions in a more easy and accessible way,” she said. Leveraging cloud analytics and productivity solutions has enabled Whirlpool to deliver systems and applications crucial to business on highly elastic infrastructure, which allows the company to grow and adapt quickly as business conditions change.
The shift to cloud has also created new opportunities for AI to transform business insights and operations. During a December conference, Target CIO Mike McNamara said he views AI and analytics as the key to his company’s success. AI “has been a really exciting avenue of discovery for the future and a great source of competitive advantage for the business,” he said. Applications across Target include demand forecasting, ordering, workload planning, pricing and promotions, among other tasks.
Looking to the year ahead, CommScope CIO Praveen Jonnala shared his plans to continue adopting AI and ML capabilities “to provide deeper insights that really unleash opportunities within the company and for our customers.”
The cybersecurity landscape grows more complex
The transition to remote and hybrid work presented many CIOs with an alarming increase in cybersecurity threats. As Pacific Life CIO Mike Shadle noted: “With the pandemic and with the hybrid workforce, you now have to be secure everywhere,” including well beyond the traditional four walls of a corporate HQ. The price for not being prepared is high. In 2021 alone, average data breach costs increased from $3.86 million to $4.24 million, a historic high, according to an IBM Cost of Data Breach Report.
In response to an increasingly sophisticated threat landscape, including steady reports of ransomware and awareness of new vulnerabilities across software supply chains, many companies accelerated their investments in security to protect valuable data and mitigate risk across distributed work environments.
We expect more investment in the year ahead, and anticipate that technology leaders will double down on efforts to make cybersecurity a key part of ongoing transformation initiatives. “Cybersecurity is not only the technology, the process, the detection prevention mechanisms, or the response recovery mechanisms,” said Ameren Chief Digital Information Officer Bhavani Amirthalingam. “Creating a culture of cybersecurity is extremely important.”
RPA accelerates automation opportunities
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) gained a foothold in many organizations over the past few years and has continued to scale in 2021. As organizations seek to automate a broader range of processes, tools like RPA are enabling employees to take on higher-order work. At Guardian Life, a program called “Automation for Good” seeks to do just that, with software taking over transaction-heavy tasks and freeing up technologists to tackle more complex issues. “Why not allow them to be able to self-automate and identify those tasks that they wish they did not have to do in the first place, and then create a much more fulfilling job for themselves,” said Dean Del Vecchio, Guardian Life’s CIO and Chief of Operations.
Beyond RPA, automakers like Toyota have taken advantage of automation on the factory floor. In an interview, Toyota Financial Services CIO Vipin Gupta said he believes “we will see a series of innovative techniques used by large enterprises to define these new workflows for IT that will become highly automated. So, for example, today in our Toyota factories over 90% of tasks to assemble a car are automated. IT will mature to the same levels this decade.”
Manufacturing companies like Advance Auto Parts have begun implementing RPA to drive automation efforts forward. While RPA is not a new trend, CIO Sri Donthi said, “it is a trend that we are really focused on, given we are building a lot of common platforms. Now, I can really apply more RPA as a capability to drive this hyper-automation that is really needed.”
Quantum computing cracks the list for the first time
Quantum computing, while still in its nascent stages, continues to catch the attention of CIOs. Recent developments from companies such as Intel Corporation suggest quantum may be closer to entering the mainstream conversation. For example, Intel Labs’s Senior Fellow and Managing Director Rich Uhlig said the company is exploring post-quantum cryptography and its implications for cybersecurity and data protection. “We are improving the algorithms, improving the accelerators for these algorithms and making them resilient against a quantum attack,” he said.
Another driver behind quantum’s growing recognition is its concrete use cases, particularly for analyzing large data sets. When considering use cases in pharmaceuticals, Merck Chief Information and Digital Officer Dave Williams says he thinks quantum could provide value by surmounting complex issues such as weather prediction, human biology, accelerating drug discovery and development, and encryption. He notes that use cases may be five to 10 years from the mainstream, but that quantum nevertheless “is going to be one to watch and really keep an eye on.” Blue Shield of California CIO Lisa Davis noted that it stands to fundamentally change the ways in which organizations solve problems and could allow organizations to find new ways to model and prepare for future crisis events.
Trends likely to rise in 2022
In addition to the topics noted above, other trends show signs of gaining traction in 2022:
- 5G becomes commercially available: With the Tokyo 2020 Olympics rolling out 5G commercially for the first time, in part thanks to work done by Intel’s Iddo Kadim, companies are beginning to explore how this capability can lower the cost of connectivity and increase bandwidth across industries, from sports to smart packaging.
- New ways of work: While remote-working technologies continue to be on technology executives’ radars, companies are beginning to mature (and sometimes consolidate) their toolsets and shift their focus to the opportunities and challenges that accompany a hybrid work environment. Virtual and augmented reality technologies may see greater focus in 2022, particularly as more organizations explore the metaverse.
- Connected products and digital twins: Although connected products and the Internet of Things (IoT) dropped down the CIO trend list in 2021, many technology leaders remain focused on how best to draw actionable insights from sensor-laden physical objects. Further, companies are leveraging digital twins to monitor, simulate and improve product performance. Johnson & Johnson Enterprise CIO Jim Swanson, for example, noted that digital twins allowed the company to improve batch production of COVID-19 vaccines from one batch every two weeks to two batches every half week.
As the world enters year three of the COVID-19 pandemic, technology leaders continue to adapt to new ways of working while managing a fast-growing digital agenda. Much of that work involves developing people, processes, and technologies that allow their organizations to adapt and pivot quickly as new challenges and opportunities arise. Stay tuned to Technovation in 2022 for more discussions about the transformative technologies driving organizations forward.